Hey, sorry it's been so long! I've now finished all of my exams for this year and my internet was down until yesterday. So, sorry for the wait. Hope it's worth it. Thanks to everyone who responded to the last chapter. Enjoy.
Thanks to;
13angels, LovingMeLovingYou, Peppy McGee, Randichele, Soccer-Bitch and Pearl's Beauty for story alerting.
Randichele and myworldpleaseleave for favouriting.
kiralol101, Niecy, Jordan and Zoe Forever and myworldpleaseleave for reviewing :)

kiralol101 - Henry betting her hand would make for quite an interesting situation, huh? ;) Yay! You squealed, exactly the response I was going for. Glad you liked it, here's another one.
Niecy - I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with Anne yet, Jane was always my favourite of his wives. I like the 'rougish grin' I may have stolen that ;) Hope you don't mind. Glad you liked it, here's another.
Jordan and Zoe Forever - Nice name btw, so cute :) My internet just came back, so I'll check out your story as soon as I can. Glad you liked it.
myworldpleaseleave - Yay! You like! :) Sorry, happy moment. Here's another one for you, hope you stay interested.

Here we go...


Taming the Unfaithful Husband

Charles Brandon/OC
No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 4;

As Charles waltzed along one of the many hallways of Hampton Court Palace, his mind was busy flitting from his earlier promotion to what his bride-to-be would say when she found out that they were one step closer to the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. He rounded a final bend in the corridor until the doors to the Princess' quarters came into view

With a last patting down of his clothing to ensure he was still presentable, Charles approached the two men that guarded the heavy wooden doors.

"May we help you, Mr. Brandon?" one of the men asked. They were both around the middle of their lives with features that were a little too odd to be considered perfectly handsome, but they were charming none the less.

"I am here to see the Princess," Charles replied, a well-knowing smile stretching his lips.

"I am sorry, Mr. Brandon but-"

The man was cut short by one of the double doors being thrown open by a grinning Evelyn Tudor. "He is to be allowed into my chambers without question in future."

"Yes, Your Highness," the men nodded respectfully.

They stepped aside, allowing Charles to enter the room. It was dimly lit with a smattering of candles, a large four poster bed with cream draperies was positioned in the center of Evie's bedchamber situated behind a door that had been left ajar. Charles was standing in what appeared to be a small seating area as he noticed the several stuffed chairs surrounding a lit hearth. The Princess' rooms had been luxuriously decorated, the King sparing nothing in his quest for his sister's comfort. Evelyn had protested that he had gone through too much trouble, but Henry had merely protested that nothing was too much trouble for a Princess.

"Eavesdropping, Your Highness? Not a very ladylike trait I am certain," Charles murmured with a roguish grin.

Evie answered with a smile of her own, "Yes, however, I am not a Lady, I am a Princess and we are the exceptions to such rules.

He gave out a small chuckle and diverted his attention to the group of Ladies that had suddenly appeared from the bedchamber.

"Is there anything you need, Your Highness, or should we be beginning the sleeping preparations?" the Lady Anne asked her friend.

"My aplogies Ladies, for I do with to speak with Mr. Brandon before readying myself for bed."

The Ladies curtsied and inclined their head respectively and left the room as quietly as they had entered.

"So, I trust that your audience with my brother went well,"

Brandon closed the gap between them and slowly brought her hand slowly between them. He spent a moment marveling at how small she was in comparison to his much larger palm; he swirled his thumb across the back of her hand.

"Well, if you take him making me the Duke of Suffolk as going well then, yes, I suppose it did."

Evelyn's sapphire eyes sparkles as she clasped the hand that Charles held with her other hand. Brandon's look of glee mirrored hers as he told her the news. Unable to help himself, he wrapped one muscles forearm around her small waist and spun her in a wide circle around the room. He gently lowered her down after the spin and came to rest his forehead against hers with a loving look.

Evelyn's gaze focused on his lips. They looked to be soft to the touch as she let her mind wonder to what it would feel like if he were to lean down just a little further. And she allowed her insides to melt slightly as he began to do just that.

Before they could react, a loud knock sounded on the other side of the door. Charles pulled away slightly and closed his eyes. Evelyn lifted one of her hands to his cheek in concern. He opened his breath-taking blue eyes and leant into her touch.

The knock sounded again, this time accompanied by a shout, "Princess, your Ladies are seeking entrance."

Slowly, the couple moved away from each other and she responded, "Send them in,"

The wooden doors swung open as the Ladies entered. They once again curtsied and waiting for their Mistress to bid a farewell to her guest. Evie gestured for them to wait in the other section of the room and they did as instructed.

