“Yes, may as well get it out of the way.”
“I’ll come with you,” Julius said as they now stepped down from the carriage.
But Alex held him back.“Wait here.Keep a lookout and shout a warning if you see anyone else approaching me and Harold.He has two brothers, both of them worthless.”
“Botheration, are you going to pay them, too?”
“Yes, I think it is prudent to follow Lady Withnall’s advice for now.”He scanned the crowd seated at the pub’s outdoor tables for men who resembled Harold or himself but no one caught his eye.He then peered up and down the street, paying particular attention to partially shadowed doorways for anyone standing in them who looked suspicious.
It seemed safe enough, so he approached the man in the green jacket.“Mind if I join you?”
He did not await a reply before pulling out a chair and settling in it.
The man cast him a wry smile.“Sure, sit down.”
“Care to introduce yourself?”
“As I am sure you suspect, I am your cousin.Harold Havers at your service.”
Alex nodded.“Why are you following me around?”
“Hoping for the chance to speak to you.”
Alex glanced around once more.“Where are your brothers?”
“Unfortunately, Neddy and Barton are indisposed at the moment.”
Probably drank too much last night and were still sleeping it off, he surmised.“Are you here for yourself or speaking on their behalf?”
“Speaking for all of us.”
Alex folded his arms across his chest and nodded.“What is it you want?”
“Our allowance restored.You cannot expect us to survive on thin air,” he said with an aura of haughty indignation that rankled Alex.
But he expected no less from his cousin who had been taught he deserved everything despite having contributed nothing.“You could find work for yourselves.”
Harold’s eyes rounded and he drew back as if slapped.“We are gentlemen.How are we to hold our heads up high if we areemployed?”
“As I was for all these years?”
“And we mocked you for it,” his cousin said with disdain.
Gad, did he really have to give them anything?
But Lady Withnall had advised him to do so, at least until he had solidified his position as duke, consolidated his power, and put trusted people in place to alert him to whatever his cousins might be doing.Of course, he also needed trusted people to assist in the restoration of the Davenport holdings.“Best to keep them quiet and concentrate on important matters,” she had warned.
He placed Tulip and their marriage at the top of his list in importance.
What would all his work be worth if his family interfered and he could not gain her love?
It pained him to admit he agreed with Lady Withnall.“I’ll have your allowances restored on one condition…”
“And what is that?”Harold asked, sounding indignant once again.
“When I am in London, you and your brothers are to be elsewhere.”
The lout slammed his fist on the table.“That is outrageous!Where are we supposed to be?”
