Page 52 of The Ice Queen
“What is to happen?” she asked.
He looked down at her. “Harry is locked in his room and won’t be allowed out until we leave for London. That should be in a couple of hours. Newhall’s stablemaster is getting the carriage and horses ready for the road.”
Caroline pulled out of her brother’s hug. “Then I had better hurry and pack.”
Francis stepped in her way as she headed for the door. “Only Harry and I are travelling today. Would you please sit?”
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 withThe Timesand 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. Thetonthrived 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.
