Page 22 of Matching Mr. Montfert (Apsley Family #2)

Chapter twenty-two

Phillip

The rain had finally stopped. For the past two days, I had watched through my bedchamber window as the puddles vanished and the mud returned to solid ground. Despite the sunny sky, I felt caged in endless torment, my mind and heart warring on a chaotic battlefield of emotion. I knew what I needed to do, but the memory of holding Grace, of nearly kissing her, put a bullet in what had once been my priority.

How could I court Miss Rigby when my thoughts constantly wandered to another woman?

Not that I could call my visits to Miss Rigby anything akin to courtship. I knew her no more now than I had the first night we met. A quiet disposition was nothing to find fault in, but the woman’s shyness made it deucedly difficult to come to know her at all.

After bemoaning my troubles alone in my room for over an hour, I decided to find a distraction in the library. Which proved useless, for all I could think about was Grace’s dripping wet hair and the soft glow of firelight on her cheeks.

“She’s my matchmaker, confound it.” I paced in front of the empty hearth. This was not a situation I expected to find myself in. Grace was meant to help me find a match Uncle would approve of, not become the match I wanted.

My feet halted, and I ran a hand through my hair. “It is worse than I thought. I’m contemplating marriage.”

The realization hardly came as a surprise. The way I felt in Grace’s presence was unlike anything I had experienced before. More than that, I worried about her incessantly. I wanted her to see how deserving of love she was, despite her weak leg. Despite how broken she believed herself to be.

And I wanted to be the man who showed her.

What had I gotten myself into? This was all Apsley’s fault, convincing me a matchmaker was a good idea. I should have kept trying on my own. I should have…

A long groan escaped me. The idea that I would have found success without assistance was laughable. Even with Grace’s advice and prompting, I had made no headway with Miss Rigby or any other woman. Surely that was evidence enough of how I would have floundered. At least with her help, I had found a woman who met Uncle’s approval.

“But I do not want that one,” I muttered, resuming my march.

“If you continue talking to yourself, my father might send you to Bedlam.”

I stopped at the sound of Sabrina’s voice. She crossed the library, her lips quivering with a knowing smile that served to agitate me further. I had not seen her since the day Grace was here, which meant I was still in the dark about my uncle’s meeting. Sabrina likely assumed I had heard everything.

“Perhaps I should be sent off,” I said. “I truly may go mad.”

“Why is that?”

I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Sabrina could guess at my problem, I was sure, but I still hated admitting it aloud. Why did I feel so incapable of handling anything on my own?

“This is about Miss Scott,” said my cousin when I remained quiet.

“I know I cannot consider her.” My tone came out defensive, which made Sabrina’s smile widen.

“Knowing something does not make it easier to accept.”

“Yet I must,” I countered. “I have nothing to my name but the possibility of your father leaving me his assets. You and I both know he would not hesitate to change his will should I not comply with his wishes. I cannot consider Miss Scott. He has made his opinion of her clear.”

“You asked him?”

“Not directly. I simply offered him a list of the women I was considering after the Morrison’s ball. He crossed out her name with such force that I dare not attempt to ask him again.”

“Her dowry is rather modest,” said Sabrina. “She does not come from great fortune. Her father was a gentleman, of course, and well-liked and known among the ton as the second son of a viscount, but that is where her qualifications end. Father would not consider it enough even without his feelings toward her family.”

I took a seat in one of the highback chairs, slumping into the cushions. “I know.”

“What do you intend to do?” she asked.

“Continue courting Miss Rigby and hope she not only accepts my suit but that, in pursuing her, I will forget Miss Scott.” I would not forget. That much I could be sure of.

“There is another option.”

I propped my head up with my hand and stared at her. “Pray tell, what is it?”

“Do not do what my father wants.” Sabrina sat down in the chair on my right when I scoffed. “You feel trapped. I understand, Phillip; I have been there. But there is a chance to put an end to it. You heard his discussion with Mr. Barton.”

And there it was. The topic was bound to come up eventually.

I bit my lip, indecision playing through my mind. I could tell her the truth. I should tell her, but fear kept my tongue from forming the words. I had carried this secret for so long that divulging it now was akin to jumping into the dark depths of the ocean. I hadn’t a notion of how she would respond—how anyone would respond—and the idea of being shunned frightened me more than I cared to admit.

I rubbed my chin and averted my gaze. “I did not hear very much.”

“Of course, you didn’t.” Amusement laced her tone. “You were a bit distracted.”

“I was quite distracted,” I said, allowing her assumption to take root. It was far safer than telling her the truth. “Would you be so kind as to fill me in on what I missed?”

“Gladly, so long as you promise to keep the information to yourself.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “Why would I tell anyone?”

