“We’ve already established that isn’t true.” He opened his arms to her. “Shall we do things my way, after all?”
“You’re disgusting.” She turned her back to him. “To your determination. What does that mean?”
“When you come up with a suitable alternative, I will accept it and return the letter at once.”
“How can I expect you to be fair?”
“You’ll have to trust me.”
She looked over her shoulder and shot him a dubious expression. “You aren’t acting trustworthy.”
Seth shrugged.
“If I meet your terms, before the end of the hunting party, you’ll give it back?”
“I give you my word.”
After a beat of silence, her shoulders slumped, and she turned to face him. A burst of triumph ran through him.
“Fine. It’s not as though I have another option.”
Seth extended his hand.
“Do we have a deal?”
She slid her palm into his, clasped his fingers with her own, and gave a firm shake.
“Deal.”
Chapter Five
Bolderwood
Cassandra stretched her shoulders, failing to find relief from her stiff muscles. She massaged her bruised elbows with the curve of her palm and winced. Their aged carriage had been ill-equipped to handle the rocky paths it wobbled across. Once already they stopped to change a wheel, and if that awful clacking noise was any indication, they would do so again within the hour.
At least she could stretch her legs.
She and Matthew had slept in a coach inn the previous night. The straw bed and scratchy linen did nothing to soothe her body before it was once again jostled into an unforgiving wooden box.
Comfort aside, the journey had not been wholly unpleasant. The scenery changed from rolling green hills to fields of wheat that stretched on for hours. In between, a splattering of villages buzzed with the sounds of farmers readying themselves for harvest. Now, sunlight flickered through a canopy of oak and beech trees as they traveled through a dense forest path that only thickened as they inched closer to Hollingsworth Manor.
Outside, the air was cool and crisp, but it was stifling inside the carriage. A bead of sweat dripped from her brow to the corner of her eye. She blinked against the sting and dabbed at her face with a handkerchief.
Matthew sat across from her, his spine straight against the paddedcushions at his back, arms crossed low at his midsection, feet planted firmly on the floor. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other occasionally for balance. A fine sheen of sweat covered his brow as well. With a perturbed set to his shoulders, he stared out of the carriage window with longing. He would rather have been up top to take a turn driving the team.
In the past two days, her brother had taken a slow transformation fromMatthewtoViscountLincolnshire. The closer they traveled to Hollingsworth Manor, the more prominent it became. That morning over breakfast, she noticed the subtle changes in posture, his face gentle but firming around the edges of his cheekbones and eyes. He became stricter with his smile, and even more with his tone. Their interactions changed from teasing to instruction.
“The Marquess and Marchioness of Dorchester will be in attendance, as will Lady Jasmine,” he said. “I’m sure Aunt Valentine will have no objections to chaperoning you. You will stick close to her.”
“I imagine I’ll have a difficult time avoiding her.” She beamed. Lady Valentine Sinclair, the Marchioness of Dorchester, had been close friends with Cassandra’s mother and had been a consistent presence throughout Cassandra’s childhood.
Where Matthew refused, Aunt Valentine would pave the way for her. If there was a match to be made, she would make it. Why hadn’t she thought of it sooner? And Jasmine! Joy bubbled within her at the prospect of seeing her dearest friend again after so many years apart.
“Do try to keep your chin down, no causing a scene or climbing any trees—”
“I won’t be climbing any trees!” She threw her hands in the air and lost balance as the carriage drove over a rut in the path, knocking her elbow again against the side of the carriage. This was the first time that Matthew had brought up the incident with the diary page, havingalready removed it from his list of priorities as he prepared himself for the trials ahead.
Cassandra had spent the carriage ride brainstorming ways to satisfy her deal with Mr. Reeves.A kiss.Ha. She couldn’t kiss him. Not when he wasalwaysfilthy, or greasy, unshaven, unkempt, and that was when his mouth was closed. When he spoke, he was infuriatingly sarcastic, had a complete disregard for social norms, and he talked with food in his mouth. He wasblackmailingher with her own secret and… underneath it all; he was still so devilishly handsome that it warmed her to her toes.
