Alex frowned, for the woman really needed to rest after her ordeal.“Is there a reason you wish to speak to her?”
He nodded.“We both lost someone dear to us at the hands of that fiend.She might find comfort in talking to me.I truly believe I might understand her feelings better than anyone else could.”
Alex glanced at Tulip, seeking her guidance because she had good instincts about such matters that had more to do with heart than logic.
She nodded.
“Very well, Mr.Carver.But do not stay too long.She was hurt and needs time to heal.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”He gave a nod and walked off toward the servants quarters.
Tulip smiled at Alex.
He sank onto the settee beside her.“What, love?”
“Do you not see it?I think Mr.Carver is in love with Mrs.Granger.I think those two will be married before the year is out.”
Alex laughed as he gently lifted her onto his lap.“Truly?Do you think she will accept him?”
“Yes, it is quite possible that she has loved him all along.However, she must have been quite confused and wary of him because of the lies Ernfield had been feeding her.For this reason, she kept her distance, much as I did when you first came into my life.But she now knows he can be trusted.There is no longer a reason to hold back her affection.”
Alex laughed again.“Seriously?But he must be a good fifteen or twenty years older than her.”
“And your point?The same could be said of your grandfather and Elspeth, but that did not stop them from loving each other.Mrs.Granger is a young woman who has lost her family and obviously came here out of a need to understand what happened and possibly gain answers that might lay their souls to rest.In coming here, she felt alone and scared.Mr.Carver has been steady as a rock for her, quietly looking out for her.He is a good man who will continue to care for her and protect her.”
“I will admit, I think he likes her.But how do you know her feelings?”
“The little details.Her eyes light up whenever he is near.She blushes and pats her hair whenever he approaches to speak to her.”
“Ah, of course.”
“You are mocking me, Alex.But I know I am right.I’m just sorry Ernfield’s evil whispers kept them apart for so long.That fiend must have been worried they would start talking to each other beyond casual conversations and start putting things together.”
“So he dropped poisonous hints to keep them apart.Yes, it is quite likely.”He kissed her on the cheek.“Not mocking you, my love.I am chiding myself, for I was the London magistrate’s top investigator.But it seems I am good with facts and not nearly as good as you when it comes to matters of the heart.I think we would have been an unbeatable team had we worked together in London.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder.“Perhaps this is why you were attracted to me.”
“For your investigative instincts?No, love.I can assure you, my response to you was completely primal, a wolf spotting his mate.I wanted to ravish and devour you, claim you at first sight.Mine.Mine to love and protect.No one else was ever going to get their hands on you.”
“Dear heaven, I never would have guessed.”But she sighed contentedly in his arms.“I’m glad the worst is over.It is over, isn’t it?”
“Yes, love.”
“Are you going to read your grandfather’s journal again?”
He nodded.“This time with an impartial eye, for I think anger clouded my judgment, even though I tried hard not to let it.I might have missed some obvious clues because I was filled with so much resentment for the old man.In truth, for all the Davenports.My anger is gone now.They did not deserve what Ernfield did to them.”
“So, they might not have been as debauched as reputed?”
“Oh, that part was true.They were a hedonistic lot.I will not be placing any of them on a pedestal any time soon.Same goes for the three wastrels we left back in London, Harold Havers and his brothers, Neddy and Barton.I have no intention of ever inviting them here or entertaining them in London.The less we see of my family, the better.”
He carried her upstairs and was just at the door to the duke’s chamber when Tulip tapped him on the shoulder.“What is it, love?”
“Do you not find it odd that we haven’t seen hide nor hair of the ladies who made free with the Davenport generosity?”
“Not odd at all.”
“But it is odd,” she insisted.
