The duchess made her way inside. "You see, my daughter and I are becoming distant. She wants to move out and ensure we don't sleep in the same bedchamber anymore, and she wants to break away from our longtime friend and caretaker, Lehtzen. If there's something to help us preserve those ties, I'll take it eagerly."

"Indeed," Clara remarked. She and her husband sat pondering on that, and then she snapped her fingers. "I may have a solution in mind. It's a bit unorthodox, but from what I have heard, it has been effective in the past."

"What do you have in mind?"

"You must reconnect with her on a close and personal level," Clara proposed, "Tell me; at what age were you and Her Majesty the closest?"

"We've been close up until before she became Queen, Lehtzen and I have always taken great care of her, but she's chafing and rebelling."

"With any other child, I would suggest enforcing some form of discipline," Clara remarked, "Perhaps give her some stern reminder that YOU are her mother. If you do that, you might rekindle your relationship."

Duchess Victoria nodded at that. "Do you think it might also help if she had...company of sorts to share it with?"

"Perhaps it might," Andrew remarked. "As it happens, our young mistress is of about the same age as Her Majesty."

She perked up at that. "Take me to meet her, then."

They did just that. Rebecca was once again breastfeeding her infant son.