Page 28 of Never Doubt I Love (Calloway #3)

“What do you mean, Alexander isn’t here?” Olivia did not mean to shout, but Simon was being far too calm. “Where would he go?”

Lucy chuckled, taking Simon’s hand as they sat beside each other in the breakfast room. “Olivia, is it not obvious?”

No, it was not, and she did not like the way even Mother was trying to hide her grin. “Simon, why would you send him away? He did not do anything wrong!”

“He allowed you to dress as a boy and ride twenty miles away from your family to visit someone not yet related to you,” Simon argued lightly. “If you ask me, it was dangerous to keep him near you.”

“He would never do anything to—”

“Dangerous for him,” Simon clarified with a smirk. “Olivia, will you please sit? You are giving me a headache, and it is far too early for that.”

Olivia sat only because she knew Simon could be as stubborn as she was, but she would not let this matter rest until she knew Alexander was safe and well. “Simon Calloway, you had better tell me where... wait, did you say yet ?”

Simon frowned. “What?”

“You said, ‘not yet related to me.’” Olivia’s jaw dropped, and for once she was speechless.

Simon grinned. “I sent him to stay with Harstone,” he told her, speaking slowly, as if she might not understand otherwise. “If he is going to court you, he will do so properly and in the public sphere so as not to give London any more reasons to gossip about him or you. Only then, after an appropriate length of time, will I allow him to ask for your hand. Is that clear?”

Instead of words coming out of her mouth, Olivia squeaked. Did he mean that?

“As I know you will ask,” Simon continued, “I have approved of the match. I am simply not eager to court scandal again. This family has endured enough of that.”

“I admit that William’s elopement is quite the story, but I do not feel as if you and I went through any scandal,” Lucy said with a pout.

Simon scoffed. “My darling, you were a governess pretending to be my brother’s betrothed and ensnared my heart within a week. We are fortunate no one thought to question where you came from.”

“I questioned it,” someone said in the doorway. Nick stood there with a small smile, though it lacked his usual exuberance and warmth. “I knew from the beginning Lucy was not who we believed her to be.”

“It takes a liar to know one,” Simon replied. “What brings you here at the crack of dawn, Forester?”

Nick shrugged one shoulder, his smile falling. “I wish it were a lie that brought me here, to be honest.”

Olivia gripped her fork tightly. She had no idea what Nick might say, but she knew it couldn’t be good. She had never seen him this subdued and somber. “Nick?” she asked weakly.

He glanced at her but kept his focus on Simon. “The...”

Simon stood. “Out with it, man.”

“The Duke of Tipton is dead.” Nick winced. “Killed in a duel early this morning.”

As that announcement hit her square in the chest, Olivia lost her ability to breathe. “Alex?”

Nick shook his head. “He is perfectly well. He left Harstone’s at sunup this morning and returned home to discover his brother had been challenged by a man whose wife is carrying the duke’s child. Forgive me, ladies, for bearing such gruesome news, but I thought you would all like to know.”

The air in the room seemed thick, like it had been filled with a sort of fog that left everything dark and cold. Olivia could not imagine what Alexander was feeling right now. As soon as she found the strength to move, she would go see him. Offer what comfort she could.

“What of the challenger?” Simon asked quietly.

Nick bowed his head. “From what I hear, he was gravely injured by the duke’s shot and may not last through the day. I have yet to confirm the truth of that.”

“And you know for certain the duke is dead?” Simon asked.

“I went to Tipton House myself to verify what all of London is whispering about.”

Sitting up straight, Olivia fixed her gaze on Nick with some measure of desperation. “You have spoken to Alex?”

Nick grimaced. “His Grace.”

“What? But you just said the duke is dead.”

“Olivia.” Nick’s eyebrows pulled low. “He is the duke now. Alexander Bailey is the new Duke of Tipton.”

* * *

Perhaps sneaking off to visit the home of a newly deceased duke was not the best idea she had ever had, but after Simon and Nick had both refused to accompany her to see Alexander, Olivia was feeling desperate. Lucy and Mother had both sat with her throughout the morning, talking in low tones about the events of the last couple of days while throwing sympathetic glances her way. Lucy seemed to think Alexander could use a friend, but she agreed with the others that Olivia should wait a while.

