“Aye. If nae longer.”
Juliana tried to school her face into what she hoped was a bland expression. She and Rory were going to be stuck here for days?Maybe weeks…How was she going to abide it?
Chapter Twelve
Rory went off with the laird and his brother, leaving Juliana to finish her breakfast alone. She wasn’t hungry after that last bit of news, but she was grateful for the solitude so she could collect her thoughts.
That privacy didn’t last long, however. A few minutes later, Greer and Aileen burst into the room, both of them seeming a little surprised to see her.
“Ye are up.”
It sounded more like a statement than a question, but Juliana answered it anyway. “I like to rise early.”
That comment was followed by looks of astonishment.
“Ye do?” Aileen asked. “I thought all Englishwomen liked to lie abed.”
“Especially the fancy ladies from London,” Greer added.
“I am not a fancy lady. Just a miss, although I would like for you to call me Juliana.” She could practically hear her sisters laughing at the image of her staying in bed until noon.
“But doona all ladies go to balls and parties and nae get home until the sun rises?”
Aileen nodded. “That’s what we heard.”
“You are referring to thehaute ton—”
“The what?”
“Haute tonliterally means ‘high fashion’ or to ‘set the tone,’ but basically it refers to the rich social set in London,” Juliana explained.
The sisters exchanged confused looks. “But your sister—the one that married Ian—was a part of that, nae?” Aileen asked.
“Yes and, of course, she was invited to many social doings, but she often chose not to go.”
“Why nae?”
She could hardly say because often Emily had bruises or was too sore. Her sister’s marriage to the damn earl—who had a fondness for opium and gambling—had been horrible and part of the reason Juliana didn’t want to get married. The other reason was… Juliana pushed the thought of that horrible night out of her head. It certainly wasn’t something she planned to share. “Those parties and balls are often terribly boring.”
“Boring?” Greer looked intrigued.
Juliana shrugged. “Everyone gossips. Most of it is lies, or half-truths, at the very least. Thetonlikes to make up stories about everyone and everything. It gives them something to do.”
“But…” Greer wrinkled her forehead again. “With all the money they have, they can do anything they like.”
“Not exactly anything. Women are very limited in what they’re allowed to do.”
Aileen narrowed her eyes. “Allowed?”
Juliana had to smile at her reaction. It was very similar to hers. Yet another reason she didn’t desire marriage. “Their husbands can tell them what they can or cannot do and, since husbands also control the money, wives have little choice but to do as they are bid.”
“Scots men may try ordering us about, too.” Aileen grinned. “But they doona get far with it.”
“Aye, our men can be a bragging lot, but they ken how to treat their women,” Greer said.
Juliana considered Rory. The man was bossy. They rarely agreed on anything. He hated admitting when she was right—like about their plan—but…hehadtreated her well. Even if Rory considered rescuing her his duty, he’d still treated her well. He had let her have the room at the inn to herself. He’d gotten them passage aboard the packet so she wouldn’t have to endure riding in the frigid cold, and then he’d known to get her on deck before she became violently illandhad made sure she would stay relatively warm. And this morning, he hadn’t even cursed about being snowed in.
She frowned. Maybe that was because ofCousin Morag?
