A duchess.

The truth blazed inside Natalie. That nobleman must have been the Duke of Clayton.

Chapter 7

“Your grandfather owns all the surrounding land,” the duke said. “His estate extends as far as your eyes can see.”

Leo knelt on the wide stone sill of the tower window and peered out the wavy glass. He pointed to a spot where the lowering sun glinted off water. “Look! There’s a river!”

“I used to fish in that stream every summer. When it’s warmer, I’ll show you the best spot, at a bend where the trout like to hide among the rocks.”

“Can’t we go and see it right now?”

“It’s too late in the day, brat. And mind you don’t go there alone. Once when I was about your age, I hooked a trout so big that it pulled me into the water and swam away with me holding onto the rod for dear life. I’m lucky I didn’t end up being dragged all the way down the river and into the sea.”

Leo gaped at him. Then he spied the twinkle in the duke’s eyes and giggled. “A fish can’t do that. Except maybe a whale in the ocean.”

“No? My nanny didn’t believe me, either, when I came back with my clothes completely drenched.”

Standing beside them, Natalie had to smile. The Duke of Clayton had displayed a knack for keeping both her and Leo entertained with amusing little anecdotes as they’d trekked through formal drawing rooms, morning rooms, a music room, dining chamber, library, and a huge ballroom with three enormous chandeliers covered in protective cloth. A few minutes ago, they’d climbed up a narrow, winding stone staircase into one of the towers.

If this large circular room had ever been used for defensive purposes in medieval times, that was certainly not its purpose anymore. Now, it had been turned into a storeroom that held a jumble of castoffs: chairs and cabinets, fireplace screens, broken candle lamps, stacks of shrouded paintings, and several old leather trunks.

Leo wiggled off the sill and jumped down to the stone floor. He pointed across the room at one of the trunks. “Can I look in that treasure chest over there, Miss Fanshawe?”

“May I,” Natalie corrected. “And you must ask your grandfather before touching anything. These items don’t belong to us.”

“Was he the man who was frowning at me today?” Leo kicked the toe of his shoe against the floor. “I don’t think he likes me very much.”

His assessment of Lord Godwin broke Natalie’s heart. When she had taken Leo’s identity papers down to the earl’s study earlier, it had been with the intention of arranging a time for him to meet with Leo. She would shame the man into acknowledging him if need be! But Godwin had been closeted with his secretary and had brushed off her request. It was inconceivable to her that the earl could reject his own grandson simply because his daughter had not married according to his dictates. The very thought stirred both her anger and her protective instincts.