Chapter Fifteen
The last time Roderick had seen Cousin Oliver was at the annual day of majority when Oliver had legally become a man. It wasn’t that many years ago, but much had happened since then. Oliver was only a few years younger, but he was incredibly handsome and as a mere cousin to the ruling family, he could take pleasure in his family’s small estate without having to worry about the duties to country.
Of course that was when he was eighteenth in line for the throne. Now he was third in line, after Roderick’s child was born.
He strode into the royal court with a small retinue of followers. Oliver wasn’t yet married, so his appearance at the court was a new opportunity for young aristo ladies to make a royal—or near royal—match.
“The Earl of Dunwood, Oliver of the House Bickfor
