Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

" W ell, this looks friendly," Frederick's grandmother said with a coy smile as she waded into the drawing room. Her eyes flicked from Miss Dowding to Frederick, suggesting that she knew exactly what it was that she had nearly walked in on.

"I was just becoming acquainted with your companion," Frederick replied calmly, willing his body to cool down and his cheeks to return to their normal hue. "It surprises me that we have not met previously."

"Oh yes, I suppose it is a little strange isn't it," she sighed. "But do not read too much into it. It is not as if I was hiding her."

"I never said that you were."

"Although, I wish that I was here when you two met." She reached Frederick, leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek which he accepted. "Can't have you scaring her off now, can I?"

"Grandmother…" Frederick rolled his eyes. "I assure you that I have done no such thing. Isn't that right, Miss Dowding?" He raised an eyebrow at Miss Dowding. "We were having a lovely chat, were we not?"

Miss Dowding hadn't moved so much as an inch since Frederick's mother entered the room. She stood frozen in the doorway, that same look of shock written across her face that worried Frederick, for he did not need his grandmother seeing it and then coming to conclusions.

And indeed, his grandmother looked at her, took note of the red cheeks and wide eyes, and frowned. "Is everything all right, dear? You look as if you have seen a ghost."

"Oh!" Miss Dowding gave her head a shake. "I am just a little bit tired from the trip is all. It is nothing to…" Her eyes flicked to Frederick, and her cheeks flushed a deeper red as she looked away. "It is nothing to concern yourself with."

"Is that right…" Frederick's grandmother eyed her a moment, that coy smile returning.

As annoyed as Frederick was with the obvious way that Miss Dowding was behaving, he was even more annoyed with himself. Annoyed and more confused than he had ever felt in his life.

What in the name of all things had just happened?! He could not explain it. He could not reason with it. He could not comprehend it, for it felt incomprehensible! By rights, what he should have been feeling was fury. The way that Miss Dowding had spoken to him just now was beyond anything he had ever heard. No one, ever, had dared to speak to him in that way. And not just standing up to him either. But insulting him as if he was a member of staff who had spilled a tray of drinks because he hadn't been paying attention.

The nerve of the woman to say such things. And in his own home! What was more, someone from her station should have known better. She was the daughter of a viscount, a member of the peerage, the same as Frederick. Yet she either did not know better, or she did not care to.

Again, it should have angered Frederick, but what he was feeling in the moment was about as far from anger as was possible. His heart still thumped in his chest. His blood still surged hot through his body. But despite his efforts to control himself, he could not keep his eyes from straying toward Miss Dowding, working over her body, fixating on her lips as he remembered the way she had felt shuddering in his grip…

"Do not worry about that now," Frederick blurted. "She says that she is tired, grandmother, and that is all it is." Frederick widened his eyes at Miss Dowding as a warning to compose herself and act naturally. "What I am far more concerned with is you."

"Concerned for what reason?" his grandmother asked, turning back to look at him.

"Your home burned down, grandmother. And please do not pretend that it is no big deal."

"That is because it is not one. These things happen."

"They most certainly do not," he snapped, feeling annoyed at his grandmother's dismissive attitude even if it was typical of her. "And I have told you time and time again that you need to hire more staff. That estate is far too large for you to live in alone."

"I am not alone," she said simply. "I have Caroline."

"And the good that did," he replied before he could stop himself.

It was subtle, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he noticed a flash of anger in Miss Dowding's eyes. She glared at him, and for a moment, he worried she might lash back out. It seemed to be a commonality for her, and if she did such a thing… he worried how he might react. And in front of his own grandmother!

Luckily, she held her tongue, but still, she glared daggers his way.

"Oh, it was just an accident," his grandmother sighed. "We are fine, and that is all that matters. Besides, I prefer to see the positive."

"Which is?"

"That I get to spend some time with you, dear." She stepped towards him, reaching up and stroking his face. She was far shorter than he was, having to really reach up. "It has been too long."

He wasn't the cold, callous monster that everyone seemed to think he was. And seeing his grandmother again served as a good reminder. He loved her as he loved his own daughter, and any rancor that he showed her was purely brought on by worry. But to have her here now, the timing could not have been better.

"I am glad that you are here," he said with complete sincerity, taking his grandmother's hand and giving it a loving squeeze. "Truly, the timing…" He sighed and shook his head. "You will not have heard yet, but Isabella's governess quit just two days ago. Needless to say, Isabella isn't taking it too well."

"Oh, yes, I know it."

Frederick blinked. "You do? How could you possibly know such a thing?"

