No Lord Desired: A Historical Regency Romance (The Evesham Series) by Audrey Ashwood

Author:Audrey Ashwood [Ashwood, Audrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-01T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Luke stood in front of the house where the Catholic priest gave fallen women shelter and helped them back onto the right path. He looked for Joseph, in vain. Felicity had not given him a description of the boy, but she had said that he would be sitting in front of the house. Maybe the boy was inside eating breakfast. Luke smiled faintly, as he imagined the father warning his sinful sheep to stay on the right path with impressive images. If a sermon came with a full belly, then the choice of attending would probably be easy for most slum dwellers.

For one last time, he looked around for a street boy, but to no avail. Apart from the usual passers-by that one could expect to see in Whitechapel, nobody was to be seen. He rapped the door knocker, and it was not long before a man opened it. Luke had to look twice to recognise Pater O’Donnell. The man was only slightly older than he was. Beneath the modest soutane, he could see the build of a man who would make a worthy opponent in the ring. However, what surprised Luke the most, was the friendly expression on the priest’s face – which did not last too long, once he absorbed Luke’s appearance.

“What can I do for you?”

Luke was stunned to realise that the pater was blocking the entranceway, as if he were someone who wanted to gain access violently.

“Good day, Father,” he politely greeted the man. “I am looking for a boy named Joseph. I was told that he could be found here in front of your house, but he is not here. Is he inside the house, by any chance?” He peeked past the pater into the dark hallway but was not able to see anything.

O’Donnell took another step forward until the two men were standing almost eye to eye. “Why are you seeking out the boy?”

“That is private,” Luke replied, refusing to back down.

“So is this house,” O’Donnell replied and prepared to slam the door shut, right in his face.

“Not so fast, my friend,” Luke said, setting a foot between the door and the frame. “I assure you that I do not have any ill intentions. I come in peace.”

“You have a strange way of showing it,” O’Donnell replied and stared at Luke’s foot.

Luke took a deep breath and removed his foot from the threshold.

“That’s better.” The pater looked up again. For a brief moment, his gaze hovered on Luke’s chin, which did not show any revealing signs of last night’s boxing match, thanks to his father’s theatre make up, and then he looked straight into Luke’s eyes. Whatever the pater may have read in them, the result was a significant release in his tension.

Luke forced himself to take a step backwards. In the same moment, the priest did the same, and opened the door far enough for Luke to enter.

“Thank you,” he said. He would have liked to know what had changed the priest’s mind, but he did not want to strain his luck with unnecessary questions.

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