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“It’s in my coat in the dressing room,” Cindy said, clearly trying to be helpful. “I can go get it if you want.”
“Captain?” Nate whispered urgently from the door of the dressing room.
“We’ll get it later. Take her.” Frank shoved Cynthia toward the door.
“The queen?” Nate asked, looking uncertainly from Frank to Cynthia and back again, clearly torn.
“Keep her in there and don’t take your eyes off of her. Don’t let her scream or talk or cry. Gag her if you have to,” Frank ordered, his eyes holding those of his subordinate until he knew that Nate would obey him. “She’s in the custody of the state until Parliament decides her guilt or innocence.”
“Where will you be?” Nate took Cynthia gently, but firmly, by the upper arm.
“I’ll be right here,” Frank said, crossing to Eleanor. “If what Cynthia is saying is the truth, we have enough evidence. We’ll let him walk in here and I’ll take care of him myself. Eleanor, you go with Nate.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Yes, you are. I—”
“Frank, we don’t know if Cindy is telling the truth, if there really is a journal or what it says. I don’t want to take the risk of one or both of them getting away with this,” she said, her eyes pleading with him to understand.
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” Frank protested, though he knew she was right. It was exactly what he would have said himself, if he were thinking with his right mind.
But he wasn’t, he was acting on emotion. How could he allow Eleanor to put herself in danger when he was still so shaken by seeing a gun trained on her heart? He didn’t want to risk her safety, even to put away a man who obviously shouldn’t be allowed to remain in power if the accusations against him were true.
“I won’t get hurt, and you’ll be just a few feet away, right?”
“Right,” he said, the trust in her eyes making his stomach knot. She had faith that he would keep her safe. Now he had to make sure he proved worthy of her trust.
“Then I’ll be fine,” she said with a smile. “Now scram before I get nervous and change my mind.”
“You can still change your mind, you—”
“I won’t. I trust you.” She bit her lip. “Is that crazy?”
“No, it’s not,” he said. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Not even myself.
He turned and disappeared into the east dressing room without another word, forcing himself to think about keeping Eleanor safe and nothing else. There would be time to mourn the loss of what could have been between them at a later date.
He knew now that he couldn’t allow his fantasies involving the woman to become a reality. If they took care of business tonight, Eleanor would have the chance at a real life again. She’d made it clear she didn’t relish working on the wrong side of the tracks. She wouldn’t want to start a relationship with a man who felt that a “kinky” lifestyle was the only one that worked for him.
Frank had had relationships that didn’t play by the Dom or sub rules, but they hadn’t fulfilled him in the same way. He craved that sexual charge too much to give it up, but he already cared for Eleanor too much to ask her to spend any more time living a lifestyle she resented.
He would help her regain her life, and then he would remove himself from it. It was the best way he could show his regard for her, even if the thought of never seeing her again tore him up inside.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Eleanor
Eleanor gripped the whip and turned to face the dressing room door, where the king would supposedly be making his appearance at any moment.
She knew she should be scared out of her mind, but for some reason she wasn’t. Maybe it was simply that she trusted Frank to keep her safe, or maybe it was because she was still having a hard time believing that Robert planned to kidnap her and make her his love slave.
It was ludicrous. The guy who had fought tooth and nail to be able to date, and eventually marry, her underage stepdaughter was actually in love with Eleanor and wanted to lock her up in a room and go at it?
It was just plain weird, and she wouldn’t have bought it if Cindy hadn’t been so hysterical.
Her stepdaughter was good at many things, but acting wasn’t one of them. The entire kingdom had bought her story of abuse at her stepmother’s hands, but Eleanor had always been able to see through her attempts at deception. No, Cindy genuinely believed what she was saying was the truth.
