continued. “The court shall appoint a fair and impartial overseer, an agent of the court whose duty it will be to report to the court on the progress of her factory and production. Said overseer shall have the authority to approve or disapprove capital expenditures and the weighty responsibility to protect Madeline Duncan from her own magnanimous impulses.”
The court began to buzz, then to hum, and finally broke into a roar of voices.
“Objection!” Farnsworth was on his feet in a shot, and Ecklesbery, Townshend, and Dunwoody sprang up behind their counsel.
“This is an outrage!”
“Preposterous!”
“Utterly without precedent!”
Madeline rose an instant later, no less appalled than they were by Sir William’s decision. An overseer? She was to have a court-appointed interloper to say her yea and nay on every detail? Evaluating her every movement? Reporting on her to the court? “Sir Richard”—she seized the old gentleman by the arm and tried to get him to his feet—“you must object. Tell him that I don’t need to be overseen!”
“But, Your Honor, Miss Duncan already
has
trustees—my clients!” Farnsworth was already lodging a vehement protest. “It is
their
task to watch over her expenditures and keep her from reckless—”
“My ruling requires no amendment, Fartsworth,” Sir William snapped, snatching up his gavel and holding it threateningly, ready to censure Farnsworth’s next word. “Your clients are openly hostile to the entire notion of Miss Duncan’s enterprise. They could no more be objective about it than the queen is about Albert’s passing. It is the court’s intention to give Miss Duncan a reasonable chance while at the same time guarding her interests.”
He lifted his bewigged head and scanned the courtroom thoughtfully. “What is needed here is someone familiar withthe law and with financial dealings. Someone who is not easily swayed by idealistic emotional pleas … a disinterested party … one with his feet firmly on the ground and no illusions about the grandeur of the human race. In short, what Miss Duncan needs to oversee her experiment is a bit of a cynic.”
An enigmatic smile appeared on his face as he fastened his gaze on someone in the gallery.
“By happenstance, there is just such a man in court today. The court appoints Lord Cole Mandeville as its representative and overseer of the development of Miss Duncan’s Ideal Garment Company. It is the court’s direction that Lord Mandeville travel to the village of St. Crispin on Crewes, for a period of three months, to observe firsthand the progress toward Miss Duncan’s goals, and that he present a report of his findings in writing to the court on Monday of each week. At the end of said three months, we shall reconvene here. The progress of the venture—or lack thereof—will determine the final disposition of Miss Duncan’s fortune.”
While all in the court were grappling to comprehend Sir William’s decision, he banged his gavel, sealing the order, and it was done. Madeline steadied herself on the table, blinking.
She was to have a Lord Somebody-or-other as an overseer … regulating her spending … scrutinizing her every decision … dictating her dreams. She didn’t have a father or a husband to control her, so the court had graciously appointed a man of her own to— The rest of Sir William’s words stopped spinning in her head long enough for her to understand: It wasn’t just any man. It was …
A cynic
. She was being saddled with a heartless, pinch-penny male for three interminable months!
Through the red haze rising in her vision she was vaguely aware of Sir William quitting the courtroom, of Sir Richard’s confusion, and of her erstwhile solicitors’ fury in the face of what they considered judicial caprice. From the gallery came a muttered oath, the sound of feet hitting steps, and reverberationsfrom the slamming of the doors at the rear of the gallery.
She stood a
The court began to buzz, then to hum, and finally broke into a roar of voices.
“Objection!” Farnsworth was on his feet in a shot, and Ecklesbery, Townshend, and Dunwoody sprang up behind their counsel.
“This is an outrage!”
“Preposterous!”
“Utterly without precedent!”
Madeline rose an instant later, no less appalled than they were by Sir William’s decision. An overseer? She was to have a court-appointed interloper to say her yea and nay on every detail? Evaluating her every movement? Reporting on her to the court? “Sir Richard”—she seized the old gentleman by the arm and tried to get him to his feet—“you must object. Tell him that I don’t need to be overseen!”
“But, Your Honor, Miss Duncan already
has
trustees—my clients!” Farnsworth was already lodging a vehement protest. “It is
their
task to watch over her expenditures and keep her from reckless—”
“My ruling requires no amendment, Fartsworth,” Sir William snapped, snatching up his gavel and holding it threateningly, ready to censure Farnsworth’s next word. “Your clients are openly hostile to the entire notion of Miss Duncan’s enterprise. They could no more be objective about it than the queen is about Albert’s passing. It is the court’s intention to give Miss Duncan a reasonable chance while at the same time guarding her interests.”
He lifted his bewigged head and scanned the courtroom thoughtfully. “What is needed here is someone familiar withthe law and with financial dealings. Someone who is not easily swayed by idealistic emotional pleas … a disinterested party … one with his feet firmly on the ground and no illusions about the grandeur of the human race. In short, what Miss Duncan needs to oversee her experiment is a bit of a cynic.”
An enigmatic smile appeared on his face as he fastened his gaze on someone in the gallery.
“By happenstance, there is just such a man in court today. The court appoints Lord Cole Mandeville as its representative and overseer of the development of Miss Duncan’s Ideal Garment Company. It is the court’s direction that Lord Mandeville travel to the village of St. Crispin on Crewes, for a period of three months, to observe firsthand the progress toward Miss Duncan’s goals, and that he present a report of his findings in writing to the court on Monday of each week. At the end of said three months, we shall reconvene here. The progress of the venture—or lack thereof—will determine the final disposition of Miss Duncan’s fortune.”
While all in the court were grappling to comprehend Sir William’s decision, he banged his gavel, sealing the order, and it was done. Madeline steadied herself on the table, blinking.
She was to have a Lord Somebody-or-other as an overseer … regulating her spending … scrutinizing her every decision … dictating her dreams. She didn’t have a father or a husband to control her, so the court had graciously appointed a man of her own to— The rest of Sir William’s words stopped spinning in her head long enough for her to understand: It wasn’t just any man. It was …
A cynic
. She was being saddled with a heartless, pinch-penny male for three interminable months!
Through the red haze rising in her vision she was vaguely aware of Sir William quitting the courtroom, of Sir Richard’s confusion, and of her erstwhile solicitors’ fury in the face of what they considered judicial caprice. From the gallery came a muttered oath, the sound of feet hitting steps, and reverberationsfrom the slamming of the doors at the rear of the gallery.
She stood a
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