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Isabel decided to finally break the silence. “When I was a little girl, I did not have a dog. I think it is wonderful that you have Button.”

Millicent threw her a sidelong glance. “You didn’t have a dog? Ever?”

Isabel frowned in thought. “I think we had hunting dogs when I was little. But I do not remember them.”

“Who did you play with?” Millicent sounded appalled.

“Well, I had five siblings.”

Millie’s eyes rounded. “Five?”

Isabel let out a chuckle. It seemed like Millie could not wrap her head around that many siblings. “Yes, five. And we used to play together all the time.”

“What did you do?” Millicent was facing Isabel fully now, her interest peaked.

“We played games, read books, went on picnics.”

“What games did you play?”

“Well, different ones. We would pretend to be pirates and build a ship in the woods. We would play pretend duels with sticks as our swords. Hide and seek was one of the popular games we played, and nobody was ever able to find me,” she said proudly.

Millie’s eyes lit up. “What else did you play?”

“Oh, plenty. We would make tournaments and sling rocks at well… bigger rocks.”

Millicent narrowed her eyes on Isabel. “You said ladies don’t do that.”

Ah, so she was listening. “Well, yes. But see, I grew up with four brothers, and they taught me a few unladylike activities.”

“Like my papa taught me!”

“Right. And gentlemen do not always know which activities are ladylike and which are not. That is why a lady needs education from her governess.”

Millicent puffed her lips. “Why do gentlemen get to do whatever they like, but ladies need to be ladylike?”

Isabel blinked. She did not have a good answer to this question. She squinted in thought. “Well, there are many things gentlemen are not allowed to do either. There are rules in this society one must follow. However, just because you are not allowed things in public doesn’t mean they are completely forbidden.”

“They are not?”

“No. At least not around family.”

Millicent seemed to consider that idea before she turned toward Isabel again. “Does it mean that I can sling rocks, swim, and do other unladylike things around you?”

Isabel’s heart swelled. Did Millicent just call her family?

“Yes,” she said with a nod. “You can.”

“Can we do it now?”

Isabel looked at her still tender ankle with a slight grimace. The sacrifices one makes for family… “Yes, let’s do it now.”

Isabel and Millicent spent a few hours outdoors slinging rocks and playing fetch with Button. Then they went to visit the villagers. Isabel talked to tenants and spent time with her friend, Lilian, while Millie played with the village children.

Isabel had not imagined that the day with Millicent—the pouting, quiet child, who preferred the company of a dog and servants to Isabel’s—would be so pleasant.

Later, they had supper together and then spent an hour reading in Millie’s nursery.

When the time came for Millie to go to bed, Isabel tucked the girl in and sat at the edge of the bed.