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“Yours was a love match?”
“Yes, indeed. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Love in a marriage is a good thing, and should you ever change your mind, remember that.” She placed her now empty teacup on the table in front of them. “But to answer your question about Cam…”
Bridget leaned forward. Why she cared about Cam’s reason for not marrying was a puzzle, but she found the man to be a conundrum. He had every reason to marry and marry well. He also had the visage, money, and charm to attract any woman he wanted. Most titled gentlemen were eager to keep the title from reverting to some unknown, distant relative, or even the Crown.
“To understand Cam, you must first know the sort of upbringing he had. Our father was, stated plainly, a mean man. Arrogant, nasty, and in many cases, violent.”
Violent? No wonder Cam was eager to help her set up her woman’s house. He knew firsthand what some women suffered. “Did your mother suffer also?”
“Perhaps. We were quite young when she died, so I never knew for certain. Cam wouldn’t say. He was very closemouthed about a lot of things. Mother protected us from our father until she died, then Cam took over. He claimed responsibility for many a disaster Maryann and I caused. The beatings he took were terrible.”
It amazed her that people of the upper classes, with money and everything in life money could bring, had such darkness in their lives. She’d been stunned by Minerva’s confession, and now to find out that the man she’d grown to care for had such an appalling childhood ripped away all her preconceived notions of life and family.
“As horrible as that sounds, what has that to do with Cam not marrying? He has a title to secure.”
“That’s the rub. He is sure our father’s nature and behavior have been passed down to him, and he will turn into a tyrant who will beat and abuse his children. As far as we know, there are no male relatives to inherit the title. Cam feels it would be some sort of revenge on our father if he let the title revert back to the Crown. Let the Campbell name die with him.”
“Yet his theory about your father’s nature being handed down to his children didn’t stop you or your sister from having children.”
“I don’t believe ‘bad blood’ or horrendous behavior is something you inherit. I see no evidence of our father’s meanness in Cam. If anything, what he suffered as a child has made him the man he is today. Caring and protective.”
Constance reached out and touched Bridget’s hand. “He would be a wonderful husband to the right woman.”
Oh, dear. She didn’t care for the determined look in Lady Dunmore’s eyes.
Chapter Sixteen
Cam examined the papers Mr. Dunston had presented to him. The man had done a thorough job of uncovering all of Davenport’s financial sins. Compared to the documents Davenport had provided, there were some significant differences.
The man had overestimated the value of his holdings, both property and investments, by a large percentage. He’d also failed to include the tremendous amount of debt he owed to just about every merchant with whom he did business. His vowels for gambling debts were ponderous. In all, Lord Davenport needed a great deal of money to continue his life as he’d been enjoying it, and needed it now.
Cam leaned back in his chair and regarded Dunston. “I want you to buy up all his vowels.”
Dunston’s eyes grew wide. “My lord, why would you do that?”
“As leverage to get him to leave the country. Abandon his estates, never to return. A punishment better suited for him than hanging for murder.” He’d told Dunston a bit about Bridget’s friend and the poor girl’s horrendous time with Davenport. He would see the man leave in disgrace, hoping that brought some satisfaction to Bridget.
“Very well, my lord. I shall see to it immediately.”
“Then I want you to seek out the merchants he is in debt to and offer to pay their costs to obtain an arrest warrant for debt.”
Most merchants were reluctant to do so, since the cost was dear, and they didn’t want to lose business by being known among the ton as the merchant who wouldn’t allow debts to linger until eternity.
“Once that is accomplished, bring all the notes and writs to me, and we will set up a meeting with Lord Davenport.” He would love to have Bridget present to see to his downfall, but as he had no idea how Davenport would react, he didn’t want to be distracted by concern for her welfare. They already knew the man was capable of violence.
Feeling as though he’d put a good, solid plan into action, he dismissed Dunston and prepared to meet Bridget to view the building for her women. Hopefully, they would not be presented with another child to deal with. Maybe she should consider opening an orphanage instead of a safe house.
…
As he and Bridget arrived at the building, Cam did a cursory glance to see if the woman who’d thrust the baby into their arms was lingering about. No sign of her as they climbed the steps and he opened the door to usher Bridget inside.
“Oh, this is perfect!” Bridget twirled in a circle in the entrance hall. Although she hadn’t seen very much, he did think it was a much better option than the first one. For one, it was in a better neighborhood but still accessible to the area where a working woman would be employed.
It was also much lighter, due to the large windows in the four rooms on the ground floor. A trip up to the first floor revealed another four rooms, with a two-room attic.
“Ten rooms in all. That will accommodate so many women.” Bridget almost clapped her hands in glee, causing him to smile at her enthusiasm.
“Before we become too excited, I want to have Dunston secure the services of someone who can inspect the building for things we can’t see: rot, leaks, problems such as those.”
