A Scandal By Any Other Name-Chapter 160 - Hundred And Sixty

Hawksley swallowed hard. "The penalty clause will still hold, my lord. If he does not marry her, he owes the consortium one million pounds."

Lord Farrington walked around the desk. He approached Hawksley with slow, predatory steps.

"I told you before, you fool," Lord Farrington hissed, his voice dropping to a dangerous, lethal whisper. "I do not want the money. I want the Duke. And they have been too quiet lately. The Duchess of Carleton is a clever woman, and the Duke is not a man to simply surrender."

Farrington stopped right in front of Hawksley. He glared down at the sweating Baronet.

"Did you do this?" Lord Farrington demanded sharply. "Did you arrange a little accident to scare him? Because if you damaged my future son-in-law and delayed my plans, I will ruin you."

"No!" Hawksley denied rapidly, holding his hands up in defense. "I swear it upon my life, my lord! I have not touched the Duke’s carriage! I did not even know he was at the countryside. I have not sabotaged a carriage since after Arthur’s death!"

Celine, listening in the shadows, felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Her uncle casually admitted to sabotaging carriages. They were monsters. Both of them.

Lord Farrington stared at Hawksley for a long, terrible moment. Then, he grabbed the front of Hawksley’s fine silk cravat and pulled him close.

Celine heard him threatening her uncle, his voice dripping with venom.

"Do not play games with me, Hawksley," Lord Farrington warned. "You will ensure everything goes as plan. Do you understand me? Or do you want to pay for what you did to Baron Kingsley?"

Outside the door, Celine frowned deeply. She pressed her hand flat against the cold stone wall.

"Baron Kingsley?" Celine thought to herself, her mind racing.

She turned the name over and over in her head. She did not know much about the business dealings of the Ton, but she knew the people she had met at Hamilton House.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" she asked herself silently.

Then, the image of the quiet, beautiful woman with dark hair and hazel eyes appeared in her mind. The matchmaker. The woman the Duke looked at with such undeniable love.

"Is Miss Kingsley related to Baron Kingsley?" Celine wondered.

If Miss Kingsley was related to the Baron, and her uncle had done something terrible to him, then the quiet matchmaker was entirely entangled in this dark, dangerous web. Celine realized that her family was not just destroying her own life; they were destroying the lives of innocent people around them.

Lost in her shocking thoughts, Celine took a small step backward.

Her bare heel caught the edge of the thick rug. She lost her balance for a fraction of a second. Her shoulder bumped lightly against a small wooden side table standing in the hallway. A decorative silver bowl on top of the table rattled loudly.

Celine froze. Her heart completely stopped beating.

Inside the study, the angry voices ceased instantly.

"Who is there?" Her father asked. The sharp, demanding voice cut through the silence like a knife.

Celine heard the heavy footsteps of her father walking quickly toward the study door. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Blind panic seized her. She did not wait. She gathered her thin nightgown in her hands, turned around, and ran.

She ran back to her room as fast as her bare feet could carry her over the cold marble and wooden floors. She did not look back to see if he was following her. She flew up the grand staircase, her heart pounding a frantic, terrified rhythm in her chest.

She reached her bedchamber, slipped inside, and closed the door without making a single sound. She dove into her bed, pulling the heavy silk quilt entirely over her head, squeezing her eyes tightly shut, and forcing her breathing to slow down. She prayed her father had not seen the flash of her white nightgown in the dark.

Downstairs, Lord Farrington pulled the door of his study wide open.

He stepped out into the hallway, his cold eyes scanning the shadows. He looked left toward the main entrance, and right toward the stairs. The hallway was completely empty. The house was silent.

He frowned, looking at the silver bowl on the side table. He assumed a draft of wind had caused the noise.

He turned around and walked back into his study, leaving the door slightly ajar once more. He looked at Lord Hawksley, who was nervously fixing his wrinkled cravat.

Lord Farrington was not a man who believed in bad luck. He believed in control. If the Duke of Hamilton had suffered an accident, Farrington needed to know exactly how bad it was, and he needed to know if the Hamilton family suspected foul play.

Lord Farrington turned to Hawksley. He pointed a demanding finger at his brother-in-law.

"Go to the Hamiltons tomorrow morning," Lord Farrington ordered sharply.

Hawksley blinked. "Me, my lord? But the letter says the house is officially closed to visitors."

"I do not care what the letter says," Farrington sneered, his face twisting with arrogant disdain. "You are the uncle of the intended. You are practically family to them now. They cannot turn you away at the door without causing a severe insult."

Lord Farrington walked back behind his desk. He poured himself a glass of dark red wine from a crystal decanter, his movements smooth and predatory.

"Give them commiseration on behalf of the Farrington family," Lord Farrington instructed, taking a slow sip of the wine. "Act worried. Act like a concerned future relative. Bring them flowers if you must."

He lowered his glass. His eyes narrowed into cold, calculating slits.

"And look into the family," Lord Farrington commanded. "I want you to observe them. See if they are truly grieving an accident, or if they are hiding something else. Look at the Duke’s injuries yourself. I need to know if he is truly hurt, or if he is simply hiding to delay the wedding."

Hawksley nodded quickly, eager to please the monster holding his leash. "Yes, my lord. I will observe everything. I will not let them out of my sight."

"Good," Lord Farrington said quietly, staring into the dark red liquid in his glass. "They have been too quiet lately. And I do not like the calmness. Go tomorrow, Hawksley. And do not return to this house until you have answers."

Hawksley bowed deeply and scurried out of the room, leaving the Earl alone in the study.