“Lady Serena. I was not aware we were expecting visitors.”
“You weren’t. I find that surprise arrivals are more efficient than extended correspondence about scheduling.” Lady Serena handed her travelling cloak to the footman who had appeared and surveyed the entrance hall with evident approval.
“Your letter mentioned that the household runs well. I can see you were not exaggerating.”
“I did not write to you about household management.”
“No. You wrote a very polite acknowledgment of my offer of assistance, in which you assured me that you were perfectly capable of managing whatever challenges arose.” Lady Serena’s smile carried a hint of amusement.
“Which is precisely why I decided to come in person. Women who are perfectly capable of managing tend to underestimate the specific challenges that society presents.”
Mel felt her spine stiffen slightly at the implication. She had survived a great deal in her twenty-six years without the assistance of titled ladies, and she was not convinced that she required such assistance now.
“I appreciate your concern, Lady Serena. However…”
“Please, call me Serena. We’re going to be spending a great deal of time together, and I find formality tedious.” Serena moved toward the drawing room with the confidence of a woman who expected doors to open before her.
“Besides, you’re going to wed my husband’s closest friend which makes us practically family.”
Mel followed, her objections temporarily stalled by the casual certainty with which Serena had claimed relationship. She found herself in the drawing room moments later, watching as Serena settled into a chair with the ease of someone taking possession of territory.
“Now,” Serena said, folding her hands in her lap.
“Tell me everything. The letter I wrote was based on what Benedict told me, which was based on what Rhys told him, which means I have received the information through at least two filters of male incomprehension. I want to hear it from you.”
“What exactly do you want to know?”
“Everything. How you came to Hartfell. How you discovered the truth about the children. How he became the object of your deepest devotion, the man, whose reputation should have warned you away.” Serena’s expression softened slightly.
“And how you feel about what’s coming. Because what’s coming is significant, and I want to know that you understand what you’re facing.”
Mel considered her options. She could maintain the polite distance that had served her so well in her professional life, offering carefully measured responses that revealed nothing of substance. Or she could accept that this woman had traveled from London specifically to help her and deserved honest engagement.
She chose honesty.
“I came to Hartfell because Mr. Grieves offered me a position with excellent compensation and minimal interference. I discovered the truth about the children because I observe, and the evidence was impossible to ignore. I lost my heart and deepest affections to Rhys because…” She paused, searching for words that captured something she had never fully articulated.
“Because he was trying, because beneath all the performance and the scandal, there was a man who wanted to be better and didn’t know how. Because he looked at his daughters with such desperate affection and such profound guilt that I couldn’t help but see the person underneath.”
Serena nodded slowly, her expression thoughtful.
“And what’s coming?”
“Society’s judgment. Whispers and snubs and pointed exclusions. The scandal sheets writing whatever they please about the duke who entered into matrimony with his governess.” Mel met Serena’s eyes directly.
“I understand what I am facing. I have been facing versions of it my entire life.”
“Have you? Because what you’ve faced before was the invisibility of service. People didn’t notice you because you weren’t worth noticing. What you’re about to face is the opposite: constant attention from people who want to see you fail.” Serena leaned forward slightly. “That’s a different kind of battle. And it requires different weapons.”
“What weapons would you suggest?”
“That’s what I’m here to teach you.” Serena rose from her chair and moved to the window, looking out at the garden with the particular assessment of someone cataloguing assets. “Society has rules, hundreds of them, accumulated over centuries, designed to maintain order and exclude anyone who doesn’t belong. Most people believe that all the rules matter equally. They’re wrong.”
Mel waited, intrigued despite her initial resistance.
“The rules fall into three categories,” Serena continued, turning back to face her.
“First, there are the rules that genuinely matter. Forms of address for royalty. Proper conduct at official functions. The protocols that, if violated, will result in immediate and permanent exclusion. These rules must be followed without exception.”
