Read Online Bexley-Smythe Quintet 02 - Rhyme and Reason by Catherine Gayle - Free Book Online Page A

family for any reason, even if Percy had no such compunctions.
    She fully believed, however, that if she told Sir Lester what she knew of Percy’s behavior, he would cut all ties with her. He’d always seemed to be the sort to react in a harsh manner to various situations.
    Mr. Goddard gave her no reason to believe he’d do anything of the sort , and every reason to believe the opposite.
    This was quite the conundrum.
    He moved to sit beside her on the sofa just then. Oh, heavens. She wished Lizzie was in the drawing room with them, since Bea had seen fit to abandon her. Even if Lizzie couldn’t seem to perform her duties as she ought, having someone present would calm Mattie’s nerves.
    He kept a reasonable distance between them, but he was close enough they could touch, if they were so inclined. That couldn’t be good.
    “Should I take this to mean your brother is not a perfectly moral and acceptable gentleman, Lady Matilda? I can assure you, anything he may have done will not concern me in the slightest. And I imagine Danby is fully aware of his behaviors, yet he saw fit to arrange a match between us.”
    Mattie closed her eyes, unable to look at him as she answered. “I don’t even know the half of all he’s done, sir.”
    “Thomas,” he said quietly. “I know you haven’t accepted me yet and so it isn’t fully proper, but we’re sharing some of our deepest secrets. Shouldn’t we be a bit more intimate with one another?”
    “I…well, I suppose so.” Though in truth, she knew no such thing. “My sisters call me Mattie.”
    Thomas inched closer to her on the sofa. “What do you know of what he’s done, Mattie?”
    “I…” I can’t tell you these things .
    Once more, he slid closer—so close that the cushions dipped down from his weight and she halfway fell toward him—and he took her hand. His was big and warm and comforting, and it fully enveloped hers.
    When he squeezed, her eyes shot open , and she was unable to stop herself from staring into his eyes and wishing she could collapse more fully into him. The memory of his strong arms cradling her swarmed to the forefront of her thoughts, of how powerful he’d felt when he’d carried her home from her fall, how he’d kept her safe and made her feel cherished and protected.
    Feeling safe, cherished, protected—those were all sensations which Percy had robbed her of, and somehow Thomas Goddard was able to return them to her.
    Could it truly be disloyal to tell him how irresponsible her brother had become?
    She dropped her voice low, so no one could hear other than Thomas. “My brother has become a regular visitor to any number of gaming hells, and he’s lost more money than he ever had, I fear.”
    “The dowries for you and your sisters were in trust, though?” he prodded. He seemed genuinely concerned for them, not so much for himself. Would Sir Lester have a similar reaction? She couldn’t quite envision it.
    She nodded. “And a widow’s pension for Mama.” Thank goodness. If Percy could have gambled that, heaven knew he would have. “But I suspect everything else is gone. Creditors have come to the estate looking for him.”
    One corner of Thomas’s lip tugged slightly downward. “Have they taken anything?”
    “Only a few pieces of artwork and the like.” And some of Mama’s jewelry. So far . Mattie had no doubt they would be back for more in time, and then who could know what they would take?
    But those were only things…
    If not for the fact that he was grinding his jaw, Mattie would never have known that Thomas was upset. His hand was still holding hers, gently, in a very comforting manner.
    “You wouldn’t know if your brother owes Sir Lester Hammond anything, would you?”
    Sir Lester ? “I’m certain he doesn’t.” The baronet had seemed thoroughly uninterested in any talk about her brother and oblivious to any of Percy’s indiscretions. If Percy had lost money to Sir Lester, surely the baronet would have had