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‘It appears I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did,’ Alex said with a mix of regret and apology. ‘When younger I considered my uncle Thomas a nice fellow. He would give me riding lessons or take me fishing in school holidays if my father was too busy to accommodate me.’
‘You were young and he had a gift for turning the heads of innocents. My wife discovered that to her cost,’ Walter stated with weary bitterness. ‘I bumped into Arabella in town when I was on a visit to my sister. It was awkward, but we managed a civil conversation. I had my daughters with me, but before the girls spotted her in Oxford Street I sent them into a shop to buy some pretty fripperies. I don’t know why I did that. They would have adored seeing her. Beatrice longed to join her mama in London.’ An expectant quiet followed Walter’s dreamy-voiced introspection, then he turned his head, fixing his watery eyes on Alex’s face. ‘Oh, I wasn’t being wholly spiteful in denying my wife her children; I would have allowed occasional stays. But Reeves didn’t like youngsters, so Arabella said.’ His bony chest undulated in a grim laugh. ‘I’m not sure my wife did either...not really; despite all her fulsome declarations her daughters bored her, inconvenienced her, just as I did.’
Walter frowned, becoming conscious that he’d revealed a great deal of his private thoughts to a man he’d never spoken to before. Oddly, he felt that he liked and respected this young fellow, just as he had his father before him.
‘It seems such a long time ago...’ He breathed out in conclusion and allowed the ticking clock and a chink of crystal to fill the silence. Having replenished his own glass, he pushed the bottle across his desktop towards Alex in wordless invitation.
‘How much did he owe you, sir, if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve no record of the sum.’
‘In cash? Not a great deal. Fifty pounds, perhaps.’ Walter closed his eyes and a soundless laugh puffed his withered lips. ‘In every other way he took from me what was priceless.’
Alex got up and placed his empty glass on the edge of the desk. ‘It is what is priceless that must be accounted for.’
‘I want nothing from you,’ Walter interrupted rather harshly. ‘No money, no apologies. What happened was not your fault or your business.’ Through the window Walter’s eyes alighted on his fair daughters as they came into view walking with the doctor. A quiet smile curved his lips as he watched them. ‘Even now he’s dead and buried I can’t escape Venner tainting my life. I won’t have it, I tell you. You may tear up whatever papers you have relating to me. I wrote and told him to keep his damnable money when he started to send it. But still in dribs and drabs it arrived.’
Alex swiped a hand around his jaw, wondering how best to proceed. And then he caught sight of the trio outside in the garden and his gaze softened, held steady.
He knew how he wanted to proceed with Elise if not with her father. He wanted her quiet grace and beauty always in his life because with a burst of wonderment he understood she held the key to his heart and his future happiness. He felt his mouth tilt wryly. All he had to do was convince her of it. And do so he would. It had taken just a kiss for him to lose himself to her. When her mouth and body had merged against his so naturally she’d stirred in him equal measures of desire and tenderness that had penetrated deep into his soul. Never before had a woman—even a mistress he’d allowed himself to grow fond of—affected him in such an immediate and explosive way.
Walter pushed to his feet and made a grab for his stick, making Alex rip his eyes from Elise and spring forwards to steady her father.
Courteously Walter removed his elbow from the younger man’s grip and tilted his chin in a display of defiant independence. He looked up into Alex’s dark features. ‘You resemble your father...not just in looks. I know you are alike in other ways, too.’ He nodded at the cane that lay on the floor. ‘Would you be good enough to get that for me.’
Alex handed over the wooden stick. ‘Will you allow me to escort you to wherever it is you are going?’
‘I’m just off to stretch my legs in a turn about the room.’ Walter smiled. ‘Then I’ve a letter to read.’ He tilted his head at the window. ‘It is a fine afternoon. Why do you not join the young people outside for a breath of air.’
‘I think I will, sir.’ Alex hesitated at the door to watch for a moment as Walter started his ramble. A moment later he went out and closed the door quietly.
