Side Story #2: Lettie and Her Daddy

Two years had passed since my contract marriage to Cercis, the Duke of Fisalis. Somewhere down the line, our union had ceased to be one of pure convenience, and at long last, the two of us were blessed with our own child.

Our adorable daughter—Violet, nicknamed Lettie—grew up fast, raised with love by everyone around her. By the time she turned one-and-a-half, she was walking around and speaking a word or two at a time—a child at the very peak of her cuteness!

Her father’s adoration for her was particularly charming! Why, she was truly the apple of his eye. Whenever she waddled around these days, he would tag along behind her and fret, “Are you okay, sweetie? Don’t fall now!”

One day—when the weather was getting cooler and the range in temperature on any given day could get quite extreme—that little girl of ours caught a chill. The sudden cold seemed to be the cause, and she’d been suffering from a fever for a few days now.

“What should I do? She looks like she’s in pain.”

It had been a few months since her first birthday, and yet she’d managed to go all that time without ever once getting sick. Now that we were facing her first real ailment, I was at a loss for how to handle it.

“The doctor said it was nothing but a cold, so she’ll be better in no time,” said Dahlia.

“It doesn’t take much for a little one’s fever to run high,” Mimosa added. “I’m sure it’ll be fine!”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

The two more experienced mothers did their best to reassure me. It was definitely comforting to have people I could turn to for advice so close by. Even better, Mimosa’s daughter—Daisy—was just one year older than Lettie; their proximity in age made the young maid the perfect person to consult.

All I could do for now was nurse Lettie and make sure she took her medicine.

It’ll be all right, Lettie! Let’s trust the doctor and the nice ladies and do our best to get through this!

I administered her medicine and kept her warm, and within two days, Lettie’s fever had gone down just like everyone said it would. Unfortunately, now that her temperature was down from its peak, she ran into trouble breathing due to a terribly runny nose.

When meal time rolled around, stuffing her mouth with food meant she couldn’t breathe properly, but she was so hungry that she tried her best to eat regardless. It looked like she was really struggling.

“Waaaah!” Lettie began to cry in a fit of frustration, her cheeks flushing red. I know, I know—you’re upset because you want to eat, but you can’t. You poor thing!

Despite my sympathy, the tiny little sneeze she made was so cute that I couldn’t help breaking out into a smile. Sorry, sweetie! If I could trade places with you, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

Meanwhile, there was one other person lamenting Lettie’s cold as if it were the end of the world. You guessed it—it was Mr. Fisalis.

Perhaps because my husband was going into work each day with a look of despair on his face, it wasn’t long before word of Lettie’s illness had spread like wildfire. From Miss Verbena and Miss Iris—who were always coming around to dote on my daughter—to the Bombshell Trio and many more of Mr. Fisalis’s subordinates, we had received get-well-soon gifts from everyone under the sun.

It’s just a cold, you guys... Well, all the more reason to let them see her hale and hearty! For Lettie’s own sake and the sake of everyone worried for her, we need to get her back in good health ASAP!

I fed her a little more carefully than usual, then cradled her in my arms until she fell asleep.

The moment I was sure she’d finally dozed off, however, I laid her down on the bed—at which point Lettie immediately burst into tears.

“Lying down must have made her nose stuffy again. Poor thing,” remarked Dahlia. She lifted the crying baby into her arms and gave her a gentle pat on the back.

“Yeah, maybe so. Perhaps she’ll have an easier time breathing if I just hold onto her.”

The cradling must have put Lettie at ease again, seeing as she drifted back to sleep. But the second we put her down, she went right back to crying. Rinse and repeat. By this point, I’d been holding her so long that my arms were starting to get tired.

“At this rate, I’d better be prepared to hold her all night long.”

When I looked outside the window, I saw that the sun was going down. Mr. Fisalis was bound to be home soon.

“Let Mimosa and the rest of the maids take care of her,” Dahlia suggested. “Go get some rest, Madam.”

“I couldn’t! I’m the one with the least to do around here. I can tough out one all-nighter!”

“But...”

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, I could never abandon Lettie when she’s having such a rough time, even to get some sleep!”

Dahlia had recommended that I let Mimosa—Lettie’s nanny—handle this, but she already had her own little Daisy to worry about. Not that I doubted that she and the maids would have been delighted to look after Lettie, of course.

Still, Lettie is my little girl! I can’t just leave her like this!

I’d grown up knowing a mother’s love, so I wanted the same for my own child. My goal was to rely on a nanny as little as possible. Thus, I overrode Dahlia’s objections and chose to give Lettie my undivided attention.

Lettie usually slept in her nursery—with a maid staying in the room next door, naturally. I thought about bringing her into my own bedroom for the night, but a fusser like her was bound to start wailing before too long, so there was a good chance she would keep Mr. Fisalis from getting any sleep.

I didn’t doubt my husband was going to come home from work exhausted, so I needed to make sure he got a good night’s rest. Going to Lettie’s room myself was the best option here.

