Yes, it was the same speech as always. Julianna stopped listening, merely nodding her head at intervals.
Her father was still quite good-looking, even at forty-three. His hair was a thick golden brown, with just a hint of gray at the temples. Very distinguished. He had a few lines forming around his deep blue eyes, but the dimple in his cheek made him appear almost boyish at times. With his trim, athletic physique, it was no wonder the baroness had pursued him despite his lower rank and empty coffers. She certainly couldn’t have done better.
Her new stepmother was still an enigma to Julianna. She was older than her father by at least ten years. Small, thin, worrisome, she reminded Julianna of a little bird always pecking away, anxious about the coming winter. Her hair was the same nondescript gray as a robin’s feathers. She kept it cut quite short, and was always wearing a delicate hat or a turban sporting colorful plumage. Her features were dainty, with small, round eyes of a surprisingly bright shade of hazel green, and a tiny, pointed nose. She had never been unkind to Julianna, but she was childless from her first marriage, and Julianna rather thought she had no idea what she was supposed to do with a fully grown daughter. Well, Julianna had no idea what to do with a fully grown stepmother, either.
“So we shall see how you like him, hmm?” her father ended with a smile, and it took Julianna a moment to return from her woolgathering to comprehend his words.
“See if I shall like whom?” she asked with alarm.
“Juli-anna,” her father admonished in that special way he had when he was annoyed with her, stretching her name into two distinct halves. “The baroness has arranged a dinner party for Friday so that you can be introduced to that nice barrister she told you about. The one from Hampstead.”
This and the baroness’s refusal to help Julianna in her patronage of the foundling home were the two areas in which Julianna and her stepmother openly disagreed. Lady Linville was determined to see her married off to someone “suitable to her station.” Which was a nice barrister, it would seem, since this would make the fourth that she’d been introduced to in as many months. Oh, yes, they were all nice, until they figured out she had a brain and was not averse to exercising it regularly.
“How delightful,” Julianna drawled, and her sarcasm was not lost on her father.
“Your stepmother only has your best interests at heart, Julianna,” he told her crisply. “She has the connections to make a fine match for you, and you have the opportunity to lead the life of a wealthy matron. Many young women would envy you.”
“Would they?” she murmured, then immediately went on the offensive. “Father, did you marry the baroness so that you could marry me off to someone suitable?”
Mr. Harte turned a delicate shade of pink, and began to fumble with his cutlery, avoiding her eyes. “I married the baroness for several reasons, but yes, one of those reasons was so that I could provide you with the opportunity to assume your rightful place in society.”
Julianna sighed deeply and put her hand over her father’s, drawing his gaze back to hers. “Oh, Papa, I do wish you had consulted me first. For I would have told you that I did not desire that, and that I certainly did not wish you to sacrifice yourself for my sake.”
He looked surprised. “Sacrifice myself? My dear, how you exaggerate. Lady Linville and I get along quite well, you know. There are…” He coughed delicately into his hand. “Yes, well, marriage is a tricky thing, you see, and there are things between a man and a wife of which the world knows nothing.” He cleared his throat and sat up straight, looking as if he’d said too much, his face a bright shade of red now.
“Handley,” he called out. “Do bring the tea, Handley.”
Julianna could only stare at him in shock. Was he talking about…no, surely he wouldn’t discuss that with her. Father? And the baroness? Her mind rebelled at further thought in that direction. She was as glad to end their conversation as he seemed to be.
She needed some information from him, and decided now was as good a time as any, since he might be more forthcoming in an effort to forget the awkwardness of a moment before.
“Father, do you remember the pearl? The one we saw at Mr. Sharp’s the other night?”
He scoffed. “Remember it? How could I forget? One doesn’t see that quality often, my girl. A pearl of the first water,” he added with a mischievous grin.
Julianna bit her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud. Glory, how marvelous. The pearl should fetch enough to cover the back rent on the foundling home.
She looked around, and then leaned toward her father conspiratorially. “How much, Papa?” she whispered.
He didn’t like to discuss the past—how he had liberated items from their owners over the years to keep his young daughter clothed and fed. It was how they’d gotten the money to start the foundling home. But he had been good. Very good. He’d never been caught, but then he’d never taken large items. Just a little something here and there. He had learned to gauge an item’s value with uncanny accuracy. And he knew his jewels better than most. It was how he picked his mistresses. The ones with the best jewels won. They’d lived on his little thefts and the gifts he’d received from his mistresses. He was one of the only men she knew who could talk a woman out of her diamonds.
Her father darted an alarmed glance around the room, but he relaxed when he saw that no one was paying them any attention. He leaned in toward her slightly. “Priceless,” he purred. “Forty-five grains at least, perfectly round, brilliant luster, thick nacre, gorgeous. And besides being the most perfect Scottish pearl ever farmed from the River Tay, it has been in the Stuart family for generations. Bonnie Prince Charlie himself wore it in a pouch around his neck for good luck, although personally I think it was in case he found a good fence when his purse was light.”
Julianna dropped her fork and felt her face blanch. “Priceless?” she whispered. Oh, Lord, what had she done? She’d known it was famous and valuable, but priceless?
“Well…” Her father drew out the word with a frown. “Nothing is priceless. It depends on the receiver, of course, but it would bring a good, oh, five hundred pounds at least.” He rubbed his chin. “But the sentimental value to the family makes it priceless. And its notoriety would make it hard to sell.”
“How hard?” she demanded. Then, realizing that she sounded a little too frantic, she tried to temper her voice. “I mean, surely there are some unscrupulous persons who would buy the pearl despite its notoriety?” She hoped she sounded merely curious, and not desperate.
Her father gave her a strange look. “I suppose so. The Black Horse, over in Tottenham Court Road, or the Rose or the Bear, they would all probably take it I suppose. But I only ever went to those as a last resort. Too rough by far. Why do you ask?”
Julianna licked her suddenly dry lips. “No reason in particular, Papa. Curiosity, I suppose.”
Her father patted her hand. “Those days are gone, my dear. You needn’t fear that I will return to my old ways. We have all we need now. Lady Linville brought us security. For that alone you should be grateful.”
“Yes,” Julianna mumbled, shocked and dismayed. What on earth was she to do with the pearl now? She needed funds quickly. The solicitor of the building’s new owner had come to the foundling home to tell her that the rent was increasing, and the bank would need the back rent to be paid in full within the week. So Julianna had to pay or the owner would turn the children out onto the street. The solicitor had been very apologetic, but firm nonetheless. His client had no choice but to demand the money or let the building to someone else. Otherwise the bank would foreclose and seize the property.