It was too soon after the birth to allow visits from anyone other than family, but to make up for it, we were bombarded with congratulatory gifts from everybody under the sun. Leave it to the most distinguished noble family in the Flür Kingdom to end up sitting on a mountain of presents. From the looks of things, they were pouring in from the royal palace, the rest of the noble houses, and every other corner of the nation.
“We’ve just received a gift from the Argenteia family, Madam.”
“Thanks for letting me know.”
“In addition, we have one from Verbena of the Argenteia family.”
“What? A separate one?!”
“There’s one from Celosia—”
“I’ve heard enough about the Argenteias, thank you.”
It sounded like Verbena and Celosia had sent us presents independent of their father, the duke of Argenteia. So had Miss Iris and the rest of the quartet, of course. I was pretty sure this was even more gifts than we’d gotten for our wedding.
The pile of boxes in the corner of the room was growing bigger and bigger.
“Now this is a strangely familiar sight,” I muttered aloud.
“As I recall, you received a comparable amount of wedding gifts, Madam,” Mimosa replied, gazing up at the present pile.
Yeah, that’s what it reminded me of. But at least no one sent us a salmon-eating bear figurine this time, right?
“There’s no wood carving, no, but there is a teddy bear,” said Rohtas, as though he’d read my mind.
“We’ve transitioned to stuffed animals now?!”
I didn’t see that one coming! It would seem Lord Salmon-Eating Bears has broadened his horizons. Hmm... This would make for a way more comfortable boundary line! It’s a lot more practical than the wood carving ver—wait, something tells me that’s not what it’s supposed to be used for.
“The way you’re grinning at the plush is starting to concern me, Madam.”
“Oopsie! My mind was wandering to all the different ways I could use this little guy. Old habits die hard and all that. Ha ha!”
“I had a feeling!”
Mimosa looked between me and the teddy bear and giggled. She’d read me like a book.
“Once I have a moment to spare, I’ll have to get to writing thank-you letters.”
“No need to rush this time! You’re supposed to take it easy during the postnatal period.”
“I know, I know!”
I’d gotten to work on the last batch of thank-you notes so quickly because I’d had no shortage of time on my hands when I first got married. (In fact, I’d been thrilled to have something to do.) Now, by contrast, I had my hands full taking care of Violet.
I had to breastfeed her every few hours, change her dirty diapers, and cradle her and lull her to sleep when she was getting cranky. I’d assumed that caring for Thistle and Freesia would have prepared me for this, but babysitting a sibling couldn’t compare to raising your own child.
Being a new mother really was a full-time job.
Mimosa and Dahlia were perfectly willing to help me out, of course, but I wanted to be the one responsible for her. I was even doing my best to wake up in the middle of the night!
✦ ✦ ✦
Seven days had passed since Violet was born. I was starting to spend more and more time out of bed. If nothing else, I was at least back to taking my meals in the dining room.
My parents-in-law were still staying in the cottage, making the most of their life in the capital. The last time they’d visited, they’d been forced to cancel all their fun plans when they rushed home to their territory on urgent business. Once they’d returned, they’d been flooded with more than enough invitations to make up for lost time; they didn’t have a spare moment to complain about being bored.
“I’d rather stay home with Lettie than go anywhere,” they’d always say but ultimately hit the road so as not to waste the opportunity. As soon as they made it back to the mansion, however, they’d head straight to wherever Violet was and shower her in attention.
“Look, Lettie! Look!” Father Fisalis cooed, shaking a rattle in his hand.
Violet groaned, her face turning red. The moment Mother Fisalis noticed that, she said, “Oh dear, did you get your diaper all dirty? Here, let Nana change those for you. Dahlia, could you bring me a fresh diaper?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I can take care of it, Mother!” I protested.
“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head over it! It’s only while I’m here. Once I head home, I won’t be seeing this little one for a while. Isn’t that right, Lettie?”
I rushed to step in before Mother Fisalis was stuck on diaper duty, but she only laughed and brushed me off. She took care of the task swiftly and skillfully. Her diaper-changing technique had been a touch awkward at first, but she’d learned the ropes in no time. I could tell she’d never done this sort of thing for Mr. Fisalis...but that was a thought for another time.
Is it my daughterly duty here to shut my mouth and let them do their thing?
Mother Fisalis went back to cradling Violet in her arms, the baby’s diapers changed and her mood salvaged. While I was watching this, Dahlia whispered to me, “I think I know why she’s so eager—she rarely had the chance to care for Master Fisalis herself.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes, ma’am. She and Lord Fisalis were always so busy.”
I nodded. “Oh, now I see...”
Now that she mentioned it, I recalled hearing that Mr. Fisalis hadn’t been spoiled much as a child. It was hard to imagine, seeing what his parents were like now—but I was sure it was something that weighed on their conscience to this day.
Then by all means, make up for lost time with Violet. With an exception for breastfeeding, of course, I don’t mind sitting on my hands for a bit.