I shifted in my chair, leaning toward Thorne. "His body was never found. Would he have any claim to the title and estate?"
The ghost I suspected was haunting the tower was very human. I wondered …
"It's highly unlikely. If he did suddenly appear, it would open up a legal tangle for the title, perhaps." Thorne appeared a little too unconcerned. And slightly wary at the same time. "I wouldn't worry about it, sir. You've been declared the duke and possession of all property was willed to you."
He paused as if taking time to compose his thoughts. "I would be leery, though, sir, of anyone coming forward trying to extort money from you for any reason regarding your late father. If someone appears purporting to know the whereabouts of your father, or makes any claims to the dukedom, you will let me know? Our firm has experience dealing with inheritance disputes and illywhackers."
Illywhackers? I hoped he meant con men. Whatever he was talking about, I had the feeling he knew more than he was letting on.
I nodded. "Of course." I wasn't going to let my suspicions show for the moment either. "Now that that's settled, do you happen to know which British firms handle and manage social media for the high-profile members of the British upper classes? I need someone to manage the duchess' media presence.
"There are American firms I have managing Flash's image. But I think the duchess could benefit from a British firm who knows the lay of the land here. I have one recommendation from a friend, but I want to be sure I'm getting the very best for the duchess."
Thorne smiled slowly. "I can connect you with a very reputable firm that's worked for various members of the royal family. Will that do, sir?"
Chapter 9
Haley
"Bird's wife was a fat old cow," Rose said with a laugh. "No one in the village liked her, particularly. I didn't know her, of course, but I heard the help gossip about her. She held her position as the gamekeeper's wife over absolutely everyone. And was too proud of the house that came with the position for anyone's taste. She held that over people's heads, too."
"But Bird must have loved her?" I hoped. Otherwise her life seemed so sad.
Rose shrugged one shoulder and threw up her hands. "Heaven knows why if he did. She must have been decent looking and possibly decent-mannered at one time. How she produced such a handsome son is rather a mystery to everyone.
"Will Bird is smart, charming, and good looking. One of my younger sisters had quite the crush on him. Which was a bit scandalous. Papa is old-fashioned. He still believes an earl's daughter should marry up if possible."
Rose pulled her phone from her pocket. "Here. I'll show you his picture." She brought one up.
My heart raced as she handed me her phone. As I took a look, my hopes crashed. He was good looking. And very white. As I'd heard in the village. I saw no trace of anything vaguely Chinese about him. He had blond hair and blue eyes. He bore no obvious resemblance to Sid that I could see. None of her exotic beauty.
"Well?" Rose asked.
"Yes, very handsome." As I took another look at his profile, his birthdate jumped out. It was the same as Sid's.
My heart nearly stopped. How probable was it that Bird had three children born on the same day? One to his wife and twins to a mistress? Or could it be that the twin Mr. Thorne had heard about was Will? And was a twin only because he and Sid were both Bird's children and, by an odd quirk of fate, born on the same day?
Rose cleared her throat and gave me a funny look. "Are you all right? You look pale."
I nodded. She was probably afraid I'd throw up in one of her vases. "I'm fine."
She frowned slightly, not quite believing me, if her expression was any indication. "I can get you a cream cracker to settle your stomach. We have a box of them in the cupboard."
She was definitely worried. I shook my head. "I'll be all right." I let her think it was the pregnancy making me sick.
"If you're sure you're quite all right, Mrs. Becker is working out front getting the abbey ready for tourist season. She's from the village and about Bird's age. Also, a big gossip. Let's go talk to her. She may know something."
I followed Rose out.
Mrs. Becker was quite the talker. She took up Rose's story with ease. "How she produced a child at all after all those years of being barren is a mystery to everyone. Some suspect she didn't.
"She went to China and came home five months later with a beautiful blond baby boy. Raising speculation that she and Bird had adopted Will and were keeping the adoption mum. She was a proud, arrogant woman, and none too well liked. Some even say that Will was Bird's love child with another woman.
"If he is, no one would have blamed Bird."
That would fit well with what I had originally suspected. But made no sense now, because Will was white.
"Will was only a few weeks old when Mrs. Bird brought him home to England. She was so fat, that rolly kind of fat, it was hard to tell whether she'd ever been pregnant or not. You know the kind, I imagine."
Rose nudged me. I nodded.
Mrs. Becker laughed. "Well, maybe you don't. She was cute when Bird married her. Plump and curvy. But once she caught him, she let herself go.
"She and Bird weren't a good match, never were. After she had Will, they bonded over him and not much more. There was iciness between them for quite some years after Will was born. And right to the end, you didn't dare mention China to her.
"Something happened between her and Bird in China. We all think it was another woman."
Sid's mom?
After leaving Rose's, I had the car drop me off in the village. I spent the rest of the time before my appointment with Bird shopping and running errands. I loved the pleasant atmosphere and friendly people. It took my mind off the puzzles swirling around.
I arranged to have my purchases delivered to the castle. And even though the day was showery and breezy, I enjoyed the walk to Bird's cottage. Which wasn't really a cottage in the traditional sense, or at least what I imagined when I thought of one. It was a large, two-story brick house that looked larger and more posh than the home Sid and I owned in Seattle.
I could see why the late Mrs. Bird put on airs. It was grander than ninety-nine percent of the homes in the village. She should have had a large family to fill it. I wondered at Bird rattling around it all by himself. I wasn't good at guessing the size of buildings, but it had to be three thousand square feet or so.
I rang the bell, heart pounding. Bird answered so quickly, he must have been watching for me to arrive.
"Your Grace." He bowed his head respectfully. "Please. Come in, madam." He stepped aside to let me pass.
I still had a hard time being called madam or ma'am or your grace or duchess all the time. These days it seemed only Riggins called me by my name. And not often enough, instead choosing to use the teasing term "duchess" too often for my tastes.
The cottage was well lit and warm. A little too warm at the moment. I was flushed with the exercise from my walk.
Bird was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man. Gray hair that could have been blond at one time. Weathered. Blue eyes. Certainly not as handsome as his son. And only the barest trace of similarity to Sid. Something maybe in the shape of his face? In any case, it was so generic and faint that I couldn't immediately attribute it to him being her father.
"Nice of you to come, madam."
I followed him to a pleasant sitting room. All these old houses seemed to have them.
"Or did you want to look around?" he said uncertainly. "I've been out tracking the birds this morning. Looking for nests and seeing what kind of hatchlings we'll have. I haven't had much time to straighten up the place. The cleaning lady comes in tomorrow."
I smiled, trying to reassure him. "No, no. That won't be necessary. I'm mostly here to introduce myself and see if there's anything we can do for you. I should have come earlier."
"Oh, no, madam! I didn't expect you to come at all." He looked almost embarrassed. "The late duke, kind as he was to me, hadn't been to the cottage in over twenty years."
"Which is exactly why I've come! To make sure the house is in good repair."
"Oh." He brushed my concerns away. "Don't worry about that. The duke, I mean, the late duke, took care to keep the cottage up to date and well tended. I see to most of it myself and send the bills for any supplies or anything I can't manage myself and need to hire out to the estate. It's a good system. Same one as my dad before me had with the duke.