Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
“It’s good that Mother had not attempted to come for a visit once more,” Victoria remarked.
“I don’t know what to say to that,” Richard admitted. “I do want you to have a relationship with your mother, but if she is upsetting you every time she visits, it is certainly not worth it.”
“It isn’t,” the duchess replied, as she surveyed the drawing room.
The servants had just prepared the place for her siblings, their spouses, and their children. Sometimes, she missed being part of a chaotic, large family. There was something about having them all in one place. It was like nobody could hurt her.
Meanwhile, Richard was not used to hosting dinners and balls, even little tea parties for the family. She knew he was trying for her, and she appreciated it. Even though she hated it when her mother pushed her toward unwanted company, there were certainly people that she missed all the time.
When she heard a carriage arrive and footsteps approaching, there was no need for Hawthorne to make any announcement at all. He still tried, though.
“Their Graces, the Duke and Duchess of Oakmere, and their children,” he started.
Soon, though, the other couples and their children arrived, much to Victoria’s amusement. She was giggling when her husband reassured the butler, who didn’t like not being able to do his job, that it was perfectly all right to let everyone in just so.
“Hawthorne, do ease up on yourself. We can handle this, certainly,” the Duke of Hawksford said in his gentlest tone.
Victoria was already rushing to the door, eager for the smorgasbord of personalities that might rattle someone sensitive like Daphne or Elizabeth, but not her.
The arrival of the extended House of Grisham carried not only noise and laughter into the foyer, but also affection.
Victoria craved all that her siblings represented.
She liked that their presence had erased some of the funereal quiet she hated about Hawksford, especially when she didn’t have Richard and Melody in it.
She didn’t feel right inviting people in when her husband was in the country.
After formal greetings had been exchanged, factions of the family clustered together and settled into roles people somewhat expected them in. Victoria liked that she knew what each would like to do in a gathering like this.
Daphne and Wilhelmina headed toward the settee, already deep in conversation. It seemed like they had a debate going on.
“Are you two arguing?” Victoria asked, smiling widely at her sisters.
Her twin was so mild-mannered that seeing her looking a little flustered like this was amusing. Wilhelmina, meanwhile, might have more fire in her, but not quite like her own or Marianne’s. What they were debating must have been very important.
“Yes!” Wilhelmina replied just as Daphne said, “No!”
“Whatever it is, it certainly raises the ire of our dear sister,” Wilhelmina replied, her eyes widening.
“But Daphne, you must think about the architecture of a castle. Do you think it can hide three secret passages leading from the same room? Can a tapestry hide so much? Can chairs be placed to cover such passages? There would certainly be a draft, making the room cold.”
“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 be tiresome. 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 the most 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.
And no, 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.