The Actress and the Aristocrat by Katie Ashley

Chapter Eighteen: Randall

With one hand wrapped around a bottle of Laguvulin, I used my other hand to absently click channels on the telly. My ravaged attention span never settled on anything in particular. I wasn’t entirely sure why I kept the blasted thing on in the first place. With Charlie gone, maybe I feared the silence closing in on me.

For the first twenty-four hours after she’d left, I’d avoided any of the channels with morning shows. The video clip of Charlie/Eliza’s drunken antics had been replayed far too many times. I silently thanked God we had decided to use a false persona. It was bad enough hearing Eliza Littleton shredded by the media, but I don’t think I could’ve taken it being Charlie facing such scrutiny. It really was for the best she was back in the States and spared from the relentlessness of the British press.

On Day Two post Charlie, I still hadn’t found the strength to leave my bed. It was rather ironic considering after catching Lydia with Michael, I’d gone right along with all aspects of life. I hadn’t canceled meetings or refused to be seen. My broken and bruised heart had gone right on beating, and so had all aspects of business and personal life.

But this thing with Charlie had sent me to my bed like a fucking recluse. Or even worse…a heartsick teenage girl. I didn’t understand the power she had over me. Maybe it was because I knew in my heart I had treated her horribly. Or maybe it was deep down, I knew she was right.

In spite of all she’d done to me and continued to do me, I was still in love with Lydia. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand what the hell was wrong with me. What kind of man holds a torch for the woman who broke his heart?

At a knock at the door, I bellowed, “What?”

The door flung open so hard it banged back against the wall. It was at that moment I knew it wasn’t going to be Maude entering the room. Instead, Rob charged inside. If looks could kill, I would’ve been writhing on the floor, but thankfully, I was safe in the comfort of my bed. “You sent Charlie home?” he roared.

“And hello to you too, my darling brother.”

“Answer my question.”

“Yes, Charlie went home. Tuesday night at nine. First class United 695.” I cocked my brows at him. “How did you find out?”

“Maude called me this morning. She told me Charlie had left, and you’d sequestered yourself in your bedroom and refused all food and drink.”

“Not true.” I waved the bottle of Laguvulin at him. “I’m keeping hydrated.”

“Yeah, and that isn’t helping at all,” Rob replied before he tried wrangling the bottle away from me. After a few moments of struggle, I finally gave in and let him take it. When he shot me a triumphant look, I fought the urge to tell him he might’ve won the battle but not the war since there was another bottle in the dresser.

With the whiskey bottle in one hand, Rob marched over to the window closest to the bed. He then flung the curtains open, sending light cascading through the room. Grunting, I threw an arm over my eyes. “What the hell did you do that for?”

Rob whirled around. “Enough with the bloody theatrics! Why did you send Charlie away?”

“How could we possibly continue after her Ascot escapade?”

With a roll of his eyes, Rob replied, “You know, I’ve taken you for a lot of things, but a coward wasn’t one of them.”

“Fuck you! You don’t know anything about what it’s like to try to preserve this family’s good name.”

“We’re not starting that family name bullshit again like at Ascot.” He jabbed a finger at me. “This is all on you. If you weren’t a bloody coward, you would’ve ridden out the press storm with Charlie instead of sending her home like some leper.”

“Have you any idea how insane things have been?” I gestured wildly at the papers and gossip magazines littering the bed. “It’s the only story anyone is covering.”

“I’m pretty sure you weathered just as much when you and Lydia separated.”

“Don’t you get it? It’s bigger than her affair and our divorce. Of all the places for her to make a fool of herself and me, Charlie had to choose Ascot.” Running a hand over my unshaven face, I said, “I can only imagine what Charles and the others must be thinking after being overshadowed by a drunken socialite.”

“Oh sod Charles and the rest of The Firm. It’s not like they haven’t dealt with their own scandals and bad press.”

“Not at Ascot.”

Rob slammed his palm down on the nightstand. “Look, I didn’t come here to watch you groveling in self-pity.”

“Then what did you come for?”

“To set the record straight once and for all to prove that Charlie was innocent of getting drunk.”