She spun to face her Duke to say goodbye. Charles lent down and brushed a soft kiss across her forehead and Evie let her eyes drift closed. After a moment of surrendering to the tenderness, she lifted her head with a soft smile. Charles moved his lips toward her ear, "One step closer, my love," and with a cheeky wink, he slipped from the room and into the darkness of the hall.

Evelyn took several deep breaths in a futile attempt to calm her erratic heart, though no matter how hard she tried, the smile just wouldn't slip from her lips.

She turned and made her way into her bedchamber, her thoughts on what it would be like if she didn't have to say goodbye to Charles and they could simply crawl into one another's embrace and fall asleep wrapped in their own private cocoon.

After closing the door, the Princess was swarmed with eager questions from her Ladies. Many noble women thought of their Ladies as nothing more than maids who were simply there to wait on them and conform to their wishes. Evelyn took a different view; she thought of them as friends, women who she had become close to due to the closeness of age. She welcomed their questions and had asked for their opinions on many a matter throughout the years.

"What was Mr. Brandon's business with you, Your Highness?" asked one.

"You too seemed awfully close, Your Highness," said another.

Evie quieted her friends with a wave of her hand. "I shall explain as we ready me for bed,"

The Ladies nodded and set about their various tasks. She then preceded to fill them in about her brother's request that she marry and how he had decided on Charles. About how well they seemed to get one with each other and his new promotion to Duke of Suffolk.

The Ladies squealed in excitement and Evie joined in with a blissful smile. After talking to her dear friends about what lay ahead, she was left alone to dream about her soon-to-be husband and the joy that she was sure would be on the way. Her eyes slipped closed as thoughts of growing old with Charles and watching their children grow older filled her head.

In the cover of the shadows, Charles found himself slipping soundlessly along the familiar stone hallways toward the Princess' rooms. He still didn't know what possessed him to take the little journey; he had finally decided that his need to see down to her so soon was down to their being interrupted earlier.

When he reached the doors, Charles was faced with a moment's hesitation. Would the guards let him in? If not, should he just accept their decision and go back to his chambers or fight to see his love?

However, he was never faced with the opportunity to come up with an answer to his many questions as there were the same two men as before. The one who seemed to be in charge took one look at him and - remembering his previous instruction - motioned for Brandon to enter.

With a smile at the men, Charles tiptoed his way inside, as quiet as he could possibly be. He reached the door to the bedchamber and sucked in a deep breath to calm his shaking nerves. No other woman had ever made the infamous Charles Brandon feel as strongly as he did now. He eased the door open and his heart stopped.

Evelyn was obviously a restless sleeper. The sheets were twisted around her thighs as if she had kicked them off during a dream; the neckline of her nightgown was in disarray. It had been stretched and was revealing a large expanse of creamy skin that shone in the light coming through the high windows set into the wall.

Charles approached the side of the bed slowly. His tongue flicked out to wet his suddenly dry lips. He imagined going to bed and waking up with that beautiful sight for the rest of his life. Interestingly, it was a comforting thought.

Brandon reached down and brushed his fingers across her forehead. He followed through and trailed the digits down her soft cheek and across her jaw. He watched as she unconsciously leaned her face into his feather light touch. With a few more swipes, Evelyn's eyes began to flutter open.

Her blue orbs were reveled when her eyelids fluttered open. She gazed upon Charles' face with wonder and love. There was no fear in her face as to finding a man standing over her bed.

"I am sorry, my love, I found that I couldn't sleep,"

A satisfied smile spread across her face as she stretched out her sleepy limbs. "And what did you think that I could do for you?"

Caught off guard by her question, he faltered, "I-"

She interrupted him by taking hold of the hand that was still rested upon her cheek, with her own and sliding over to one side of the bed.

"Perhaps sleep would come easier to you if you had some company."

Her eyes glowed in the moonlight and Charles knew that her suggestion was nothing but innocent.

"Are you sure, my dear?"

Evelyn simply nodded her head and Charles allowed himself to be tugged into the warm and inviting sensations of the bed. When he was comfortable, he wrapped his arms around Evie and pulled her up so that her head rested upon his chest and one of her delicate palms drew soft patterns where it lay underneath her chin. Brandon stroked one hand over her blonde curls and held her close.

"I love you," she whispered into the darkness.

"And I love you too. It shall not be long now, my love."


I know this one was mostly fluff. Things are to come in the next chapter, but I wanted them to be happy for just a little while. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Leave me a review with any quesitons/ideas/opinions, I love to hear them :)