Their need for a hasty wedding had been the reason for his delay.
But was it not better to let the staff believe for now theirs was a proper courtship leading to a well-planned wedding?The truth would eventually come out.By then, she hoped the staff would respect her.“I had a nice chat with Mrs.Granger in the meanwhile.”
“Good.”He motioned for Mr.Carver to resume his seat, too.
But Alex remained standing, casually leaning a hip against the solid desk.He folded his arms across the lovely expanse of his chest and faced her.“What did you think of the house?”
She glanced at the kindly estate manager who was trying to be discreet and not give hint of his feelings about Thornwycke Hall.“I only saw the main rooms and the upstairs bedchambers, so I cannot speak to its foundations or what work might be needed on the roof and such.I’m sure Mr.Carver has reported on those.”
“We touched upon it,” Mr.Carver confirmed.
Tulip nodded and continued.“The house could be beautiful if freshened up.I saw very few spots where the rain had seeped in through the walls and needed to be patched.The windows all looked to be sound.No cracks.”
Mr.Carver now spoke up, his expression one of pride.“I’ve tried my best to maintain this place in good order, not that the last three dukes cared a whit.Your grandfather cared, however.Despite his…” He sighed.“Despite his utter lack of propriety in his style of living, he did love this estate.It became more difficult to care for the manor house as his mind grew feeble and he began to gamble recklessly.But until then, despite his eccentric ways, he took excellent care of all his properties.”
Tulip knew of the old duke’s sad decline, for it had been no secret in Burnham that the old duke was losing his marbles.Her impression of the old duke was that he was an odd mix of intelligence and hedonism.She had overheard her uncle, William Hester, talking to Mr.Carver about the debauched goings on here.Wild parties.Women running around half naked on the grounds.Lewd games.Outrageous wagers placed on the stupidest dares.
No wonder all the next dukes had been wastrels.
How were they ever to grow up decent when the patriarch of their powerful family was openly lecherous, immoral, and indulging in sin?
Of course, their conversations were never meant for her delicate ears.
They would never have discussed the duke’s depravities in front of her or anywhere within her hearing.They never knew she’d had her ear to the door and was listening in on their every word.
How sad that Alex’s mother had walked into a house run like a brothel and gaming hell, unsuspecting of all the embarrassments she would have to endure while her father-in-law ran a libertine household.
Had Alex’s father broken his wife’s heart by openly partaking in those sinful indulgences along with his father and brothers?
How brave of her to escape and make certain her son was kept away from all those bad influences.
“Now tell me what you werenotshown,” Alex said.
The question surprised her, but she had quickly caught on to the workings of his mind.He approached everything with an investigative eye, something certainly warranted under these circumstances.“Well, I did not see the tower room.Mrs.Granger said no one has been up there in years.”
Alex arched an eyebrow as he turned to Mr.Carver.“Is that so?”
“Aye, Your Grace.Your grandfather would not allow anyone up there, nor would the subsequent dukes.I think they continued the practice for no other reason than the old duke had done it, so they would, too.It was my intention to ask your permission to inspect it because there must be some upkeep required on the walls by now.”He cleared his throat and cast Tulip a sheepish glance.“I would not recommend Her Grace joining us until we know what is to be found up there.”
Alex let out a breath as he nodded.“Agreed.Is there a door to the tower wing?Is it kept locked?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”Much like Mrs.Granger, he had a belt with several keys on it.“I happen to have the key right here.”
“Good, let’s go up now.”
Tulip’s eyes widened in surprise.
Alex did not waste a moment when in pursuit of answers, did he?
“Is that a good idea?”she asked.“What if you find something upsetting?”
“All the more reason to address it immediately,” he reasoned, which showed how different their minds worked.
She would have put it off until morning because the thought of finding something gruesome as evening approached would have given her tormented dreams.This assumed she would be able to fall asleep at all and not spend the night tossing up her accounts if the tower room proved to be a prison of horrors.
“Stay here, Tulip.We won’t be gone long.”Alex motioned toward the bookshelves that actually had some books on them.“Find yourself something interesting to read.”
“All right.”But she was too agitated to concentrate and had no intention of attempting to do so.
