Page 40 of Her Bear of a Duke

"He also believed her name was Elizabeth."

"Precisely. Should that be the case, you can ask him if he ever knew more about her. He could have been lying for the sake of your brother, but now that you are enquiring directly, he may be swayed."

Morgan considered this greatly. He remembered the man that had brought Catherine to him well, and he had in truth planned to pay him a visit eventually or even invite him to stay for dinner one night so that he could meet her. Again, he had left it so long that he no longer felt it was right to do it.

"This is all so preposterous," he grumbled. "I have forgiven my brother, but I wish he had at least caused less chaos before leaving it for me to fix."

"Yes, well, brothers tend to do that."

His friend was grinning wickedly, and Morgan envied him greatly. He wished that he could have been the carefree second son that he was meant to be, and left everything for Thomas instead, but that had never been his role. It was for the best that he was now the Duke of Ulverston, as awful as he felt to think that, but he never should have had to shoulder such burdens.

"Does your brother loathe you?" he asked.

"Not at all. Well, at least I do not believe he does. Then again, I am not half as dreadful as your late brother. The worst that I have done is frequented a brothel or two."

"I would have said it was the visit to the eccentric that you met. The one that enjoyed painting scantily clad women."

"There is nothing wrong with painting. He actually said he liked what I made, believe it or not."

"Ah, yes, and then he hung it in his gallery."

"Actually, it was put away never to see the light of day again, but you already knew that."

Morgan laughed, in spite of how concerned he was about the task at hand. He later returned to his lodgings and set to make a plan as to what he would do next. He would visit Mister Smythe in the morning, and try to trace the elusive lady that had seemingly disappeared into nothing. It was almost as if shenever existed at all, and had it not been for Catherine he might have believed that.

Fortunately, it was far easier to find Mister Smythe as he had not changed his office. All that Morgan had to do was ask a single person if they had heard of him, and he was directed the entire way. He braced himself before knocking, hoping that something would come of his visit but knowing that he would not be so fortunate as that.

"Your Grace!" Mister Smythe gasped, not expecting him. "Welcome. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Might you have a moment? I require a word."

The man nodded, welcoming him in. Morgan looked around at the small space that he had entered, hoping that somewhere there was a letter that Thomas had sent him, something that explained what had happened beyond him having a child with a lady he had no intentions of marrying.

"What can I help you with?" Mister Smythe asked as they sat at his desk.

"It is about my brother, and the lady he… knew."

"I did wonder when you would have more questions."

"I never thought to ask anything. I wanted to care for the little girl, first."

"Ah yes, little Catherine. How is she?"

"She is coming along well. She is a funny little girl, and so intelligent, but that sickness never left her."

"That is no surprise to me. She will likely have that cold for the rest of her life, given what happened to her. It is a miracle that we have her with us at all."

Morgan had visions of what might have happened if they were not seen, and shuddered.

"You are a good man," Mister Smythe continued. "Not every man would take in his niece, let alone one born under such circumstances."

"It is what was right, and I have never once regretted it. She is a lovely girl, and I would rather have her with me than in some orphanage somewhere."

"And with a new wife, too. How does she feel about it?"

"She– she does not yet know about her. Catherine remains in her own wing of the household, and my wife does not visit that part of it."

Mister Smythe narrowed his eyes slightly.

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