“Jane Hyde, you little rascal.”

Ian Dalton strode forward with large steps and scooped Jane into his arms. Jane, her face a mess of tears and snot, scrunched up her reddened cheeks. A droplet of snot, precariously perched at the tip of her nose like a soap bubble, swelled and shrank with each puff of her breath.

“Your crying could be heard all the way to the registry office. Stop it!”

Jane, of course, paid no heed to Ian’s scolding and continued to wail as if her life depended on it. Fortunately, Ian knew a more effective method.

“Whee! Whee!”

He held the child with both hands, stretching his arms out and lifting her up and down in the air. After about a dozen rounds, her crying stopped abruptly. Jane looked at her father with a dazed “huh?” expression.

He let out a sigh of relief and cradled the child in his arms. Having often held his nieces and nephews when they were babies, his movements were reassuringly steady.

Gently rocking Jane, he glanced at Laura Pendleton. She was leaning back in a rocking chair, smiling. It was a weary smile.

“Jane still doesn’t seem to like this world very much.”

“She’ll be fine soon. Olivia Fairfax was just like her. After a couple of months, she settled down.”

“So we just need to endure one more month.”

Laura leaned deeper into the chair’s backrest. Dark shadows lingered under her eyes. Soothing Jane and breastfeeding both children had kept her from deep sleep.

“Did the birth registration at the registry office go well?”

“Yes. It was simpler than I expected. Now both of them are proper British subjects.”

Laura gave a shy smile.

“Children who were in my belly just a month ago.”

Ian chuckled in return.

“Children who were in your belly just a month ago.”

Ian looked down at Jane in his arms. A tuft of black hair adorned her tiny head. Her gray eyes, so like her mother’s, gazed up at him brightly. Moments ago, she’d been crying as if the world were ending, fraying everyone’s nerves, but now her gaze was innocent, as if nothing had happened.

Ian took a pacifier from Hannah and placed it in Jane’s mouth. She latched onto it and sucked contentedly. Peace settled over the nursery. It would be brief, no doubt.

He laid Jane in her crib. She stared blankly at the mobile hanging above.

Ian couldn’t help but smile.

“Little devil.”

He kissed Jane’s cheek, then walked to the other crib nearby.

Another child with black hair and gray eyes, Lewis, was fast asleep. He was utterly unbothered by his sister’s ear-piercing cries.

Lewis had been like that since birth. Even when his sister caused all sorts of chaos beside him, he remained serene. He cried or fussed occasionally, but always for clear reasons—hunger or a wet diaper. Once the issue was resolved, he quietly played with a rattle or slept.

The couple, worried about his hearing, had a doctor examine him. Thankfully, he was perfectly fine. Lewis was simply born calm, like a still lake, an easy child to raise.

“Like Master Sheldon, so refined.”

Ian lightly kissed his sleeping son’s chubby cheek.

“Darling.”

Ian turned his head. Laura was smiling brightly at her husband.

“Not going to give me one?”

The corners of Ian’s mouth lifted.

“Oh, I forgot. I have another baby, don’t I?”

Ian walked to Laura and kissed her forehead. His lips moved to her cheeks, her nose, and then her lips.

Hannah pretended not to notice, busying herself with tidying toys. It was such a common scene that she no longer blushed.

Laura wrapped her arms tightly around her husband’s waist. Ian chuckled, looking down at his wife clinging to him like a cicada.

“Ian.”

“Yes?”

“When should we hold the children’s christening?”

Ian gently stroked Laura’s hair.

“Once Jane calms down a bit. If we take her to church like this, she’ll burst Oliver’s eardrums before the holy water even touches her head.”

Laura giggled.

“Allegra was such a crier too. The pastor will understand.”

“Want to do it soon?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Laura hugged Ian’s waist tighter, rubbing her cheek against him.

“I want to show our friends how beautiful Lewis and Jane are.”

Ian sensed the emotions in Laura’s voice—exhaustion, melancholy, and frustration.

“She must be struggling.”

It was only natural. Unlike other noblewomen who employed multiple nursemaids and only occasionally visited the nursery, Laura had chosen to raise her children herself, wanting to pour her effort into their growth.

