“Mina,” Daphne protested. “You are seeing things with pure practicality. You should also think of the sublime. The things that cannot be explained. Certainly, the story is more important in these details? The author used the three passages from one room as a kind of metaphor. Sometimes, things are so obviously a wreck, but we still ignore the signs.”
“Mm,” Victoria mused. “I must say, my dear twin, that I am on Mina’s side on this one. Sorry, darling. I like it when things make sense, and I can imagine them happening in real life. However,I might forget the details if the book is engrossing enough, perhaps a little lurid like the ones I have been reading.”
Victoria left the conversation as soon as she saw that both sisters’ mouths had opened. She chuckled at the thought of arguing so urgently over a book. When she was not married yet, she might have indulged in such a debate, but she might also get tired of it in the end.
She sashayed towards where Marianne and Elizabeth were peering at Melody’s cradle with stars in their eyes. Both had their own children, but they still seemed ready to mother yet another child. Victoria wondered if she would feel the same way after giving birth to one of her own.
“No, Lizzie, don’t hold the ribbon too high from little Melody,” Marianne corrected, as if her younger sister had not had a child as well. Victoria could not believe that her sisters had seven children between them. “You must wait for the little thing to focus first. Do you see how her eyes are now tracking it? Okay, now move it a little to this side.”
“She almost had it!” Elizabeth gasped. All three of them were watching with bated breath as the plump little hand swiped the air, fingers too close to the silk. “She’s quite a predator, Marianne! A pretty, precious one!”
Marianne grinned widely. Her husband, Dominic, loved to hunt, but had mellowed after marrying her. Her love for animals led her to change her eating habits to a vegetarian diet.
“She’s a Brighton-Weston of Houses Grisham and Hawksford,” Marianne declared proudly. “I believe that she must have hunted her Mama and Papa because she wanted to live here.”
“That’s quite a thought, Marianne,” Victoria mused. “But perhaps that is the truth, huh, Melody?”
She liked the thought too. It might mean that the baby was meant to stay with her. Yes, she really liked that thought.
By the fireplace, Daniel and Richard found themselves talking about their estates. The duke could not help but marvel at the fact that he had not been that interested in such talk lately. But right now, with his brother-in-law, he would make an effort to get back to his business mindset.
“The Grisham estate is doing quite well, Your Grace. Its yields in the country are steady,” Daniel reported, possibly eager to share his achievements with someone who could understand. “Our wool markets, however, are not faring quite as well as I’d hoped. I am hoping to work on getting those export contracts before winter. If I can’t, the tenants may feel the pressure. I don’t want that. I am pretty certain you agree when it comes to handling Hawksford.”
“Oh, I certainly do,” Richard agreed, thinking about his last visit to the estate and his troublesome tenant. The rest were more agreeable, but he must admit that handling conflicts could betiresome. He was fortunate to have some very reliable workers, especially his solicitor.
“In my case, my agents are handling coastal warehouses. We have several plans for the smaller farms. The Hawksford name will not be associated with starvation among my people. I won’t let it.”
Jonathan could not help but snort with amusement. He was never much for serious conversations about estates, although he was certainly skilled at keeping Cotswell thriving. He looked eager to change the topic, as he gestured with his glass of brandy toward the center of the women’s attention—Melody.
“Oh, you’ve certainly shown more talent in your little pinky, Hawksford,” Jonathan teased. “You are an intelligent man, a duke with a successful estate, and now, a domestic creature. A husband and father. I wonder if the rest of our colleagues could ever guess how soft you’ve become recently. If we were to be invaded, would you be going to war or would you be watching over the duchess and the child?”
Richard was not even annoyed, much to his surprise. Instead, he seriously contemplated Jonathan’s questions.
What if, indeed?
His gaze turned to Victoria. She looked so happy among her sisters, teasing and joking, while her eyes constantly drifted toward Melody. He contemplated Melody, as well. The baby babbled and made bubbles out of her spit, and she was still themost adorable thing he had ever seen. He could no longer see life without either of the two, and still, a part of him started longing for his own child. Andno, it was not because he wanted to claim Victoria fully, although that was a dream he still longed for.
“The nursery is a battlefield in itself, Cotswell,” Richard retorted in his low baritone. Steady and calm. Content. “It can be a losing one, too, as you lack sleep and have to constantly deal with the commander’s, in this case, the baby’s whims. The victory is clear, though. You get a healthy, smiling baby.”
While he was talking, he could see Daniel studying him and Jonathan shaking his head with mirth. Meanwhile, his eyes met Victoria’s across the room. In that moment, the chatter of their guests faded, and she was the only one who existed. She smiled as if she could hear everything he was saying from his head and agreed with him. It was what was important.
Everyone started mingling, and conversations shifted somehow. Victoria saw her brother joining them. He looked like he would finally interact with Melody, which was a good thing. She’d been expecting him to do so for the greater part of the afternoon.
Daniel had to kneel by the baby to coo back at her, but it seemed that she was interested in something else. Everyone gasped when Melody grabbed Daniel’s gold pocket watch from his waistband. Then, they laughed when Daniel tried to retrieve it from her stubborn little hands.
“She’s not going to return it, is she?” Daniel asked, looking comically earnest. Knowing him, he really was worried.
“Uh, we’ll have to negotiate with her,” Victoria replied, wincing.
She knew that little Melody could be possessive of things she enjoyed having in her hands. Mrs. Hughes said that it was normal for babies to hold on tightly to things, but she could swear the baby was more intentional.
“How?” Her brother wanted to know.
She kneeled in front of the baby, basically crawling on the Persian rug, and looking at the little culprit in the eye as much as she possibly could.
“Melody, please give me the watch. Yes, that’s a pretty watch, but Uncle Daniel needs it back,” she cooed.
“Uncle Daniel!”
