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Max slowly shrugged. “It’s… how it can be in the upper class. Not so much now, of course, but in generations past, absolutely. Especially if there was a second or third son willing to toe the line.”
“Oof.”
“Anyway, Will’s dad went against the duke’s wishes, and I think the only times they spoke after that was when Will and his sister were born.”
“Did they not go to Will’s dad’s wedding?”
“No.”
Wow. “Was his grandmother okay with that? Um… the duchess? I don’t know.”
His lips twitched. “Not really, from what Will has told me. Not as time went on, at least,” he added. “I think the only reason he himself has a relationship with his grandfather is because his grandmother insisted on spending time with the children, and his father agreed. Grandma would know more about that.”
“Know more about what?” The woman in question walked into the library, looking at us. “Oh. This is cosy.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Give it a rest,” Max muttered. “We’re talking about the Glenrochs. Ellie is going to appropriate their drama for her book.”
“That’s a strong word,” I said slowly.
“So you’re not?”
“Oh, no, I absolutely am.”
Esme chuckled. “Ah, yes. The drama there is quite something,” she said, nodding. “Angus is a right bloody curmudgeon.”
“The duke,” Max explained.
“Is it true?” I asked her. “He didn’t even go to his son’s wedding?”
“He did not,” Esme sang, sitting down. “He was so angry that Stuart chose to marry Katie that he didn’t go to the wedding. He attended William and Freya’s christenings because Morag made him. His wife,” she added after a second. “She refused to not be included in her grandchildren’s lives, and they reached somewhat of an agreement. Stuart still uses Angus’ secondary title of Earl of Dunbarn, and on William’s christening, Angus bestowed another of his secondary titles on his grandson. William goes by Viscount Kinkirk. He should have been Marquess Braenig, but it’s got quite a lot of scandal linked to an ancestor, so Angus chose another.”
“That’s a lot of titles,” I mused.
“It’s a very old line,” Esme replied. “Predates the Windermere line by around ninety years.”
“Do you have more than one? Title?” I asked Max.
He nodded. “An earldom and a marquise.”
“Huh. I never knew that.”
Esme’s lips twitched. “It’s not like there’s anyone else around to use them.”
“Grandma,” Max mumbled.
I fought back a laugh. “So what do they do? Do Stuart and William use their titles?”
“Of course they do. They’re entitled to them, and to refuse them would be an insult to Angus. It’s a tetchy enough relationship without that,” Esme explained. “Plus, there are still matters of the estate that must be discussed, family feud or otherwise, but that’s all they discuss. I believe William and Freya are closer to Angus and Morag than their parents are.”
“She’s getting married there next March,” Max said. “At Glenroch Castle.”
“Freya is?”
“Yes. The invitation is on the fridge.”
“Oh. I thought that was my next dentist appointment.”
