A Lady Never Tells(35)

Fitz raised his brows. “So they really are our cousins.”

Oliver nodded. “I believe so. The only possible question would be whether the marriage and birth certificates are legitimate. They could be forged, I suppose, and I would have no way of knowing.”

“If they were forged, the girls could have been born out of wedlock.”

“Yes. But it seems unlikely. Aunt Flora disobeyed her father, but that does not mean she would have entirely flouted convention and not married Miles Bascombe. Indeed, the whole point of contention was her marrying the man, so I would presume that she did so once she was out from under her father’s hand.”#p#分页标题#e#

“Isn’t one of the birth certificates missing?” Royce asked.

“Yes, but to my way of thinking, that makes it even more likely that they are telling the truth. If one were planning to gull someone into believing that several illegitimate children were legitimate, it only stands to reason that one would forge all the birth certificates. Why leave one out? It creates doubt. Why make them each come from a different place? It’s a great deal of work to no purpose. No, I fear this tale bears the messy hallmarks of reality.”

Oliver reached over to pour them another drink.

“What do you intend to do with them?” Fitz asked, taking a sip.

“Clearly, I have an obligation to them. They are Talbots, after all.”

“And, of course, that is what matters,” Royce murmured.

The earl frowned at him. “Well, I would think it is when one is talking about providing for four people. I have no interest in taking in every stray orphan off the street.”

“Don’t get on your high ropes, Ol,” Fitz drawled. “You know Royce cannot pass up the chance to point out that he is not a Talbot.”

Royce cast a jaundiced eye at his younger brother. “I beg your pardon. Need I remind you that I can still draw your cork?”

Fitz let out a bark of laughter. “You haven’t bested me since I was nineteen.”

“Yes, yes, no doubt you are both exemplary pugilists,” the earl put in. “But we are talking about the Bascombe girls.”

“A delightful topic they are, too.” Fitz heaved an exaggerated sigh. “So sad that they are relatives.”

Both his half brothers rolled their eyes, and Royce went on as if Fitz had not spoken. “What do you plan to do about them?”

“Obviously, I cannot toss them out to starve. Besides, I think Grandfather would have mended the rift with his daughter if he had had the opportunity.”

“The old earl spoke to me once of her,” Royce said. “I had forgotten all about it until this came up. He did not say her name, as I remember, but he spoke of her with regret.”

“Too bad he didn’t change his will to reflect that,” the earl remarked.

Royce shrugged. “I imagine he didn’t consider the possibility of Flora returning. I think he believed she was dead. He wouldn’t have known about her daughters.”

“I haven’t the slightest notion what to do with four young girls!” Oliver burst out. “Especially ones as unready as these for London society. I feel I ought to do more than feed and clothe them and immure them somewhere in the country. Surely they deserve a marriage portion and a Season—a chance to find husbands and marry.”

Fitz grinned. “I can see Camellia at a ball now, describing how best to wield a knife at close quarters.”

Stewkesbury groaned. “That is precisely what I mean. Much as I dislike the Season, I could steel myself to that, I think. But the entire ton would be appalled by them. They would have no hope of marrying well—or even of being accepted by their peers.”

“Too bad you can’t marry them off before they face the world,” Royce joked. “Find some squire or Cit happy to ally himself with the Earl of Stewkesbury. Then it’s his worry.”

“Perhaps you would like to marry one of them and take her off my hands,” the earl tossed back lightly. “Grandfather would have been pleased to see you tied to the Talbots.”

Royce’s face tightened. “I should shackle myself to a half-civilized hoyden of questionable origins just for the honor of attaching my name to the Talbots?”#p#分页标题#e#

“Bloody hell, Royce.” Oliver returned his frown. “Don’t be a fool; I was jesting. You know I wouldn’t expect you to take on a wife like that to rid me of a problem.”

Royce grimaced and started to retort, but at that moment the door swung open with great force. Mary Bascombe strode into the room, clad in dressing gown and slippers, dark hair tumbling in a wild mass over her shoulders and her face lit like an avenging angel’s.