If there was one thing Pardot Kynes was good at, it was lecturing.

From the time Kynes was a toddler until Pardot's death, there was nothing Kynes wasn't lectured on. Crying too much, being too friendly, mingling with the Fremen, not meeting his father's research standards. Every piece of Kynes' personality and performance was constantly picked apart.

You never got to meet your husband's father, but you had a feeling he'd find a way to critique even your marriage. You may have been the Emperor's daughter, an excellent match for the Judge of Change, but nothing had ever been good enough for Pardot Kynes.

"My father would bust this piece of shit over my head," Kynes said bitterly, slamming the latest misting device on the table. He'd been trying to devise a way to take moisture from the air to mist plants with. This would be a greater alternative to actually watering the plants.

"Your father isn't here," you reminded gently. You loved your husband regardless of the arranged marriage, but Kynes' temper was not to be trifled with.