A Rose for Laura by Callie Hutton

19

"Go away. It's too early." Keniel groaned and rolled over in his bed, then placed his pillow over his head. That, however, did not prevent his butler, Martin, from once again prodding him to awaken. The wretched man tapped on the pillow. "You need to arise, sir."

Keniel growled, hoping that would chase the man away. He had no idea what time it was, all his body knew was it had only received a couple of hours of sleep. From underneath his pillow he asked, "You're not going away, are you?"

"No, sir. I am not. There is a quite distraught young lady downstairs asking for you."

That woke him up. He sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands. "That wouldn't happen to be Miss Benson, would it?"

"Precisely, Mr. Singh. She is quite upset."

That was enough to spur him out of the bed. "Tell her I will join her post haste."

"Very good." Martin bowed and left.

Dozens of thoughts went through his mind as he washed, shaved and dressed. Was she ill? Probably not if she was here. Did she have an accident; was she injured? Again, most likely not since Martin never mentioned she was limping or bleeding.

However, Laura upset was not a good thing. But the fact that she came to him was promising.

Tying his ascot as he descended the stairs, he was startled to see Laura pacing in the entrance hall, twisting a handkerchief. "Laura, let's go into the parlor. I'll have tea sent in."

"Yes. Yes. That's fine." She seemed distracted and obviously upset. He steered her toward the parlor. "I'll be right back."

He hurried to the kitchen and asked Cook to send in tea and breakfast items as food would help him to wake up. He checked his timepiece. Ten minutes past eight o'clock. Yes—he did only get a few hours of sleep, and something must be really troubling Laura for her to arrive on his doorstep so early.

Laura was still pacing, but this time in the parlor. She stopped when she saw him, her sweet lips quivered, and her eyes rimmed with tears. He quickly moved to where she stood and took her in his arms. He cupped her head with his hand and held her against his chest. "What's wrong, Laura?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist and let loose with a torrent of tears. He moved her to the settee and sat them down. Instead of trying to get her to talk, he just held her as she cried. Since she appeared well and healthy, he wasn't as frightened as he'd been when Martin had first awoken him.

The tense muscles in his stomach relaxed, even though he was genuinely concerned about her distress. Eventually her sobs turned to slight hiccups, and she wiped her cheeks and blew her nose with the soggy handkerchief in her hand. "I'm sorry." She offered him a slight smile and his heart lurched. Whatever was wrong, he would fix. He would always take care of her.

Mine.

Taking a shuddering breath, she held out a piece of paper to him with a shaky hand. He took it and read, his eyes growing wide. "Close down the orphanage?"

"Yes." Her nose was stuffed-up, her eyes red and swollen and she looked adorable. Vulnerable. Everything protective in him rose up and screamed. He wanted to pound his chest and swear he would fix this problem, and any other issues she had to face for the rest of her life.

He laid the paper on the settee, reminding himself to remain calm since it would only upset her further if he lost control. "What information do you have besides this?"

"Not much. Mr. Grady received the paperwork in the post. Before he even looked into it further, he asked to see me and the other two committee members. That was yesterday. Needless to say, we were all quite upset. By the time Mr. Grady left and the other committee members and I talked it over without coming to any solution, you had already left for the club."

She hopped up and started to pace again. "What are we going to do?"

He stood and laughed to himself. How brave she must have appeared to the other committee members and the solicitor, telling them she would take care of it. Then turned to him. The glow from that knowledge warmed his entire body. He liked the fact that she sought him out for help.

"The first thing we are going to do is have some tea. Cook is sending in a light breakfast which I'm sure you can use, since I doubt you've eaten anything since you received this news."

"I can't eat, but I'll have some tea." She took another deep breath and took up her pacing again.

He reached out and grasped her hand as she strode by. "Come. Sit down and we can discuss this."

The words were barely out of his mouth when a footman arrived with a tea cart. Tea, muffins, hard cooked eggs, slices of ham, and a bowl of fruit reminded him he was hungry.

The footman spread the food on the low table in front of the settee. He added several small plates, silverware, teacups and a tea pot. Keniel reached his hand out to Laura. "Come sit down and have something. I'm sure you will feel better."

She joined him on the settee. She poured tea for them both as he filled two plates, firmly setting one down in front of her. "Eat. Please." Keniel swallowed a sip of tea. "I think the first thing we need to do is see a barrister. If this involves the courts you will need one. I'd also like to see who started the petition and who signed it. I imagine they would have to solicit a certain amount of people to sign a petition for it to go as far as the Magistrate."

He was pleased to see that Laura had finished all the food on her plate. Once they were through eating and sipping on the last of the tea, he said, "Being unfamiliar with the English court system, I suggest we make a visit to Hunt. I'm sure with his title and connections, he will be quite helpful."

"I agree." She wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Can we go now?"

Reconciled to not receiving anymore sleep this day, he nodded and checked his timepiece once again. "I will send a missive to him to see if he is able to receive us at say, ten o'clock? It is nine right now and he lives only a few streets over."

"Yes. I would appreciate that."

He hopped up and scribbled a quick note and directed Martin to have it delivered immediately.

When he returned to the parlor, Laura was no longer pacing, and it seemed the food did wonders for her demeanor. He was sure she probably hadn't enjoyed much sleep, either.

"I need to get this cleared up as quickly as possible. I can't imagine why someone wants to shut the orphanage. What do they believe will happen to all the babies there? Just leave them on the street?"

"In my opinion, anyone who would do such a thing as attempt to close down an orphanage would not care what happened to the babies."

