He debated whether to tell her about his encounter with Harold or the ransacking of his residence.
Ultimately, he decided that she needed to know.
It would not be fair to let her think there were no risks involved in marrying him.Well, she knew very well there were risks because she was more familiar with his relatives than he was.
He had gotten a dose of what worthless hounds these Davenports were just today.
Yes, he needed to be honest with her.
It would crush him to lose her, but she needed to be given the choice to back out of their wedding if this proved to be too much for her.
He waited until they had finished the soup course, a delicate onion broth designed to stimulate the palate, before he brought up the topic.
“Tulip, there’s something I need to tell you,” he said quietly as they watched the main courses being served.Those consisted of fish in a butter and white wine sauce, goose in a plum sauce, and honeyed ham.Roasted potatoes, peas in garlic and lemon, and glazed carrots were the accompaniments.
“Alex, you are frowning.What is wrong?”
He quickly told her all of it, his afternoon encounter with Harold Havers at the tavern across the street from his Bloomsbury apartment and the ransacking of his study.
She appeared genuinely distressed.“Do you think giving them their allowance will keep your cousins quiet?”
“I have no idea.But I do know that without it, they are more likely to turn to desperate measures.”
“Beyond ransacking your study and stealing that one hundred pounds from you?”she remarked with indignation.
“Yes, because actually having to work for their livelihood is out of the question for them.They aregentlemen,” he said, placing derogatory emphasis on the term.
He also told her about his visit with Lady Withnall.“She was the one who urged me to keep them on an allowance.”
Tulip nodded.“It makes sense, I suppose.Do you think they will honor the conditions you imposed on them to stay out of Somerset?”
He winced.“No idea about that either.”
“It was a good idea to include that restriction.Worth a try,” she said with a nod of approval.
He waited for her to say something more, perhaps bring up the matter of their betrothal.He would not blame her if she suggested they put off the wedding or part ways altogether.
To his surprise, she made no mention of either possibility.
He took a deep breath and told her the last of it.“I hired Homer Barrow to keep watch on the Belgravia townhouse and on you, as well.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at him.
She had the softest eyes.
Lovely eyes.
“Do you think I am in danger from your loutish cousins?”
“I don’t know, but I am not about to take any chances.I did not rescue you from Caruthers just to toss you into greater danger.”
“Have you spoken to my uncles about this?”
“No, I wanted to discuss it with you first.”
Her expression softened and she smiled at him.“Alex, thank you.To be honest, you’ve surprised me.”
“How so?”