"She told me is how," his grandmother said with a shrug. "And let me tell you, Frederick…" She clicked her tongue. "… Isabella is not too happy with you right now. According to her, you have a vendetta against her. Poor girl."

Frederick groaned and rubbed his eyes. "She is too young to understand."

"And what am I? A toddler?"

He looked at his grandmother flatly. "She is a young girl now, grandmother, but she will not be forever. When she is older, she will need to learn how one of her station is to properly present herself in the world to which she has been born. One which she should be grateful for."

"She is a child," his grandmother sighed. "So what if she gets her knees a little dirty from time to time. She had years yet until she needs to worry about decorum."

"Lessons learned in youth inform adulthood," Frederick argued with a stiff upper lip. "And I will not be lectured on how I raise my own daughter."

"Well, someone has to!" His grandmother threw her hands in the air. "I know you have your heart in the right place, son, but at the end of the day you are but a man. The world you talk of…" She pursed her lips together "… you have no idea about any of it! And that is fact."

He loved his grandmother… but that did not mean she did not infuriate him from time to time. And if there was one topic that they argued on more than any other, it was how he should raise his own daughter.

The topic was like an open wound to Frederick, simply because it always came back to the same point: he was a man, so he couldn't possibly know what he was speaking of. But it was not his fault! It was not as if he asked to be a single father, raising an only daughter as he was. And his mother knew that!

"Yes, well, there is little I can do about that now is there," he snapped, trying to keep his anger in check. "Isabella had a mother once, she does not anymore, and there is nothing that can be done on the matter."

"Oh, Frederick…" his grandmother sighed, realizing that she had gone too far, "I did not mean to push. You know I did not."

What had happened between Frederick and his wife was… it was not important. Not anymore. She was no longer with them, and that was all that mattered.

As a single father, Frederick swore to himself that he would do all he could to raise Isabella properly as she deserved. And it was for this reason more than anything else that he would not be spoken down to by his own mother on topics that she had no business putting her nose in.

"I understand that you care for Isabella," Frederick sighed. "I do. But I must ask that you allow me to raise my daughter as I wish."

"But what of?—"

"No!" he snapped at her. "The conversation is done with." He widened his eyes at her in warning, and she responded in kind. "I do not wish to fight with you, so I ask that you drop it. Please."

His grandmother pushed her lips together and held his glare. "Fine," she said eventually. "As this is my first day here, I will… hold my tongue."

"That will be a first," Miss Dowding snorted under her breath, only to suddenly realize what she said. Her eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth. "I am so sorry. I did not mean?—"

"Ha!" Frederick's grandmother cackled. "Watch yourself around this one, Frederick. She had a tongue on her. Oh, how she does!"

Frederick looked aghast at Miss Dowding, again taken completely by surprise by her loose lips. Although, he supposed he shouldn't have been as surprised as that; knowing the type of woman his grandmother was, it was little wonder her companion acted the same way.

Again, his mind flashed back to earlier… and he could feel himself begin to grow hot under the collar. She was an attractive woman, Miss Dowding. Slender yet still with curves that her dress seemed to accentuate. Piercing green eyes framed by dark blonde hair. And a set of lips on her that were so thick and luscious that it was little wonder she used them as adeptly as she did…

"Is— Isabella!" Frederick stammered, tearing his eyes from Miss Dowding and giving his head a shake. "Where did you speak with her?"

"Her room, of course."

"And she is still there?"

His grandmother sucked through her teeth. "Maybe……"

"Grandmother…" he growled at his grandmother for he sensed that she was about to tell him something he did not wish to hear.

"Do not rise to anger, but…" She grimaced. "… well, once I was finished speaking with her, she asked if she might go outside and play, and I told her that of course she could."

"Play with what?" Frederick felt his anger begin to bubble.

"She said she wished to climb a tree in the back yard and?—"

"What?!" Frederick did not stop to think but stormed past his mother as he made for the door. So incensed was he that he swept past Miss Dowding, nearly knocking her to the floor. "She knows better than that!"

"Frederick! Wait!" His mother went after him.

"Why does she do this to me!"

Why were things never easy? As Frederick stormed through the house and after his daughter, that was all he could think. His grandmother seemed to be put on this earth to test him while his daughter appeared to take pleasure in seeing what she could get away with.

People often asked Frederick if he intended to marry again, and his answer was always the same. He already had two women in his life who pushed him to breaking point at every chance they got, so why would he want to add a third? And if his recent encounter with Miss Dowding was anything to go by, never before had this statement felt so apt.