“Are they trustworthy?”
“All but the father.”
“Can he be bought?” I asked
Xander looked to Miss McAllen who rolled her eyes in irritation, but answered, “Yes.”
I turned back to Xander. “Are you willing to give him an allowance contingent on his silence?”
“I’d like to ship him to Australia,” he grumbled.
“Understandable. But in the interest of keeping this quiet, an allowance? And perhaps a commission in order for him to be elsewhere?”
“If I must.”
“I’ll draw up the contracts. He’ll lose the allowance if he ever breathes a word of it,” I explained. “As for the rest, we’re fortunate to be in Scotland. The marriage laws are much more favorable for this sort of thing than in England.”
“How so?” Tom asked.
“No need for a clergyman, reading of the banns, or a license. All that is needed is a proclamation before witnesses for a legal marriage.”
“I knew about the banns and license, but you don’t need a clergyman?” Tom questioned again.
“No, anyone can serve as witness.”
“And we can be married?”
It dawned on me suddenly and much too late, the reason for the line of questions. “Yes, Tom.Youcan be married. I wouldn’t want to test its legality, but yes. Right now, if you wish.”
The smile that bloomed across Tom’s face was unlike any I’d ever seen before. I hadn’t known him at all, it seemed, in the years I’d been joining their family dinners.
Quietly, Xander’s hand found Tom’s atop the table. “Tonight?” he asked, smiling at Tom’s nod.
He turned to Davina with a raised brow. Her eyes were sparkling and lovely with delight for her brother.
Even Miss McAllen was hiding a pleased smile by studying the table with undue concentration.
The housekeeper returned to serve a roasted chicken, trailed by a footman with a dish of rosemary potatoes, before they dipped back out of the room.
After swallowing thickly, Xander turned back to me. “And the rest of it?”
“I think our best option is to invent a woman—possibly someone thetonwould deem unsuitable for a duke. That would explain why you went to Scotland and why you’ve abandoned London. You were wed, legally, in front of witnesses. She died, perhaps in childbirth. You tell all of this to the clergyman when the boy is baptized. You’ll probably want to go to London for that—it would lend more authenticity if the boy’s legitimacy is ever questioned for some reason. Though I suspect the brow will prevent any speculation.”
“It’s so simple,” Miss McAllen stated, none of her characteristic sarcasm in her tone.
“Yes, much simpler than if we were in England or Wales. Then there would need to be a more significant paper trail and church records. I’ll create some financial documents that indicate the presence of a wife—jewelry and flower expenditures, a settlement, things of that nature. And keep them in our files at the office for record purposes. You need only give me a name to use.”
“Mr. Summers, I cannot thank you enough—not just for this, but for keeping Davina from harm as well.”
“Kit,” I replied. “Just Kit. And I may have need of your assistance.” I took my first bite of chicken.
“Oh, of course. I cannot even fathom a sufficient payment for this undertaking. Do you suppose £5,000 would do it? Or is £10,000 more appropriate?”
“Xander!” Davina protested.
My stomach sank, and the chicken slid down my throat to plop in my gut like a cannon. The thought of receiving money for this week… It felt cheap and tawdry, even though the sums certainly couldn’t be considered so.
“I, uh, I don’t think that will be necessary. I was rather hoping for a different kind of help. I’ve accepted the inevitable and am planning to take my place in society as Lord Leighton.Ignoring the title has only made a muck of things. I expect I’ll be in need of a great deal of advice, and perhaps a friendly face if we both happen to be in town.”
