Page 17 of A Necessary Wife

“Yes, that is the only reason we married, after all,” she teased, throwing a smile his way, hoping they truly could become friends.

Chatham inclined his head and let her fingers go. “It was that, and the fact that you seemed to understand my sense of humor. Your brother often does not.”

She laughed softly, remembering their most recent dinners at her brother’s estate. “He can be a little bit dim at times. He’s very smart, of course, but also incredibly deaf to the subtle nuances of your humor.”

He laughed heartily at that and gestured toward the manor. “I’d say you are right about that. Well, shall we introduce you to the children as their new mama, and hopefully I can introduce you to my esteemed papa as my wife shortly after.”

Chatham walked by her side into the house, hands behind his back as they discussed her brother, but tension grew in her. What if the children didn’t like her? What could she do to win their favor? Chatham would be counting on her to make a good impression today, and while she very much hoped the children would accept her as their mother quickly, there could be friction not easily resolved.

Chatham strode into the nursery first and was greeted by childish cries of delight. However absent a parent he believed himself to be, his children appeared oblivious to his supposed shortcomings and welcomed him back as if he were a great treat.

He crouched down before them. “Children, I have someone special I want you to meet.”

The pair looked around him to the doorway, where she stood. Their eyes did not linger on Amelia for long. They were much more interested in their father’s return.

The girl, Lucy, was prettier awake, but her next words proved her dreadfully spoiled. “Did you fetch me the lady’s maid I asked for, Papa? Did you buy me a dozen pretty silk gowns to wear for you?”

Amelia groaned inwardly. A girl of her limited years hardly needed a lady’s maid, or silk gowns to parade about in. She would be a handful.

“She is not a maid. This is Amelia, Lady Chatham, your new mother.”

The girl’s gaze flew across the room, and there was suspicion in those eyes. “That’s silly, Papa. Mama is Lady Chatham, but she’s dead and gone now!” Lucy exclaimed, an expression of practiced anguish on her face.

“Yes, but if your mama is in Heaven, she cannot look after you. Amelia is the new Lady Chatham, and she will do well for you as a mother,” he promised the girl.

Lucy’s expression hardened, then she pouted at her father as she folded her arms across her flat chest. “I don’t want her. Send her away, Papa! I only want you and my mama.”

Chatham shook his head. “Lady Chatham will…”

This argument could go on forever, so Amelia quickly stepped forward. “Lord Chatham, might I speak?”

“Of course.” He stood immediately, his expression vexed as he met her gaze. He was clearly disappointed by his daughter’s reaction to his happy news. But he went to his son and tousled the boy’s hair.

The boy was even more like his father now he was standing. He’d be tall when he was fully grown. Amelia wondered if Adam remembered his real mama, or knew what it meant to be mothered. If not, Amelia and Adam would have to learn to do that together.

She inclined her head to the pair. “How do you do, Adam, Lucinda?”

“We are very well,” Adam piped up, stepping forward to bow and sounding far older than his years.

Chatham nodded approvingly at his son.

Lucy, however, only scowled more fiercely and folded her arms over her chest tighter, refusing to greet the stranger in their midst with any degree of civility.

Amelia was stung by the girl’s immediate rejection of her mother’s replacement, but she did her best to ignore it as she turned her attention to the maid who stood in the shadows. She was the same woman that was there last night. She was younger than Amelia had first assumed her to be. A little shorter than Amelia, more rounded, but she possessed a ready smile that set her at ease. She’d been playing with the children on the floor when they’d walked in. “May I ask your name?”

“Jane Finch, my lady.” The woman came forward. “I look after the children every day.”

“Jane is in our employ, not the duchy’s,” Chatham hastened to add.

“How wonderful.” Amelia would win the maid over first and Lucy later. “Have they eaten today, Miss Finch?”

“Not yet, my lady. I thought to wait on his lordship’s orders when I heard that he had returned.”

It was important to show she was in charge and would brook no nonsense when dealing with servants. “I would like the children to keep regular hours from now on, no matter what my husband and I do. Say, seven in the morning for breakfast, eleven for luncheon, and five for their supper. I’ll speak to the housekeeper later to review the menu for them, but I will be joining them quite often for meals. You will not be needed during those times and may attend to other matters until called for again.”

“Yes, my lady,” the woman agreed.

“I assume you can read and write?”