“What do you mean you don’t have a copy of Henry’s will? You’re the family lawyer. You should have it on file.”
The lawyer, Phipps, shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Your brother parted company with this firm more than eight years ago, after a... a difference of opinion with your father.”
“I see.” Cal was well able to read between the lines. Henry had ever been the quarrelsome sort, and his father had had the same hasty, choleric temper. And both of them had a tendency to nurse a grudge. “I suppose they never made it up.”
The lawyer inclined his head. “That is my understanding, my lord. And from what little I can gather, your brother was... not a worthy successor to your late father’s position. The family affairs are in... somewhat of a tangle. Until we find his will and apply for probate, nothing else can proceed.”
Cal swore under his breath. Trust Henry to leave things in a blasted mess.
“Of course you’ll resign your commission, my lord.”
Cal shook his head. The whole thing was a wretched nuisance, but he was damned if he’d resign. “I’ll extend my leave if necessary, but once the business is done, I intend to return to Europe. I have responsibilities abroad.”
Phipps gave him a shocked look. “But now you have responsibilitiesin England, my lord.” His tone implied that no foreign responsibilities could compare with English ones.
Cal shrugged. “Agents can be appointed to see to the day-to-day running of the estate.”
Phipps pursed his lips. “At the very least, my lord, you must make immediate arrangements for your dependents.”
“Dependents?” Cal frowned. “I have no— Oh, you mean my half sisters.” Of course. He hadn’t seen the girls for years, but he remembered them as sweet little things who used to follow him around like puppies. “Where are they at the moment?”
“Bath, my lord.”
“Still in school, then.” Some exclusive seminary for girls, as he recalled.
“No, my lord, they are currently in the care of Lady Dorothea Rutherford.”
“They’re in good hands, then,” he said indifferently. Aunt Dottie would have taken the bereaved little girls under her wing, and after a suitable period of mourning they could return to their school. “Now, is there anything I need to sign?”
The lawyer’s lips thinned. “I feel obliged to remind you, my lord, that under your father’s will, your half sisters were left a substantial sum in trust for when they marry or turn five-and-twenty. They are considerable heiresses, in fact, and, as such, need to be protected from fortune hunters.” He paused. “Whether your aunt is up to that task, I could not say.” His tone made it clear he had grave doubts, but discretion held him back.
Cal said nothing. Phipps was clearly something of a fusspot.
“Your aunt is also your dependent. Unlike your sisters, your father made her no allowance—yes, my lord, I also thought it quite irregular—his only unmarried sister, and with no fortune of her own—but against all my advice, he left her welfare to your brother’s care.”
“Good God! Left to Henry’s tender care? It’s a wonder Aunt Dottie isn’t starving in the streets. What possessed the old man?”
“My sentiments exactly, my lord.”
“Make her an immediate allowance out of my personal income, then,” Cal said. “A generous one. When probate comes through we can make a more permanent arrangement through the estate.”
He had a soft spot for Aunt Dottie. She’d knitted him endless pairs of warm red woolen socks ever since he’d gone off to war—red because she thought they ought to match his scarlet regimentals. She’d kept sending them as fast as she could knit them—enough to supply Cal and half his friends.
His friends, at first inclined to laugh at the color, had accepted them gratefully during hard winters in the mountains. Aunt Dottie’s scarlet socks had saved many a toe from frostbite.
They’d also turned many a washtub of white underclothes pink, but as neither the socks nor the underclothes were visible, nobody much minded.
He didn’t need them now, working in more civilized conditions, and no longer wearing a uniform, but parcels of thick scarlet socks still followed him through Europe, even though he’d told her several times he had no more need of them.
“Of course, my lord.” Phipps made a note. “And what of the girls?”
“They should be safe enough in Bath with Aunt Dottie for the moment.”
“I strongly advise you visit them, my lord.”
Cal stood up. “Is that all?”
Phipps’s mouth tightened. “Where will you be residing, my lord, should I need to contact you?”
