After exchanging a brief look of wide-eyed alarm, Catherine and Professor Lawes both turned reluctantly away from the starry night and hurried back inside the house. Once there, they found a large group of people clustered around a single figure huddled in a chair, who Catherine could just make out to be Lady Russell. Sir William and Lady Cavendish appeared to be making a valiant attempt to calm the hysterical lady as she clutched a letter in her hand and waved it about dramatically, Mr and Mrs Wilmot looking on with grim expressions. Miss Russell stood next to them, her face stark white, watched anxiously by William from the opposite side of the knot of people.
With all the commotion Catherine and the professor's return to the room went unnoticed. For this Catherine was very thankful, and she seized the opportunity to sneak over to the edge of the circle where Julia stood a little way back from the others.
"Whatever has happened?" hissed Catherine as soon as she was within earshot. She half expected her cousin to comment on her disappearing outside with Professor Lawes, but when Julia turned to face her Catherine saw that her face was as pale and drawn as Miss Russell's.
"Lady Russell has received a letter from a friend of the late Viscount Russell, who resides in Bath," explained Julia quietly, as Lady Russell herself began to sob loudly. "He writes with news of Lord Russell at last – but it is not welcome news, no indeed."
"Lord Russell remains in Bath, then?" inquired Catherine, wondering at Lady Russell's state of distress. If this indeed was the case, surely she should be relieved to finally know of his whereabouts? And if he had remained in Bath the entire time, that meant he could not have eloped...
"He remains there at present, yes," affirmed Julia solemnly, "though not for much longer. He has squandered a large sum of money on gambling and drink, approaching the late viscount's friend a few days ago when he realised he could no longer afford to pay for his accommodation. This friend seems a very decent sort of gentleman, for he has allowed Lord Russell to stay with him for the time being – on the condition that Lady Russell be made aware of his doings these past weeks."
Now Catherine understood Lady Russell's agitation perfectly – and as she glanced again at the crumpled figure in the chair, she felt her cheeks flame with anger towards the abhorrent viscount. She found no satisfaction upon discovering that her suspicions about the man's flighty nature had been correct all along; her heart was too full of pity for these two poor women who were now to suffer because of him. Lord Russell had betrayed them and failed in his duties as viscount in every conceivable way – he was thoroughly undeserving of the title he held.
"How could he have willingly condemned his family to such a desperate situation?" wondered Catherine aloud.
"That is not the worst of it," said Julia grimly. "The late viscount's friend forced Lord Russell to recount all his recent misdeeds in Bath – and he has also admitted to taking a young girl against her will."
"No!" choked Catherine, clapping a hand to her mouth in horror. "It cannot be!"
"Though I most earnestly wish it was not so, every word is true. The girl's parents have visited Lord Russell at his new lodgings, begging for them to be married so that their daughter's reputation might be saved."
Catherine was simply too astounded to speak. Lord Russell's behaviour in Bath was far worse than even she could have believed, and she was unable to imagine the severity of poor Julia's pain at having fancied herself in love with such an odious man. How cheated she must feel; how used, and deceived!
There was, however, one very small cause for comfort – Catherine thanked heaven that Lord Russell had not proposed before departing for Bath, for she felt quite ill at the thought of Julia being tied to such a man. At least Julia had emerged from the acquaintance with her dignity intact, which was more than could be said for that poor young girl. There would be no escaping her fate.
"Is Lord Russell to marry this woman, then?" inquired Catherine.
"I do not know," replied Julia, with a heavy sigh.
The remainder of the evening passed in something of a blur. Despite Sir William and Lady Cavendish's valiant attempts at calming Lady Russell, the woman was beyond consolation, and it was not long before she fainted away in her chair. While Lady Cavendish anxiously attempted to revive her, the ever-sage Sir William declared he simply would not allow the two Russell ladies to venture home; they must stay at Broxcliffe Park. Neither was in a state to decline, and so a flurry of activity ensued as the doctor was called for Lady Russell and arrangements were made to have bedchambers made up for the weary mother and daughter.
During this chaos the Fanlow Cottage party took their leave, and despite being rather distracted Catherine felt a tugging at her heart as she watched Professor Lawes depart. She could not stop replaying the moment just before Lady Russell's scream in her mind. Something very profound had happened to her during those few seconds; she had found herself overcome with a surge of desire for the professor so intense and new it had frightened her, although it was an exhilarating sort of fear. Catherine ached to know whether Professor Lawes had experienced it too, and she could hardly wait until the next time they were together so that she might better gauge his feelings towards her.
But there were currently more important matters to think of, Catherine reminded herself firmly – she would have ample time to daydream of Professor Lawes once she retired to bed for the night. Thanks to the Cavendish family's swift cooperation, Lady Russell and her daughter were soon accommodated in two of Broxcliffe Park's guest bedchambers – but before Catherine could make her way to her own bedchamber, there was one other person who required her attention.
"Julia," murmured Catherine, knocking gingerly on the door although it was highly unlikely that Julia would already be asleep. Sure enough her cousin's nightgown-clad figure soon appeared in the doorway, and as Catherine peered into the dark room she noticed that the bed had not been used; Julia must have been pacing her room since the maid left.
"May I come in a moment?" asked Catherine gently.
Julia admitted her at once, shutting the door behind her as Catherine took a seat on the bed.
"I had an inclination that you might want to talk," Julia told her as she crossed the room and joined Catherine, drawing her shawl about her shoulders. "What a to-do! I cannot imagine the extent of your displeasure at having the Russell ladies as our guests, Catherine – I am displeased enough, and I never did find them as irksome as you do."
"It is not the Russells I came to speak of, Julia," Catherine told her firmly, "but rather you."
"Me?" echoed Julia, feigning ignorance although a deep flush was slowly creeping up her neck.
