“Considering the challenge is from Castellimonte, the delay is a good thing,” Wentworth continued. “It is damned surprising really.”
“Good?” Nora sputtered.
“Castellimonte’s objections might have been accepted without question,” Wentworth told her. “Given his position, that would not have surprised us. The delay means the auditors are considering both sides. They are reviewing the will.”
“If I can’t speak, how can that be so?” she demanded.
Salvia gave Wentworth a pleading look. Wentworth pursed his lips as if choosing his words carefully. “My dear Lady Ross, it is most unusual for a woman to have guardianship. My colleague Mr. Salvia would of course stand as executor during the child’s minority, but, still, it is unheard of for a single woman to have custody.”
“I am not single!”
Campbell cleared his throat. “That much is true, Wentworth. Castellimonte has accepted the legality of the marriage, has he not?”
Again, the two older men appeared to be in nonverbal communication. Salvia answered for both of them.
“Castellimonte’s representatives withdrew that challenge, yes, but they raised other claims. They claim instead that you have separated from your husband—a far worse charge than if your marriage was invalid, I believe.”
“Have they questioned my fitness to be a mother?” Nora asked. She looked from one face to the other. She saw surprising sympathy on Salvia’s face. Wentworth looked merely exasperated.
“We requested letters of support,” Wentworth said.
“I offered,” Campbell asserted.
“Yes, well,” Wentworth said, “Such a letter from a single young man may be more hindrance.”
“Mother Margarita has written on your behalf,” Salvia said sympathetically. “The Reverend Mother is very well connected.”
Wentworth nodded. “One suspects her influence is the only reason we haven’t gotten a summary judgment already.”
Nora shot a prayer of gratitude, not the first one, for her stalwart friend at Santo Spirito. The thought of “summary judgment” made her blood run cold.
“If we might be blunt, Lady Ross, my colleague Mr. Salvia and I are quite agreed. Unless Lord Ross can provide evidence of his support for you and/or the child, your case is weak indeed. Have you written to him?”
Nora tried not to think about how many times she had written or how frantic her letters had become. Now was not the time to sound like a desperate lovesick female.
“Lord Ross,” she said in her firmest voice, forcing the image of Jamie from her memory, “has not yet responded. His business in London prevents his return. We should hear from him soon.”
“Until then, madam, I suggest that the delays, painful as they may be, are in your best interest. Castellimonte has contacts in the Curia. His influence is strong.” Salvia emphasized each word. “Strong,” he repeated, pinning her with his eyes.
Nora dropped her gaze; she couldn’t hold against the man’s grim determination. She clasped her hands together to still their agitation.
“Then, Signor Salvia, Mr. Wentworth, I will try to accept the delays quietly,” she said.
Nora watched the older men go with relief. Campbell hung back in the foyer.
“I should go.” His voice lacked conviction. Hopeful eyes looked down at her under tousled hair. “I hate leaving you alone here.”
Nora took a hard look at him. “I’m not alone, Mr. Campbell. I have Isabella,” she said.
“Yes, yes of course. I know. It’s just that—damn it, I wish I could do more.”
“There is one thing you can do.” She stepped to a marble side table and picked up a sealed packet.
“Another letter, Nora?”
The skin on the back of Nora’s neck crawled.Who gave him leave to call me Nora?
“I have to keep trying, Mr. Campbell,” she said.
