Gretchen felt her heart sink with those words. “I... I don't know what you mean.” The words barely formed on her lips as she fought to keep her breathing regulated.

Henrietta rose to her feet then, satisfaction shinning in her eyes. “I think you do Miss Riverside,” Leaning down so her nose was inches away from Gretchen's, she said, “I wouldn't get too comfortable around here,” She shrugged, straightening. “It has been nice spending time with you, Miss Riverside,” She smiled. “I do hope we can do this again sometime.”

And with that, she turned and made her way out of the room, leaving Gretchen seated there with tears in her eyes.

Chapter Twenty Two

Gretchen wouldn't look at Ethan since his return from his errands in town. If Ethan didn't know better, he would have thought she was avoiding him. When Gretchen insisted on being locked up in the nursery with Elizabeth while she napped, instead of spending time with him in the parlor, he knew something was certainly wrong.

And he had been right.

Ethan wasn't the least bit shocked when he was informed of Henrietta's visit to the manor while he was in town, and how Henrietta had spent the entire time having a conversation with Gretchen. Everything in Ethan told him that Henrietta's little chat with Gretchen had everything to do with Juliet; Henrietta must have shown up to try to discourage Gretchen from getting married to him.

Ethan had to smile; Henrietta just would not accept defeat, especially because the person who defeated her was an American. He decided then to give orders to the servants to turn Henrietta away from the gates. But right now, he needed to gain back the trust of the red head who sat to his right hand side on the dinner table, her gaze fixed mostly on Elizabeth who was making an even bigger mess of her dinner.

Elizabeth was in her twelfth month, but Ethan wasn't exactly certain of the day of her birth. She had grown tremendously over the past few months. Her once short, black hair that sat atop her head had grown to fall to the tip of her jaw in a mass of curly, black locks. Elizabeth might have been the striking image of Ethan's mother but she had his eyes and his hair.

Once, he had walked into the nursery to find Elizabeth standing in her crib while clinging to the bars. He knew that in no time, his little angel would be running all over the place.

His gaze shifted back to Gretchen —he had Gretchen to thank for everything. She had been so much more than he could have ever asked for in a nanny; she had been a mother. He reached forward and retrieved the bell that sat on the table. Ringing it, he waited until Jacob appeared.