“I shall try and find the parents,” Simon promised with a sigh.
Harriet did not look convinced yet that he was not the father. But she held back her tongue, and refrained from arguing. “That would be good, but I am not sure how you will manage to do that from so far away.”
Her words were tinted with complaint. To him, it seemed like she wanted to remind him that he had beenabsent.
“It is obvious that I will have to extend my stay for this,” he told her, surprisingly himself as well.
The duke was not someone who was known for bending his rules. The rule he had set was that he would not spend a night more than necessary under the same roof as his new wife. But then again, these were not ordinary circumstances either.
If Harriet had a reaction to what he just said, she did not let it show. Instead, she nodded curtly.
“Very well. If the baby is indeed yours, I should hope that you show for up for her, not abandon her as I have known you to do,” she noted.
“Abandon?” he raised an eyebrow at her. “Pardon me, young lady. Are you somehow implying that I have abandonedyou?”
“I have spent the last nine months alone in this house, without the man that I married. What else do you expect me to call it?” she retorted.
Simon felt annoyance seep into his blood, and spill out in his tone. “You are well taken care of, in every possible way except for my physically being here. I suggest that you look up the definition of abandon, since your usage of it seems to be far from the reality.”
Harriet fell silent, causing an awkward tension to settle between them.
“Now, if you will excuse me, I have to figure out the origins of this child,” he said through gritted teeth, and turned to walk away. But right before he did, he looked at Hariett with a serious expression once again, “I would suggest that you think twice before speaking to your husband, and the head of this household, in this manner again. You may have had the privilege of being on your own for the last few months, but that does not change your position in this house.”
Simon left the drawing room, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. Harriet remained, thinking to herself about what had just transpired.
Had she really come off as too stern in her letter? Surely, it was a strongly worded piece, but wasn’t that natural given how shocking the entire situation was?
She thought about what her mother may think of this.A lady has failed in her divine-decided duty if her husband is unhappy with her,she would often tell her daughters.
Surely, Albina Cooper would be thoroughly disappointed in Harriet, if she were to be a fly on the wall for this conversation.
Catherine began to fuss, her small face scrunching up as she let out a wail.
“Oh, dear,” Harriet said, growing panicked. She rocked her gently, trying to soothe her, but the baby’s cries only grew louder. Harriet's inexperience with infants was painfully obvious.
The maids, noticing Harriet’s struggle, quickly gathered around to offer their assistance. Eliza stepped forward first.
“Your Grace, let me take her for a moment,” Eliza said softly, reaching out her arms.
Mrs. Alridge noticed the look of dismay on the duchess’s face, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “Your Grace, it is natural for a baby to cry like this.”
“Is it?” Harriet asked, unable to tear her eyes away from the little baby. “I fear that I have done something to upset her.”
“Oh, no. Not at all. The baby is too small to have feelings, as we do. I suspect that she is merely hungry,” Mrs. Alridge commented.
“Hungry?” Harriet asked, surprised. “But did you not feed her this morning?”
“She was fed, as you instructed us to. But a growing baby has a large appetite, and needs to be fed by the hour.”
“Oh,” Harriet said, feeling a bit daft now. “I suppose I do not know much about babies at all, do I? I was the youngest in my family, after all.”
She slumped her shoulders, thinking to herself that if only her parents had a child younger than her, she could have gotten some experience in looking after it. As Esther did. She was a natural when it came to looking after children.
As the baby continued to cry, Harriet realized that it was going to be tough looking after the baby, even with the help that she had at her disposal.
And then, a thought occurred to her.
“That’s it! That’s the solution,” her words came out rushed.