Olivia could not wait.

After lunching with her family, she told them that she wished to lie down for a bit and think of ways she might help Alexander once matters had calmed. As soon as she had a chance, she’d slipped onto the servants’ staircase and out to the stables, convincing one of the lower grooms to help her saddle Cordelia and ride with her.

When she reached the Tipton residence, however, and found the place in complete chaos, she wondered if maybe her family was right when they’d said she should wait.

The front door was wide open, and as Olivia stepped inside, servants bustled about, most of them running rather than walking. They all seemed to be carrying furniture or other items and bringing them to the same room, each man and woman looking frantic and fearful. What in the world was going on?

“Miss Calloway?” A man of around thirty paused in the middle of carrying a large decorative vase through the chaos. Olivia did not recognize him, but she wondered if he might be Alexander’s valet. It would explain why he knew her.

“What is happening here?” Olivia asked, clutching her reticule as if it might protect her from the frenetic madness around her.

The valet opened his mouth but seemed unsure what to say.

“I know about His Grace,” she told him, wincing as she did so. What was the proper way to mention such a horrible incident? “I was hoping I might speak to Lord Alexander. Er, His Grace now, I suppose.”

Again, the valet breathed in and seemed about to speak, but then he clenched his jaw and shook his head. “Beggin’ your pardon, m’lady, but I’m not sure I should—”

“Olivia.” Alexander’s soft voice cut through the commotion so easily, it was as if Olivia’s ears had been trained to hear only him. He stood at the top of the marble staircase, looking down at her with his emotionless mask firmly in place. “You should not be here.”

She took a step closer, only for the valet to step into her path with an apologetic grimace. “I needed to know you were well.”

“Thank you, James. That can go with everything else.” Alexander watched the valet follow a maid holding several candlesticks and disappear, and then he slowly made his way down the stairs. It had been only half a day since she saw him last, but already he carried himself like a duke, his shoulders stiff and his jaw tight. He looked down at the floor when he reached her rather than meeting her gaze. “As you can see, I am perfectly well.”

“No, you are not.” Olivia desperately wished to hold his hand or embrace him, but he kept his hands tucked behind his back. “Alexander, I am so sorry.”

Though he wore a black band around his arm, it was his expressionless face that truly displayed his mourning. Only yesterday he had been happy and free, and now everything had changed. Shaking his head, Alexander finally looked up, his blue-gray eyes wet with moisture. “I have been looking through Hugh’s ledgers this morning,” he said quietly. “The estate is in shambles, far worse than I thought. The staff’s salaries are overdue, and I fear most of them will need to search for employment elsewhere. I have asked them to sell whatever they can so they may get their past wages, but beyond that...”

Olivia pressed her palm to his cheek, and he closed his eyes, letting a tear slip onto his cheeks. Then he took a step back, out of her reach. Her heart broke with that step. “Alex.”

“I cannot give you a life, Olivia.” He swallowed, more tears falling. “And I will not subject you to this madness that my brother has left me.” He stepped backward again, each step hitting Olivia like a blow to her chest. “As I assume you are here without your brother’s knowledge, it is my duty to ask you to return home.”

There were so many things she wanted to say to this man, but Olivia held her tongue. She knew Alexander well enough to know he would not be persuaded. So she lifted her chin and met his gaze, refusing to cry. “You have made up your mind, then? You do realize that marrying me would give you thirty thousand pounds. Enough to save your estate.”

Alexander sighed. “I never wanted your dowry, Olivia. That will never change.”

“I believe you. Good day, Your Grace.”

“Olivia.”

She turned on her heel and walked back through the still-open door, where the groom was waiting for her with Cordelia. She had expected Alexander to turn her away, though she had not anticipated the sting of his refusal to be quite so sharp. No matter. She would carry on with her plans.

“Will you be returning home now, miss?” the groom asked as he helped her mount.

“Not quite yet. First, I must make a stop at Tattersall’s.”

“The . . . the horse market?”

“Indeed.” Olivia did not wait for the groom to follow, though she knew he would. Beyond accompanying her wherever she intended to go, he was likely eager for the opportunity to see so many fine horses in one place. “But none as fine as you,” she murmured to Cordelia, rubbing her neck and praying she was making the right decision.