Keniel once again reviewed the document Laura had received from her solicitor. Legal language was not one of his strong skills, but it appeared to him that whoever wanted to close the orphanage down had done his or her research.

They enjoyed another cup of tea and discussed everything except the document sitting on the settee between them. Less than fifteen minutes after Keniel had dispatched Martin, he arrived back breathless with a response from Hunt. Scrawled across the back of the letter were the words: Come now.

Keniel stood and dropped the missive on the table. "He can see us now." Laura hurried to the entrance hall and slipped into her cloak that Martin held for her. Keniel grabbed his hat and gloves, and they left the house.

They elected to walk since it wasn't far and by the time the carriage was made ready, they would be there. At least the sky was clear and the air crisp and cool. Perfect autumn weather.

The trees had begun to change colors, and the dried-up leaves crunched under their feet. "This is fine weather for a ride in the park," Keniel said. "Perhaps one day soon I can call on you and we can join the others in the queue?"

"Yes. I would like that. As long as all this nonsense is cleared up."

"It might not be cleared up so quickly. I don’t know what Hunt will think of the whole thing, but I know he's our best chance to bring this to an acceptable conclusion."

They hurried up the steps to the Hunt townhouse and were greeted by a doorman Keniel didn't recognize. "His lordship awaits you in the library."

Once relieved of their outer garments, Keniel placed his hand on Laura's lower back as they followed a footman who arrived to direct them, although Keniel certainly knew his way around Hunt's home.

They found his brother in the library, behind his desk, with Diana and the baby on a sofa near the fireplace.

"Oh, let me see that little one," Laura said as she made her way over to Diana. She sat next to her and immediately put her arms out to accept the child. Diana glowed with pride, as did Hunt.

Keniel was aware of Laura as she held the child as if it were the most precious thing ever. He'd seen her with the orphan children, but there had been so many of them, and he and Laura had been so muddled trying to balance them all that he didn't get the chance to see her interact with any of the babies.

This was different. Her face was aglow, and she beamed at the little girl, smoothing her hand over her brown curls. Keniel got a very strange feeling somewhere between his stomach and his heart.

Don't walk that path, Keniel. If you do, you'll be in way over your head.

Hunt came from around his desk and sat in one of the comfortable chairs across from Diana and his daughter. "What is the trouble that you two have gotten yourselves into?"

Diana stood. "I'll return the baby to the nursery. It's getting close to the time for her lunch and nap."

Hunt nodded. The look of love on his face as his wife and child left the room almost tore a hole in Keniel's heart. He wanted that one day. But could he have it with the woman he wanted?

Laura stood and brought the court document to Hunt. "My solicitor received this yesterday.”

Hunt looked up at her as she handed it to him, then gave his attention to the paper in his hand. He read it once, twice, three times. Then he laid it down on the table alongside him and stared at them for a minute, then nodded at Laura. "Someone dislikes you personally. Dislikes you enough to throw innocent little children into the street."

"Lady Hereford," Keniel and Laura said at the same time.

Hunt shrugged. "It's possible. She seemed to be not only upset, but genuinely surprised at dinner the other night when she learned her husband was one of your sponsors."

"Why would she care? Do you know enough about them to believe his money actually came from her?" Keniel asked.

"No. I don't. Sometimes word passes around when a betrothal is first announced. The usual, was it forced, arranged, a love match, or money. I don't remember hearing anything about them, but that doesn't mean there wasn't a story. During the time they would have married I was still running as far from the marriage-minded mamas as I could get. I rarely attended events where that sort of gossip would be shared."

"Whether she dislikes me enough to attempt to close down the orphanage is not as important as how we can stop her," Laura said. "Do you have any ideas, Hunt?"

He picked up the paper and studied it once more. "What we need to do is see a barrister. They are much more up on the law in relation to court proceedings. I have never needed one, but there are one or two in my club that I can speak with on your behalf."

"Which club?" Keniel asked.

Hunt thought for a minute. "White's and Boodles. I think one of the men I'm thinking of might also be a patron at The Rose Room." He turned to Keniel. "Mr. Barnard Temple. Do you know him?"

"Yes. I believe I do. A nice fellow. I've spoken to him a few times. I didn't know he was a barrister."

"That would be a good place to start."

"We only have until next Tuesday, according to what the paper says." Laura gestured with her head at the court summons.

Hunt dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "That will be changed. As soon as a barrister files paperwork on your behalf, a new date will be set for the hearing."

"I feel so helpless doing nothing while we wait for you to speak with Mr. Temple and have him notify the court." Laura looked at Hunt. "Do you have an opinion on the possibility of the Magistrate closing down the orphanage?"

Hunt crossed his legs and shifted in his chair. "I don't want to make predictions since this is something I've never heard of before. I can't imagine on what grounds they're petitioning the court to close down the orphanage. I don't understand what their objection is."

"Since we just moved to a new neighborhood, could it be that it's not Lady Hereford, but the people close by who are concerned about having orphans near them?"

Hunt shook his head. "Anything is possible, Laura. I wish I could give you some insight as to why people do the things they do, but I am forever surprised by human nature."

"Then there is nothing to be done until we can see a barrister." Laura turned to Keniel. "Will you speak with him tonight?"

"If he is there. There is no guarantee that he will show up tonight." He held up his hand as she started to speak. "However, if he does not arrive, I shall check our files. His business address would be stated, and we can arrange a time to see him there."

"I am very concerned about this." She wrung her hands. "What if we lose? It took us a while to find a place."

Keniel smiled and patted her hand. "Worry not, my dear. The only other place for the babies is back at my home, so you can count on me diligently seeking out all the help and guidance we can possibly get."

Hunt burst out laughing.