Page 79 of An Alleged Rogue

Her father paled. “Who do you think he is, Phoebe?”

“Freddie Payne.”

It was obvious from her father’s stunned expression that he had heard the name before. “The notorious forger?”

“The forger, master of disguise, thief, felon—take your pick,” Adam said. “He is all those and more. I have been attempting to bring him to justice for five years. There is no one more slippery.” He paced across the room and back once more. “He has tried a similar scheme before. I assume someone else—a gentleman you do not know well—put you up to it and gave you all the details you needed to know about Mr. Trevors.”

Phoebe’s father dropped into his chair and stared at the note he held in his shaking fingers. “But there was a letter. Written in den Haan’s hand and sealed with den Haan’s crest.”

“As you said yourself, he is a master forger.”

Her father ran his unsteady hand across his face. “Dear heavens. What have I done? I cannot afford to lose five hundred pounds.”

Phoebe staggered back a pace. Five hundred pounds. That was more than many gentlemen made in a year. How would her father ever recover from so big a blow? She glanced at Adam, her admiration for the even greater battle he had fought—and looked to win—swelling within her breast.

“You have not lost it yet, sir.” Determination rang through Adam’s voice.

“He is gone, and he has taken the check with him.”

“True. But the check is worthless if he is unable to withdraw funds with it.” Adam set his hands on the desk and leaned forward so he was eye to eye with Phoebe’s father. “If we reach your bank before Payne does, you can stop the payment.” He paused. “And I can finally put my search for the man who destroyed my father to rest.”

Her father appeared to draw strength from Adam’s resolve. Folding the counterfeit note, he slid it into his pocket and rose to his feet. He rounded the desk and started for the door with purpose in his stride.

“We must leave immediately. I will call for the carriage. Phoebe, if you would be good enough to tell your mother that I was called away on urgent business, I would be most grateful.”

“Yes, Father.”

He turned to Adam. “It seems that you share an unpleasant history with Freddie Payne, my lord. I shall look forward to hearing the particulars during our ride to London.”

Myriad emotions crossed Adam’s face, finally settling on relief. “I pray that our respective experiences will give us the insights necessary to catch the man, sir.”

“As do I,” Phoebe’s father said fiercely. Then he marched out of the room, calling for Gresham.

“I shall have a groom stable your mount here. You can collect him when you return,” Phoebe said before Adam could speak. “And I will write to Emily first thing in the morning so she knows you have gone to London with my father.”

“Thank you for that. I am sure Oliver will get word to Henry at the cart shed.”

It was the first time Phoebe had considered how this unexpected trip might impact the cider production.

“But what of your work there?”

He offered her a rueful smile. “I daresay it will go on without me for a day or two.”

“Dunsbourne!” her father’s voice reached them from the main hall.

She met his eyes. “I am grateful to you for believing my wild ranting and for going with my father. Please be careful.”

He reached out and tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. “If this ends as I hope it will, it is I who will be forever grateful to you.” His fingers moved to gently brush her cheek, but before she could collect herself, he was gone, the echo of his rapid footsteps merging with the racing of her heart.

Chapter 25

The gray light of dawn was filtering through the fog blanketing London when the Hadfords’ carriage rolled up in front of the Bow Street Magistrate’s office. The location was all too familiar to Adam but not so for Mr. Hadford.

“Will anyone be available to answer the door at this hour in the morning?” Mr. Hadford asked.

“The night watchman will be about,” Adam said. “I will leave a message with him for Toole.”

Adam and Mr. Hadford had spent a good deal of their journey from Charwell Park discussing Adam’s extensive study of Freddie Payne’s methods and victims. The release Adam had felt in telling Phoebe of his family’s loss at Payne’s hands was magnified tenfold as he shared the details of his personal quest to root out the felon with Mr. Hadford. The gentleman had proven to be a sympathetic listener, and their discussion had been a poignant reminder to Adam of how much he missed counseling with his own father.