«What has my Vinnie done today?» Alexander inquires a few seconds after storming into his bedroom. He only managed to change clothes.

The odd thing is that he's asking our daughter directly. She can't speak yet, so it would make more sense to talk with me in her stead. I've been with her for the whole day, so I for sure know what she has done.

Which is: nothing.

Lavinia spent her day eating, sleeping, and staring at me. She's just like her father in his lazy moments, now that I think about it.

Alexander stretches out his arms and picks Lavinia up. He carries her around the room for a while, talking like an idiot.

«Your daddy was very busy too,» he says. «I had to do so much work to make you and your mother live so comfortably...»

Daddy? Mother? What is this difference in treatment?

«She can be ruthless, at times, and I don't want her to leave me because I can't provide for you two,» he adds.

Why is he telling all of this to our daughter? What if she believes him?

She will think the worst of her mother, like this!

«Alexander,» I call him. «Are you done?»

I cross my arms and wait for him to realise that I hear all he says.

«Not yet,» he murmurs. «I don't want Vinnie to forget about me, so I better explain to her why I'm not around as much as I would like to.»

«You...» I sigh. «She doesn't understand a thing. Why are you so insistent?»

«Who knows?» he says, shrugging. «Are you jealous, by the way?»

«No, I'm not.»

«You don't have to worry. I will be next to you as soon as our daughter falls asleep. It's almost time, isn't it?»

«You're so optimistic...» He thinks that a child will fall asleep just because he wishes it?

«You can sing a lullaby.»

«I don't know any.»

«Then that song you love. The one about wine.»

«It's not about the wine but about forbidden love,» I point out. I don't sing songs to a beverage.

«Can you?»

«You came in a few minutes ago, and you're already ordering everyone around!» I complain.

Alexander sits next to me and uses one of his most charming grins. Ah, damn it...

«Just once,» I sigh.

«We'll be listening.»

As soon as I start singing, Lavinia turns to me with something so similar to astonishment written on her face. She widens her eyes and mouth, and she seems to smile. It's a horrible grimace, but her voice comes out in a shout that is all but unhappy.

«See, your mother isn't all that scary, after all,» Alexander says, cuddling the baby while chuckling. She moves her eyes from me to him, attracted by my voice and his laughter. She's not sure who she wants to stare at, so she moves her deep eyes from one to the other.

«Now, you were supposed to make her sleep,» I remind Alexander. «Like this, she's more awake than before.»

«I know, I know...» he adds, but his smile stops me from scolding him. He's so happy that it's difficult to believe.

«Alexander,» I murmur, even though I don't have anything to say.

«Yes, wife?»

«You're a good father.» He loves our child, and there's nothing else I need from him.

«And a good husband?»

«I don't remember well,» I tease him. «But I suppose you're not bad.»

«Thea, can't you say something nice from time to time?»

«Yes, I can. But not too often, or you'll get over with your head. Continue like this, and you'll have the title of the best husband as well.»

«What?»

«You heard me. I will admit you're a good husband only when I'm sure you won't stop being kind with me after hearing it.»

«I'm not doing it just for the title, as you say. This is how I genuinely am.»

«Oh, I should believe you.»

«But look!» he adds, showing me the baby with his chin. «Look at her! She wouldn't be so beautiful and calm if we weren't perfect for each other!»

She is calm, indeed. But, beautiful? Oh, well, she's cuter than after birth. Maybe, in some more days, she'll become a bit prettier.

Alexander bends over to peck my cheek. I sigh, turning to him to demand a real kiss, but I'm interrupted by a sudden, loud cry.

What, now?

«Oh, see who's the jealous one here,» Alexander whispers. «You got that from your mother too.»

What? I am not jealous. I wouldn't cry if he kissed another lady.

«But I won't bring her away, I promise,» Alexander continues, walking in the room to calm the little ball.

Ah, stubborn as her father.

«I'll just borrow her from time to time. Your mother isn't as easy to steal as you think...»

With his calm tone, he manages to let Lavinia sleep without feeding her. It's the first time it happens, as she has always cried only to eat.

Once she's safe in her cradle, I guess it's my time to be soothed.

In fact, my Duke sits next to me.

I can't call him my Duke anymore. He's not a Duke. Now he's an Archduke, and I don't like saying my Archduke. It's too long and sounds bad.

«What are you so displeased about?» he inquires, locking an arm around my waist and kissing my forehead. «I'm all yours now.»

«You're not a Duke anymore,» I pout.

«No, but you can call me husband. That would solve any problem your mind can't get over...»

«You shameless...»

«Hmm, I'm just trying to help my wife,» he whispers in my hair, letting his breath hit my neck on purpose.

«Shameless and calculative.»

«Don't you like this side of me?» he asks, pressing his lips on my skin.

I sigh and let him kiss my neck until his teeth sink in the hollow of the shoulder, leaving a mark I can already imagine. I moan, trying to complain about his silliness, but he's already planning the next evil deed.

«Aren't you going to ask for a massage, wife? You seem so tired,» he murmurs.

«I don't want to inconvenience my Duke...»

«I'm not a Duke anymore.»

«My Archduke,» I breathe. Nah, I don't like how it sounds. «My husband.»

In the end, I can just surrender. I don't see other alternatives.

«You deserve it, wife.»

«If you insist,» I sigh.

«I insist.»

«Are you going to make me shout?» I murmur. «What's the trap?»

«No traps. But don't be too loud, or our daughter will think I'm hurting you. We don't want her to cry again, do we?»

«No, definitely.»

«Then, turn on your stomach.»

«Why?»

«I'm going to massage your back, now that you can lie like this. I waited months just to do it.»

«You're hiding something, aren't you?»

«Stop being suspicious, and let me spoil you a bit. I've missed you during these busy days.»

«All right,» I say while turning on my belly to let Alexander reach my back.

I'm sure he'll try something unmentionable, but he actually massages me.

«I didn't think you were serious,» I confess, after a while. His strong hands are a convincing incentive to tell him the truth. The way he touches every part of me is just so perfect.

Ah, if this is what one gets when giving birth to children, I might consider having another couple. Not immediately, though.

I'm still weak from Lavinia's coming to light.

«Thea, what are you referring to?»

«I thought you wanted to do bed activities, but here we are, each one's hands in proper places.»

«You need to recover. No bed activities for the month to come.»

«A month?» I mumble. Then, I sit up. «Why so long?»

«You need to heal,» he repeats. «You've waited for months. A few weeks more won't change anything.»

«Oh,» I moan. «You're doing it on purpose!»

«To make you desire me more?»

«I don't know what you want. It's weird. Why would you postpone so much?»

He drops his shoulders, observing me with a straight face. Yet, his eyes are shining with happiness.

Oh, that's right. It was the first thing the prostitutes in Polis taught me. They said that men like feeling wanted.

I didn't think that my Duke would be as earthy as that, but he seems so content with my admission. If that's the case, I might try everything else on that list of stuff.

Maybe not everything at once, though. Some of those things are hard to imagine, so I'll go with what can suit our tastes first.

«You've waited months as well,» I point out, pressing my weight on his chest.

I'm still not ready for full bed activities: he's right. And also, my body is not how it used to be. My waist is larger, my breasts swollen.

And I don't want to imagine the damage in my secret place. What if Alexander decides he doesn't like me anymore?

Oh, I'll have to put more effort into it. My sole presence doesn't seem enough anymore. As soon as I recover, I'll look for proper books that will teach me in more detail what the prostitutes explained in a sentence or two.

«I will make our reunion worth the hassle,» I murmur to his ear.