Free Bexley-Smythe Quintet 02 - Rhyme and Reason by Catherine Gayle

dowry wasn’t overly large or anything of that sort, but if creditors were already claiming artwork and jewels as payment, what else could Hammond reasonably expect to receive in payment from the marquess?
    There wasn’t a doubt in Thomas’s mind that Stalbridge had pockets to let and then some. Hammond would never be able to collect upon what he was owed.
    The only explanation which made sense to Thomas was that Hammond realized he’d never be able to obtain the money he was owed, and so instead he planned to trap Mattie into marriage and obtain her dowry as some semblance of a payment.
    What would then happen to Mattie, however…the possibilities were numerous and all rather horrifying.
    When he got back to the stables, Thomas tried to put all of that out of his mind so he could concentrate on what remained of the day’s work. After he changed his clothes, he went out to work with the lads mucking out the horses’ stalls. The physical aspect of it helped to clear his thoughts.
    He stayed well after he’d sent his workers home. It was only after he was preparing to go to bed for the night that he realized he’d neglected to ask Mattie if he could take her riding tomorrow, as he’d intended to do.
    What if Hammond arrived before he did? The baronet now knew that he had competition for gaining Mattie’s hand. Would he increase his efforts to compromise her?
    This could turn out to be a fitful night of sleep.

    Sir Lester used a whip with his horses, not merely the reins as most gentlemen would do. Mattie had never noticed anything like that before in their brief acquaintance. It seemed more than just a bit excessive given that the animals were only drawing a curricle and two riders, nothing heavier or more elaborate than that.
    He slashed the whip through the air, striking one of the horses on its flank. Immediately, the animal ran faster. Mattie had to reach up and take hold of her bonnet or she might possibly lose it.
    “Are we late for an appointment?” she asked, holding tightly to the inside of the conveyance with her other hand. She couldn’t fathom why else he would feel the need to travel at such a rapid pace, so fast she feared she might very well fall out at any moment. They’d already left the main road, and there were few other travelers around them to avoid. She had only thought he was guiding the animals to race too quickly before; she knew he was now.
    He smiled over at her with an unctuous curl to his lips. Why had she never noticed before that his manner was more ingratiating than charming? The realization sent a shiver racing along her spine , particularly when coupled with the discovery that his adventurousness wasn’t all she’d imagined it to be.
    She shouldn’t have agreed to come with him today. She ought to have told him she had promised to go riding with Thomas, even though he hadn’t asked her. He had talked about taking her riding at some point, so it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. Or she could have said that she and Bea had been invited to a musicale.
    She should have told him anything, really —anything that would have kept her from being in this situation alone with him.
    After Thomas had kissed her yesterday, and after they’d talked about their families, she was starting to see him in a different light. Now she was seeing Sir Lester in a different light as well, and it wasn’t nearly as favorable.
    Could Thomas have possibly been right about Percy owing money to Sir Lester? She still couldn’t imagine that , given the baronet’s reaction (or lack thereof) to any discussion of her brother, but he certainly didn’t make her feel as safe and cared for as Thomas Goddard did.
    “I enjoy feeling the breeze rushing along my skin, don’t you?” he said.
    “Yes, but that can just as easily be achieved by standing next to the ocean.” Mattie had merely muttered her response, but it wouldn’t matter anyway. She didn’t get the impression that he was paying any