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But it was Hannah who Frederick had worried about. From the little he knew of his new wife, she was antagonistic and troublesome. The type of woman not to take being spoken down to without putting her foot down and asserting her position the best she could.

Two unstoppable forces going head-to-head—it was a recipe for disaster. And yet… well, it was like he said; Hannah was doing her best.

“Amelia,” Frederick began as the three of them walked through the garden. He was holding his daughter by the hand, and Hannah was walking on her other side. “Why don’t you tell Hannah what you and Miss Temperton have been doing today?”

Amelia pursed her lips. “Why?”

“Because I am sure she would love to hear it.”

“I would,” Hannah assured her pleasantly. “Please, tell me, Amelia. Remember, I was once a little girl just like you, so it might be fun to be reminded.”

Amelia looked at her as if she was a mouse that had found its way into her room. “When were you ever little?”

“Amelia,” Frederick groaned. “That is not very nice. Apologize, please.”

“It is quite alright.” Hannah chuckled. “She has her father’s sharp tongue. Don’t you?”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Oh, I am sure I do.”

“No, you don’t!” Amelia stomped her foot. “You don’t know me or Father! And you don’t belong here!”

“Amelia…” Again, Frederick groaned, feeling embarrassed now as much as anything. “I have explained to you that Hannah will be living with us from now on. This is her home as much as it is yours.”

“I don’t care!”

“Amelia—”

“No!” She freed her hand from his grip and sprinted away, across the garden, toward a large oak tree which she quickly ducked behind.

This was going about as well as he had expected—that is to say, not very well at all.

Frederick could not help but blame himself for it, too. Since Amelia had been born, he had committed himself to her fully, putting aside any notions of meeting women and marrying again. Done so, ironically, for her sake, as he had never wanted to imply that she was not everything to him.

But now he wondered if perhaps he should have warmed her up to this new arrangement. What was more, perhaps his insistence on ignoring Hannah these last two weeks was not the genius idea he had thought it was. If he had brought her here a few times sothe two could meet, then surely Amelia would have warmed up to her by now?

“Well, she certainly has spirit, doesn’t she?” Hannah chuckled as she watched Amelia disappear.

Frederick grimaced. “She is not ordinarily like this, I promise you.”

“I am sure she is not,” Hannah assured him. “In fact, I cannot really blame her. Even if it might be easy.”

“Really?” Frederick asked curiously, eyeing her because she was behaving far too pleasantly for his liking, as if she was trying to trick him.

“It is you who I blame,” she said rightly, with a smirk. “If you had not spent the last two weeks hiding away, you might have thought ahead and ensured that we met. That way, I wouldn’t be spending my wedding day trying to coax a six-year-old out from behind a tree.”

Frederick snorted. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Look at us.” She laughed. “Finally, we are on the same page.”

“She will come around,” Frederick promised her. “Just give it time.”

Hannah winked. “Lucky, then, that time is something we have plenty of.” Her eyes flicked over him, and she flashed him that coy smile she always wore.

Frederick waited for the follow-up comment. The derision. A chance to put him down. Only…

“Now, come on. We best go and make sure that she is alright.”