Emmaline’s throat ached with how tightly it constricted.
“I suspect he was much more like the devil lord and far less like the duke then?” Emmaline asked, and as if Sean were surprised she had gotten it so easily, his expression changed to one of shock before he nodded.
“Alex, the real Alex, and his father were practically total opposites,” Sean explained.
“Then why does he continue this charade? If his father and uncle made the abomination, why not end it?”
Sean paused in his walking and looked down at his hands. “If only it were that easy, Your Grace. As I said before, Alex is an ambitious man. Not only that but he is a powerful man and there are many who expect certain things of him.”
Emmaline swallowed hard. “Like his uncle?”
“Yes, his uncle. Though he is not the only one. He has other family who depend on him.”
Emmaline nodded acknowledgement and they started to walk again. She twirled her parasol and made a show of looking in the shop windows before deciding to speak again. “Sean, I got a sense that Lord Black did not care for me. Did I perhaps do something wrong?”
Her chest tightened as she asked the question. She wasn't sure she would like the answer.
A low kind of growl erupted from the nobleman's throat as if he disliked the mere mention of the man. “He is almost as bad as his brother was, Your Grace. I would not care a fig for his opinion if I were you.”
Again, Emmaline nodded, though she wasn't sure she could take the man's advice. After all, this was her husband's family they were talking about, and it was clear to her that the duke cared greatly for them all.
She had wished so desperately to make a good impression. After all, they were technically her family now too.
“If he is so bad, why does the duke do business with him still?”
Sean shook his head. “It is not for me to tell you every detail of every story, Your Grace, forgive me. But I will say, do not judge the duke too harshly for he only does what he must and what he believes is right. He is a good and kind man, even if he may not appear to be at times.”
Emmaline’s heart ached all the more for she knew he was right, and she only wished the duke might be able to show that side of himself all the time.
Emmaline was about to say she already had a sense of that when Sean stopped outside a confectionary shop and said, “Your Grace, might we go in here?”
“Of course! Please, feel free.”
She gestured Sean in and like a gentleman he held the door open for her, the bell dinging above their heads as they entered.
“Thank you,” she told him before sweeping into the room filled with sweets and chocolates and all other manner of delicious things.
“Was there something specific you needed to collect, My Lord?” Emmaline asked even as the shopkeeper appeared from the backroom, summoned by the bell.
“My Lord,” the man said, dipping his head to Sean. The look of apprehension in the man's eyes told Emmaline that the duke wasn't the only one with a dark reputation. It had clearly rubbed off on his man too.
“My Lady,” the shopkeeper said, bowing his head to her. She saw the curiosity light in his eyes at the sight of her with Sean. “What can I do for you?”
“The duchess and I have come to collect the usual order,” Sean said, removing his money purse from his pocket. “I expect you have everything prepared for the duke?”
“Oh, yes, yes,” the shopkeeper said, hurrying to fetch a box from beneath the counter. “I would forget my head if it were not attached to my neck. Forgive me, My Lord.”
“In the presence of the lady, I shall,” Sean said threateningly. Emmaline noticed the tension in his shoulders, similar to that she had seen in the duke's. Clearly, Sean was acting as much as Alex did.
It filled her with sympathy for them both though it felt awkward considering her conflicting sympathy for the shopkeeper who was on the other end of the threats.
“Very kind of you, My Lord,” the man said, handing over the box. “It is all there, My Lord.”
Sean took the box and with one hand started to check through it. He opened several of the brown paper bags, looking inside as if counting off what was inside.
It was only when he opened the last that a sweetly sour and awfully familiar scent hit her nostrils. “Are… are those lemon sherbets?”
Sean looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “How did you know?”
