The Ice Queen

by Sasha Cottman

  As he took a seat beside her on a nearby sofa, Francis cleared his throat. “Now I know you want to come back to London with me to get this all sorted, and if it were anyone else, I would be inclined to agree. But this is Harry. And we go back a long way. What I am asking you to do is to go to Scotland with James. And once the situation in London has been resolved, I shall send word,” he said.

  Caroline sat and considered his words. Knowing her brother, he was thinking of both the immediate situation and beyond. When she finally nodded her agreement, it was with the unspoken understanding that matters needed to be handled delicately.

  Harry had a younger sister who was out in society, but as yet, unmarried. If it got about town that her brother was a hothead, it could seriously damage her prospects. By not racing back to London to denounce Harry, she would afford her family the opportunity to find a way to quietly resolve matters with the least amount of damage. There were others to consider besides herself.

  Francis did not need to show their parents the slow-forming bruises on Caroline’s arm for them to gain an understanding of the gravity of what had happened in Derbyshire. By sending Caroline to Scotland, she would be away from the ugly business of dealing with Harry Menzies, and she would be safe.

  “As long as James is prepared to travel to Scotland, then I shall go with him. In a few more days, my hand should be healed enough for me to travel. We could be on the road north by the start of next week,” she replied.

  There was a low sigh of relief from Francis at her words. She felt sorry for him. No one could envy him the long journey home with Harry.

  Francis leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Caroline’s cheek. “Thank you. You know if I could stay here and comfort you I would, but things have to be sorted in London as soon as possible. If we leave by early afternoon, we should be able to make it through to Markfield before nightfall, and then press on tomorrow.”

  She followed him to the door of the sitting room. “What are you going to do once you get home?”

  It was all well and good her agreeing to go to Scotland, but she was not prepared to be left in the dark as to what was to be done about her own future.

  “I shall speak to Father, but my first inclination would be to have a word through private channels with The Times and ask that they print a retraction and an apology. While the blame lies clearly at Harry’s feet, they should know not to have printed the notice without it having been signed by both parties,” he replied.

  Caroline let her brother go. She dreaded what he and their father would have to go through in order to sort out the unholy mess that Harry had put them all in. The ton thrived on rumors, and a false betrothal would be perfect fodder for the midafternoon gossip sessions, which regularly took place over tea and cake, in the finest homes of London.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  A little more than an hour later, the residing party stood outside as Francis and Harry climbed aboard Harry’s carriage. Francis was true to his word in being eager to set out as early as possible.

  Harry went quietly, and from the determined looks on the faces of Francis, James, and especially Julian, there was nothing he could say that would change anyone’s mind.

  When Caroline’s gaze dropped to Julian’s hands, she noted that while one was tightly fisted, the other was held in his jacket pocket. She saw the unmistakable handle of a pistol.

  She gave Francis a farewell kiss and accepted his promise that he would find a solution to her predicament. Harry kept his head down and would not meet her gaze before climbing into the carriage and slamming the door loudly behind him.

  The carriage made its way down the drive before finally disappearing over the small rise. James came to Caroline’s side and put his arm around her. “He will find a way. Between Francis and your father, they will make certain that your reputation remains intact. I’m not so sure about Menzies, but then again, he has brought this on himself.”

  Julian turned to the rest of them. He was still as grim as he had been the moment she had cried out in panicked desperation and he had raced to her side. “And now we are down to four.”

  “James and I will also be leaving soon,” replied Caroline.

  He frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Francis asked that James and I travel to Scotland and remain at Strathmore Castle until matters have been resolved in London. With your permission, we shall stay on for a few more days so that my hand has time to heal. After that, we will take our leave. You have endured enough of us, I would say.”

  The look on his face at her words changed from hard resolve to one of disappointment. Her heart lifted at the thought that Julian would be saddened by their departure.

  “I would rather that you stayed here. James, I thought you wanted to travel over to Burton-on-Trent and see your friends? If you remain here at Newhall then you can still visit them,” said Julian.

  Lady Margaret chimed in. “Please reconsider your travel plans. Burton is a lovely town, and I am sure Julian would be happy to take you both to see it. They have a market every Thursday and the town gets very busy with lots of people from throughout the district.”

  James looked to Caroline. “Well, it won’t actually make any difference if we do stay on here for a bit longer. We can still travel to Scotland in a while if it suits.”

  Her heart went out to her cousin. Poor James. In all this mess she had quite forgotten that he too had sought refuge in the countryside for his own unspoken troubles. By venturing over to Burton, he could at least see his friends. She owed him that much.

  She nodded, pleased that they would stay. With Francis headed back to London, she keenly felt the need to be close to Julian.

  “But only as long as you are happy to have us as house guests. The moment we become a burden, then you must tell us how lovely Scotland is at this time of the year and we shall take the hint and make ourselves scarce,” she replied.

  The warm, broad smile which appeared on Julian’s face nearly made her cry. He was not simply being polite; he genuinely wanted them to stay. She found herself looking away, suddenly awkward in his presence.

