“I shall be off shortly. I have already packed my bags.”
And good riddance.
“But…one more thing. What’s this about me making attempts on your life?”
Sam shook his head, forgetting that he had disclosed his knowledge of Rudolph’s subterfuge.
“Let’s forget it, shall we?”
“I would if I could. But I can’t…so I won’t. You think I’ve made attempts on your life? Whatever for?”
“Isn’t it obvious, Rudolph? Must I really spell it out?”
“I rather think you must.”
“You want the dukedom. I understand—”
For the second time in a span of twenty minutes, Rudolph’s laughter cut him off. The man was beyond irritating.
“I do not want to take over the dukedom, Sam.”
Something about how simple the sentence was and how serious Rudolph sounded made Sam pause. Had he been all wrong about his cousin? Surely not. But…did he actually have proof against Rudolph?
“You don’t?”
“No.”
“Then why do you show up here?”
“You’re my cousin.” Rudolph smirked. “And there’s this woman nearby, you see…”
“Let me rephrase that. Why do you always show up looking like, acting like, you want to murder me?”
Rudolph stuffed his hands in his pockets. “That is a very good question. I suppose there are a few contributing factors to that, but primarily I always felt as though you didn’t want me here.” He wasn’t wrong about that.
“Are you telling me that this was one giant misunderstanding?”
Mimi interrupted for the first time. “Two giant misunderstandings.” She held up her fingers to give more voice to the statement.
“Yes, two misunderstandings.”
Rudolph nodded. “It seems that way. But it’s a good thing we cleared it up because it looks as though I’ll be seeing you much more frequently.”
“Why is that?” Sam was afraid to ask.
Mimi nudged him with a smile. “His unnamed woman, I imagine?”
“Ah yes…” Sam said in agreement.
“That is correct. Now, I hate to fight and leave, but I’ll see you again soon.” Rudolph turned and walked out the door.
“Wonderful,” Sam mumbled.
Sam waited for Rudolph to be out of hearing distance and then said, “I need to take a walk.”
“You don’t think it’s going to rain soon.”
“Probably. But it’s what I need right now.” He raked his hands through his hair. “That, and I need to go see Rex.”
