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"I would expect nothing less," James replied as he picked up the first notice. His mouth tightened as he read it. "This woman has three children of her own."

"Yes, but the youngest is nearly one," Olivia explained, tapping the paper with one finger. "She has experience, but I am uncertain whether she would be willing to remain here."

James studied the notice again before placing it aside. "Then she is not suitable." He picked up another. "What about this one?"

Olivia leaned across the table. "She has excellent references, and she has experience with infants, but there is very little information about her character."

"Character matters," James said firmly. "Felix will be entirely dependent upon her and there is the matter of keeping secrets."

Olivia looked at him, surprised by how quickly he had reached the same conclusion she had. "That is what I thought."

James glanced up. "Then we agree."

Something warm stirred inside Olivia at those two words. They agreed. It was such a simple thing, yet she had become accustomed to feeling as though she and James occupied entirely different worlds, each managing separate portions of their strange life together.

"I would like someone gentle," she said, returning her attention to the papers. "And discreet. Someone who does not speak of Felix's appearance as though he is some curiosity."

James's expression hardened. "Agreed."

"And someone who will treat him as a baby rather than an obligation."

"Also agreed."

Olivia smiled despite herself. "You realize you are making my work very difficult."

"How so?"

"Because I am beginning to think you have the same opinions as I do and that is very unsettling," she teased.

"I do?"

She laughed softly, and James's mouth twitched in response. "Very well," he said, gathering the advertisements into a neat pile. "Choose the two you consider most suitable. I will have them brought here tomorrow, and we shall interview them together."

"Together?" Olivia repeated, unable to hide her pleasure.

James raised an eyebrow. "You did ask me to be more involved."

"I did." She looked down at the papers to hide her smile. "Thank you."

"Do not thank me," he replied automatically, though this time there was no irritation in his voice. "We are friends, are we not?"

Olivia's heart gave an inconvenient flutter. "Yes," she murmured. "We are … friends."

The following morning, the two candidates arrived at Glenmore, and Olivia found herself unexpectedly nervous as she sat beside James in one of the smaller drawing rooms. The first woman was pleasant enough, with good references and a calm manner, but when James asked how she would respond if Felix's birthmark became more noticeable as he grew, she hesitated before saying she supposed she would become accustomed to it. Olivia immediately knew she was not the right woman. James apparently reached the same conclusion because he thanked her politely and dismissed her without further discussion.

The second candidate was a widow named Mrs. Harris, a quiet woman in her early thirties who had previously nursed two children for another family and had three children of her own, including a one-year-old.

Olivia asked, “What do you consider most important in caring for an infant?”

Mrs. Harris answered without hesitation. "That the child feels safe, Your Grace. Food and sleep are necessary, of course, but a baby ought to know that someone will come when he cries."

Olivia's expression softened. James, seated beside her, gave the smallest nod.

"And if he were treated differently because of his appearance?" James asked, his voice becoming firmer.

Mrs. Harris looked directly at him. "Then I should object, Your Grace. A baby cannot choose how he enters the world. He deserves kindness."

Olivia felt something inside her settle. She glanced toward James and found him watching the woman with the same thoughtful expression she felt reflected upon her own face. "I think she is suitable," Olivia said quietly after the interview.