Page 12 of Dubious about the Duke (Second Sons of London 5)

Chapter Five

Win waited inhis study for Jack Blumer to arrive the following morning. The Bow Street Runner had sent word to Woodbridge that he had found two children Terrance had sired. Blumer had indicated the situation was dire and that Win should come to London immediately to see it resolved.

He drummed his fingers on the desktop, too antsy to concentrate on anything. He wondered about these bastards the Bow Street Runner had located and the women who had produced the pair. He would have to see his solicitor once he had a better grasp of the situation because he wished to set up funds for them. He didn’t think it would be wise to have a large amount the mothers could draw from. Perhaps, instead, he would award them a quarterly allowance for the care of the children. It would take care of clothing and feeding them. Even schooling if they were boys.

He sat back in his chair, closing his eyes, marveling at how his life had changed so rapidly, as it had for his fellow Second Sons. Who would have thought the group of five steadfast friends would one day leave the battlefields and take their places in the House of Lords and Polite Society?

Of course, Win wasn’t participating in this Season, as he had shared with Sera Nicholls. He had enjoyed avoiding Polite Society even as he rolled up his sleeves and got to work at Woodbridge. Fortunately, Kepler, his steward on the estate, had proven to be a fount of knowledge. He had walked Win through things, as had three of the Second Sons. Spence, Ev, and Owen had all taken a week to come to Essex and help their friend adjust to his new role as Win immersed himself in being the Duke of Woodmont.

Trusting Kepler to keep things in hand, Win had actually visited two of his other estates, seeing they were well managed. He had two others to inspect but wanted to settle this matter of Terrance’s by-blows before he did so.

Then there was the upcoming house party to attend. Adalyn had written to him, telling him she and Louisa were preparing the guest list even as they kept an eye on which young women made matches and which ones would still be eligible—and suitable—to attend Louisa’s party and possibly be considered as a match for him. Win didn’t truly care whom he wed. Marriage was an obligation in that it would provide him the way to have a legitimate heir. He did see how his friends’ marriages were different from those of thetonin that the four men had all made love matches.

He had absolutely no interest in love.

His parents’ marriage had been arranged and they tolerated one another enough to have produced an heir and a spare. He rarely had been around them, he and Terrance being left in the country while they were in town for the Season, and later he and his brother had been away at school for much of the year. While he was happy for his fellow Second Sons finding love, he thought the concept did not apply to him. He enjoyed the favors of women too much to ever truly settle down with one of them. He would do his ducal duty and find the appropriate woman Polite Society would approve of to be his wife. He would sire an heir and a spare and perhaps a female child or two, but he had no intention of spending any amount of time with a wife, much less giving her his heart as he saw with his friends.

He actually looked forward to having children and being more involved in their lives than his parents ever had been in his. The Second Sons were a shining example of what good fathers should be, even if he felt some of them went slightly overboard in their affections. He would allow Adalyn to make the entire process simple. She would choose a wife for him. It would be just one of many things on a list he checked off, completing an important and necessary task.

A brisk knock at the door brought him back to the present. “Come,” he said, and the door was opened by his butler.

“Mr. Blumer has arrived, Your Grace.”

“Show him in, please.”

Moments later, the Bow Street Runner appeared in the doorway and strode into the room.

“Your Grace. Good morning. May I sit?”

“Of course,” Win said, indicating a chair directly in front of his desk.

The detective took it and Win waited expectantly for what would be revealed.

“No beating about the bush, Your Grace. You are the uncle to two boys,” Blumer informed him. “Freddie is six. Charlie is also six.”

Freddie and Charlie...

“Tell me everything you can about them, Mr. Blumer,” he encouraged. “Who their mothers are. The circumstances in which they were conceived. Their current home situations.”

Blumer nodded brusquely. “Freddie—Frederick on his birth record—is the by-blow of the previous Duke of Woodmont and Sandra Sawyer, a stage actress. She served as your brother’s mistress for three years until she became with child.”

“I am assuming he absolved himself from all responsibility once he learned about that.”

The detective nodded. “Miss Sawyer was well known in theatre circles, perhaps the most talented actress in London. In fact, I saw her in two different productions myself. She was a natural on the stage, extremely talented, and quite beautiful.” He paused and then added, “Not anymore.”

“She is no longer on the stage—or she is no longer beautiful after birthing my brother’s bastard? I know many women lose their figures but I had not heard of one losing her face before.”

A grim expression crossed the runner’s face. “Miss Sawyer has consumption, Your Grace. She hasn’t long to live.”

Win frowned. “Where is she? And is there anyone in her family who could take the boy?”

“I have located the boardinghouse she has been staying at for the past year. She lives in a room with Freddie and his half-brother, Charlie. Charles, on his birth certificate. Neither one named His Grace as the father, though.”

“Why is this Charlie living with Miss Sawyer and her son?”

“Apparently, His Grace impregnated not only Miss Sawyer but her dresser in the theater, the woman who maintained Miss Sawyer’s costumes and helped her change during performances. Her name was Sally. I have no last name for her. The dresser died in childbirth and her employer, Miss Sawyer, took on the babe to raise with her own.”

Win saw the shadows darken the detective’s face and he continued. “Miss Sawyer had a bit of a nest egg, not only because she was the highest paid actress on the London stage, but she had served as the mistress for two other lords previously, a marquess and an earl. Apparently—unlike your brother—both men were quite generous in their gifts to her. Among them were a small townhouse and numerous jewels.”

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