Phillip crumpled the letter in his hands. He couldn’t tell Bell, or the man would put him under guard or worse, lock and key. No. Phillip would meet Sophie alone.
Chapter Eighteen
Sophie paced back and forth in the darkened park. It was unseasonably cold, and she pulled her cape closer over her shoulders to keep from shivering. Beneath it, she was wearing only a simple light green cotton gown with a high-waist and cap sleeves. She wished she’d worn something warmer.
Was she mad to have asked Phillip to meet her so late, in such a secluded place? He might not even come. Her note had been vague. What if he suspected her of being involved in Malcolm’s murder, after all? He might think he was walking into a trap.
And if he came, what exactly would she tell him? That some unidentified man had threatened him? What exactly did the man’s words prove at any rate? Phillip already knew he was in danger. This may have been a huge mistake.
A crackle in the bushes next to her made her freeze. A hare ran out of a nearby hedge, making Sophie’s heart pound. After her breathing slowed back to rights, she laughed instead. “Look at me, frightened of a hare.” She shook her head and continued pacing.
Nearly a quarter hour passed, and she was beginning to think Phillip wasn’t coming when the soft sound of leaves crunching behind her caught her attention. She turned to see Phillip step out from behind the hedgerow. He looked so handsome wearing all black, this time including a cloak and hat.
“Phillip,” she breathed. “You came?” The outline of his face was cast in shadows, but the unmistakable gleam was there in his green eyes.
“I’ll always come when you ask,” he replied, stepping forward. His eyes scanned the area as if he wondered if they were alone.
Sophie’s heart twisted at his words. “Are you all right?” she asked, looking around, too. Who would know she was here? Until this moment, she hadn’t even considered the fact that someone may have followed her.
“I hope so,” he replied vaguely. “What did you have to tell me so urgently?”
Sophie swallowed. Now that he was standing in front of her asking for an explanation, the whole thing sounded ludicrous in her head. No doubt he’d laugh at her and leave posthaste. She wouldn’t blame him. But she also couldn’t help but believe that he must trust her after all if he’d come here alone in the middle of the night to meet her.
“I…I overheard something. Something I thought you should know,” she offered in a rush.
“Who said it?” Phillip asked, stepping toward her, narrowing his eyes.
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. Her voice was nearly a whisper.
“What?” The look he gave her was probing.
She tugged at her cape. “I know it sounds odd, and I can’t explain it well, but my stepmother had a visitor today and I heard the man say you would meet with an unfortunate accident.”
“Who was the visitor?” Phillip prompted, urgency in his voice this time.
Sophie bit her lip. “I don’t know.”
His looked turned doubtful.
Sophie hurried to explain. “I was listening at the door. I never saw his face,” she continued, still biting her lip.
“Did you ask your stepmother who her visitor was?”
Oh, lovely. It sounded even more insane now that he was asking questions. “You’d have to know Valentina. She’s been acting so…odd lately. I do know one thing. It wasn’t Hugh’s voice. I’m certain of it. Someone else is after you, Phillip. A nobleman, by speech and clothing.”
Phillip’s eyes remained narrowed. “Sophie, do you know Lord Vining?”
Sophie stopped and blinked. “Of course. Papa has known him forever.”
The eye-narrowing intensified. “Could his have been the voice you heard this afternoon?” Phillip prompted.
She scrunched up her nose and narrowed her own eyes, trying her best to recall Lord Vining’s voice. “Possibly. I haven’t spoken to him in quite some time. I recognized the voice, however. I know I’ve heard it before.”
“But you can’t be certain it wasn’t Lord Vining?” Phillip prodded.
“No, I can’t.” She shook her head.
“You said your stepmother has been acting odd. How so?”
