The wildlife was Riggins' domain. By longstanding tradition, game management was the duke's purview, not the duchess'. My great-grandfather had known I wasn't interested in hunting or wildlife particularly, so why would I interfere with tradition?
No, the wily old man had counted on Riggins taking care of it, buying me time to get pregnant before I discovered Sid's cure. He wouldn't have wanted me to find the cure and get out of the deal before producing a child that bound.
But now I felt an urgency to talk to Bird. As soon as possible. First, though, I had to get through the rest of the day. The sun was shining and had warmth when you stood directly in it, though the air was still cool. The sunshine gave me courage. Riggins and I had unfinished business. Yes, he was stinging from thoughts of betrayal. I was hurting, too.
It had been foolish, maybe, to think he'd chosen me over Rose for myself. Before I knew about my true connection to Rans and Helen, I could even believe I was Riggins' choice. It had been a pleasant fantasy. But now that the results of the DNA test were clear and I knew about them, I was washed in doubt. It sounds stupid, really, but the sunny day gave me courage. What could possibly go wrong on a beautiful day like this? Besides everything?
The dress shop was a few blocks down and over from the post office. Everything was within comfortable walking distance of the castle and everything else. I loved the village. It had a relaxed feeling reminiscent of a simpler era, even though things were anything but uncomplicated for anyone. But it gave the illusion of it, anyway.
As we strolled to the shop, I nibbled on some crackers I'd brought with me in my oversize purse. We'd decided beforehand to have tea at the castle after we finished our errands. But I couldn't go long between meals without snacking on something.
I stopped suddenly, catching Riggins by surprise. "You knew I was Helen's grandchild as soon as the DNA results came back. That's what you meant by unusual results. I was too closely related to be a great-niece."
He gave me a startled look. "What?"
"You knew," I said again, watching him closely.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other before finally nodding. "Yes."
"Did you check my DNA against the Dead Duke's?" I had to know. If he wasn't going to love me, I had to have a reason not to trust or love him.
"No." He held my gaze.
"But you must have suspected. Why else would the Dead Duke be so adamant that I had to marry you?" I couldn't understand his lack of curiosity.
"For the reason the will stated-that he wanted his and Helen's DNA to continue the line, meaning me and a descendant of Helen. I didn't question it. If he wanted to hand hundreds of millions over to a descendant of Helen and another man, it wasn't my business."
I looked him in the eye. "I don't believe that. You're not that incurious."
"You're calling me a liar?" His tone was surprisingly neutral, but his eyes were narrow, as if he was barely hanging on to his sense of control.
"I believe you didn't have my DNA tested against his. I don't believe your reason." I touched his arm, trying to be conciliatory without letting him completely off the hook.
His expression softened. "You're too damned sharp, duchess."
"You would have preferred a stupider woman?" I squeezed his arm.
He shook his head. "In this instance, maybe."
"So? Why didn't you check the DNA?" I wasn't giving up.
"Because I'm a coward." He covered my hand resting on his arm with his hand. "I didn't want to know the answer in case it obligated me to more than I was prepared to deal with. I talked to Thorne about the possibilities and asked if there was any way to give the estate to you in case you were the duke's great-granddaughter. Not that I had any intention of finding out for sure."
Riggins held my gaze. "Thorne explored it. But the will, and the poison pill, are airtight. I can't give the estate to you, even though you're from the direct line and the last heir of it.
"I'm sorry to shatter your illusions of him, Haley. The Dead Duke didn't just want his great-granddaughter to have the estate because of a sentimental notion of familial love. He wanted the estate intact with a duke from his line running it." He sounded genuinely sorry.
A lump formed in my throat. I nodded. "Don't be. I believe nothing less of him." I paused. "Are the DNA results you knew about why you chose me over Rose?"
"Partly."
"Oh." I looked up into his eyes, which were suddenly dancing with devilment. "Only partly? There's more to it?" My heart raced. I was hoping there was much more to it.
"I suppose I thought you would be more compliant."
I gave him a gentle shove.
"Clearly, I was wrong." He laughed softly. "I'm not the best judge of character."
"Obviously not." I smiled back at him, still looking for more.
Riggins took my arm. "Time to be doing the shops. We're keeping the shopkeeper waiting. Let's go buy you a new dress to wear to our big announcement."
It was a clever diversionary tactic, but eventually he would have to tell me his true feelings for me. "Your British is coming along quite nicely."
He grinned as we started walking. "I've been studying while I was gone. I had to do something to fill the lonely hours."
I looked up at him sharply, trying to see if he was still joking with me. He was looking straight ahead with an inscrutable expression, damn him.
The shopkeeper, Heidi, met us at the door and showed us to a private fitting room. Heidi was about Riggins' age, I guessed. And stylishly dressed. Her little shop was well laid out, gently perfumed, and elegantly stocked. Her mother, Linda, worked with her as her shop assistant and was on hand to help with my selection. This was an important event for them, too. And could mean a boatload of future business for them when word got out that they had outfitted the duchess for her press conference to announce her first pregnancy.
Riggins was shown an upholstered chair in the waiting area where I could parade in front of both him and a trifold mirror. I was shown to a fitting room where a rack of dresses in my size had been wheeled, waiting for me.
Linda and Heidi were both pleasant and friendly. It wasn't hard to get them chatting. In short order, I discovered they'd both been born and raised in the village. Heidi had gone away to London to fashion school and come home to set up shop. Linda was immensely proud of her daughter. Neither of them knew much about the late duke.
"Never met him," Linda said when I asked about him. "Kept himself to himself. The new duke is already much more friendly and available." She peeked in Riggins' direction, even though he was outside the closed door of the fitting room in the viewing area waiting for us.
Her eyes got a friendly sparkle. "And continuing the tradition of being very handsome, besides." She grinned at me. "We're proud of our dukes. The Dukes of Witham have a reputation for cutting fine figures. The late duke was reportedly quite handsome in his younger years, and not bad looking at the end, for a man in his hundreds." She winked.
Heidi and I chuckled with her.
"That seems to be the general consensus of the late duke," I said. "Why was he so reclusive? Does anybody know? Was he just shy? Or arrogant?" I slid into one of the dresses they'd pulled for me to try on.
"There might have been some arrogance. He was from another era," Linda said, "when the aristocracy had more power and respect. But I think he liked his solitude and didn't find much pleasure in other's company. We've been friends with the Bird family for years. They've never had but good to say about the late duke."
My ears perked up. But I also had to admit to a certain amount of deceit and spying. I had known of the connection between the families beforehand. Our chef, Alice, had mentioned it. Which was part of the reason I'd decided to get a new dress when I had a closetful that would do.
I'd made the arrangements as part of my general plan to check up on anyone who'd been with the castle for a long time, before I'd known Bird had gone to China. I was even more interested now.
"Bird, as we call your gamekeeper, has always spoken highly of the late duke. Said he was loyal to his employees and generous with them."
"That's good to hear," I said as Heidi zipped me into a dress. Back zippers were such a pain. I turned sideways and admired myself in the mirror, certain Riggins would have an opinion on the dress.