“No, he is not,” she finally said. “While Lady Malmsby may like jokes and pranks, his grace has been perpetuating the longest running prank and none of you have caught on.”
“Malmsby? No,” Aidan rejected her statement.
“Yes. He told me. He thinks it a lark that no one has asked him about his studies in years. Everyone assumes he is still deep in research on King Arthur,” Bella said. “He’s not. He told me he hasn’t been since his wife died.”
She saw the doubt in Aidan’s face. “This is what I suggest you do. The next time you see your brother reading, ask him what he is reading. The next time he says he will be out for the day, ask him where he will be.”
“I have asked after him from the servants when he wasn’t around, and the answer I get is he is at the library.”
“That’s because he has requested that they lie for him.”
“Then he’d probably lie to me as well.”
“No, I don’t believe he will. He wants to see if anyone is at all curious about what he does.” She laughed. “As I think on it, the entire Nowlton family makes assumptions about each other all the time and you don’t talk to each other. Rather sad, don’t you agree?”
He looked at her quizzically but didn’t answer.
He knocked on the Duke’s study door.
“Enter.”
Aidan pushed open the study door and bade Bella enter before him.
Like the old study upstairs, the room was bright, but it was not as big. Instead of two wing chairs, there was a leather sofa with a fur blanket thrown over the back. Guest chairs were more utilitarian than fashionable.
The Duke sat behind his desk, an open book, paper, pen, ink, and a cup of coffee on the desk before him. He closed the book and leaned back as they entered.
“Mr. Martin is here and has started his interviewing,” Aidan told him.
His brother nodded. “Good. The sooner this gets resolved, the better.”
“He’ll want to interview you as well.
The Duke nodded. “As you requested, I am not going anywhere today—though this evening I would like to attend a lecture.”
Aidan glanced at Bella, then looked back at his brother. “What kind of lecture?” Aidan asked.
His brother's lips twisted into a smirk as he looked over his glasses at Bella, then looked back at Aidan. “A lecture on the potential future of steam power for modern farm equipment,” he said.
Bella smiled at the Duke. The Duke winked back.
Aidan looked between them. “And the book you’re reading?”
“Oh, this?” his brother said casually. “It’s a treatise on how steam power works. Thought I’d read up on that before tonight’s lecture.”
Aidan frowned. “No Arthurian work or other British mythos?”
The Duke shook his head. “My interests have turned to the sciences. I have particular interests in new discoveries that can lead to investment opportunity.”
“That is a substantial change from King Arthur legends to science,” Aidan protested.
His brother nodded and sadly smiled. “I know,” he admitted. “But I only pursued King Arthur because of Morgana. She had the fascination but could not do the research, as women are not allowed access to the resources. She was the love of my life, and I would do anything for her,” he admitted, smiling at his memories.
“Including becoming an Arthurian scholar?”
“Yes. I miss her dearly, but after she died, I had no reason to continue with King Arthur, and honestly, contrary to Morgana’s beliefs, I believe he is only a legend. So, after she died, I pursued my own interests.”
“Why did you allow us to continue to believe you were researching King Arthur?”
