An Icy Christmas Engagement (Christmas Matches of Worth #1)

Chapter Two

This wasn’t making any sense. None of this was making any sense. The more Cedric stared at the numbers, the more it felt as if they were taunting him with the incessant confusion they instilled in him. Nothing was adding up despite the fact that he was so meticulous with his finances. So why did his ledgers look this way?

He pulled his spectacles off his face and tossed them onto his mahogany desk in frustration. A megrim was already forming behind his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping it would be enough to soothe the ache. It only made it worse. Though perhaps that had more to do with the fact that he had been at this for hours and seemed no closer to figuring it out.

This never would have happened to his father. The late Earl of Colenhurst was a meticulous man. Such difficulties were not ones he faced during his life because he’d never allow it. Cedric had spent most of his life trying to emulate his father in so many ways. How could he have let this happen?

It wasn’t his mistake, he knew. He could handle his ledgers in his sleep. But during the few months he’d been away at the country estate handling the tenant affairs, he’d left it in the care of the steward. The very same steward who disappeared right before Cedric returned to London. And now it felt as if there was no undoing the errors.

Only it didn't feel like simple mistakes. The more Cedric looked at the numbers, the more he felt like it had to be sabotage. No sane man could have ever caused such irreversible loss without noticing that something was off.

The door of his study opened and a tall, brown-haired man sauntered in, eyes falling immediately on Cedric. The broad grin he had been wearing fell the moment he spotted the scowl Cedric was giving him.

“My,” Harrison said. “What a frosty reception! Did the cook once more serve you fish? She ought to be well aware by now that it does not please your palate. ”

Cedric groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. The megrim seemed to have doubled in intensity now that Harrison was here. “I am in no mood for your tomfoolery tonight, Harrison. I have an important matter at hand and I am no closer to figuring it out than I was when I first started.”

Harrison sauntered over to the desk. As Cedric’s oldest friend and business partner, he didn’t mind when Harrison reached over and picked up one of the ledgers to look at. But he couldn’t help the twinge of discomfort watching his eyes look through it. He could trust Harrison, he knew. If there was nothing else he was sure of, Cedric was certain of that.

Then again, he had been certain that he could trust someone else and they’d made every attempt to take that trust and shatter it into a million pieces. He was still picking up the bits of it.

Not to mention the fact that his steward of two years had run off after causing this mess.

“What on earth is this?” Harrison asked at last, frowning at Cedric.

“I would tell you if I knew,” Cedric sighed wearily. “Unfortunately, I have been poring over everything for a few hours now and I am no closer to understanding that mess. My steward, James, has made a folly of it all and left without a trace.”

“Left?” Harrison echoed, looking uncharacteristically serious. “When?”

“Apparently, he was last seen yesterday morning. And seeing that I had just returned this morning, I’m sure he must be out of London by now.”

“Do you think it was intentional?” Harrison asked as he perched on the edge of the large desk.

Cedric leaned back in his chair, tendrils of anger curling through him and making his megrim worse. “I have no doubt that it is. The only thing I don’t know is why. He has been a good steward all this time, so why the change?”

“Perhaps outside forces caused the change,” Harrison suggested. “Perhaps he was convinced to double cross you for some gain.”

Cedric shot out of his chair, stalking over to the sideboard, bristling. He’d thought about it, of course, but he would never let his thoughts stray too far. Every time he did, two faces came to mind. The same two faces that plagued him every day for the past six years.

At two-and-twenty, he’d been naive, untouched by the realities of heartbreak and betrayal. Lady Isabella, daughter of the Earl of Norton, and his former friend Simon Ashworth made sure to teach him just how sharp the daggers of deception could be. He’d loved Isabella. Their courtship was a brief but passionate one and he was certain that she loved him back. So certain in fact that he’d had every intention of asking for her hand so that they could be married by the end of the Season.

But her heart clearly hadn’t laid with him, because she was caught in a compromising position with Simon, Cedric’s best friend at the time. The man who Cedric had first confessed to having feelings for Isabella. The man who had encouraged Cedric to ask Isabella’s father for permission to marry his daughter. The man who, by all means, would have been his man of honor at his wedding.

