Page 72 of A Duchess for his Family

“That sounds less like a rule and more like an ambition.”

Marjorie made a small choking sound. Benedict looked at her. She covered her mouth and pretended to cough. Sophia’s eyes flashed with something dangerously close to amusement, but irritation quickly overtook it.

“You wished me to care for them,” she continued. “That requires me to make ordinary decisions.”

“I wished you to support the structure already in place.”

“And I do, when that structure is sensible.”

The words struck harder than they should have.

“When it is sensible,” Benedict repeated.

“That is not what I meant.”

“It is precisely what you said.”

Sophia exhaled. “I mean that I cannot ask your permission every time one of them requests a biscuit.”

“I do not expect you to ask permission. I expect you to know the answer.”

“And the answer must always be no?”

“When supper is imminent, yes.”

“What if they had eaten poorly at luncheon?”

“They did not.”

“What if supper were delayed?”

“It is not.”

“What if Marjorie truly were about to faint?”

“She was not.”

Marjorie lifted one hand. “I felt very weak.”

“You performed a dramatic monologue,” Amelia said softly.

“It expressed my condition.”

“It expressed your wish for a biscuit.”

Benedict looked toward Sophia. “You see?”

“Yes. I saw the entire performance.”

“And rewarded it.”

“I laughed.”

“And then gave her what she wanted.”

Sophia’s face warmed. “Because it was funny.”

“That is not a reason.”