ridiculed by friend and foe alike. I will not stand by and see the child put through that, whatever her father’s wishes.”
“Am I to have no say in this?” a soft voice queried. Juliana stood on the threshold of the bedchamber, like a leaf paused at the edge of a hurricane. Her eyes were dry, and remarkably clear for a girl who had been through as much turmoil as she had in the last few hours. “If you are discussing my future, I think I should be involved in the decisions.”
“There is nothing to decide,” Mrs. Jolly stated. “Your father’s bequests, however well-meaning, are quite preposterous. They must be rectified. The estates and lands might conceivably be managed without your intervention, but the shipping fine is quite another matter. We must dissolve the company and sell off the ships at the earliest opportunity.”
Juliana took a step across the threshold. “If father had wanted his ships sold, he would have left them to my cousin Grenville. The Marquis Line was his dream. It will not be sold to the highest bidder.”
Mrs. Jolly was rarely surprised, but Juliana’s answer struck her momentarily speechless. “Child, think what you are saying. You know nothing of trade, much less the shippingbusiness. Think of what happened to Lady Pease last Season, when she contemplated buying a racehorse. Only her mother’s connection to the duke of Edinburgh saved her from becoming the laughingstock of the
ton
.”
“Lady Pease was a silly woman who cared nothing for horses, and would have surely made a fool of herself in some other way if not that. You told me so yourself.”
“Yes, well, perhaps I said something to that effect, but it don’t signify. The shipping business is a good sight more complicated than a racetrack. You will have to deal with”—the matron placed her hand on her heart and gave a deep shudder—“with men of low character.”
Juliana crossed her arms. “No lower than that of several members of the gentry I know.”
The commodore was suddenly seized by a fit of coughing, and something suspiciously like a smile tugged at Mr. McGregor’s austere lips. Mrs. Jolly quelled both with a look. “Honestly, Juliana, you are the most headstrong of children. Is there no turning you from this course?”
“None whatsoever.”
Hortensia Jolly was ill used to changing direction once her course was set. She had plans for Juliana, and those plans definitely did not include her making a cake of herself in front of the entire
ton
. But she knew enough of Juliana’s stubborn character to realize there was little chance of dissuading the girl once her mind was made up.
“Well, as a young woman under my protection, I insist that you take along a chaperone whenever you visit your father’s offices. Someone of stature. Someone of impeccable character. Someone like—” Her brow arched in devilish delight. “Someone like Mr. McGregor.”
The Scotsman’s confident expression crumbled. “
Me?
Madam, you canna be serious. I have other clients to attend to … other responsibilities …”
Mrs. Jolly smoothed the lines of her satin bed jacket.“Now you have one client, and one responsibility. I am sure your partners will not object—if they wish to continue representing the late marquis’s estate.”
“But I have no experience dealing with”—McGregor bent toward Mrs. Jolly and confessed in a clandestine whisper—“with young persons of the female persuasion.”
“Then it is high time you acquired some. You and your associates helped get Juliana into this predicament, and you can jolly well get her out of it. Besides, she will have need of your business acumen—you do have experience with that, do you not?”
“A great deal, madam,” Mr. McGregor replied as he regained what he could of his composure. He turned stiffly to Juliana. “I’ll require a few days to set my schedule to rights. I shall call for you on—well, let’s say, Friday next.”
“Let’s
“Am I to have no say in this?” a soft voice queried. Juliana stood on the threshold of the bedchamber, like a leaf paused at the edge of a hurricane. Her eyes were dry, and remarkably clear for a girl who had been through as much turmoil as she had in the last few hours. “If you are discussing my future, I think I should be involved in the decisions.”
“There is nothing to decide,” Mrs. Jolly stated. “Your father’s bequests, however well-meaning, are quite preposterous. They must be rectified. The estates and lands might conceivably be managed without your intervention, but the shipping fine is quite another matter. We must dissolve the company and sell off the ships at the earliest opportunity.”
Juliana took a step across the threshold. “If father had wanted his ships sold, he would have left them to my cousin Grenville. The Marquis Line was his dream. It will not be sold to the highest bidder.”
Mrs. Jolly was rarely surprised, but Juliana’s answer struck her momentarily speechless. “Child, think what you are saying. You know nothing of trade, much less the shippingbusiness. Think of what happened to Lady Pease last Season, when she contemplated buying a racehorse. Only her mother’s connection to the duke of Edinburgh saved her from becoming the laughingstock of the
ton
.”
“Lady Pease was a silly woman who cared nothing for horses, and would have surely made a fool of herself in some other way if not that. You told me so yourself.”
“Yes, well, perhaps I said something to that effect, but it don’t signify. The shipping business is a good sight more complicated than a racetrack. You will have to deal with”—the matron placed her hand on her heart and gave a deep shudder—“with men of low character.”
Juliana crossed her arms. “No lower than that of several members of the gentry I know.”
The commodore was suddenly seized by a fit of coughing, and something suspiciously like a smile tugged at Mr. McGregor’s austere lips. Mrs. Jolly quelled both with a look. “Honestly, Juliana, you are the most headstrong of children. Is there no turning you from this course?”
“None whatsoever.”
Hortensia Jolly was ill used to changing direction once her course was set. She had plans for Juliana, and those plans definitely did not include her making a cake of herself in front of the entire
ton
. But she knew enough of Juliana’s stubborn character to realize there was little chance of dissuading the girl once her mind was made up.
“Well, as a young woman under my protection, I insist that you take along a chaperone whenever you visit your father’s offices. Someone of stature. Someone of impeccable character. Someone like—” Her brow arched in devilish delight. “Someone like Mr. McGregor.”
The Scotsman’s confident expression crumbled. “
Me?
Madam, you canna be serious. I have other clients to attend to … other responsibilities …”
Mrs. Jolly smoothed the lines of her satin bed jacket.“Now you have one client, and one responsibility. I am sure your partners will not object—if they wish to continue representing the late marquis’s estate.”
“But I have no experience dealing with”—McGregor bent toward Mrs. Jolly and confessed in a clandestine whisper—“with young persons of the female persuasion.”
“Then it is high time you acquired some. You and your associates helped get Juliana into this predicament, and you can jolly well get her out of it. Besides, she will have need of your business acumen—you do have experience with that, do you not?”
“A great deal, madam,” Mr. McGregor replied as he regained what he could of his composure. He turned stiffly to Juliana. “I’ll require a few days to set my schedule to rights. I shall call for you on—well, let’s say, Friday next.”
“Let’s
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