Fate's Intervention (19 page)

“
Can
’
t say it was,
”
Peter agreed readily and Matthew wondered if he was still teasing with him since the twinkle in his eyes had vanished.
“
So
, what happened between the two of you that would cause my daughter so much upset?
”

Marcelle stepped forward and placed a hand on Matthew
’
s arm, suddenly calm in the face of her
father
’
s distress.
“
Maybe I
’
d better tell him, since the decisions made today were mine.
”

Matthew nodded and backed away. He admired her courage. He
’
d only just met her
father
, but he could tell he was a tough man. He could also see how much affection he had for his daughter and sensed that while he would be likely tough on her, he
’
d be fair as well. He liked the man.

Marcelle sat on the edge of the bed and faced her
father
, hands wringing nervously in her lap
.
“
Y
ou
will be happy to know that, with Mr. Daragh
’
s help, I managed to procure four marvelous animals today.
”

“
Only four, and why would you need Mr. Daragh
’
s help? You know good
horseflesh
,
dearest.
”

“
Well, these particular horses are top of the line breeding horses. One stud and three mares.
”

“
I trained the stud myself, sir, so I can vouch for his stamina and good
health,
”
Matthew interjected, watching the exchange closely.
A
fter
all, his job
depended on just how well this conversation went
.

“
Mr. Daragh helped me purchase the horses since they were out of our price range, plus I
’
d just hired him to work for us,
”
Marcelle murmured so softly that her
father
almost missed what she said
–
almost.

He watched his daughter for a short while before responding, stunned at what she
’
d just told him. He
was
going to ask what possessed her to hire the young man sitting across the room, but he hoped it was because of an underlying attraction that meant she would make an effort toward walking down the aisle. If that wasn
’
t the case, he could deal with Matthew Daragh and his employment later.
Instead,
he focused on the horse situation, which was the major concern. Without horses to supply his clients . . . good Lord, he didn
’
t want to dwell on the consequences. He took a deep, calming breath before continuing.

“
You are aware that selling breeding horses wouldn
’
t be profitable for me,
Marcelle.
Many
times, they cost more to acquire than the money I could get for them. I think you can see where this is going,
”
he said gently, not wishing to reprimand his daughter too harshly in front of a stranger.

“
Yes,
father
, I know that, but once the foals come, they will be of such wonderful quality that people will travel from everywhere to purchase solely from our stables
–
and pay top dollar for them, I
’
m sure,
”
Marcelle said. Her
father
saw the excitement in her eyes and smiled sadly.

“
Yes, dear, I could see the potential for that,
”
her
father
said carefully, trying not to make her feel too inept.
A
fter
all, he had sent her out to do a man
’
s job today and she hadn
’
t really done all that bad,
“
but what is it that we are supposed to do meanwhile, dearest?
”

“
What do you mean,
Father
?
”

“
Well, it will take a year or two for the mares to give birth to the foals. Then Mr. Daragh here will then need to train those foals before he can deliver them to new buyers. That is why you said you hired him
;
but
what do we do meanwhile? We have a responsibility to deliver stable horses to our remaining clients, and now we can
’
t do that. If that isn
’
t done, Stanharbor will lay siege to our few remaining clientele.
”

“
Oh, Lord,
Father
, I
’
m so sorry,
”
Marcelle cried and covered her face in her hands.

“
Don
’
t fret, dearest, we
’
ll think of something,
”
her
father
said gently and then turned to face Matthew.
“
I appreciate what you did for Marcelle and me today, Mr. Daragh, but I have to know what is it that you
’
re getting out of all this? People don
’
t generally commit themselves to something so completely without knowing in advance what
’
s in it for them.
”

“
Well, sir,
”
Matthew said,
“
I admit I did jump in feet first without much thought.
”
Matthew turned his gaze toward Marcelle.
“
Especially since your daughter assured me that she was your voice today, deciding for you
–
and I believed her.
In addition,
I liked her enthusiasm over the plans she just laid out for you.
As
to the why,
”
he continued, returning his gaze to Peter.
“
Your daughter offered me a job when Stanharbor forced me to quit his employment . . . ,
”
Matthew started, but Peter raised a hand to interrupt.