“Because, Phillip, despite my desire to trust you, you’ve offered me no reassurance that you would ever oppose my father. I do understand your reasons, but you cannot expect me to fully confide in you because of it.”

She made a fair point. Sabrina and I were only beginning to forge any sort of relationship. It was tenuous at best, and it was me who struggled to tear down the wall between us. How could I while under Uncle’s constant supervision? “I will say nothing to him about this. I cannot go against his wishes, but I would never put you in his line of fire.”

“No? Not even if he threatens to take everything away from you?”

I shifted in my chair. There was a reason my uncle so easily kept me under his thumb, and Sabrina understood what was at stake for me. She understood how secrets and blackmail could force a person to do something against their morals and resolve.

She patted my arm. “Relax, Phillip. I intend to tell you everything. I simply wished for you to have a bit of introspection. You recently offered me the same, if you will recall, and I hoped to return the favor. I suspect there may come a time when you are forced to choose between your inheritance and integrity. Better to be ready for it now than caught unprepared later.”

I nodded. “Allow me to amend my statement then. I will tell him nothing unless I have no other choice.”

“That will do for now,” she said. “I suppose given your inattentiveness, I must start from the beginning. Mr. Barton has been working with Father for years. He hired the man to oversee several of his schemes, none of which are legal in nature.”

“Schemes?”

“Yes. I discovered the first of them years ago when I overheard Father hire a man to create a series of engravings. He became particularly interested in printing, too, buying all manner of books and the like on the topic.”

“What sort of engravings?”

“I cannot say other than he ordered them several times and was particularly fussy about them. His need for perfection has never wavered, so I did not concern myself with any of it until after the house party last spring. Since then, I’ve done a fair amount of digging. And spying.” She smiled wryly. “There is a great deal more to uncover, but the short version is that my father has been tricking people out of money through fraudulent means. Their meeting was about their next target.”

My jaw dropped. “He is committing fraud?”

“Oh good. You look genuinely shocked. I confess I hadn’t mentioned any of this to you before because I did not know if you were already aware and perhaps in on it too.”

“Of course, I’m not!”

She shushed me, nodding toward the open library door. “Yes, I realize now your moral compass is far too stuffy to have been anything but ignorant on the matter.”

“I am not stuffy and neither is my compass.”

Sabrina chuckled. “Not completely, I suppose. You did sneak a woman into the house and nearly kissed her in a dark corridor. You are quite scandalous, Phillip.”

My face heated. “You know I did not bring her here for that purpose. It merely…happened. A mistake.”

Sabrina shrugged. “I am not so convinced it was a mistake, but let us agree to disagree for the time being. I intend to see my father brought to justice. The number of people he has harmed with his actions is reprehensible, and if someone does not bring his crimes to light, he will continue. My obstacle, at present, is most of my evidence is either circumstantial or lacking in physical proof. I overhead much of it myself, and the word of a disgraced duchess will hold no weight in court. I need something more…something tangible to prove it all. You’ve seen Father’s ledgers. Is there anything suspicious in them?”

“Suspicious? No. Everything I’ve looked over has been balanced. There was nothing out of the ordinary. I—” My brows furrowed.

“What is it?” Sabrina asked, shifting closer to me, her eyes wide with an odd sort of enthusiasm. “You’ve thought of something. I can tell.”

“There is one ledger your father has never permitted me to see,” I hedged, “but that does not mean it contains anything incriminating. He’s only just allowed me to look at anything regarding the finances. That ledger may simply contain more sensitive numbers and dealings.”

Sabrina scoffed. “Yes, very sensitive, I’d imagine. Do you think you could steal a peek at it? Even inquire after the ledger? Father’s response alone could prove telling.”

“I won’t make you any promises, but if the opportunity should arise, I will ask about it.” I held my hands up when her face lit with excitement. “If, Sabrina. I cannot go poking around in your father’s business, especially if what you say is true. We should both approach this with caution until we have irrefutable evidence.”

Her shoulders sagged. “Very well. I will agree to take care, and I will not hound you about the ledger…much.”

“Thank you.”

“However, might I mention that, should we prove successful in this endeavor, you will no longer be so restricted in whom you can marry.” One of her dark brows lifted. “Do not let your heart give up quite yet.”

At present, my heart not giving up was precisely the problem. I didn’t dare give it more hope. If Uncle was deeply involved in the kind of fraud Sabrina suggested, then he had been so for years. He had also gotten away with it. Much as I disliked to admit it, the man was intelligent enough to cover his tracks. The odds of us finding enough evidence were slim.

I could not risk my future on a slim chance of success. For now, pursuing Miss Rigby was my only option, and I would begin anew as soon as I had another meeting with my matchmaker.