Tristan would have removed it entirely, but his father’s will had stipulated that some allowance must be given. Unfortunate, but legally binding just the same.
The duchess bore the news with a slow blink of her eyes. “And why, pray tell, are you tossing your own heir from your home and behaving in such an ungentlemanly manner, Kendall?”
Foolish woman.
She was taunting him, assuming that he would have the delicacy to avoid directly besmirching a lady’s honor—detailing Lady Lavinia’s perfidy, for example—in front of the Queen.
Hah!
“Yesterday, as I am sure you are aware,” he said, “Lady Lavinia deliberately pushed my wife, the Duchess of Kendall, into the Serpentine.”
Queen Victoria gasped, her brows drawing into a fine line.
The duchess’s chin dropped and her eyes widened in outrage.
Excellent. So the duchess had not told the queen her version of what had occurred. The lady was not as skilled an opponent as he had supposed.
“Kendall!” Her Majesty said in scandalized tones. “To speak of a lady in such a manner . . .” She fanned her face.
The duchess’s expression morphed into a smirk.
Tristan’s resolve didn’t falter.
“I apologize if the directness of my manner offends, Your Majesty, but I will not be silent when the lives of those I love are placed in jeopardy.”
“Lives were hardly in jeopardy, Kendall. You are being hysterical,” The duchess snorted. “By all accounts, it was a simple accident, and the Duchess of Kendall was unharmed. Her life was certainly never at risk. She swam to the shore and walked home. You forget yourself, Kendall. I was there.”
“My wife is with child, Your Grace,” he spat. “I was speaking primarily of the life of my unborn heir.”
“Oh!” The Queen placed a hand over her heart.
The Duchess of Andover blanched, taking in a sharp breath.
“Furthermore,” Tristan continued, “Lady Lavinia had no understanding that my duchess knows how to swim. She pushed my wife off to a watery grave. Your daughter, Duchess, has much to gain if my wife dies, miscarries our child, or suffers an accident that renders her unable to bear children. So I do not take physical attacks on Isolde’s person lightly. At the moment, I have decided not to bring charges of assault or attempted murder against Lady Lavinia, but that could easily change.”
“Bah!” The duchess waved a careless hand. “Again, you are being histrionic, Kendall. Lady Lavinia assured me that she did not cause the duchess’s fall. It was the children racing around who—”
“Nonsense!” he interrupted. “Two children plus their nurse witnessed what transpired—Lady Lavinia braced both hands on my wife’s upper back and shoved. My sister, as well as Mr. Penn-Leith, were also there, Duchess, and heard the whole of it. And Isolde herself distinctly felt two adult hands push her betweenthe shoulder blades, far higher on her back and with more force than a child could manage. I would tread carefully when questioning the honor of my wife or that of my twin sister.”
“This is all merely hearsay and prattle,” the duchess sniffed. “You can prove nothing against my daughter.”
“Indeed? Shall I file charges of attempted murder against Lady Lavinia then—summon witnesses and let a jury decide her guilt?”
“Kendall!” Victoria admonished. “Cease this crass behavior. I fear your wife’s manner of speech has begun rubbing off on you.”
He bowed to the Queen. “I apologize, Your Majesty, if the manner of my address is distressing, but I will not apologize for its content. I love my wife. I love our unborn child. I will not stand idly by and permit either to be threatened, abused, or harmed. I certainly will no longer house those who wish my duchess and our unborn child ill.”
Both women stared at him.
“Additionally,” he bit out, “it has recently come to my attention that this is not the first time Lady Lavinia has attempted to drown those she perceives as a threat. I learned just yesterday that a lady matching Lady Lavinia’s description hired a street ruffian to push my former secretary into the Thames.”
“Kendall!” Victoria gasped. “This truly is ludicrous! I begin to doubt you are fully in charge of your mental capacities.”
“Hear, hear!” the duchess harrumphed. “Perhaps we should summon a physician.”
“Your Majesty, you know me to be a gentleman of the strictest decorum. I have never once stooped to falsehoods or exaggeration.”
Queen Victoria’s lips pursed as if remembering every past instant of Tristan’s sanctimonious behavior.
