A/N: Alright all you modern AU fans…here's another episode of modern Charles and Elsie. I had also received requests to do a modern Isobel and Richard and they are making their first appearance in this story. I hope you enjoy 'Valentine Ringtones'! ;-)

Disclaimer: All of these characters belong to Mr. Julian Fellowes and ITV. I also do not own the rights to Sting's 'Fields of Gold' and hope that they all understand that there is no copyright infringement intended...just the telling of my own little romantic story.

VALENTINE'S RINGTONES

Chapter 1 - Fields of Gold by Sting

They arrived at the office and began the routine that had been so easy for the two of them to establish. She took his briefcase and set it on the side table next to hers. He took his keys and his smart phone and lay them down next to his briefcase as he walked over to the wet bar to turn on the kettle and prepare the tea. She gathered all their electronics and plugged everything into the docking stations to charge and then removed and sorted all of the files from the briefcases onto the appropriate desks or into the outbox for Anna to file later on. The kettle began to whistle and he wet the tea before turning to cross the room. Neither had removed their overcoats as they moved through their paces and met back at the office door.

Now for the real start to their day. He reached out over her head with one hand to close the door. She reached up to grasp the lapels on his trench coat. He leaned towards her until she was trapped between his chest and the door. She pulled his head down to close the gap between them. Standing as they were, tucked into the corner of the office behind the closed door, they were hidden from the view of anyone who might just glance into the office through the plate glass wall along the hallway.

He looked deeply into her beautiful blue eyes and thanked whatever gods had brought her into his life. She reached up to cup his cheek in her hand, wondering how she had been so lucky to have such a wonderful and romantic man walk into her life. She watched his eyes crinkle up at the corners with the smile that slowly spread across his face.

"What?"

"You're wearing my favorite skirt," he said looking down at her feet.

"You can tell which skirt I'm wearing by looking at my feet?" She cocked a skeptical eyebrow at him.

"You only wear that particular pair of three-inch heels when you're wearing the high-waisted navy blue pencil skirt," he replied with a smirk as his hands smoothed over her bottom with a small squeeze.

"You…Charles Carson…are absolutely incorrigible," she said seductively, sliding one hand up behind his head and pulling him into a tender but passionate kiss. She could hear him moan softly in appreciation as his fingers worked the buttons on her coat. She pulled back when she felt his hands slide under her coat and around her waist.

"Charles, we have work to do."

"Elsie, love, just one more?" he teased with a small whimper. She was just leaning into his chest for another kiss when the intercom on her desk buzzed. She turned in his arms and he pulled off her coat as she walked away from him to answer the phone.

He hung her coat on the rack behind the door and turned to see her bending over the desk as she reached to punch the button on the intercom. He watched her skirt mold itself to her hips and thighs and felt the front of his trousers twitch when her hem rode up to expose a few more inches of her shapely legs. He quickly turned around and slowly counted to ten before removing his own overcoat and turning back to the room. He heard her telling Anna to have Mrs. Crawley come in when she'd finished having breakfast with her Cousin Robert. Robert Crawley was the President of Grantham, Crawley and Sons.

"I wonder what the old bat wants now," said Elsie as she accepted her cup of tea.

"Now, now, Elsie," he admonished. "Not only is she his Lordship's cousin, she is our biggest client."

The intercom sounded again and Anna's crisp voice came through, "Mr. Clarkson is on the line for your nine o'clock conference call."

"Put him through, Anna," said Charles into the com, "then bring in the background files."

"Yes, Sir!" she replied brightly, "Mr. Richard Clarkson of Clarkson's Naughty Nightees, Mr. Carson and Ms. Hughes are on the line."

"Carson! Why won't Mrs. Crawley or her Ladyship return my calls?" shouted Mr. Clarkson into the telephone.

"That is a part of the service that we provide to Izzie and Violet's Boutique," said Charles in a calm but authoritative voice, "we screen potential clients and business partners before they enter into meetings and negotiations."

"Smart move," Clarkson grumbled. "So what do you want to know?"

"Well, Mr. Clarkson," began Elsie, "we have run a background check and everything has actually come back with rather glowing reports."

"Well, well, well," came Clarkson's voice with a rather velvety note to it. "And exactly who might you be, my wee Scottish lassie?" Charles sat bolt upright in his chair at the change in Clarkson's voice and demeanor. Elsie wasn't sure she appreciated his tone of voice either but she raised her hands in a placating fashion to calm Charles down.

"I'm Elizabeth Hughes, Mr. Carson's business partner."

"Up north, your friends would have called you Elsie," Clarkson drawled with a definite thickening of his own Edinburgh accent.

"Ms. Hughes will do nicely," responded Elsie with a clipped tone.

A tapping from the glass wall caught both their attention and they looked up to see Anna holding up a piece of paper with one word printed out in large block letters – IZZIE – Charles motioned for Elsie to continue the conversation with Clarkson while he would go out and deal with Mrs. Crawley. She listened with half an ear as Clarkson gave her the background on his company and his desire to sell his product line at Mrs. Crawley's boutique. She watched through the glass wall as Isobel Crawley flirted shamelessly with Charles. She began to regret her advice to allow the attentions when she saw him lean down so that the old bat could straighten his tie and smooth his collar.

