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when he talked of business matters and Julienne didn’t respond enthusiastically. Julienne had always been secretly amused at this pretension, but just at this moment she realized how very much she disliked it. With a hint of disdain he said, “Yes, I’m aware that genteel young ladies sometimes have foolish and silly daydreams about romance. But, Julienne, you know very well that my family is not only wealthy, but we move in the highest circles of society and the Leggetts are one of the first families of Mississippi. I believe I am regarded as what is somewhat vulgarly termed as a ‘fine catch.’ And if I may take the liberty, I will remind you that you are twenty-three years old. I’m aware that you have turned away at least two eligible young men, but surely you realize that such things change as a woman grows older.”
    Anger had risen in Julienne as he spoke, but the sting of truth of the last two sentences deflated her. Though Julienne was careless and her life was somewhat shallow, when forced to she could face facts squarely. Most of her friends married between the age of sixteen and twenty, and after that a woman was considered to be “older.” She was well aware that because of her unusual beauty, and the Ashby’s place in Natchez society, she was still much sought-after. But surely Archie-bald isn’t my last chance! she thought rebelliously.
    Her thoughts were tumbling one after another, and Archie was watching her with that same supercilious expression. Finally she said with a diplomacy unusual for her, “Archie, I do appreciate your attentions and it is an honor for you to pay your addresses to me in such a respectful manner. But even though we’ve been seeing each other for a year, to be honest I hadn’t come to the point of considering marriage. Would you please give me some time to think about it?”
    He frowned. “How much time?”
    “I’m not sure, Archie, but I do need some time to consider. It is a big decision, you know.”
    “I don’t understand your hesitation, but then again I suppose women are the weaker gender, and you’re not really capable of being strong and decisive,” he said with an air of generosity. “You may have time to consider, Julienne. That is, I assume that now I may call you ‘Julienne.’”
    For a moment the somewhat devilish side of Julienne wanted to say, No, you may not assume that. But then the more commonsense, and even cautious, side of Julienne took over and she replied, “Of course you may. I would like that, dear Archie.”

CHAPTER THREE

    Sighting the lights of the grand steamboat ahead, towering over the other boats at the dock, Julienne’s eyes glowed. “You know, I heard that Mr. Moak was spending entirely too much time going back and forth to New Orleans on the Columbia Lady , and that’s why Winnie Moak is forcing him to sell her.”
    The Moak family had been the Ashby’s neighbors for years. Elijah and Winnie Moak were close friends of Charles and Roseann Ashby. Their son Stephen was one of Darcy Ashby’s best friends, and their two daughters, Felicia and Susanna, were long-time friends of Julienne’s.
    Elijah Moak had built the Columbia Lady , one of the biggest and most luxurious steamers on the river. Its home port was in New Orleans, where Stephen Moak lived and managed the Columbia Lady and two other mail packets the Moaks owned.
    But Elijah Moak had to sell the Columbia Lady , and he had decided to have a grand party on board the steamer to show her off to possible buyers. The businessmen that were considering buying the riverboat wanted their captains and pilots to have a look at her, and the captains and pilots wanted their engineers and first mates to have a look at her, and so the guest list included a strata of society from the highest to the lowest. This is what so scandalized Tyla, that Julienne would be mingling with roustabouts. And there had been rumors for weeks that because of the unusual nature of the guest list, there