“I cannot afford to discount it. I have only elderly retainers at Stratton Lodge except for Tibbs, my stable master, and he goes to the village most nights. There would not be a lot of protection, should she require it.”
Simon digested this for several seconds.
“They are fools, both of them, Daniel. I find it hard to believe that Huxley would pursue your wife, a duchess, to Stratton Lodge and attempt to take her against her will.”
“I may not have wanted a wife, Simon, but I have one and can not discount any possible threat to her. She is under my protection now and I have left her vulnerable in my haste to leave Stratton.”
“We need to find someone who knows about both the Winchcombs and the threat from Huxley,” Simon added, looking around him as if that someone was milling on the streets before them.
Several curses filled the air as Daniel’s shoulders slumped. “Grandmother will know.”
“Well this, my friend, is where we part ways,” Simon said, patting his friend’s shoulder in sympathy.
“Coward.”
“Sad but true,” said Simon, waving farewell and setting off in the opposite direction before Daniel had time to draw another breath. The duke’s grandmother had that effect on people.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Dowager Duchess was Daniel’s father’s mother. She’d always been a formidable woman, terrifying every new season’s debutantes with her vicious tongue. She went through a new household of staff every few weeks and was perhaps the only constant in Daniel’s life, though that constant was like a barb being repeatedly jabbed into one’s side. She challenged her grandson on every front, just as she had challenged her son. It was she who had visited him regularly at Stratton Lodge, checking his tutors were schooling him correctly to be the next duke, and later she was the one who’d pushed him through Eton.
There were plenty of carriages filling the streets at two o’clock on a sunny afternoon, yet it took Daniel only minutes to direct his horse to his grandmother’s doorstep. After handing the reins to a groom, he knocked on the large, white front door.
“Your Grace,” the immaculately clad butler said with a deep bow.
“Thompson.” Daniel responded with a nod and handed over his outer clothing. Thompson was the only long-term member of the duchess’s household, and had remained in his position for as long as Daniel could remember. “Is my grandmother at home?” he asked, not sure what answer he hoped for.
“If you will come this way, I will take you to her at once.”
Damn, she must have heard about his wedding, Daniel thought. Otherwise he would have been left to cool his heels in one of her elegant parlors for at least an hour before she condescended to see him.
“His Grace, the Duke of Stratton, your Grace,” Thompson said, ushering Daniel forward.
The Dowager Duchess of Stratton was a big woman who had lost little of her indomitable presence with age. Daniel had no idea of his grandmother’s exact age and she was not likely to ever disclose it to him, but she had to be over seventy, he thought, though her black hair was only lightly sprinkled with grey. Her big shoulders, large hands and long, hawk-like nose all added up to a formidable matron who was not to be messed with. They shared the bond of blood but little else. They rarely hugged or touched, she never offered words of kindness of sympathy and in truth, he would not have known how to take them from her. She had a sharp tongue and little wit and Daniel had never really worked out how he felt about her.
“Grandmother.” Daniel bowed over her hand.
“So you have been back eight weeks and now you finally visit me?” the duchess barked.
“Yes, I am well, and you also seem to be the picture of health.” Daniel moved to take the chair opposite her.
“Do not bandy words with me, Grandson. I was at your father’s funeral and you did not say one word, so I had to hear of your marriage like everyone else, through the newspapers.” To let him know how angry she truly was, she picked up a book from the table beside her and whacked it soundly on his knee.
“Did you know of this marriage contract?” Daniel rubbed his knee, noting he’d been taken to task byTheMarauding Adventures of Captain Veesley on the High Seas.
“Of course. Bloody fool. Your father was an idiot in his youth and he gambled nearly everything away. Had that Winchcomb not offered a marriage contract instead of demanding the money your father owed him, we would all have been out on the streets.”
Stunned, Daniel sat back in his chair and stared at his grandmother. Winchcomb had saved his father and the Stratton name?
“You could have warned me,” Daniel said quietly, still reeling from what she’d told him.
“How? By telling you that your future was decided? That would have changed who you have become, changed the path you trod. And more importantly, the chit could have died - both your father and I had hoped for her death. Alas, she did not oblige.”
That was twice in one day his wife had been insulted - first by her brothers and now by his grandmother. Daniel was beginning to feel angry, which was ridiculous, as he had no feelings for the woman other than pity. Needing to look anywhere but at his grandmother, he studied the room around him, seeing but not really seeing. Not much had changed since his last visit. It was still dark and austere, just like its owner. The only pleasing thing to Daniel was that all the furniture was solid and well-built, unlike the current trend of spindly legs and narrow seats, grossly unsuited to his large frame.
“I met her brothers before I came here and they mentioned that Gilbert Huxley has an interest in my Duchess.” Daniel watched his grandmother closely. Her reaction surprised even him. Her hands clenched and her cheeks puffed. These displays did little to alleviate the feeling of unease in his stomach.
“That pathetic excuse for a nobleman - makes my blood boil just to hear his name.”