With a growl, I threw the covers back and pushed past Rob to stalk over to the loo. After slamming the door in his face, I went to relieve myself.

“I’m not leaving until you hear me out.”

“You’re wasting your time,” I called over my shoulder.

“What if I had video proof?”

I froze pissing in mid-stream. “You have video of Charlie?”

“More importantly I have video of that cunt of an ex-wife of yours slipping something into her drink!”

Staggering back from the enormity of his words, I could only muster, “Bloody hell.”

Charlie had been telling the truth all along, and I’d refused to believe her. I cringed as the words I’d said and the way I’d treated her rocketed through my mind. Oh, Charlie, it’s all my fault. You didn’t deserve any of this, least of all me being such a bloody fool.

I didn’t even bother washing up. Instead, I unlocked the door and faced Rob. “I believe Charlie, and I believe you. But I still need to see it for myself.”

Rob’s jaw dropped open. “Seriously?”

I nodded. “For closure.”

Grimacing, Rob replied, “I was afraid you still had feelings for that tart.”

“Trust me, I’m not happy to have to admit it.”

“As long as it ends today.”

“It does,” I said with perhaps more conviction than I actually felt.

Rob handed me my phone before hitting play on the video he had cued up. I focused my eyes on the screen as Lydia came into the picture. With a beaming smile, she took two champagne flutes from one of the waiters. After glancing left and right, she deposited something from her other hand into the glass closest to her. She then walked purposefully off from the camera’s angle.

“Where is she going?”

“Wait,” Rob instructed.

The feed changed to the exit of the Royal Box. Soon Charlie and I came into focus. I knew it was after I’d introduced Charlie to the Queen because of her stiff body language. Her demeanor suddenly changed, and I realized that was when we had “run into” Lydia and Michael. Now I realized they had been waiting for us. I watched Lydia hand the glass of champagne to Charlie in her alleged goodwill gesture to our relationship.

When Charlie brought the glass to her lips, I cringed. “What a cunt.”

“Yes! Lydia is a cunt!” Rob reiterated.

“Thanks for the emphasis,” I mused.

“Just trying to help.”

“And I appreciate it. I really do.” I swiped my hand over my face as I shook my head. “Jesus, how could I have ever loved her?”

With a snort, Rob replied, “You know I can’t answer that one. Some things are beyond explanation.”

“So it would seem,” I muttered as I eased back down on the mattress.

“Don’t even think about getting back in that bed!” Rob blared.

I held my hands up in surrender. “Fine. You’re right. Life must go on.”

“Exactly. The first thing we’re going to do is call Mrs. Homiller to bring us dinner trays.”

“Mm,” I muttered, my mind still reeling from seeing Lydia toss the pill into the drink. What I didn’t understand was why. While I’d still loved my ex-wife, she’d attempted to discredit me. She’d flaunted her relationship with Michael everywhere she’d gone. And now she’d gone after a woman who should have been innocent of her bitchery. Why? What the hell had I ever done to deserve that?

Or was that what I deserved? After all, Charlie’s words weren’t suggesting anything different. “You know, I thought you were a gentleman. But it’s obvious you’re nothing more than the stuck-up prick I once believed you were.” She wasn’t wrong.

Although as I consider the last two days, I can actually see she was wrong about one thing. It wasn’t love I felt for Lydia. For some reason, I’d been holding on to what I’d thought I’d had. But I wasn’t a fool. The woman had never cared for me, defended me, made fun of me, like Charlie had in the few weeks she’d been here. And now she was gone. And taken the light with her.

Jabbing a finger at me, Rob said, “Don’t even argue about not being hungry. You need to get a meal in you.”

I was prepared to protest, but my traitorous stomach rolled at the mention of food. “Fine,” I replied dejectedly.

Rob’s hand clapped my shoulder before giving me a slight nudge towards the bathroom. “While we’re waiting, I want you to get your stinking arse in the shower. After that, I want you to shave.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes, there is. After you’ve showered and had a bite to eat, I want you to call Charlie.”

