Page 29 of The Marquess Method (The Beautiful Barringtons 3)

He paused, rubbing at his chest, the ache now there for an entirely different reason. The walk back to Blythe’s home, though a bit of a distance, would be welcome. Now that Ambrose was about to be a wealthy man once again, he could have hired a hack. Or purchased his own carriage and horses. But thriftiness had become second nature. Poverty was something Ambrose was unlikely to recover from any time soon, if he ever did. Years spent scraping for every shilling, defiantly paying off the debts his father had amassed while struggling to ensure Jacinda and Greenbriar survived. He should have married immediately upon his return to England. Or at the very least, asked his friends for help.

But his pride was all he had left. He wouldn’t take their charity.

And then he’d met Theodosia and her sister at Granby’s house party. He’d fought against the solution before him, the one possessing a magnificent bosom and poor eyesight. A solution which would allow him to thumb his nose at Elysium and restore his pocketbook.

A surge of rightness, of validation, had coursed through him.

The duke was right to be suspicious of Ambrose’s intentions, except, ironically, for the night at Blythe’s. But then, if Averell had truly thought something nefarious had occurred, he wouldn’t have handed over his sister, or her enormous, obscene dowry.

Ambrose had nearly fainted when he’d seen the amount.

There had been no flicker of recognition in Averell’s face when Ambrose was formally introduced. No sign that Murphy had told his brother about the threats of the destitute heir to the Marquess of Haven. It had been wise to avoid the duke when Ambrose had called on Andromeda and then again at Granby’s wedding.

‘Someday I’ll take back what was mine.’

Murphy had considered the words an idle threat. The ravings of an angry heir who now found himself destitute. And while he hadn’t put events into motion that night in Blythe’s study, the fact remained that Ambrose had always meant to ruin Theodosia Barrington.

He just hadn’t expected her to help him do it.

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