“What should we name her?” I wondered.
The Fisalis family is a prestigious line of dukes, so is there extra pomp and circumstance around choosing a name?
“Does the Fisalis family traditionally hold naming ceremonies? Mine never has,” I added.
“Don’t worry. We don’t really do that either.”
Whew, so at least that’s not a Fisalis custom. I’m glad, because that would’ve been a pain in the butt.
“Have you come up with any potential names, Cercis?”
“A few... What about you, Vi?”
“No, sorry. I was too busy with everything else to give it much thought.”
It wasn’t that long ago that I’d been angsting over the succession crisis, and more recently, I’d spent all my time praying for a safe delivery. A name had been the last thing on my mind.
“So? What did you have in mind?” I asked him.
“I mean, it’s just an idea...”
“An idea is fine! Let’s hear it.”
His eyes flitted about nervously at first, but he steeled his nerves in the face of my pestering. “Now, keep in mind that this is only a personal opinion...but I always thought that Viol would be a good name for a boy, and Violet worked for a girl.”
There was my competent knight of a husband in action—for “just an idea,” he’d really done his homework. He’d even thought of a name for both a boy and a girl.
But c’mon, “Viol”...? You could’ve gotten a little more creative with that one. Knowing Mr. Fisalis, he just wanted to name the kid after me.
“Violet...”
“Yeah. Named after you.”
Nevermind. That went for both options. Still, “Violet” has a pretty ring to it! I like it!
I was immediately taken with Mr. Fisalis’s choice of baby name.
“Well, we’ve got ourselves a girl, so Violet it is!”
The snap decision on my part made his eyes widen with surprise. “Are you sure, Vi? Like I said, that was just what I—”
“It’s a cute name! I like it. And if we call her Violet...then Lettie would make a good nickname.”
For whatever reason, something about Violet just felt right to me.
“Violet” already sounds cute, and “Lettie” is even cuter! All right—that settles it!
“Then shall I take it you’re a fan of the idea, Vi?”
“Yeah! Violet—what a lovely, adorable name for our daughter. Now I just know she’ll grow up into a real beauty!”
But only if she gets all her looks from her father’s side of the family, mind you!
✦ ✦ ✦
Now that we had a name, it was time to put everything we had into raising her!
“We have a lot of experienced parents hanging around the manor, so I’m sure they’ll be able to give us some tips. Right, Dahlia?” Mr. Fisalis asked the maid.
She smiled. “Of course, Master.”
“Looking after Thistle and Freesia gave me plenty of experience of my own, I’ll have you know!”
“Taking care of a sibling and taking care of a daughter are two very different things.”
“Well, okay... Maybe you have a point. For a start, one is a lot more responsibility than the other. We sure are lucky we’ve got everyone else to help us out!”
It wasn’t just Dahlia; even as new to the parenting gig as she was, Mimosa had debuted as a mother to rave reviews. Those first-class servants of ours were unparalleled in every respect! How impressive was it that they could spot us even in the child-rearing department?
“I was considering asking Mimosa to be Viola and Violet’s personal nanny. What do you think, Dahlia?” my husband went on to ask.
I was aghast. A nanny? Doesn’t that mean Mimosa would be the one raising Violet? I have no plans to do any socializing in the near future, so I can handle all the mothering myself, thank you very much!
“Excuse me, Cercis? I don’t need a nanny to look after my own daughter.”
“I knew you’d say that. But ‘nanny’ is just a title, Vi; you’re free to treat her more like an aide for when you’re tired or having a tough time. Besides, every now and then you’re bound to have a social obligation you can’t get out of, right? Think of her as a babysitter for times like that.”
“Oh... So being a mom won’t fly as an excuse to retire from the social scene, huh?”
“Nope. Don’t even try it.”
“...Yes, sir.”
✦ ✦ ✦
And so, the latest baby to be born to the Fisalis manor ended up being named Violet. Something told me she was about to make life around the mansion twice—no, ten times more exciting.