Fate's Intervention Read Online Free PDF Page B

clearer than glass that he was not some adolescent ’ s idea of a Prince Charming ; e specially as he was anything but. He was a man with a man ’ s needs and wants and no juvenile fresh out of diapers could ever whet his appetite.
    The sound of rapping drew Matthew ’ s gaze back to the carriage. Adam alighted and moved to the door, opening it with a flourish. Stanharbor poured his bulk from inside. With a huff, he straightened his shoulders , his cravat, wiped the sweat from his brow, and then stormed up the stairs and into the house without even glancing toward the children.
    The front door slammed and all eyes drifted back in expectation toward the vehicle, yet no other person emerged. Adam shrugged slightly toward the children and shut the carriage door. He remounted and slapped the reins. The horses started and ambled toward the stables.
    Matthew was relieved to see Elizabeth disappear with the other children . That gave him reason to stay put and wait on Adam to park the team near the barn. Had Elizabeth made a move in his direction, he ’ d have hightailed it down to the river and assuaged his curiosity at another time. Now though, h is hygiene could wait long enough to pry some answers out of the c oachman.

CHAPTER FIVE
    “ S o, what gives? ” Matthew asked, helping Adam unbridle the horses.
    “ You smell like dead horse is what gives. ” Adam waved a hand exaggeratedly in front of his face. He grasped the bridge of hi s nose and breathed heavily through his mouth. Matthew didn ’ t get the hint , so he turned his attention back to the horses.
    “ I just finished working with White Star, ” Matthew said.
    “ You smell like s it . How ’ s that beautiful stallion taking with the training? ”
    “ L ike a duck to water. ”
    “ S peaking of water, why not you go on down to the river and wash the smell of manure off your skin. You reek! ”
    “ T ell me what happened with Stanharbor and I ’ ll be more than happy to do just that . ”
    “ Nothing happened and that be the gosh-darned truth. ”
    “ The n why is Stanharbor back early, minus the company of the new bride he claimed he went to claim? ”
    “ Claimed he went to claim, huh? ”
    “ I thought it was rather witty. So? ”
    “ Well that be the strange thing about it. See, ” Adam glanced around and lowered his voice to a whisper , “ he did went to the Weatherman ’ s house and all ; but a few minutes later he come s a stormin ’ out of there like a bat out ta hell, screamin ’ somethin ’ awful ‘ bout how the woman had a serious mental defect and was trying to do him in, or some such nonsense. Name s Marcelle, I think. Well, anyway, when I was driving away, I seen her standing in the window, recognized her from the horse auctions. Strange thing about it, she never seemed all that mad in the head to me. ”
    “ S ounds like the lady in question may have heard the rumors ; o r she simply decided that marriage to him is too scary a prospect and simply chose a creative way out of the possibility of walking down the aisle with him. Might be an interesting woman to meet. ”
    “ Well, there be a good possibility you may , since the re be a horse auction next month down in Lander . You being the head trainer, you is likely to go with the boss man. ”
    “ True , but how can we be certain that she ’ ll be there? ”
    “ Been there every time, so why shouldn ’ t she this time? ‘ Sides which, I hear tell that her pa ’ s been really eager to marry her off, so the auction might be the best place to snare a man for her. ”
    “ Maybe she is a little off the mark, if her pa ’ s that desperate for someone to take her off his hands. ”
    “ Not nuts, just old. ”
    “ Old ? ”
    “ Hear tell that the girl done passed her seventeenth year. Ain ’ t too many men going to be busting down the door for that one, no matter if she ’ s a looker . It don ’ t help none that she done rejected b oss m an Stanharbor . That ’ s likely