That very same man had been caught with Isabella in a position that no proper man and lady should ever be caught in.

Cedric downed one glass of whiskey, then another, then another. He was about to drink his fourth when a hand shot out and plucked it from his grasp.

“No more,” Harrison scolded lightly. “As much as it pains me to say this, it makes no sense getting drunk tonight.”

Cedric scowled but made no attempt to take back his glass. He could already feel the first three swirling in his head. “I think I have an idea who would want to sabotage the business.”

“And while I’m sure you have good reason for suspecting whomever you’re suspecting, do you have any evidence to support it?”

Cedric remained in glum silence.

Harrison nodded as if he hadn’t expected anything else. “Then intelligence is what we need. Instead of trying to figure out this mess.” He gestured to the ledgers strewn across the desk.

Cedric crossed his arms. “What do you propose then? ”

“We ask around. Discreetly. If someone is truly trying to sabotage you and the shipping business, I doubt they will stop at getting your steward to ruin your records and disappear.”

It was a smart move, Cedric knew. And as much as he would love to storm over to Simon and Isabella’s home—since they were now married—it would be wiser to do so if he had actual evidence to back his accusations.

Someone knocked on the door. A moment later, they were interrupted by the butler. “Pardon me, my lord. I wish to remind you of your plans to have dinner at Lady Hutton’s.

Cedric bit back a curse. He’d forgotten that he’d agreed to have dinner at his aunt’s house. She’d been bothering him about coming over for dinner so he doubted he could get away with putting her off again.

“This arrived for you as well, my lord,” the butler went on, approaching with a sealed letter in his hand. “It appears to be an invitation from Mr. Ambrose Sinclair to attend his dinner party.”

“Ah, just our luck,” Harrison spoke up, taking a sip of the glass of whiskey he’d stolen from Cedric. “Mr. Ambrose is well-connected and I hear he has a rather loose tongue when comfortable. Perhaps he will be able to give us some insight about our potential saboteur.”

Cedric grimaced at the thought. He knew Mr. Ambrose in passing, an astute but ruthless businessman whose practices were less than savory, bordering on immoral. Not to mention he had made it clear that he wished to have his daughter married, which did not spell well for Cedric.

“The last thing I want is for the man to thrust his daughter on me hoping to get her married,” Cedric complained but Harrison was already shaking his head.

“You needn’t court his daughter, Cedric, but you must accept that invitation. As problematic as he may be, he does hold quite a lot of influence in the shipping world and he is hoping to make a foothold amongst nobles. If spending one evening in his company will be enough to give you the information you may need, then it sounds worth it.”

“Why don’t you go then?” Cedric grumbled .

Harrison drained the glass, giving Cedric a lopsided grin. “And miss out on a night of debaucherous fun? You hardly know me, Cedric!”

Cedric only shook his head and realized a little too late that the world was spinning. Maybe those three glasses of whiskey had been a bad idea. His aunt was sure to notice if he was intoxicated when he arrived for dinner.

“I shall be certain to lend an attentive ear to the murmurs of the earth as well,” Harrison continued as he approached the door. “Nonetheless, fret not about it this evening. Relish the company of your aunt and the rest of your kin. Strive to keep your mind from dwelling on the distressing matter of your enterprise being assailed.”

Cedric stared balefully at Harrison as he left, who threw one hand over his shoulder in farewell. He was right though. It made no sense thinking about this any longer. Especially not when it was clear he would get no closer to the truth tonight.

It was easier said than done, however. Once that line of thought began, there was no stopping, nor was there any stopping the familiar tendrils of anger that curled within him at the memory of Simon and Isabella’s betrayal. And now his steward.

It seemed his life was bound to be full of betrayal. He tried shielding himself from it. He kept others at a distance, was always limited in his speech so as to never form any friendships or worthwhile relationships. It had earned him the moniker ‘Ice Earl’ and Cedric was grateful for it. It kept him protected.

That protection was being threatened however, and he couldn’t stand by and let it happen. Not again.