And just like that I lost my appetite. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Knowing Charlie the way that I did, she probably wouldn’t answer. Even if she did, she probably wouldn’t hear me out before giving me yet another piece of her mind. Not that I didn’t deserve all of her wrath, but I didn’t think a call would adequately mend fences.

“But you have to find a way for her to forgive you,” Rob huffed in frustration.

I thought about the wounded look in Charlie’s eyes when she’d walked out the sitting room door. While she might’ve worn an expression of hate and disgust, pain radiated out of her eyes. I hated being the one to have caused it.

“There’s no way a phone call will be sufficient. I have to apologize to her in person.”

Rob had opened his mouth to argue with me, but he quickly shut it. “That’s one way to handle the situation.”

“After the things I said and did, I think it’s the only answer.”

“I totally agree, and I’ll make the arrangements while you’re in the shower.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“Even better, I’ll come with you.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“Oh, but I do.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Don’t you think the private nature of this matter warrants me handling it on my own?”

“Yes. But at the same time, I do know Charlie, and you’re going to need a buffer in case things go south.”

I shook my head at him. “Do you know how infuriating it is that you don’t have faith in me to handle this?”

With a cheeky smile, Rob replied, “Let’s face it, Rand. You’ve never been good at handling matters of the heart.”

Bloody hell. “This is about apologizing to Charlie for my behavior about Ascot and sending her away. The heart has nothing to do with it.”

Rob rolled his eyes. “It has everything to do with it, you dimwit. The sooner you can acknowledge that, the better off we’ll all be.”

“Are you insinuating I have feelings for Charlie?”

“Of course I am.”

Shaking my head, I countered, “I like Charlie, but it’s merely platonic.”

“Bullshit.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Charlie’s the actor, Rand. Not you. There’s no way you can be pretending. You light up like a fucking firecracker when she’s around. I think you've laughed more in the last couple of weeks than you have in the last few years.”

Rob was right. Charlie had changed everything. With her bubbly nature and good humor, how would it be possible for her not to change the household? “Even if I did have feelings for her, Charlie and I are from two different worlds.”

“Please tell me you’re not being some elitist prat right now.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Then what is it?”

I sighed. “Charlie is young and beautiful with an amazing career ahead of her. Why on earth would she want to be saddled with someone like me?”

“Jesus, I never realized what a number Lydia really did on you.” Rob placed a hand on my shoulder. “There isn’t a woman around who would consider herself saddled by you. If you got your head out of your arse once in a while, you’d see just what a catch you truly are.”

“While I really appreciate the pep talk, you’re sort of biased.”

“You want outside proof? Then you got it.” Rob took his phone out and began furiously working his thumbs over the keypad. After a few seconds, he held the screen out for me to see. “If you don’t believe me, then believe them.”

Since I couldn’t see shit without my glasses, I grabbed the phone from Rob. He had pulled up the comment section on an article from Debrett’s Deb. To my surprise, it was filled with flattering words about me. Some wanted to date me if Eliza and I broke up while others just wanted to do obscene things to me. I believe Charlie would’ve called it a “thirst-trap.”

After a few moments of perusing the comments, I gave the phone back to Rob. Tilting his head at me, he asked, “Do you believe me now?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Do you admit to having feelings for Charlie?”

“Of course I have feelings for her.”

With an exasperated roll of his eyes, Rob countered, “I’m talking about romantic feelings.”

Right. There it was. The mention of romance—the very sentiment I’d been trying to suppress during our business arrangement. I suppose it was pretty daft of me not to realize how I truly felt. As amazing as she was, how could any man alive not fall head over heels in love with her? The feeling, which had been a tiny flicker at first, had grown into a raging inferno.

Finally, I exhaled a defeated sigh. “You’re right. I do have those feelings for her.”

Rob grinned. “I’m glad to hear you admit. Now I want to know what you’re going to do about it.”

“First, I’m going to get her back as Eliza. Then I’m going to worry about getting her as Charlie.”

“I guess that makes sense considering you are a slow burn kinda guy.” He clapped his hand on my shoulder. “Come on, Cassanova. Let’s go and get your girl.”