Alexander took his time answering. He folded the towel neatly and laid it on the bench. “The house feels… different now that she has moved in.”
“Different is good. But what do you mean exactly?” Oliver raised a brow.
“Less quiet,” Alexander said. Then, after a pause, “In a good way, I suppose.”
“Hm.”
“She and Odette get along. Recently, she convinced her to take pianoforte lessons, which I have been trying to unsuccessfully do for years.”
“The Duchess is better at your job than you are,” Oliver teased.
Alexander’s lips twitched slightly.
“Penelope has a way of… navigating her moods. I am not sure myself how she does it,” he admitted. “The only thing is that she is trying to give her too much freedom, which I don’t think is wise.”
“Odette is a young girl. What does too much freedom even look like?” Oliver laughed. “I doubt the Duchess is taking her out to pubs.”
Alexander shot him a glare.
“Not that kind of freedom. I meant more in the sense,” Alexander paused for a moment. “Penelope wants her to have more freedom of movement. But I think it’s a stupid demand. The estate is big enough to do whatever they might need.”
“I’d be careful with that,” Oliver shrugged. “The more restrictions you put on Odette, the more rebellious she is going to learn to become. There’s always a balance with these things.”
“You say that like you have children of your own,” Alexander replied.
“No but I’ve had to grow up with four younger siblings,” Oliver replied. “I think you don’t understand these things because you had no siblings of your own. Every kid is different, and you have to deal with them differently.”
Alexander shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, that is Penelope’s thing to solve now. She’s quite patient so I think she’ll find the balance.”
“You have a lot of faith in her,” Oliver teased.
“I do have faith in her management abilities, yes. She keeps the staff on their toes,” Alexander replied. “Rearranged half the drawing room last week because she decided the light was better on the other side.”
“And you let her?”
“It’s her home now, too.”
Oliver tried and failed to suppress his grin.
“You’re dangerously close to sounding like a reasonable man for the first time in your life.”
“I am reasonable,” Alexander scoffed.
“Since when?”
“Since always,” Alexander stressed. “Besides, I’ve come to realize that she’s not like the others.”
Oliver’s brows rose.
“Theothers? Walford, I didn’t realize there wereothers.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do,” Oliver said, laughing. “I’m just happy that you’re finally coming around to talk more about it.”
Alexander got up from the bench and began to make his way towards the door.