“
You worked for Clifford Stanharbor?
”

“
Only for a month, sir, but then he tried to force me to wed his daughter and I quit.
Frankly
, sir, if your daughter hadn
’
t decided to hire me, I may have had a difficult time finding employment without a letter of recommendation from Stanharbor.
”

“
A
h! I see,
”
her
father
said, eyeing his daughter curiously.
“
Go on.
”

“
Well, I think your daughter
’
s plans for the future are well thought out and very p
lausible
. She
’
s an intelligent girl.
”

“
Yes, I know,
”
Peter said with pride, causing Marcelle to blush,
“
but,
”
he stopped, signaling that Matthew should continue.

“
Well, sir,
”
Matthew said, getting back to his
reason
ing,
“
in a few years time,
Weatherman
Stables could very well attract top buyers, like Marcelle said. I
’
m willing to take that risk. I think it
’
s a profitable risk that
’
s worth taking.
As
for what to do about the clients you have now that are waiting for horses, your daughter and I will go back to the auction and find some suitable stable horses for
–
how many do you need?
”

“
Five.
”

“
We
’
ll find suitable mounts for those five. There should be that many remaining at tomorrow
’
s auction.
”

“
You forget, Mr. Daragh, that my daughter pretty much spent all monies budgeted for
purchases this trip.
”

“
I
’
m aware of that, sir, but I
’
ll cover the cost, and as repayment, my percentage from the sale of the future foals will be higher than it would have been
; o
r you could simply pay a little extra in my salary
, w
hichever you prefer.
”

Peter studied Matthew for a short while, looking for a hidden
reason
behind accepting
employment with a foundering stable, but could see none. His concern about finding employment without a recommendation was legitimate. It would have been extremely hard for the young man if Stanharbor
were
truly determined to ruin
his reputation.
As
for helping with the purchases, he could understand that as well. He was simply buying into a partnership that he believed could succeed. Risky, but
reason
able.

He still didn
’
t know what to make of him and his daughter, however. It was apparent to him that a mutual attraction existed, but they seemed to be going out of their way to ignore it.

What happened to make to make this man skittish toward marriage
?
H
e wondered
.
Whatever it was, it had to be serious or perhaps there was something seriously wrong with the lad.
A
fter
all, if Stanharbor couldn
’
t bribe him to marry into his family, even with all their wealth as a temptation, then there had to a powerful
reason
why. Of course, it wasn
’
t
as if
Elizabeth was a great catch.

His Marcelle, on the other hand, would make a man an excellent mate. So why wasn
’
t this man interested in her?
Maybe she
’
s already too old
, he worried. Maybe this Matthew fellow liked his women
young
, like Clifford Stanharbor. Still, he could tell Marcelle held some appeal for him. He
’
d barely taken his eyes off her since they came in the room
; s
o there was always hope.

Then there was Marcelle. She had all but told him to find her someone to marry that was of suitable age. Had even agreed to try
to
find a man to marry before the end of the year. Yet, when one is all but hand delivered on a silver platter, she acts as if his existence is no more desired than a pesky mosquito buzzing around her head. Perhaps there was something wrong with both of them.

Maybe he would need to nudge them in the right direction. Not push, he quickly amended his own thoughts, since pushing would probably send them both fleeing in opposite directions, but a simple nudge might suffice to see his daughter settled before it was too late for him to enjoy grandchildren.

As
he sat there scrutinizing them, a plan began to form.

“
The
re is just one stipulation for all of this,
”
Peter said, tenting his hands thoughtfully beneath his chin.

“
What would that be, sir?
”
Matthew asked, a flag of warning flapping in his brain. He hadn
’
t liked the way
Weatherman
spent several minutes staring so intently at him and Marcelle. There was definitely mischief in his eyes, combined with his sudden eagerness to agree to the plan, pending that one stipulation. To his way of thinking, he
’
d already invested more than half the capital, and had already agreed to purchase more horses out of his already depleted savings, which probably meant sending home for money, which was something he wasn
’
t prepared to do, so what else could this man want from him? If it
were
what he was thinking, then he
’
d take the loss and walk.

“
Well, Mr. Daragh, I don
’
t know if Marcelle told you or not, but the doctor has told me
that I
’
m dying.
”