"You must be very firm with her," said Hannah; "you must tell her decidedly that you will not have her meeting that young man, that it is disgraceful, and not to be tolerated."
"And drive her into open opposition to us all," said Mrs. Tracy. "Oh, my dear, that will not do at all. You forget that Juliet will soon be twenty-one, and she has always threatened that she would take her own way when she came of age. And now that she is quite independent—Oh, that would not do at all!"
"It is certainly rather late for mother to begin to be firm with Juliet," said Salome, with an unpleasant curl of the lips.
"The best thing would be to take her out of London for a time, so that she should not see anything of those horrid Chalcombes," said Hannah.
"Certainly it would; but who is to take Juliet away if she does not choose to go?" asked Mrs. Tracy, with despair in her tones. "She would not give up her lessons with Signor Lombardi. And she has announced her intention of attending all the popular concerts this season."
So the family conclave broke up with no result, save increased irritation in the minds of the sisters and a heavy weight of anxiety on the mother's heart.
Juliet was highly elated by the position in which she found herself placed by her uncle's death. Her sorrow at his removal, and the softened, regretful feelings which had moved her when she learned the news, were quickly succeeded by self-gratulation and a new, almost intoxicating sense of her own importance. It was delightful to feel that she was now a woman of property, having at her command the means for carrying out her own ideas, and ordering her life as she would. All sorts of brilliant but vague notions of what she might now do presented themselves to her mind. She hardly knew what she would like to do. One thing only was clear to her mind. It was in her power to have her own way, and have it she would.
With such a resolve stimulating her imagination, she was in no mood to receive meekly a word of remonstrance or reproof, not even from the mother whom she truly loved. She waxed indignant when her mother spoke to her about Algernon Chalcombe.
"It is a pity Mrs. Hayes has nothing better to discuss than my doings!" she exclaimed hotly. "I declare she is a veritable scandalmonger. But I will not have her dictating as to who are to be my acquaintances. I hope I know how to take care of myself."
Mrs. Tracy privately thought that this spoilt child knew very little how to take care of herself, but she dared not say so.