Read Online Mayhem in Bath by Sandra Heath - Free Book Online

to her uncle. “What has happened this morning? I overheard something about stolen harness.”
    Hordwell looked up hastily from his newspaper. “Stolen? Surely not.” He looked inquiringly at Giles. “Has something occurred?”
    “Yes, sir.” As the footman explained about the trouble discovered in the mews that morning, Polly knew instinctively that Bodkin’s hand lay behind it. She also knew that the brownie wouldn’t have stolen any harness, just hidden it somewhere. Oh, Bodkin, she thought with an inward sigh. She had been racking her brain as to how to find him, and now it seemed the mews might be the best place to start. Failing that, she would visit every pastry shop in Bath, for Bodkin was almost certain to take himself along to one or another of them. Probably Zuder’s, since that was the one he would have passed at journey’s end yesterday.
    While Polly’s thoughts rambled around Bodkin’s probable activities, Hordwell was concerned that his property might have received some unwelcome attention. “What of my vehicle, Giles? Is all well with it?”
    “It escaped attention, sir.”
    “Excellent.” The matter in the mews ceased to be of any consequence, and Hordwell resumed his breakfast.
    The footman withdrew from the room, and as Polly poured herself some coffee, her glance was drawn out of a window that faced along the crescent. Sir Dominic Fortune had just emerged from his house to mount a fine bay thoroughbred brought around from the mews by a groom. She paused with the silver coffee pot suspended above her cup, unable to help surveying him appreciatively from head to toe. He wore a pine green riding coat and white breeches, with a green silk neck cloth, pale gray waistcoat, and top hat, and he flexed his fingers in his tight gloves as he prepared to mount.
    Polly felt her cheeks go warm and pink. She still thought he was horrid, so why did she also find him so devastating? It was a paradox. She hadn’t realized he could see into the room as easily as she could see out, but to her huge dismay, he suddenly looked directly at her, doffed his hat, and swept her a scornful bow. Embarrassment swept hotly over her, and she declined to acknowledge him as with a shaking hand she continued to pour the coffee. A few moments later the clatter of hooves echoed as he rode past, and although she stole a surreptitious glance, he did not look again. The omission annoyed her, which was another paradox.
    Hordwell finished his gargantuan breakfast and folded his napkin. “Well, that will keep me going,” he declared.
    “It will keep your gout going, too,” she replied.
    “What an acid tongue you have, to be sure,” he grumbled.
    “It’s no more than you deserve.”
    “I begin to pity poor Lord Benjamin!”
    “Lord Benjamin? Why? What has he to do with this?”
    “He’ll be acquiring a veritable nag when he marries you.”
    She stiffened. “I keep telling you, I’m not going to be his wife,” she replied.
    “My dear, as your guardian, it is within my power to arrange your marriage.”
    She stared at him. “You wouldn’t!” she breathed. There was no reply, so she spoke again. “Is that what you intend to do. Uncle? Force me into a marriage I abhor?”
    He sighed. “Polly, can’t you see that this a very advantageous match?”
    “Advantageous? For whom? Lord Benjamin, I fancy, for his are the empty coffers!”
    “You would have a title.”
    “Not much of one.”
    “At the very least, be civil about Lord Benjamin when you are enjoying his hospitality.”
    “I’m not enjoying anything. Uncle, indeed I’m only here because you insisted. I would much prefer to take a room at one of the hotels in town.”
    “That matter has already been discussed. I will not permit you to stay elsewhere.”
    No, in case you have to pay, she thought angrily, buttering a slice of toast. He wouldn’t be obliged to meet her bill, for she had more than sufficient funds in her allowance, but the dread of having to