"Yes, my dear. I came to inquire how you were feeling, given the events of this evening."
"Well, I – I cannot think why you..." spluttered Julia incoherently.
"You cannot pretend to me that the contents of the letter to Lady Russell did not affect you," interrupted Catherine. "To do so would be to speak untruthfully, and it is only by expressing what you truly feel that you may overcome the suffering caused by your acquaintance with Lord Russell."
Julia's face crumpled in defeat, and the sight of her cousin's trembling lip was an icy blade through Catherine's heart. To cause Julia further suffering was the last thing Catherine had wanted, but she knew that only by Julia speaking of her pain could the wounds inflicted by Lord Russell begin to heal.
"I am relieved that I am not condemned to a lifetime as Lord Russell's wife," said Julia slowly, "and I shall be eternally thankful that he did not succeed in permanently impairing our friendship. He is a dreadful man – but oh, Catherine – I am such a fool, for I did love him! I truly loved him, Catherine! If I was able to give my heart to such a creature, what does that make me?"
"It makes you a young lady with an innocent heart full of love, who strives to see the best in everyone she meets," said Catherine, grasping her cousin's shaking hand firmly, "and there is no shame in that. In fact, my dear Julia, your good heart is one of the qualities I most admire about you."
"Good heart," scoffed Julia. "Naïve is what you truly mean; only you are too kind to say so. I am naïve and foolish, that is my problem."
"You were taken in by the viscount's false charm – that I do not deny," admitted Catherine. "I feel we can say with certainty, though, that you are not the only young lady to have fallen prey to his trickery. The goings-on in Bath provide evidence enough for that, do you not think?"
"You were not fooled, Catherine," pressed Julia. "Almost instantly you saw through his pretences, and kindly attempted to warn me – only I am such a senseless creature that I chose to believe a man I hardly knew over the word of my dearest, dearest cousin who only ever has my best interests at heart!"
"There now, Julia," murmured Catherine, pulling her cousin into a close embrace. "I do not blame you for any of this. I cannot say that I was not hurt when our relationship became so distant; however, I feel you have suffered more than enough – and although I fear you shall be unable to do so, I must urge that you do not punish yourself further over what occurred during your acquaintance with Lord Russell."
"I will try," mumbled Julia, her voice rather muffled.
The cousins broke apart, and a brief period of silence followed during which Julia's sniffles gradually subsided.
"Now, of course we must all endeavour to assist Lady Russell and Miss Russell whenever possible in this most difficult time," said Catherine eventually. "As for Lord Russell, however, we shall now have no further dealings with him, and before long you will feel able to move on."
"There was nothing I wished for more than to marry," mumbled Julia, "and when my acquaintance with Lord Russell developed, I felt as if all my dreams were coming true! Now those dreams are shattered, and I do sometimes fear that I shall never truly be happy again."
In that moment, Catherine's heart truly broke for her cousin. She knew how desperately Julia wanted to find a husband, and rightly she should; it was prudent for any young lady to have an interest in securing an advantageous match for herself. Catherine was an exception, which she knew was against her own interests – but securing a husband had always been something she had cast to the back of her mind, regarding it as something to worry about later in life. For Julia, however, who had been mingling with high society since she was just out of finishing school, preparing for marriage was the matter of greatest importance in her life.
"I am not so sure I should like to marry soon, after all," sighed Julia now. "I thought a prosperous match would make me exceedingly happy – yet marriage to Lord Russell would have made me thoroughly miserable, and he had the largest fortune of any young man I knew! I feel dreadful for saying it, Catherine, but I no longer think I would be satisfied if I married for fortune alone. Is it terribly silly of me to strive for more; to strive for love, like the heroines of novels?"
Catherine considered this for a moment. She hardly thought herself an expert on matters of sentimentality, and was about to tell Julia that perhaps she was asking the wrong person for advice – but then, maybe she did have something to say on the subject. During the time she had spent with Professor Lawes since returning to Barnbury, she had grown to like him a great deal. There was something different about him, and Catherine found that she had somehow come to find his plain-spoken ways refreshing and endearing rather than being vexed by them as she once was.
"I do not think it is foolish to dream of marrying for love," said Catherine slowly. "It is never foolish to dream."
"What of Professor Lawes?" asked Julia; the question Catherine had been dreading. "Do you think you love him?"
"I did not like him at all when we first met," replied Catherine, painfully aware that her cheeks were beginning to glow scarlet, "but as I have spent more time with him, and learnt more about his character, I confess my feelings have changed. In time, I believe I might come to love him, yes."
"Oh, Catherine!" gushed Julia excitedly, "It would be so perfectly lovely if he proposed!"
Once again, Catherine found herself overwhelmed by how kind her cousin's heart was. Here she was, currently in the midst of her first heartbreak – yet Julia could only think of Catherine's own chances of happiness, and without a trace of envy in her voice. It was extremely humbling for Catherine, who remembered all too well the envy she had experienced when it had been Julia receiving Lord Russell's attentions.
"You will find happiness, Julia - I am sure of it," Catherine told her earnestly. She dearly hoped that she was right, for nobody was more deserving of finding true love than Julia.
As for Catherine's own wishes for happiness, she found they were becoming clearer to her by the day. It scared her a little - because the more days that passed, the more Catherine found herself imagining a future with Professor Lawes in it.
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A/N: Thank you all for bearing with me and being so patient about my lack of updates during what has been a very difficult time for me. A few weeks ago a very close relative passed away, which has been so hard for me to come to terms with. I also moved back to university to start the final year of my degree, and unfortunately I've not had internet in my house this past week so it's been tricky to update!
Now that the chapter is finally up, though, I hope you all enjoyed reading it :) We are now building up towards the climax of the story!