“No. I never wanted her gone. I fully expected her to be here when I returned. Ineededher to be here when I returned. I do not know how my uncle heard about what was happening in our relationship, and I certainly don’t know where he got the idea that I wanted her to leave. I never said that to John, and John was the only one I actually spoke to about any of this. Uncle must have overheard us talking. But then why would he come here to send her away?”
He continued pondering over the situation even after he dismissed Miss Jenkins.
He would have to go after Diana. Because the only place she could have gone was her parents’ home.
But before he went to her, there was something else he needed to do…
When he arrived at his uncle’s house, he jumped down from his horse before it had stopped moving, thrusting the reins into the hands of the stable boy who had rushed out to meet him.
He strode through the door, ignoring the footman who was just about to open the door and seemed startled by his abrupt entrance.
“Where is my uncle?”
“Your Grace—” the footman began, but Matthew was not in the mood for platitudes or niceties.
“Tell me where he is,” he ordered.
The footman’s eyes widened in surprise. “He is in the drawing room, Your Grace. I shall announce your presence?—”
“There is no need,” Matthew hissed, before marching across the hall and yanking open the door to the drawing room. “What are you on about?” he barked as his gaze landed on his uncle, who was sitting near the window.
“Ah, Matthew, it is good to see you,” the man began.
But it was clear that Matthew was not here for a social call. His eyes blazed as he stared at the man who he had once thought of as a father. The one who had aided him throughout his life.
“I will give you one chance to give me a good reason for sending Diana away, and one chance only.”
“Sending Diana away?” John stared from his father to Matthew in confusion, but Matthew barely spared him a glance.
“It was for your own good. That girl was never going to be good enough for you,” his uncle replied calmly.
“That is for me to decide, not you.”
“The girl did not want children, yet she married you knowing you need to have an heir. It is best to be rid of her now beforeshe pulls you down further with her reputation and her stubborn ways. I took care of things for you. The same way that I always have.”
“What does that mean?” Matthew asked, seeing his uncle in a completely new light.
“Oh, Matthew, you did not really think that everything in your life and your business would go so smoothly, did you? Did you truly think that it was that easy to make your way in the world?” his uncle scoffed.
Matthew’s eyes widened in shock as so many things from his past suddenly flashed in his mind.
All of the stories and whispers he’d heard about himself over the years. The times his uncle had rushed him past his peers or told him to ignore the people that he knew in favor of certain contacts.
“What have you done?” he asked.
His uncle gave him a grin that was… well, certainly unnerving.
“I’ve made you into what you are. I’ve ensured that you were seen as a formidable businessman and that you were able to thrive the way that you have. Without me, you would have been nothing at all. You never would have been able to get where you are without my assistance.”
“It’s because of you that they’ve always said those things about him,” John said, stunned as he stared from his father to Matthew. “The scandal sheets that have called him heartless and cruel. The rumors that you told me to ignore…”
Matthew glanced at John and then turned his sharp gaze back to his uncle. “Why? What could you possibly have to gain by making me appear this way?”
“It has allowed you to become a strong businessman. No one is willing to risk your wrath, and that has made an immense difference for you. Besides, I did very little,” the man shrugged. “It is you who created this persona. Your reclusiveness and your rigid schedules and routines.Youare the one who made people think this way about you.”
“My nature would not have made people think me cruel and heartless without your interference,” Matthew retorted.
“Perhaps not. But you should be thanking me for what I’ve done.”