  James shook Julian’s hand. “Excellent, Newhall. I shall send word to my friends in Burton and let them know that we will be making the trip over on Thursday.”

  Julian sought Lady Margaret out a short time later. An enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders with the departure of Harry Menzies, but now he was at a loss as to what to do about his remaining house guests. Especially Caroline.

  “Do you have a moment?” he asked.

  Lady Margaret held out her hand. “Of course. I always have a moment for you, dear boy. What can I do?”

  He took her hand and kissed it, then with measured steps, he wandered over to the fireplace. He needed her counsel. “It’s good that Caroline and James have agreed to stay on for a time. I am most keen to show them Burton. I think Caroline would enjoy the town market.”

  Lady Margaret raised her eyebrows. “Yes, I expect Caroline has never seen apples, vegetables, or livestock before.”

  Julian caught the impish grin which Lady Margaret could no longer hide, and decided it was no good trying to stand to attention next to the fire. He took a seat in the well-padded armchair opposite her and folded his hands in his lap.

  Lady Margaret leaned over and gave him a gentle reassuring pat on the knee. “It’s a funny thing, life. You make all these plans and grand statements about what you are going to do with your future, yet fate often pushes you in an entirely different direction. One that you may never have considered before. I know I never thought I would end up here at Newhall Castle, and especially not as your father’s mistress.”

  Lady Margaret’s words served to reinforce his own surprise at the recent turn of events in his life. Apart from the infatuations of his youth, Julian had never actually been in love. Having seen his parents’ marriage splinter into a thousand pieces, he had actively avoided it.

  His travels throughout Europe as a di
plomat had, until now, given him the perfect excuse to keep his heart under lock and key. Discreet liaisons and uncomplicated relationships had kept his heart safe. He hadn’t held out any serious hope of finding love during the house party, but he now knew his heart had settled on Caroline.

  “I do not know what to do,” he said.

  A matter of days ago he would have laughed at the notion of him ever falling in love with Caroline Saunders. They had been sworn enemies. She was the last person he would ever have considered marrying.

  Yet from the moment he saw her drop to the floor in the downstairs foyer, she had slowly but inexorably found her way into his soul. The enemy at the gate was now a wounded friend living under his protection.

  “Nonsense, your heart knows exactly what you need to do. Why else would you have made the offer for Caroline and James to stay on? You closed that particular loophole in quick time. I must say, I was impressed,” she replied.

  “Of course, I could be making a fool of myself. Who is to say that I will not just be another one in a long line of suitors who have failed to win her heart?” he said. Harry Menzies, damn him, had certainly muddied the waters. Before his arrival and shock revelation, Julian had been privately entertaining thoughts of spending time during the day with Caroline. She already owned his nightly lust filled dreams.

  “I don’t believe you are the same as the others, and especially nothing like Mister Menzies. From the time he arrived, she was doing everything she could to avoid him. If he was dull enough not to see that she was not interested, then I am afraid he has been the maker of his own misfortune.”

  With Harry and Francis both gone from Newhall Castle, Julian was left in a delicate situation. He had offered protection to Caroline from unwelcome suitors. It did not then behoove a gentleman of his status to try to claim the playing field for himself. He would need to tread very carefully if he was to stand any chance of finding her favor. Julian frowned. And what if Caroline did only see him as a friend?

  “Can I offer you a word of advice?” asked Lady Margaret.

  “Please. This is unchartered territory for me,” he replied.

  “Take it slowly. Look and listen for the signals. Men can be a little blind to what women are really feeling. You might be busy pondering the battle, but at the same time fail to notice that your army is not behind you. Though most men, in my experience, are not as dim as that Menzies chap. Little wonder he felt the need to make such a grand gesture,” she said.

  Julian took Lady Margaret’s sage words to heart, vowing not to make the same mistakes that other men before him had. If there was one thing, he did know about her, it was that Caroling yearned to have her voice heard.

  Trying to force love on her was the last thing that would win her favor. A slow, steady wooing of Caroline Saunders would be the only way to her heart. He would need to do all he could to convince her to remain at Newhall Castle.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  A flock of winter birds took off from the far side of the lake and soared into the gray sky. The hood of her cape fell back as she looked up, and the chilly wind kissed her face. For a moment, she was one with the birds and the wind.

  “I have never understood your love of winter. How can you bear to be out here?”

  Caroline turned and saw James approaching. His hands were stuffed into his coat pockets and a scarf was wrapped around his neck. From the unhappy look on his face, it was clear he did not share her passion for winter.

  “Because I feel free when the icy wind hits my skin, and who could not love that vista?” she replied.

  James came and stood by her side, facing the lake. “Alright, I will grant you that the view of the frozen lake is rather picturesque from up here.”

  He cleared his throat. “How are you feeling now? I haven’t had the chance to speak to you since the unpleasantness of this morning. Before he left, Francis told me he was very worried about you. To be honest, so am I.”

