Page 10 of A Governess' Unbridled Passion
“Do you ever recall Lady Davina from the past, Betsy?” she asked Nanny, who was busy clearing up Lord Jacob’s discarded toys.
“Only vaguely, Miss Alice. When the old duke married her mother, it caused a bit of a scandal. I can tell you that much,” Betsy said with harshness in her voice.
“Whatever can you mean?” Alice asked as she approached Betsy so they could talk with hushed voices, away from the children.
“It be a long time ago since last I recall the likes of her, and I was much younger then,” Betsy began. “Her mother was a young thing too, but it didn’t stop her from marrying the older duke at the time. He was in his senior years and much older than his French bride.”
“Lord George Tilbury? So, he was the father to Robert and Phillip Tilbury then?” Alice asked, trying to work out the lineage as she had only known the late Duke, Lord Robert Tilbury herself.
Alice wasn’t usually one to gossip, but all of this was relevant to her charges, and she wanted to know about any impending changes.
Betsy nodded in agreement. “Lady Davina was only a child herself, causing even more gossip about the old duke’s marriage. It meant that his sons gained a stepsister overnight. It was most confusing for the likes of me.”
“Hmmm … Sadly, it is not unusual for wealthy, older men to take on younger wives,” Alice muttered, more to herself than to Betsy.
“Well, the gossip died down after the old duke’s death. But there still be lots of falling out between Lord Robert Tilbury and his father’s widow … erm … the French Lady Henrietta, that be who she was. The dowager duchess by rights, but His Grace, at the time, was having none of it.”
“I supposeKatzmight be her real father’s name then?” Alice pondered out loud.
“There was talk that her mother insisted she keep her birth name because the father had been a great French artist who’d passed away. That’s why her real name be Lady Davina Katz-Tilbury.”
“I do not recall the late duke, Lord Robert, ever mentioning a stepsister?” Alice questioned, all the while watching the children.
“Different as chalk and cheese they were,” Betsy replied. “Now this be a family secret, but they say he paid them a lot of money to go back to France. Years later, word returned to us that the French Lady Henrietta had passed. Even worse, they say she died of the French Pox. No one has heard from her daughter until now.”
“One has to wonder, though, what has brought her running back?” Alice muttered.
“It not be for the sake of the children, I knows that much,” Betsy huffed.
“Lady Davina says she is concerned for their well-being now that they are alone in the world,” Alice said. Though she was feeling more annoyed by the minute. “I am inclined to agree with you and believe that the woman has something to hide.”
“Gossip with the maids is that she’s here to get her claws into the young duke,” Betsy told her, looking proud that she had so much information to share.
“She cannot marry him, surely. She is his stepsister … but then, I do not suppose they are blood relatives, are they?” Alice questioned, mumbling to herself again.
“I don’t know what you means, Miss Alice, but that one is a leach if you ask me,” Betsy added, nodding her head in worry. “The young duke needs to watch his back. And I tell you what else, none of it bodes well for the children either.”
“No, it does not, Betsy. You are quite right,” Alice mumbled as she started to see the picture a lot clearer.
It seemed to Alice that Lady Davina Katz-Tilbury was out to gain all she could from the inexperienced duke. All the servants suspected it anyway. She had to wonder, though, whether the duke knew anything of the woman’s background.
It seemed she hadn’t had much to do with the family once they’d left for France. How was Alice ever going to be able to find out if the French woman posed a threat to her charges? And even to the new duke, for that matter.
Chapter 6
At breakfast the next day, Phillip was overjoyed to share his table with Mr Eli again, even though it meant putting up with Lady Davina too. He hadn’t quite decided whether he liked her or not yet. Certainly, she was glamorous and attractive in her ways, but something niggled that made him feel he didn’t quite trust her.
His senses warned him that she didn’t ring true. But unable to put his finger on what it was that bothered him, he tolerated her. Besides, if she was going to help him with all the balls and soirees he needed to attend and host, then she could prove useful.
“Am I missing much over on the plantation, do you think, Eli?” Phillip asked his friend. “I think about it every day.”
“That place runs itself without you, Phillip,” Mr Eli answered with one of his lovely smiles. “You might not like that answer, but it is a good thing that it does.”
“I am sure all the ladies will be missing their two most handsome of men,” Lady Davina said, lending them a sensual smile as she licked her lips.
“Well, Eli does have his pick of the many lovely unattached young women there. I can vouch for that,” Phillip said. “But on another matter, Eli. I have arranged for you to meet with the family solicitor. He will bring along an accountant who has been running the accounts temporarily. Do you feel ready to take them over?”
“I sure do, Phillip. That’s why I’m here after all,” Mr Eli said, sharing his enthusiasm to get started.
