Elinor's Endowment — Sarah J. Waldock

Blessed with beauty and wealth, Elinor Fairbrother believes she has not long to live, having inherited a weak heart. Elinor decides to set up a school for impoverished young ladies and collects around her the people needed to run the school once she is gone. But fiery Dr Graeme Macfarlane believes that Elinor has mistaken her condition. As the orphans begin to arrive, Elinor and her old governess. Libby Freemantle, have their work cut out dealing with the children. There are the truculent, the high-spirited and the twins, whose exploits are totally unpredictable. And then there are the suitors, many of whom are attracted by the thought of Elinor's imminent demise. In dealing with everything from rescuing kittens from rooftops to dealing with poisoned fortune hunters Elinor is assisted by the argumentative but very able Dr Macfarlane.