“Then I expect you to act like it,” he replied. “Around her, especially.”
“I have done nothing but act with care and patience. And she will not even speak to me,” Penelope’s hands curled into fists at her sides. “I would urge you to have some faith in me, at the very least.”
“She’s not required to do anything,” Alexander reminded her. “Not until you give her reason to.”
Penelope found herself at a loss for words.
“Firstly, it was your idea to bring me into this household,” she said, annoyed. “Now, you tell me that she is not required to speak to me. Tell me, does that make any sense to you?”
“It makes perfect sense to me. I brought you here to provide structure, not to force intimacy where it isn’t welcome.”
Penelope let out a frustrated laugh. Did he even hear himself? He was being impossible.
“Structure requires communication, Your Grace,” she tried to keep her voice even. “How exactly am I to guide a child who refuses to look at me, let alone listen?”
“You were not brought here to be her friend,” he mused, almost as if he was thinking out loud.
It occurred to her then that perhaps even the duke had not thought this out well.
“No,” she snapped, “I was brought here to be her example. As you so kindly keep reminding me.”
“Then perhaps you should focus on being one.”
“And what part of my behavior has suggested otherwise?”
Alexander did not answer the question directly. “Perhaps there is a need for you to adjust your expectations with her.”
“Oh, forgive me,” she said immediately, “For thinking that perhaps a child might respond to basic human decency.”
“She responds to consistency.”
And what do you think I’ve been offering?” Penelope threw her hands in the air. She was at her wits end.
“You’ve been performing,” Alexander corrected. “And Odette knows the difference.”
“That is quite the assumption to make, Your Grace. How do you know that my intentions are not genuine?”
“I did not say that,” Alexander said. “Only reminding you that she doesn’t need another well-meaning lady with pretty words and good intentions. She needs someone who shows up and stays, whether or not it’s convenient. What you need to be is patient.”
“I am being plenty patient,” Penelope snapped. “What I would like in return is a little support from her father.”
“And what would that support entail?” Alexander argued instead of softening. “Forgive me, but I do not see the value in offering you praise for making an effort.”
That set her off.
“The least you can do,” she said, boiling over with anger now, “is to not make me feel as though I am failing entirely.”
“Then stop acting like you already have,” he said, sharply. “Being too sensitive will not fare well, if you are to survive here.”
Penelope gasped, affronted. “I argue the opposite. Perhaps you need to learn how to be a bit more sensitive. I know it seems impossible for you, but please,try.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Insulting me will not get you to where you want to be, wife,” he said, taking a step closer towards her.
“It might not,” she shrugged, holding her ground. “But at least, I draw some pleasure from doing it. That counts for something.”
“Careful,” he closed the distance between them all at once.