Elsie referred to her as 'the old bat' but Isobel Crawley was a handsome woman with dark blonde hair that was always well kept and she had a trim figure with nicely turned legs. She and Charles were the same age and shared many of the same interests such as opera, fine wine and continental cuisine. Elsie had learned to share many of these passions with him but she still did not appreciate the subtleties of an operatic libretto and would likely never be able to distinguish a French merlot from an Argentinean. She sometimes worried that Charles would wake up one morning and decide that a woman like Isobel Crawley would be more to his liking.

Clarkson was still droning on about his product line when Charles quietly opened the door and crossed the room to pick up his keys and his smart phone. He grabbed his coat off the rack and motioned for Elsie to call him when she was done with the conference call. Her frown as he went out the door turned into a hearty scowl as she watched him put his arm around the Crawley woman and lead her down the hall.

"Ms. Hughes? Are you still there?"

"Mr. Clarkson!" she exclaimed. "I apologize, my assistant was waving some paperwork under my nose for signature."

"Ah yes," he sighed, "there's always the paperwork. I was going to suggest that you meet me at my shop in the West London mall."

"You're here in London?" she queried in surprise. Well, well, Mr. Carson…it seems two might be able to play at this game. "I'd be happy to meet you, Mr. Clarkson."

"Please…call me Richard."

-o O o-

Isobel had convinced him to accompany her to the West London Mall where her flagship store was located and to go through several of the neighboring shops to scout the competition. He wasn't sure that he would be much help to her but he did want to give Elsie the time and space required to determine if Mr. Clarkson was a partner that they wanted to recommend to Mrs. Crawley and Lady Violet.

He allowed her to drag him into several small boutiques that catered to the teen crowd and he could feel the color rising high on his cheeks as he looked around at the scantily clad attendants and the types of clothing that they displayed on the floor. They finally ended up in Victoria's Secret where he was slightly more comfortable having shopped in the store near their townhouse in the past. He listened as Isobel nattered on about styles and demographics while he surreptitiously eyed several pieces of lingerie that caught his attention.

"Their target demographic is 20-35 year olds while our's is 40-60 year olds," remarked Isobel holding up several styles of lace panties.

"Mm-hm," murmured Charles as he eyed a claret colored babydoll nightee on a mannequin in the middle of the room.

Isobel cleared her throat to try and get his attention; then she called his name. She finally nudged him with her elbow and said, "So what do you think?" He turned and almost knocked an entire shelf of brassieres onto the floor when he saw her holding a peacock blue thong and matching pushup bra overtop of her dress in an effort to model it for him.

"Isobel, please!" he stammered and turned to look anywhere but at her. She laughed out loud as she returned the items to the appropriate bins but she astutely noted that his attention had returned to the babydoll nightee.

She stepped quietly to his side and spoke softly, "Tell me what appeals to you when you imagine her wearing that nightee."

Charles was startled at the sound of her voice and turned his head to look at her, "I don't know what you mean."

She shook her head and gave him a wry smile, "Charles, do you know why I flirt with you so unashamedly?" He looked at her with wide eyes and shook his head from side to side. "Because I am confident in the knowledge that there is someone out there who you hold very near and dear to your heart and that you put up with my attentions in an effort to keep the client happy." He bowed his head slightly as his cheeks turned pink. "Don't feel bad! I thoroughly enjoy myself and I'm quite comforted by the fact that I don't have to deal with any unwanted attention."

He knew that Isobel and her husband were completely devoted to one another before he passed away and she had thrown herself body and soul into her first boutique in Manchester to help her focus and get through the grieving process. She managed to turn that grief into a positive business venture and now co-owned five boutiques in the greater London area.

"Perhaps you will meet someone whose attentions you will want," said Charles softly, reaching out to cover her hand on his arm.

"Perhaps," she said looking up at him but her smile quickly turned to puzzlement as she cocked her head to one side.

Will you stay with me, will you be my love among the fields of barley

We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we lie in fields of gold

"Is that your cell phone?" she asked as she listened to the sounds of Sting coming from his coat pocket.

See the west wind move like a lover so upon the fields of barley

Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth among the fields of gold

I never made promises lightly and there have been some that I've broken

But I swear in the days still left we'll walk in fields of gold

Charles scrambled as he fished for the phone and slid the virtual bar down to answer it. He listened intently and responded, "Where are you going to meet him?" He listened again and although he wasn't sure he liked the idea of Elsie meeting Clarkson without him, he felt better knowing it was going to be in a public place. "We're in the area as well so perhaps we should meet up later?" He slipped the cell phone back into his pocket and glanced over to see Isobel looking at him with a sympathetic smile.

"I hope Elsie knows how lucky she is," she said softly. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline in surprise. "Charles," Isobel chuckled and linked her arm through his, "I've suspected for quite awhile but hearing the song that you've picked for her ringtone and the thunderous frown on your face when you heard that she was meeting Clarkson without you…I didn't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure that one out!"

He shook his head with a rueful grin and straightened his shoulders.

"Now, help me with my market research and tell me what appeals to you about that nightee," Isobel said emphatically.

A/N2: Sooo…tell me what you think! Reviews requested, encouraged and highly valued!