the1 with da answers
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The duke was a gold-digger . Creepy Thomas had tipped him off when the cousins died, thinking that Mary would inherit and therefore be a very rich heiress. When he found out that Mary wouldn't inherit he changed his mind about trying to marry her. He knew Thomas because they had had a fling and the reason he was snooping round the servants' quarters was to get the love letters he had sent to Thomas. He threw them into the fire therefore removing any chance Thomas might have of blackmailing him.