Page 43 of Lavender’s Lost Duke

“And just sit around while I worry over Lady Lavender, and Jack, and the new girl, and the children? How am I supposed to do that?”

“The new girl?”

“The one I might have forced Mrs. Bitters to give a position to after her harrowing experience in the street.”

Samuel shook his head, but the corners of his mouth tugged up. “Has she seen you since you shaved?”

Thomas shook his head.

“Let’s keep it that way.” Samuel rubbed his hands together. “Being new, she won’t be loyal to me or you yet, and I can’t risk her making the connection of who you are. I’ll send Jack up to you, and Daniel if you’re really bored. You can teach him how to play marbles.”

“And Lady Lavender?” Thomas had been so excited at the prospect of courting her properly.

Samuel looked at Thomas for far too long. “I will talk to Miriam and my mother about whether or not she should visit. I know you are developing feelings for her, but it’s not wise for her to become attached to a servant.”

Thomas pointed to his face. “I was hoping to tell her the truth.”

Another knock on the door sounded and Samuel put a finger to his lips to tell Thomas to be quiet. “Who is it?”

The door pushed open. “It’s your mother. And we need to have a chat.”

Samuel closed the door behind her and looked at Thomas. “Good afternoon, Your Grace.”

Thomas bowed beneath the dowager’s laughing eyes. “Good afternoon.”

She began to laugh and pointed at him. “This was not a good choice.” She motioned to his face.

Thomas looked heavenward. “So I’ve heard.”

He offered her the chair he’d vacated upon her entrance. She took it graciously. “Now, Fenleigh. What were you two discussing?”

“Mother,” Samuel cut in, “what was it you needed?”

She reached across his desk and patted his hand. “Nothing, dear. I only wanted to hear what you were saying.”

They both looked at Thomas.

“I was asking what he thought about me telling Lady Lavender who I really am,” he admitted.

“That puts her in a terrible position.” Lady Gilfordshire looked deeply into Thomas’s eyes. “I’ve been a part of one of the Gardner’s engagements. It was no small feat to help secure that girl’s happiness, and she had a backbone of iron. Lady Lavender carries a large burden with her this Season as it is. Unless you are proven an innocent man, she cannot marry you.”

“Then how do I prove my innocence? How do I prove that I did not help the spies? It seems like the only way for me to be justly accused would be for the authorities to find evidence that I was a part of a plot.”

“There are a couple options. Your cousin could hire an actor to testify against you. I believe this would be foolhardy. Testifying falsely against a duke would not be worth the risk to the man’s life. Or they could have had someone forge letters in your hand,” the dowager suggested. “I’ve given it some thought, and I believe some type of forgery is what must be afoot.”

Thomas hated that she was right. And if it was Lord Chilcott who was trying to frame him, the man would likely have plenty of correspondence over the years for someone to practice Thomas’s hand. The only reason Thomas hadn’t been called in to testify in court already was because he was a duke. His title afforded him no small amount of protection. “So I need to find evidence that I am being framed. That is the only way I can be freed of suspicion.”

“I’ve heard that the authorities are nervous about going through your homes. Why is that?”

Thomas smiled. “I wrote a letter that threatened anyone who acted suspiciously while I was gone. I did tell them they were welcome to search my properties though. I have nothing to hide, But I’m glad to see that the Lord Chancellor hasn’t been jumping to action until now. I think it shows a least some doubt in the rumor.”

Lady Gilfordshire smiled at Thomas. “Allow me some time to do a little listening. In the meantime, grow that awful hair back on your face.”

Samuel looked up in triumph. “Yes, we must listen to our elders, right, Fenleigh?”

Thomas and the dowager shot Samuel matching glares.

“Don’t call me old,” Lady Gilfordshire wagged her finger at her son.