Page 35 of The Ice Queen
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Poor Julian,” said Caroline
While the men had been out in search of guests, she had sat outside on a chair with Midas asleep on the ground beside her. Her gaze was fixed firmly on the road. As the hours slowly dragged on, she found herself willing hard for a fleet of travel coaches to appear.
Upon leaving London, she had only seen the party at Newhall Castle as a means to escape her own problems, but her view had changed. She wished very much for Julian to have a successful party. For him to find a lovely girl to marry. For him to be happy.
“Where on earth is everyone?” she whispered.
Midas stirred beside her and got to his feet. He shook his head, then his whole body, before letting out a soft woof.
Caroline reached out and gave him a friendly pat. “You are awake. What has stirred you?”
Midas leaped forward and raced toward the drive. At the top of the rise, three horses appeared. Their slow progress toward the castle, coupled with the lack of other movement on the road, did not portent well.
She rose from the chair and fixed her skirts. She wanted to appear calm. If the returning riders brought bad news with them, she wanted to show Julian that he had her full support.
Midas reached the horses and scampered around them in a big loop, barking with unrestrained joy. Caroline waved.
Francis managed a half wave in return. When she saw Julian, her heart sank. He was slumped, his head bowed in the saddle. A man crushed by disappointment.
“Oh no,” she muttered.
When the horses finally made it to the front of the castle, Francis jumped down from his horse. James slowly dismounted. They both came to the side of Julian’s horse.
“Come on, Newhall, let’s have you,” said Francis, holding out his hands.
Julian mumbled something incoherent in reply, then shooed Francis away. “I shall get down off my own bloody horse, Saunders, or I shall break my neck in the process. Either way, I couldn’t care less.”
A smallOformed on Caroline’s lips as she realized the truth of the situation. Julian was not crushed; he was completely foxed.
“What happened?” she asked.
Francis walked over to her, while James lingered close by Julian’s horse. His gaze was fixed on their drunken host. “We rode all the way to Ashby de la Zouch and there were no other party guests to be seen. Newhall then declared that he required the support of a copious amount of alcohol,” he explained.
Caroline winced as she watched Julian attempt to dismount. He finally wriggled his right foot out of the stirrups after several failed attempts. Leaning back on the horse, he dislodged his left foot from the other stirrup. He swayed in the saddle for a heart-stopping moment, but when James stepped forward, Julian glared at him.
“Stand your ground, Radley, you son of a bishop,” he slurred.
In what could only be described as an inelegant move, Julian then swung his right leg over the saddle and slid down the side of the horse, landing on his knees.
“Ooof!” he cried.
To Caroline’s relief, James took it upon himself to ignore Julian’s protests, and putting his hands under their drunken host’s arms, he lifted him to his feet. Julian attempted to push James away, but her cousin held on tight.
“Come on, Newhall, let’s get you inside before we all die of exposure. The whisky in your system might be keeping you warm, but I’m freezing out here,” James said.
Caroline and Francis followed James and Julian into the main hall. Midas trotted behind.
James managed to get Julian into a nearby sitting room where, with a little assistance from the others, and despite Julian’s slurred protests, they got him settled on a low daybed. Caroline found a footman who quickly went in search of a warm blanket.
With Julian now tucked up and soon fast asleep and snoring loudly, the rest of the group left him in private. They gathered in the upstairs library and closed the door.
“Well that was a long and rather wasted journey,” said James.
Caroline frowned. “So, what do you think has happened? Why has no one other than ourselves arrived?”
“He is not completely sure, but Newhall suspects that his mother has something to do with it. He made mention while we were out on the road that he had demanded the return of several pieces of Newhall estate jewelry that the countess had taken when she left his father. She apparently handed over some of them, but kept an ancient family heirloom. He thinks she has done something to scuttle his plans in order to exact revenge on him for having demanded the return of the jewels,” explained Francis.
