“Yes. Aunt Sarah died in childbirth sometime later, along with the baby. I couldn’t have been much older than Leo, perhaps seven or so. I recall Audrey weeping and there being a weight of sadness in the house.”

The Duke of Clayton had lost his surrogate mother, then, as well as his father. Where had his real mother been? Though intensely curious, Natalie reminded herself it was better to understand the present household. “The earl must have married the second Lady Godwin shortly thereafter.”

He nodded. “I was away at Eton at the time. I came back at the end of my first term and she was here.”

“Eton. That’s a boarding school for boys, is it not?”

“Yes. So, its reputation has carried all the way across the pond, has it?”

Natalie refrained from revealing that her father had attended Eton a very long time ago. It wasn’t necessary for the duke to learn her checkered family history. “Audrey may have mentioned it,” she said offhandedly. “Speaking of her, I’ve been wanting to thank you for supporting Leo today. She would have been very grateful to you for watching out for her son.”

The duke glanced at the boy who was sitting on his heels across the chamber, examining the contents of a small wooden box. “Audrey and I grew up together,” he murmured. “So of course I would help her son. And I suppose in some way, I feel responsible for her departure from England.”

“Why is that?”

“I was at Oxford when she and Godwin had their final quarrel. Had I been here at Oak Knoll, I’d have given my blessing to her marriage.”

“Your blessing? Would that have mattered to the earl?”

“Yes. You see, he’d long intended for a match between Audrey and me. Then she fell in love with our local curate. Jeremy Bellingham was too pious for my taste, but he seemed a decent enough chap. If I’d had the chance to voice my approval, the happy couple might have remained here in England.” He lowered his voice to a rough murmur. “And she might still be alive.”

Natalie judged his regret to be genuine. He had regarded Audrey as a sister, not a potential bride, regardless of the pact between his father and Lord Godwin. So why, then, was he courting Lady Ellen?

Perhaps he felt less of a sibling bond with the much younger girl. They wouldn’t have occupied the nursery together as he had with Audrey. He could view Lady Ellen as merely a lady with the proper noble lineage to suit a man of his high rank.

“Life is full of what-ifs,” she said musingly. “No one could have guessed what would happen. Audrey and Jeremy chose of their own free will to emigrate to America, and they had ten happy years together. They never regretted leaving England.”

Clayton’s mouth twisted as if he couldn’t quite believe that. He stared out the window a moment, the sunlight picking out the caramel strands in his brown hair. When he turned back toward Natalie, she felt the burn of his gaze. “Speaking of Bellingham,” he said, “I can’t claim to know much about his background. Did he have family in England? If things don’t work out with Godwin, would you be able to take Leo to them?”