  “I am still a little numb with shock, and my arms will have bruises showing before the day is out. It is a relief not to be travelling home today. I don’t think my nerves could cope with being in a confined space with Harry. I still cannot believe what he did,” she replied.

  James put an arm around her and gently pulled her to him. “I must say, it was very kind of Newhall to offer for us to stay on. Not everyone is so accommodating when it comes to the sniff of a possible scandal. Mind you, he does seem to have a bit of a protective streak when it comes to you.”

  Caroline began to pick at the edge of the bandage on her left hand. She slowly pulled at a thread. “At least my hand is feeling better today. It aches less,” she said, changing the subject.

  Julian had taken on the role of her protector, slipping into it with uncommon ease. Every time her thoughts turned to the man with those deep-gray eyes, she found herself unable to construct a clear thought.

  She looked down at her hand. He had got under her skin with more than just a needle.

  “That is good news. It was a devil of a mess when I first saw it. We were fortunate that Newhall has some battlefield surgeon skills. The stitches he made were worthy of a seamstress,” he replied.

  She motioned toward the path which ran down to the lake. James was right, it was bitterly cold, but she needed to walk. Her mind was an uncertain whirl of questions about Harry, and Francis, but most of all, about Julian. “Could we please walk?”

  The simple motion of putting one foot in front of the other soon created a sense of calm for her tortured mind. The frown on her face, however, still remained.

  “Are you alright?” asked James.

  She looked at him and nodded. “Yes, though at one point earlier today I thought I might go mad. The odd thing is that now that Harry has finally shown his hand, I am somewhat relieved.”

  “Relieved?”

  “Yes. Harry haunted my steps all summer. I never mentioned it to anyone because I thought he was just being protective of me. He withdrew when I had to spend time with Eve after she and Freddie had their falling out, and I thought matters had returned to normal,” she replied.

  “Oh, I hadn’t realized things had become that difficult.”

  “No, no one had. I thought keeping it to myself was the most suitable way to deal with it. Clearly, I was wrong,” she said.

  James sighed. “I suppose Harry has been such a fixture around the Saunders house over the years that I never really took much notice of him. Most of the younger family members guessed he had a tendre for you, but I expect we all assumed that in time it would pass. Though, I have always found him a little odd,” said James.

  “I lost count of the times I politely refused to dance with him, only to have Francis unwittingly play matchmaker. At least when things did finally come to a head, we were well away from London society. That is why I have hope for a sensible outcome. The idea of having to marry Harry is unthinkable,” she said.

  She bent and picked up a broken stick from the ground, playfully poking James in his side with it. “Speaking of being odd, what is it with you and Guy Dannon’s wedding next month? I thought you would be happy to see him settled with your sister’s best friend. Leah is a lovely girl. I didn’t think you had an issue with her.”

  When James gave a half-hearted shrug, Caroline saw it as a clear signal for her to leave matters alone. Something was not right about her cousin and the impending nuptials of his best friend. But with a world of her own problems to deal with, she decided it might be wiser to wait until they were away from Newhall Castle before she tried to press him again.

  “Oh, what’s that?” James pointed in the direction of the stone cottage.

  “I expect it’s a cottage for one of the castle ground staff, or a tenant. It must take a lot to keep an estate this size in shipshape,” she replied.

  She did not wish to share the news with James that not only did she know the truth about the cottage, but that she had been there alone with Julian. As long as James remained in the dark, Carol
ine reasoned she stood at least a small chance of being able to repeat a private meeting with Julian.

  Harry’s act of lunacy had achieved one unexpected outcome—Caroline was no longer afraid of what she felt for Julian. Her love was strong enough for her to take her chances and declare herself to him.

  She had to find a way to be alone with him.

  And to confess her love.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  For the first time since their arrival at Newhall, James was up bright and early. Julian was surprised to discover his house guest had beaten him to the breakfast room and was full of cheery humor. He even had what looked like the beginning of a smile on his face.

  The change in his mood helped to lift the spirits of those in the carriage as they made their way to the Thursday market at Burton-on-Trent.

  “So, these friends of yours, do they live in Burton?” asked Julian. He was seated in the carriage across from Caroline and Lady Margaret, next to James.

  “No. They are undertaking a commission to create a series of paintings of the local area. They have a patron who is moving overseas and who wishes to take some memories of their home county with them. Knowing their habits from our university days, and also their correspondence over the summer, I am confident that I shall find both of my friends in the Union Inn on market day,” he replied.

  An oddly somber Caroline nodded toward her cousin. “James is a skilled painter in his own right. I am certain that if he was not destined to follow my uncle into the senior ranks of the Church of England, he too would have trodden the path of the artist.”

  Her words surprised Julian. James Radley did not seem, to be the sort of man who would suit a life in the church. He could, however, imagine him as an artist. He had a free spirit about him. But, as with many others of their social standing, James’s life had been set out for him since birth.