Page 6 of Hunted By the Guardian
“Well, there’s something else you two ought to consider here,” the solicitor said. “There’s the matter of the dowager’s ward.”
Noah. “What about him?” Violet asked.
“Ward?” The duke’s voice sharpened. “What ward?”
“A young man of ten years, according to the papers,” the solicitor said. “And she was more clear on this than on anything else—he is to stay with the house, and the owner of the house is to serve as his guardian. Whoever takes ownership of this place will have to take responsibility for the boy.”
“Well, of course there will be some way out of that,” the duke said. “We’ll bring in tutors and governesses. There will be no personal obligation, only financial.”
“No!” Violet was firm. “Absolutely not. Aunt Margaret took that child in because she wanted to give him a home. Fight with me all you want over the house, but I won’t have Noah’s care turned over to staff as if he’s nothing more than a burden. That isn’t an option. Listen, you don’t want him, so give me the house. Allow me to take care of the boy. I can’t give you back that money—I don’t have it. But you don’t want this life, raising this child, anyway, and I do. There’s no need for us to argue.”
She held her breath, hoping that he would see sense, but he was already shaking his head. “You can’t possibly think that I would just walk away from an investment,” he said. “I’m not a fool, Lady Violet. I spent a good deal of money on this house, and I’ve had my eye on it for many years now. I’m not going to forget all about that just because it comes with the inconvenience of a award. Something can be figured out. Some sort of arrangement can be made for the boy.”
“You could allow Lady Violet to purchase the estate for whatever she can afford,” the solicitor said. “Perhaps an equitable amount can be agreed upon.”
“So I ought to take a loss?” The duke shook his head. “It offends me that you would even make such a suggestion. And of course I had no intention of doing that. She may pay me the full amount or nothing at all.”
“Well, then I’m afraid the two of you have one another over a barrel,” the solicitor said. “You both have rights to this house, and if neither of you will waver, then neither of you has the power to eject the other. What’s more, you have a shared responsibility for the boy. I think you’re just going to have to live here together—to share the place, until you figure out what it is you want to do about it, or until I can find a way out of this conundrum. Of course, I will keep looking…” He trailed off.
Violet felt ill. “You really expect me to live here with him?”
“What I expect has very little to do with it, Lady Violet. I don’t care much at all how the two of you decide to handle the situation. I’m just telling you what the law requires here. And unfortunately, neither of you has the authority to turn the other out, as I told you. You may leave of your own accord if you wish, though if it transpires that the boy isn’t cared for, you will both have to answer for that. Or you can stay here.”
The duke folded his arms. “Well,” he said, “I’m not leaving. You may do what you like.”
“You’ll neglect Noah.”
“I won’t throw him out. The servants can look after him, as long as he stays out from underfoot.”
But I have nowhere else to go.
“I’m not leaving either,” she said. “This is my home. My aunt meant me to have it, and I am not going to walk away from what she wanted for me.”
“That settles it, then,” the solicitor said, looking from one of them to the other. “Until a solution can be found under the terms of the law, you are the new co-owners of Westlake Estate.”
CHAPTER 4
Violet awoke the next morning feeling determined. Today would be the day she would connect with Noah. Today, she would find him and spend time with him, talk with him, and get to know him. He must be completely overwhelmed at the addition of two new people to his house. He would need someone to help him get used to his new circumstances, and goodness knew the Duke of Alderwick was not going to be that person.
She hadn’t seen the duke, as a matter of fact, since the solicitor had left yesterday afternoon. But there had been hints of his presence around the house. Thankfully, the staff had taken her things up to the main bedroom when she had asked them to, which meant there hadn't been any unpleasant arguing over who would take that room. She’d half expected him to put up a fuss, to insist that since the house was his, the main room ought to be his too. She had braced for that argument, but it had never come. Now, waking up in the room he seemed content to leave her to occupy, she felt a brief flash of gratitude toward him.
No. Suppress that.
He still wasn’t making things easy. There was the matter of dinner, to begin with. She had assumed that the three of them—she, Noah, and the duke—would meet at the dinner table and be forced to speak to one another, but neither of the others had appeared. When she had asked Williams where Noah might be, he had murmured to her that the young master often asked to be served in his bedchamber and that the staff had gotten into the habit of obliging him. “But we can tell him that’s to come to a stop now, if it’s what you prefer,” he had added.
“No,” Violet had said firmly. “That isn’t fair to him at all. He’s gotten used to a pattern, a way of living, and I’m not going to change that on him now. He has enough change to deal with. I’ll hope for him to join me soon, when he’s adjusted to my presence in the house. When he’s ready. But what of the duke? He has no established patterns of behavior in this house. Why hasn’t he come to the table?”
Williams looked uncomfortable. “The truth is, His Grace asked what time you intended to take your dinner, and asked us to serve him an hour earlier,” he said.
“So…that means he isn’t planning on dining with me.”
“I should think he isn’t, since he’s eaten already.” There was sympathy in Williams’ voice, which Violet did not like. She didn’t relish the thought of being pitied. She did, however, feel a surge of anger at the duke, and—if she could admit it—a bit of pity for herself. He had really gone that far out of his way to avoid having to eat a meal with her? Did he hate her that much?
Well, and what of it if he does? It isn’t as if I like him either. I ought to be thanking him for removing himself from my company!
Still, the thought of his absence at the table had stayed with her all night, and this morning, it still lingered. It was like living with a ghost, she thought, to share her house with someone whom she didn’t see, but whose presence haunted everything she did.
He wouldn’t be at breakfast today, that was for certain. He would have found some way to avoid her. But perhaps she would be lucky enough to catch Noah there. She dressed quickly and hurried from her room, and much to her pleasure, found that he was sitting at the table with a piece of toast in his hand.
