Page 4 of Leap of Faith
“Who the devil could that be? Only my secretary knows where I am and he was instructed only to bother me under the direst of circumstances.” Yet Dominic could not think of any dire circumstances. His mother and brother enjoyed the best of health, and were comfortably tucked up in their estates at the moment.
“Did any of you tell anyone where we would be?” Rotham asked scornfully, which was received with a series of rebuffs. All of them were equally desperate for privacy after Max had been recently chased down by a desperate mama and daughter, and had barely escaped the parson’s noose.
Dominic heard the dreaded footfalls approaching the dining room, and Barrett entered the room.
“An urgent note from London, my lord. One of your grooms. He says he is to await a reply.”
Satterlee had sent one of Dom’s own men. It must be dire, indeed. He was conscious of all of his friends watching warily, and that they had ceased eating. He opened the missive in Satterlee’s familiar script.
My lord,
Forgive the intrusion,but I deemed this most urgent and felt you would agree. Two females have arrived on your doorstep, saying they are your wards and wish for your instruction on where they may reside. Apparently, they were taken in by the late Lady Halbury upon the death of their parents, who were missionaries. There are five of them, but only two are here at present. I have checked the validity of their claim with your solicitor, and it is unquestionably true. Even though I believe the intent was for your father to have been their guardian, it nevertheless falls to you. I am looking into any loopholes, of course, but what would you like me to do with them in the meantime? They are to be out of their present situation in less than five days’ time.
Your obedient servant,
Charles Satterlee
Dominic staredat the words on the page, but no matter how many times he read them, they did not change.
“What is it, Dom? You have me worried. Did someone die?” Freddy asked.
He sighed, then put the paper down. “No. Well, yes, someone died, but that is not the issue at present. It seems I have acquired five wards.”
His friends stared at him, clearly as stupefied as he felt.
Then Freddy began to laugh. “He’s funning with us.”
“I assure you, my taste is not so poor as to fun about something like this.”
“How old are they? Ship them off to school,” Rotham recommended.
“Not a bad notion.” He considered that suggestion for a moment. “I assume two of them are of age, since they arrived on my doorstep in London.”
“Then your mother can handle them.”
Dominic almost smiled because his friends were trying to be so helpful. He would do the same were the situation reversed. He shook his head as if trying to awaken from a dream. It still seemed too fantastic to be true. No one in their right mind would leave him five wards. Were they all female? He scanned the letter, and it did not say other than the two that had shown up at his door were of the fair sex.
“I beg you will excuse me. I must pen a letter to my secretary. Pray continue the meal. It is too fine to waste.”
As he went to the study to seek pen and paper, the gravity of the situation disturbed him greatly. Rarely did anything disturb Dominic, but being saddled with young wards certainly was beyond inconvenient. If anyone could find a way out of the pickle, it was Satterlee. But likewise, it was not his wards’ fault they’d all been placed in an impossible position. There was nothing for it but to make the best of things. Devilish inconvenient that they were at his London home, however. Certainly, they could not stay.
He wrote for his secretary to find them a place to live, and whatever servants were necessary for their comfort until he returned. He had no intention of curtailing his hunting trip for a pack of brats he knew nothing about. Hopefully by the time he returned, the mess would be sorted out. Dismissing any worry for the nonce, he returned to his friends.
“Billiards, anyone?”
CHAPTER2
London was like nothing Faith had ever seen—and she had thought Bath was large! As she looked out of the window of their hotel room, she felt like an insignificant speck of sand against a fathomless sea. Even though they overlooked Green Park, the constant flow of carts and pedestrians served as testimony they were not in their small city of Bath any longer.
“How long must we wait to hear?” Hope asked impatiently.
Faith did not bother to answer. She had been with Hope when Lord Westwood’s secretary gave them the unfortunate news that his lordship was at his hunting box in Leicestershire and, to his knowledge, was unaware of the guardianship. He had promptly sent them to the Pulteney Hotel with their maid, Gibson, promising to send a message to Lord Westwood post haste. That was over four-and-twenty hours ago.
“We have wasted two days, and now only have five left!” Where Faith was the practical, responsible one, Hope was equally a dreamer, and she had spent much time dreaming of a London Season.
“I am well aware of our situation, but what else are we to do? Our sisters are safe at the vicarage, and the Carsons understand our predicament. Our belongings are already packed, so there can be no problem with Sir Reginald’s return.”
“But are we expected to sit here until his lordship bothers to answer us? Our funds will only last so long. Why did Mr. Satterlee tell us not to go anywhere?” Hope paced the room. “Perhaps he thinks we need someone older to lend us countenance?”
