Page 78 of The Ice Queen
Chapter Forty-Seven
Charles Saunders greeted his wife and daughter as they stepped inside their house in Dover Street a short while later.
“Caroline, you have a visitor. I told him I would ask if you were prepared to see him, but I gave no undertakings that you would. After what happened in Derbyshire, he says he will understand if you say no,” he said.
She had been expecting a visit from this particular person from the day she returned home. “Where is he?”
“The lower sitting room. I thought it best that he should not venture too far into the house, in case Francis suddenly came home. Your brother is in no mood to forgive him.”
Harry Menzies stepped away from the window as Caroline entered the room. He held his hat and gloves tightly in his hands. At the sight of her, he dropped his head. “Thank you for seeing me. I promise not to take up too much of your time.”
The last time she had seen Harry, Caroline had been ready to throttle him. But seeing him now made her hesitate. She had never known him to be so ill at ease.
“I came to say I am sorry. Sorry for all that I did to you and for the utter mess I made of things. As a result, your reputation has been held up to scrutiny that was entirely undeserved,” he said.
Caroline silently studied Harry’s face. There was nothing to show that he was anything but the kindhearted Harry she had always known. But she now knew the other side of him. The dark, dangerous Harry, who would use violence against a defenseless woman. The sooner this meeting was over, the better.
Caroline held out a hand to him. She had Julian’s love and Harry was no longer a part of her life; let them shake hands and part ways.
He refused to take it. “I don’t deserve your good graces. I behaved like the worst of scoundrels. My parents have barely spoken to me since they discovered the betrothal notice inTheTimes. It doesn’t matter that they do not know what else I did to you. Newhall was right in threatening to put me down. I am deeply ashamed of myself.”
It was a relief to know that Harry had finally accepted the gravity of the terrible things he had done to her. But the damage was done. They would never again be friends. The trust she had once had in him was gone.
“So, what now?” she asked.
Harry retrieved his gloves from inside his hat. “My father is sending me to work at our Manchester office. He says I need to be away from London until I can find myself. It pains me greatly to know that I have lost your trust and friendship. But it is entirely my fault and the punishment does fit the crime.”
Caroline nodded. Harry’s father was a sensible man, and getting his son out of London, for a time, was a prudent move. It would give space for thetonto move onto the next rumor or scandal. By the time he returned, people would have forgotten about the matter of his non-engagement to Caroline Saunders. But she would never forget that morning at Newhall Castle, and the certain knowledge that if Julian had not come to her rescue, Harry would have taken to her with his fists.
The door to the sitting room opened and Adelaide’s head appeared around the door. “Are you alright?” she asked.
“Yes. We are fine,” replied Caroline.
“Please give my regards to your mother,” Adelaide said.
“Thank you, Lady Adelaide. I shall do that,” he replied.
As he headed for the door, Caroline reached out and touched Harry on the arm. For all the hurt he had caused her, he didn’t deserve to find out in public about Julian and herself. “Lord Newhall has asked my father for permission to court me. We had begun to build a tentative connection before you arrived at Newhall Castle, so please don’t think that Julian took the opportunity to capitalize on your grave error of judgement,” she said.
His posture stiffened at her words, and surprise and disappointment appeared on his face. “Thank you. I appreciate you telling me this in private; it is more than I deserve.”
After she had escorted Harry to the front door, Caroline went in search of her father. Charles was busy stacking papers on a table in his study when she knocked on the door.
“How did you go with young Menzies?” he asked.
“As well as could be expected,” she replied.
He put down the papers. “Did you tell him about Newhall and yourself?”
Caroline nodded, after which her father produced a small card out of his jacket pocket, and showed it to her. Caroline recognized the Newhall coat of arms on the top of it. “Lord Newhall is a fine chap. Will likes him immensely, so that will be a good start for the two of you. Your mother likes him as well. It was nice to finally be able to say ‘yes’ to a young gentleman appearing at my door. Though I must admit, I was not expecting a formal courtship.”
Caroline’s mood lifted. It was nice for her and her father to finally have this conversation. At last count, her father had turned away well over a dozen young men who had come to him and offered for her hand. All of them had failed. Not one of them had thought to ask Caroline for her permission. Julian had been the one who had broken the mold.
Everything about her relationship with Julian was a first. He had been the first man to openly challenge her. He had not fallen at her feet like all the others. He had treated her as an equal and demanded the same in return.
Most importantly of all, he had been the first man to stop and look beyond her beauty. To call upon the real Caroline to step out into the light. The Caroline whose blood heated at his slightest touch. The woman whose soul he owned, possessed.
“I love Julian and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. We have agreed that a formal courtship is necessary. Both of us have things in our past we wish to smooth over. Thank you, Papa, for saying yes,” she replied.
