And I was too much of a fool to notice.She swallowed as she thought of how cold his skin had felt as she had held him in the carriage.
“Surely someone cannot have tried to kill him.” She tossed in her bed. “Why would they?”
Power.The thought came to her instantly. Her blood ran cold. Alaric was a duke without an heir, a freshly married duke, butwith no one to take on the title, it would pass to his next male relative.
“Is it some distant cousin?” Catherine frowned. “Who would inherit if he died?”
She closed her eyes, trying to picture the family trees she had discovered when rearranging the study in the London house. When she opened them again, Annabelle was gently waking her and placing a breakfast tray on the table in her antechamber.
“Where is the Duke?” Catherine asked as Annabelle helped her dress.
“I believe he and young Master Oliver went to the lake. Apparently, Master Oliver’s swimming lessons are coming along quite well.” Annabelle smiled. “Though Daisy does not seem to care for the water. Mrs. Langley keeps her company while Oliver swims.”
Catherine nodded absently, her mind still on the conversation from the night before. “I need to do some investigation into Alaric’s family tree— could you ask Mrs. Danvers to dig out any documents we have and bring them to my study?”
“Of course, Your Grace.” Annabelle nodded. “Is there anything else you need?”
“A copy of the entailment of the estate. That will certainly be in Alaric’s study.” Catherine tapped her finger on her lips. “And a large pot of coffee. I will need it today.”
“I shall see to it at once, Your Grace.” Annabelle curtsied and left the room.
By the time Catherine had finished her breakfast and made her way to the study, several sheets of parchment, two tapestries, and a thick tome were sitting on her desk.
There was a note with them that read:
Your Grace,
These are all the records I could find in the castle. There are likely more in London. If you wish for me to send for them, let me know, and I will do so as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Mrs. Danvers
Catherine pulled the tome toward her, flipping through it until she found the family tree related to Alaric. She traced the lines, her frown growing deeper.
“No living uncles, no brother...” She sucked on the end of her quill. “His first cousins are women, so they would not benefit from his death.”
She crossed off names and checked between the volumes, slowly working her way through Alaric’s family tree. By the time afternoon arrived, Catherine had narrowed down his potential successors to a cousin twice removed and a second cousin.
“It is a start.” The bell chimed for dinner, and she jumped.
Her stomach growled, reminding her it had been neglected since breakfast. She picked up her notes and a piece of parchment and headed down to the dining room.
Alaric will just have to forgive me for not changing into evening attire.
He was already waiting for her at the table. Oliver was nowhere in sight, and for once, Catherine was relieved at his absence. She did not want to scare him.
She plopped her documents down and pointed to the names she had circled. “Those are the people I think are your heirs.”
Alaric nodded. The dark circles under his eyes made it look as though he had smeared coal beneath them. His face seemed pale.
Did he not sleep either?
“Let us discuss this properly after dinner. Thinking is best done on a full stomach.” Alaric began carving the roast beef and carefully placed it on her plate.
Catherine looked at the papers again, but when her stomach growled once more, she gave in. She pulled the plate closer and started eating as fast as she could.
She heard Alaric chuckle, but ignored him.