“As part of Project Help Lettie Get Better, I’m going to be sleeping in her room tonight,” I told Mr. Fisalis as soon as he got home and came to check up on Lettie—and I didn’t leave any room for argument.

“What? That came out of nowhere.”

“Thanks to her cold, she can’t seem to sleep unless I’m cradling her in my arms. And if she can’t get any sleep, she’s never going to get better. So there you have it—I have to stay with her all night long. But if she starts crying in the middle of the night, then you won’t be able to get any sleep.”

“There’s no reason you have to stay with her. Can’t one of the other maids take care of it? Besides, isn’t this exactly what you have a nanny for?”

“I’m not about to slip off to dreamland while Lettie is suffering!”

“I suppose not. You’re right.”

Mr. Fisalis must have felt pretty bad for Lettie himself, seeing as he gave me the okay to spend the night with her instead.

The remainder of my night was devoted to breastfeeding Lettie whenever she started crying, rocking her back and forth in my arms...you name it. It was just before dawn by the time the two of us had tuckered ourselves out enough that we both fell fast asleep.

* * *

Though it had taken her until dawn to fall asleep, it was at her usual wake-up time that she once again burst into tears.

“Morning, Lettie. Still having a bad time?”

Still groggy, I lifted her up in my arms and let her drink a bit of milk. Judging by the way she was sucking it up, she must have been feeling a lot better than yesterday. She’s drinking well! I’m so glad.

Her nose had stopped running, and the stuffiness seemed to have cleared up too.

Just as I was cradling my full and satisfied daughter in a sleepy daze, there came a light knock on the door. Moments later, my husband popped his head into the room. “How’s Lettie doing?”

“A lot better. She drank a decent amount of milk this morning.”

Mr. Fisalis came closer, and I showed him Lettie’s face. When he saw his daughter sleeping peacefully, he broke into a relieved smile. Yeah, I forgot you’d been all doom and gloom yourself.

“I see. That’s great news. But, Vi...you look like you’re having trouble keeping your eyes open.”

“Oh yeah...?” Now that he mentions it, I did notice I wasn’t seeing too well.

“I bet you’ve barely slept a wink.”

“Ha ha ha...”

No sooner had I laughed in response, my eyes still half-lidded, than I abruptly felt my arms get a whole lot lighter. Huh, where’d Lettie go?

The sudden disappearance of Lettie’s body weight snapped me out of my drowsy haze almost instantly. When my eyes shot open, I was greeted by the sight of Mr. Fisalis holding Lettie in his arms.

“Cercis?”

“I have the day off, so it’s my turn now. You ought to get some sleep, Vi.”

“Huh? Whoa, wait a second!”

“Yes, yes. Off to bed you go,” he said, giving my shoulder a light shove.

I tumbled back onto the bed without further ado, and Mr. Fisalis was quick to pull the covers over me. He then walked out of the room, cradling Lettie in one arm.

Well, if he insists, I suppose I’ll take him up on his offer!

While I was drifting off to sleep, I heard the sound of Lettie wailing at the top of her lungs in the other room, shortly followed by Mr. Fisalis’s panicked cry of “Agh! She won’t stop crying! What do I do, Rohtas?!”

Hee hee! Do your best, Mr. Fisalis!

In the spirit of accepting his generosity, I pretended I hadn’t heard anything. He could figure this one out on his own.

* * *

I slept long and hard enough to wipe the slate of my sleep debt clean; by the time I came to, it was just before noon.

“Man, that was a good nap... Hm?”

Since Lettie had been in the midst of a pretty dramatic crying session right before I’d conked out, I’d been straining my ears to listen for how things were going now. However, I couldn’t hear even the faintest of sounds coming from the other room.

Did they both go out for a walk, perhaps?

Just as I was getting out of bed to see what was happening in the room next door, Stellaria came in to check on how I was doing.

“Oh, you’re awake!”

“Yes—I got up just moments ago. Say, where are Cercis and Lettie?”

“They’re in the bedroom.”

I took advantage of her good timing to ask Stellaria where my husband and child were, only to hear that they were, in fact, in the other room.

“They’re so quiet, I never would have guessed!”

“Hee hee. Why don’t you go find out the secret behind that for yourself?”

“Huh?”

Prompted by Stellaria’s amused giggling, I went to the bedroom to go check on my family.

* * *

When I cracked the door open quietly and peered inside, not a single sound greeted me back.

How strange—Stellaria said they were both in here. Confused, I looked all over the room, until my eyes finally landed on a giant lump in the bed.

“Hm?”

Oh, are they taking a nap?

I tiptoed over to the bed and peeked through a gap in the canopy, only to hear the rhythmic breathing of two people fast asleep. My husband appeared to be taking a nap, holding Lettie close as he slept.

Lettie seemed to be slumbering soundly herself. Don’t you feel nice and safe in Daddy’s arms? That spot is usually reserved for your mom, but I’ll make an exception for you... just this once!

After seeing how peacefully the two of them were sleeping, their chests rising and falling in a steady rhythm, I decided to let them be just a little bit longer.