Page 4 of Stolen By the Cruel Duke
“His daughter is probably as vile as he is.”
“Now, now,” James interjected, holding up his hands in a placating manner. “I know the father is villainous, but don’t take that out on the poor lady.”
Phineas checked himself. “You’re right, I suppose it was unfair of me to say so. I’m sure she is… lovely.”
Though, even as he said it, he could hardly believe it.
James’s lips quirked up. “In fact, from what I understand, she’s actually quite beautiful, if a bit of a bluestocking. You could do worse, really.”
Phineas narrowed his eyes, annoyed by the look of amusement on his friend’s face. “What are you smiling about? This is hardly the time to make jokes.”
“On the contrary, I think this isexactlythe time to make jokes.” James folded his hands in his lap and tilted his head to the side. “Come, sit down, and let’s sort this out.”
Phineas stood still for a moment, defiant, then sat down on the settee opposite James. He folded his hands and tried to regain his composure.
“You can’t deny it’s a catastrophe,” he argued after a moment. “I’ve been implicated in a scandal with Carfield’s daughter, andit will ruin the plans I have been setting in motion for ten years now…”
He shook his head and turned to stare out the window. It was late April, and the London Season was being favored with a beautiful spring. Outside the window, Mayfair was in full bloom. The trees lining Berkeley Square were full and green, while beautifully sculpted hedges hemmed in rows of vibrant flowers that glinted in the buttery morning light.
It should have lifted Phineas’s spirits. But it was impossible for him to feel cheerful these days—or really, for the past ten years. He’d been so careful, so methodical, so strategic in his takedown of Jebediah Crampton, the Viscount Carfield. One by one, he had crushed all of the Viscount’s closest allies—all as corrupt and prone to taking advantage of those weaker than them as he was—until Lord Carfield was the last one standing, alone and unprotected. And now this?
He wasn’t sure exactly what it meant that he’d been romantically linked to the man’s daughter, but it couldn’t be good.
“If you’d stop stewing in self-pity for a minute,” James said tartly from the settee, “and think for a moment, you might see how this romantic entanglementcould be good for you. How you might use it to your advantage.”
Phineas stilled. James might be a little too unserious at times, but he was his oldest and most trusted friend, and his advice was usually astute.
“And how might that be?” Phineas asked.
James grinned. “Your marriage to your enemy’s daughter could be exactly the answer to your prayers. Just think, Phineas. She knows her father even better than you do. She could give you invaluable insights into how to take him down.”
There was a moment of quiet as Phineas absorbed these words. “Surely she would not inform on her father,” he countered slowly.
“She might not even know she is,” James pointed out. “She’s a spinster, after all, probably desperate for marriage. If you were to show her kindness, even affection, she would open up to you without question. And then you could discover what you need to know about Carfield’s weaknesses.”
There was sense in these words, and as Phineas mulled them over, he almost smiled. Almost. Phineas Thorne never smiled, and he wasn’t about to start now.
James was right. An impressionable, pliable spinster, unlucky in love, was exactly what Phineas needed to finally achieve his long-awaited revenge. The brilliance of these words even outweighed his next, more irritating ones.
“And who knows,” James added with a melancholic sigh. “Perhaps having a woman in the house is exactly what you need to cheer you up a little…”
“After all these years, we meet again… and under equally unfortunate circumstances.”
Phineas sat across from the Viscount Carfield, his pale blue eyes taking in the man who had, for so long, been his sworn enemy.
Lord Carfield looked old, Phineas was pleased to see. In the years since they had last met, his once-dark hair had become streaked with gray, and while his dark eyes were still sharp and intelligent, there was a wariness to them that hadn’t been there before. His townhouse was equally diminished. From what Phineas could see, it was shabby and in need of updating. It seemed that the Viscount’s business dealings were not going as well as they once were.
The only thing that didn’t look diminished about the Viscount was the portrait of himself that hung behind his desk. If anything, the artist had enlarged Lord Carfield, adding several inches of height and considerable handsomeness to his image. The portrait didn’t depict the Viscount’s looks so much as his vanity.
Phineas liked to think he was to thank for that. He’d caused more than a few losses of profit for the Viscount over the years.
“What has it been? Six years?” Lord Carfield asked carelessly.
“Ten. Ten years since you cheated me out of my inheritance.”
Lord Carfield gave him a contemptuous sneer.
Glad to see some things never change.
