Gabriel leaned back in his chair and frowned harder. The children had not laughed like that around him in months.
Perhaps longer.
The observation irritated him, though not for the reasons one might assume. He did not resent their happiness. Quite the opposite. The problem was that he disliked being confronted with shortcomings he could not easily solve through effort, authority, or determination.
Amelia, meanwhile, appeared entirely unaware that she was causing problems.
Or perhaps she is aware and simply does not care.
Both possibilities seemed equally likely.
With a muttered curse, Gabriel turned away from the window and forced his attention back to the papers on his desk. Clearly, the household required better structure. Better boundaries. Better oversight. Miss Amelia Shirley had arrived and immediately begun disrupting routines that had existed for months.
The fact that those disruptions appeared beneficial changed absolutely nothing.
Gabriel reached for a fresh sheet of paper and began making notes. There would be rules. Clear rules. Specific rules. Rules designed to ensure that governesses sought permission before transforming kitchens into bakeries and gardens into picnic grounds.
The plan felt entirely sensible. It remained sensible for nearly three minutes. Then another burst of laughter drifted through the open window.
Gabriel stared at the figures written across the account ledger before him. Slowly, against his better judgment and with considerable annoyance, he found himself looking back towards the garden once more.
That evening, shortly before dinner, Gabriel sat behind his desk attempting to review correspondence from his steward. Unfortunately, every time he looked down at the papers, he found himself remembering flour-covered children and a governess who seemed determined to overturn his household one outrageous idea at a time. By the third letter, he had abandoned all hope of concentration.
Reaching the limit of his patience, he rang the bell beside his desk. When Mrs. Jacobs appeared, he looked up and said, “Fetch Miss Shirley to my study.” The housekeeper curtsied and departed at once, looking entirely too interested in the request.
Several minutes later, a knock sounded at the door.
“Enter,” Gabriel called.
Amelia stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She looked composed, though there was a spark of caution in her eyes that suggested she knew perfectly well why she had been summoned. Gabriel rose from his chair and folded his arms.
“You have already broken my rule,” he informed her.
Amelia blinked. “How?” she asked, stopping a few feet away.
Gabriel stared at her in disbelief. “How?” he repeated. “Miss Shirley, I specifically informed you that nothing was to happen in this household without my knowledge and approval.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but he continued before she could.
“First, you decided to take the children into the kitchen,” he said, ticking the offenses off on his fingers. “Then you decided to prepare food with them, making them into common servants. Then you organized a picnic. At no point was I consulted. And I have been informed that you sent off a letter.”
Amelia crossed her arms. “That is because I did not think I required written permission to make custard or to write a letter.”
“You require permission to alter routines,” he said as he stopped short of his pacing.
“You are being unreasonable, Your Grace, and…” she said but stopped after he gave her a sharp look.
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. “Unreasonable? How?”
“You see enemies where none exist,” Amelia continued, shaking her head. “Honestly, Your Grace, one would think I had organized a military uprising rather than dessert and a harmless picnic.”
“Did you? Who was that letter to? What are you scheming at?” he said.
She narrowed her eyes. “I do not scheme. It was a letter to my sister to let her know I am well. I did not tell her where I was, only that I am safe and in good health.”
Before he could reply, she turned towards the door. Gabriel moved instinctively. His hand closed around her wrist. Amelia froze.
The moment stretched between them.
