“Congratulations to you both. This is wonderful news.”
Julian accepted the good wishes of the Saunders family members, but Caroline could tell he was out of sorts. The happiness she felt coursing through her veins was not shared in full by her fiancé.
It took a little while, but she was eventually able to speak to him alone.
“What is wrong? You do not look like a man who is overjoyed at our betrothal,” she asked.
He looked down at his half-finished glass of champagne. “After I spoke with your father this morning, I went to see Prince Esterhazy at the Austrian embassy to raise the issue of the necklace. I also met with my mother. Things did not go well. She will not return it.”
The reason for his dark mood was now clear. The countess would put anyone in a poor temper. “But I though Francis was going to get things sorted through his royal connections. She cannot refuse the future king, can she?”
“She has a letter from my father, which he apparently wrote in a desperate attempt to get her to stay with him. It states that for the time being, she is fully within her rights to keep the Crusader Ruby,” he replied.
From the way he seemed to carefully choose his words, Caroline suspected Julian was not telling her the whole story. But here and now, he needed her support. She would leave it to another time to press him further for details.
“I am sorry. I have been a poor fiancé tonight. We should be celebrating our engagement, not worrying about my mother and her evil machinations.”
“What can I do?”
He leaned forward and stole a kiss. “Nothing. Let’s enjoy tonight and worry about other things tomorrow.”
“St Paul’s is now booked. Your Uncle Hugh says you can have the first wedding on Saturday, four weeks from now. That should give us plenty of time to organize your gown, and the guest list.”
Caroline spied the open notebook in her mother’s hands. She had been carrying it around nonstop from the second Julian and Caroline’s engagement had been announced.
Four weeks seemed an eternity. But from the long list of preparations that her mother had made and was constantly adding to, she knew they would need every minute of that time.
“Now, about the wedding ball. I know you are marrying into the Palmer family, but Lady Margaret and I have agreed that Newhall House is far too small to host it. I am going to speak to my brother and see about the summer ballroom at Strathmore House,” added Adelaide.
The Duke of Strathmore’s summer ballroom was the largest of its kind in all of London. It could easily hold more than a thousand guests. The wedding celebrations of both of her cousins, Alex and David Radley, earlier in the year, had been extravagant affairs attended by the upper echelon of London society.
The issue of who to invite had raised the issue of Julian’s lack of family. While Caroline was certain they could rustle up a few friends and some foreign dignitaries for his side of the church, it did seem unfair to have such a lopsided guest list. He would know few people at their own wedding ball.
“How about we look to use the winter ballroom? It is smaller and more intimate. The wedding ball does not need to be that lavish an affair,” she replied.
Julian’s somber mood from the night of their engagement still sat in the forefront of her mind. He had attributed it to the argument with his mother, but Caroline wondered if there was more to it. Had she pushed him when he was not ready to take the plunge?
Adelaide huffed and snapped the notebook shut. “Really, Caroline, you are a daughter of the House of Strathmore. Your wedding should reflect your heritage and birthright. After Eve and Frederick made the decision to elope, I deserve to be allowed to send off my remaining daughter in the manner appropriate to her station.”
Caroline knew her mother well enough to remain silent. This wedding was as important to Adelaide as it was to the bride and groom. London society would expect that no expense be spared. Earlier that morning, she had heard her mother giving her father a stern lecture after he had somewhat foolishly asked her to show some restraint on the cost of the wedding gown.
“I have a meeting with the shoemaker in an hour. Your father will need new shoes. Now you should head upstairs and have an afternoon nap. The betrothal ball will no doubt go late into the night, and you don’t want to find yourself flagging before the end.”
Her mother had moved with lightning speed and made arrangements for Caroline and Julian to celebrate their betrothal with a ball that evening at Strathmore House. She dared not think how many servants and merchants had been pressed into service in order to meet such a short deadline.
Adelaide left Caroline sitting on the floor of the drawing room, surrounded by fabric samples. She looked at the piles of pale-blue satins and silks and sighed. Her childhood dreams of a large wedding with matching attendants had never included all the planning that came with it.
“Ah. There you are. Having fun?”
She looked up to see Francis standing in the doorway. “Not particularly. Mama is doing her best impression of a dragon this morning. I don’t know how I will survive tonight, let alone another month of this, if she keeps it up.”
He dropped down on the floor next to her, pushing some of the fabric out of the way. “Oh, come now, you must be looking forward to tonight. You and Newhall will get to dance together as a betrothed couple. Being an engaged woman must be one of your dreams come true.”
He frowned when she shrugged. “Hello. What’s the matter?”
“I don’t know. I am worried about Julian. He was not very cheerful when we celebrated our engagement announcement. His mother has to be the most malicious woman I have ever had the misfortune of encountering,” she replied.
Francis awkwardly patted her on the back. Will would have put his arm around her and given her a consoling hug, but not Francis. Her brother always struggled with offering emotion and comfort.
“I tell you what, I am meeting Will for luncheon shortly. How about we hunt down Newhall and spend some time with him at our club? As his future brothers, we should welcome him with a few drinks before the ball tonight,” he said.
Caroline’s hopes lifted. What Francis lacked in emotional depth, he more than made up for with his pragmatism. Offering to spend time with Julian before the ball was the perfect answer. “Thank you, I would really appreciate it. If you could succeed in getting him into a happier frame of mind, I will be very grateful.”
Francis got to his feet. “Done. I shall see you later.”