She sighed and continued.“There was something quite special about her.She was so flawlessly beautiful, she seemed almost magical.All the boys adored her.The girls did, too.She was always very kind and never put on airs.Their parents, the Palters, who are Mrs.Granger’s grandparents, went to live with Margaret shortly after Elspeth disappeared.”
Tulip gasped.“She disappeared?”
Alex tensed.
Dear heaven.
She had to be the girl named in his grandfather’s diary.
He continued to listen intently as Perty rambled on.
“Yes, my dear.She vanished without a trace,” her aunt replied, shaking her head and frowning.“We were all quite shocked by it and worried that something bad had happened to her.Then a rumor began circulating that Elspeth had run off with a handsome navy officer.”
“And did she?”Tulip asked.
“Well, I had my doubts.She was a beautiful girl, and we all could see how a man might fall in love with her on the spot.But there were no naval officers anywhere around here at the time.”
“Then you don’t believe she ran off?”
Perty shrugged.“Well, not with a naval officer.That seemed unlikely, but we thought it was possible she had eloped with someone else.You see, Elspeth had confided to us about a romantic interest but never told us who the man was.We were sure it was a local gent, someone of importance in our village and perhaps married.But she was a good girl and I could not see her ruining her prospects by consorting with a married man.”
“Then why else bother with all the secrecy?”Tulip asked.
“I truly don’t know, my dear,” her aunt said after taking a sip of her tea.
Alex was eager to pursue this questioning.“Did any gentleman go missing at this same time?”
“No,” Perty replied.“And that’s the bother of it, for everyone here knows everyone else’s business.Well, the parents were frantic with worry at first, but then they seemed to have received news to allay their fears.”
“A letter from Elspeth?”
Her aunt shrugged.“Possibly.That’s when the gossip about her running off with a handsome naval officer began to spread, and they did not deny it.A few months later, the parents came into some money and moved away to live closer to their other daughter, Margaret.That was the end of it.We never heard from any of them again.”
“And Margaret was Mrs.Granger’s mother?”Alex asked, merely confirming the family relations.
“Yes.Anyway, none of us ever heard from them or Mrs.Granger’s aunt, Elspeth, again.”
She sipped the last of her tea and continued.“We were quite happy when we learned Mrs.Granger had sought employment at Thornwycke Hall.Of course, we weren’t sure it was such a good idea for her to work there considering she was young and beautiful, and the old duke was such a lecherous devil.Oh, I do beg your pardon, Your Grace.I…”
Alex shook his head.“I know how awful my family is, Mrs.Hester.Rest assured, I am as appalled as you are.Do go on, I am eager to hear more.”
Tulip’s aunt poured more tea for all of them and picked up where she had left off.“As I was saying, Mrs.Granger seemed an odd choice for the position of housekeeper, but the duke always liked pretty faces around him.I heard from Mr.Carver that they got along well enough.Your grandfather did not push himself on her.In fact, seems he was quite respectful of her.”
“That’s a surprise,” Alex muttered.
Perty arched an eyebrow.“Yes, but I think his exploits were exaggerated.Despite all you may have heard, he was not really the sort to push himself on anyone.Why should he when he was a very handsome fellow in his younger days and women came to him willingly?”
She turned to her niece.“Tulip, dear…it is the way of things.Handsome dukes get what they want and hardly need to lift a finger to get it.But I understand from Mr.Carver that it was never like that between Mrs.Granger and the old duke.Of course, he could not do much of anything by that time, seeing as he was becoming so frail and sickly.Anyway, there was no need to foist unwanted attention on Mrs.Granger.He still had dozens of scantily clad ladies running about the place even as he lay on his deathbed.”
Tulip’s aunt now turned to Alex, frowning.“You aren’t anything like your grandfather, are you?”
“No, I assure you.My first act upon becoming duke was to write to Mr.Carver and have him send away these…um, unwanted guests.”
Tulip’s eyes widened.“You did?”
“Of course.”
She nodded.“You see, Aunt Perty?Alex is the most decent person you will ever meet.He is nothing like his horrible relatives.He is smart and kind and considerate.And–”
