Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lady Evie had indeed returned from her travels.

She stood bright-eyed at the top of the marble staircase, still in a rumpled travelling dress, greeting them effusively as they arrived back from the ball.

"Catherine, I mean, Lena! And Julius. I'm back!"

"So I see," Julius replied. "And somewhat earlier than anticipated. How was your journey?"

"Awful. However, I am back now, and all is well." She descended the stairs quickly and clasped Lena's hands. "I'm so glad you're here. You must tell me everything."

Julius cleared his throat. "Your friend, I take it she is well?"

"Hm? What fr—oh. You mean Pippa? Yes, of course. Yes, she is fine. That is, she was ill, but she's better now." Evie's gaze flickered away to avoid meeting Julius's eyes.

His brows furrowed. "I ran into Hartenberg at the ball. "

Her head whipped around. "You did? He's here?"

"Yes." He watched her closely.

Evie looked away again, fiddling with the fringe of her scarf. "Oh."

"It is high time you two met formally."

Evie shrugged nonchalantly.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

She shook her head. "No. I can't imagine what that could be. If Hartenberg is in Vienna, I suppose I can't get around meeting him. Finally."

"Granted, the war made it difficult, if not impossible, for the two of you to meet sooner. But when he finally managed to come to England against all odds eight years ago, you ran off."

Evie lifted her chin defiantly. "That's not true. How was I supposed to know he'd choose to visit the one time I was taking the waters in Bath? Besides, Aunt Agatha needed me."

"Conveniently so," Julius commented dryly. "After all, Aunt Agatha could never manage without you. The distance to Bath is insurmountable, far more difficult than his journey from Vienna, of course."

"Precisely." Evie sniffed dismissively. "The man is used to travelling through battlefields. Surely, a trip to Bath would have been easy enough for him. But no, he couldn't be bothered. Come, Lena, let us leave my insufferable brother before I lose my temper. I've just returned and I've no patience left for him."

Lena, who'd been looking from one to the other in bemusement, patted her arm. "Come and tell me everything."

The two women ascended the stairs together, leaving Julius to watch after them thoughtfully.

He had just finished a meeting with Castlereagh at the Minoritenplatz. The day was clear and brisk, so he decided to walk back to his residence. It wasn't far, and the walk would help him gather his thoughts.

The weather had turned cold, and a crisp edginess was in the air, heralding that winter was coming soon. The chill cleared his mind, which had been clouded all day with a restless fog. He found his thoughts drifted constantly, making it difficult to concentrate.

During the meeting, Castlereagh had to ask him three times if he agreed to the proposal. He'd blushed like a schoolboy who'd been caught stealing sugar plums from the pantry.

Fact was that his thoughts had been miles away with Catherine and how lovely she'd looked at the breakfast table this morning. They'd made it a habit to eat breakfast together, both rising before the children, savouring that quiet hour alone. He cherished these mornings, his only time with her before the demands of the day took over.

Today, she had tilted her head, her rosy lips curved in a smile. The entire day Julius had been unable to shake the thought of how much he'd wanted to kiss her.

Why the devil hadn't he?

She was his wife, after all.

Would they taste as sweet as he remembered ?

What was he waiting for?

"Your Grace," Castlereagh repeated for the third time, his voice laced with amusement. "The proposal?"

He blinked, startled. "Ah yes." He cleared his throat, heat washing up his neck. "The proposal. Of course."

As wholesome as the walk was, the crisp air did little to cool the feverish heat that seemed to have taken over his entire being. He felt as if his blood had turned to honey mead, oozing hot and slow through his veins. As he reached the bustling Graben, where carriages and pedestrians crowded the wide street, he paused. Perhaps he ought to visit that hosiery shop again to pick up another pair of stockings. No, this time he ought to buy her something less ordinary.

A piece of jewellery perhaps. It occurred to him that other than the family heirlooms, he'd never given her any trinket. Something personally made for her. Something that reflected the colour of her eyes. They lit up when she smiled, like sparkles in a diamond.

He walked happily down the road ruminating on her eyes, when he was interrupted by a familiar voice calling from across the street.

Julius looked up and there she was, as if he had conjured her from his very thoughts.

She stood at the other side, waving. But not at him, no.

In front of him were the children gathered near the house.

An unexpected feeling of elation washed over him.

He had a family now.

Not only Catherine, but a son, and the other children, too. A surprising warmth bloomed in his chest. He had to confess he'd miss them if they were ever to part now.

Lena called again, waving at the children as she began to cross the street.

Julius saw the coaches coming.

Two of them, barrelling down the street at a reckless speed. Lena, her focus entirely on the children, had not noticed them.

"Mama!" the children screamed.

"No!" It broke from him.

The scene unfolded in a blur of chaos. Shouts, screams, the shrill whinny of panicked horses. The deafening crunch of splintering wood as the two carriages collided, and there—caught between them—was Lena.

Julius was running before he even realised it, his heart pounding in his chest. He reached her in what felt like an eternity.

Her pale arm lay on the ground and her hair spread across the cobblestones—streaked with blood.