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 diplomat 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.