He could not get enough of her.
But no one should have realized it, for he thought he had perfected the ability to hide his feelings.As an investigator for the magistrate, he needed to keep his face expressionless while suspect after suspect lied to him and thought they had gotten away with their crimes.
He never wanted anyone to know what he was thinking or feeling.
“She likes you, too.But the Davenport reputation worries her.”
He nodded.“She avoided me for months because of it.”
Lady Withnall cast him a look of sympathy.“Yes, sadly.But now you are betrothed and she can no longer ignore you.”
“I think we will be all right,” he said, leaning forward.“I’ll do my best to put her mind at ease about me.But I am worried about my relatives.Tulip and I were having tea at the Denby Arms a short while ago and there was a man watching us from the street.She thought he might have been a relation of mine because the man resembled me.”
“Describe him further.I want more details.”
Alex told Lady Withnall everything that Tulip had mentioned as well as the glimpse he’d got of the man before he disappeared into the park.
“That has to be your cousin, Harold Havers.He’s the eldest son of your father’s younger brother.Before you break your head trying to work down the family tree, just be aware he is the next in line should something happen to you before you have sons of your own.”
“What do you know of him?”
“Very little.”She then proceeded to give Alex a detailed history of his medieval ancestors, moved on to an account of those who had recently died, and brought him up to date on the currently living Davenport heirs.
Hervery littlewas far more than he ever knew and proved he had made the right decision in coming to her for a quick study on his family.
“Harold has two younger brothers, Neddy and Barton,” she said, finishing up her account of his ancestry and the offshoots of his family tree.“They are all wastrels, just as their father, your father, and your mutual grandfather were before them.Your father also had two older brothers, one of whom died years ago.But the other one died recently as did his two sons.”
“Yes, those are the suspicious deaths that occurred within quick succession and were reported to be accidental.”
“It seems they were just that,” she confirmed.“I would tell you if I had heard anything to the contrary.I think we were all assuming there must have been foul play because of the timing of these deaths.How can one not be concerned when your grandfather, uncle, and two cousins all passed within such a short period of time?”
He nodded.“Four deaths within five years.”
“Like dominoes falling in a row.They were all tragic, of course.No one rejoices upon the untimely passing of another.But these men were up to their eyeballs in vices that only grew worse once they inherited the dukedom, for there was no one to stop their outrageous behavior once they held all the power.”
“That is true,” Alex remarked.
“So, I suppose it should not shock anyone that each met an early death through his own reckless depravity and carelessness.”
“What were their specific vices?”
“I do not think that is relevant.As most good-for-nothing gentlemen, they were all sots, gamblers, and lecherous devils.But many of our government ministers exhibit those same deplorable traits and England miraculously manages to function,” she said with a disdainful snort.
“And what about Harold, Neddy, and Barton’s vices?Anything in particular that stands out?”
“They are just as bad as the other males in your family lineage.As I said, wastrels.Name the vice and they have it.I’m so sorry, Davenport.I wish I could point to one ancestor in recent history who was not greedy, lazy, or self-indulgent.There’s no one other than you who has risen above the fray and become a decent person.Perhaps there is hope for future generations of Davenports now that you are duke and your offspring shall be next in line to inherit.”
He hoped there would be offspring, but that meant Tulip had to trust him enough to allow him into her bed.
He had husbandly rights, of course.
But he had no intention of forcing her into doing anything she did not wish to do.
If they were to have a happy marriage, there first needed to be a strong foundation of trust established between them.
Mutual respect.
Lady Withnall smiled as though reading his thoughts.
