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forward, falling on one knee before the girl.
    â€˜My dearest . . . um . . . Jemima.’
    â€˜Janetta,’ I corrected him.
    â€˜My dearest Janetta,’ he tried again. ‘Only my modesty has thus far kept me from declaring the depth of my passion for you.’
    â€˜Passion!’ Janetta looked as if she wanted to run, but I held her arm firmly in my grasp.
    â€˜Once I knew of your feelings for me,’ M’Kenrie went on, warming to his theme now, ‘I flew here on the wings of love. If you will but consent to wed one so far beneath you, then take my hand—for you already own my heart!’
    Janetta looked from me to Sophia, not knowing how to respond to such words.
    â€˜What shall I do?’ she begged.
    â€˜Think, Janetta!’ Sophia urged her. ‘Think of Werther.’
    â€˜I should shoot myself?’ Janetta cried, horrified.
    â€˜No, no!’ I said.
    â€˜Should I shoot M’Kenrie, then?’
    â€˜It’s your father who’ll be doin’ the shootin’, m’dear,’ M’Kenrie answered. ‘But I’m thinkin’ he’d best start with these two.’
    Sophia and I were quite taken aback by this remark, since he clearly indicated the two of us.
    â€˜What do you mean?’ I demanded, eyeing him with rather less approbation.
    â€˜Only that you’re as much a part of this as any of us.’ He shrugged. ‘This is as much your affair as mine and Jemima’s.’
    â€˜Janetta’s.’ Sophia and I corrected him in unison.
    Janetta just stood there like a lump, looking mighty bewildered.
    â€˜For Heaven’s sake, girl,’ I said in some exasperation, ‘kiss the man!’
    M’Kenrie took the hint, even if she did not. Rising from his knee, he grabbed her in his arms with some ferocity and bestowed a passionate kiss upon her unprepared lips.
    â€˜That’s better!’ I said with approval.
    â€˜It certainly is!’ Janetta agreed wholeheartedly.
    â€˜Not bad, I must admit.’ The captain appeared pleasantly surprised.
    â€˜What shall we do now?’ Janetta enquired, looking up at the man who could now officially be termed her lover.
    â€˜Your father will never give his consent to our union,’ he said flatly.
    â€˜I should hope not!’ Sophia commented.
    â€˜You must elope,’ I pointed out what seemed absurdly obvious. ‘There is no other option.’
    â€˜Elope!’ Janetta looked terrified. ‘To Gretna Green?’
    At last our protégée had conceived a plan which was all I could have wished for. I could not refrain from giving her a congratulatory hug.
    â€˜A capital notion!’ I cried. ‘Nothing could be so frightfully romantic.’
    â€˜Nothing could be so frightfully expensive, and at a considerable distance from MacDonald Hall,’ Captain M’Kenrie added.
    â€˜Nor is it really necessary,’ Janetta put in. ‘One only goes to Gretna if one is eloping from England, since it is so near the border.’
    â€˜Still,’ I persisted, ‘there is something about Gretna. No other town will do, I’m afraid.’
    â€˜Besides,’ Sophia added rapturously, ‘what does distance matter to the heart?’
    â€˜It’s not the heart, but the purse that’s the problem.’
    â€˜You have not enough money?’ I asked in some consternation.
    M’Kenrie cleared his throat and looked somewhat sheepish.
    â€˜There are . . . debts . . . that must be paid, ma’am. A matter of honour, you understand.’
    â€˜Gaming debts, you mean?’ Janetta’s eyes seemed likely to shoot out of their sockets like two bullets. ‘Are you a gamester, sir?’
    He seemed to recognize that this revelation did nothing to advance his cause with the young lady, and hastened to undo the damage as speedily as possible.
    â€˜That is all in the past, my sweet.’ He placed