"Then what? Who do you have in mind?"
"No one," said Julia. Her voice was smooth, non-aggressive but firm. "But if I wanted to marry anyone, it certainly wouldn't be Marcellus. He'd be at the very bottom of the list."
"List. A list? And you would put the one man whose family is strongest in Rome aside from ours at the bottom of it. Influence, security, strong ties to -"
"These aren't things that will change my mind. I won't marry anyone, much less him."
"Then what? What are you going to do? You should have been married ago, but I neglected my responsibility and could only bring you up after you'd already become a woman. I'm not exposing you to the derision of all living Romans by allowing you to ride out your youth unwedded. There is no one else that I can entrust you to. Marcellus wi