But she had her limits. Barely sleeping, rarely seeing others, and spending her days wrestling with the children in the nursery was undoubtedly taxing. Though Ian tried to share the load when he could, his own responsibilities kept him from devoting as much time as Laura did.

What Laura needed now was a change of pace.

“Let’s do it next week.”

Laura cautiously raised her head.

“Really?”

“It’s not a difficult thing to arrange.”

He caressed her cheek.

“Invite all the friends who can come. Let’s make it a proper party.”

Laura’s eyes curved into crescent moons, her smile spreading across her face.

“You’re that happy?”

“Yes. I’m thrilled.”

Laura tugged at the hem of her husband’s jacket.

“Let’s invite everyone we know. The Fairfax couple from London, Miss Janet too. Oh, it’s almost school break, so Daniel Fairfax might be able to come!”

“Daniel probably can’t make it. The rugby team has training during the break.”

“Oh.”

Laura nodded.

Daniel Fairfax had joined the rugby team at Eton School less than six months after enrolling. It was rare for a junior to be selected, but his robust build and stamina rivaling the seniors had earned him a special spot.

“That’s a shame.”

“No need to feel bad. He’s probably a sweaty beast by now. Not that he was much different before.”

Laura chuckled at her husband’s sharp remark.

“You miss him, don’t you?”

“I don’t miss that troublemaker.”

Despite his words, Ian secretly felt a pang of disappointment that his nephew, caught up in school life, rarely visited home. Laura could see right through him.

She fiddled with a button on his coat.

“I miss the Dunville Park family. Your brother, your sister-in-law, George Fairfax, Olivia Fairfax… Now that I think about it, why hasn’t Olivia come to visit lately?”

Ian blinked.

“You’re right. Why hasn’t she?”

On the day Laura went into labor, it was Olivia Fairfax who first noticed the contractions and called for Hannah. Olivia had insisted on following Hannah to the birthing room, claiming she’d help with her aunt’s delivery.

In Olivia’s imagination, a midwife’s role was limited to holding the mother’s hand and wiping sweat from her brow.

Remswick had barely managed to persuade Olivia to return home.

For about two weeks after the birth, Whitefield Hall had closed its doors to visitors for Laura’s recovery.

Even so, letters flowed freely between Dunville Park and Whitefield. News of the twins’ birth was met with inquiries about Laura’s health, and questions about childcare were answered with helpful advice.

Through this exchange, the already deep bond between the two families grew even stronger. For Laura, who had little family of her own, the Dunville Park household was family itself.

Laura could almost see Olivia, who had brought such cheerful energy in the month before the birth. In the chaos after the twins arrived, Laura hadn’t paid it much mind, but Olivia was a dearly cherished niece.

“I want to show your brother the children. And see Olivia too.”

“Shall we visit before the christening?”

“Really?”

Ian gently lifted Laura’s pointed chin with his fingertips.

“Even tomorrow.”

Laura’s face lit up with another smile. He tilted his head and kissed her lips again.

“Tomorrow, we’ll have tea and dinner at Dunville Park, my love.”

Waaah, waaaaah.

Jane, as expected, was crying. In the carriage, upon arriving at Dunville Park, in the arms of her aunt and uncle, when George Fairfax played peek-a-boo, and even when little Ian, now quite talkative, chattered to her.

“My ears are going to burst. I’ve never seen a child like this.”

Mrs. Fairfax made a face of mock horror at the shrieking Jane.

“Olivia was like this when she was little, sister.”

Ian pointed out, lifting his daughter up and down.

“Olivia whimpered. That one’s screaming at the whole world.”

“She’s full of spirit. It’s a sign she’s healthy.”

Ian defended Jane. Her crying was exhausting, but he couldn’t stand anyone criticizing his daughter, even if it was his own sister.

“I knew it. You’ve become a doting father.”

Mrs. Fairfax snorted. Robert Fairfax, sitting beside his wife and gently rocking the calm Lewis on his knee, chuckled heartily.

“Didn’t we act the same with our first, my dear?”