Page 84 of A Christmas Temptation for the Duke
“But we do see you as our sister,” Nerissa said. “Halfsibling or no, you are one of us, Alison. You always have been.”
“And you always will be,” Felix said.
“You have every right to be angry,” her mother continued. “And we will not begrudge it of you. And leaving you behind…” She sniffed again and wiped her nose. “That action me realize how we have treated you. Tonight, yes, we were a little…”
“Pretentious?” Alison offered, even smiling softly to see how hard everyone was trying.
“But it does not have to be that way,” her mother said. “Please, Alison, let us make it up to you. Give us a chance.”
“We want to get better,” Lord Pemberton agreed. “And if Christmas is not the time for forgiveness, then… well, when else is?”
Alison did not know what to say.
They were just words, and that did not make them true. For all she knew, her family were just saying what she wanted to hear and come next week things would be back to how they were.
But it was the way they spoke that touched her. And the way they all looked at her. For the first time that Alison could remember, each of her family members looked at her with love and hope and a sense of forgiveness that she had been so desperate for her entire life.
This would not fix everything. This would not change the past. What it would do, she prayed, would pave the way for what was to come.
“You said something about dessert?” Alison asked with a smile and laughter.
That comment made Nerissa chuckle, which led Felix to snort, which had Winnie giggling, and soon the family were laughing together as if at some well-made joke.
But it was not the joke that set them laughing. It was the tension leaving them, and the newly found sense of place that Alison had been searching for her entire life. She smiled and took Nerissa’s hand. She beamed at her mother and even at Lord Pemberton. Winnie rushed around the table to hug her, and from nowhere Pickle bounded into the room,
This was her family, Alison admitted. This was what she had always wanted. Or rather… it had been. Despite it all, there was still one thing missing, and she worked so hard not to think of him right now.
For now, best to leave the past where it was. As hard as that was to do…
Alison was sitting alone in her room, pondering what had just occurred between her and her family. It was a good thing, she knew, and she wanted her mood to reflect that. Sadly, her mood was still a most harrowing thing like a storm that refused to break.
And worse still, not only did she know the reason, but she knew that nothing was going to change it…
“Alison…” Her mother’s voice drifted from across the room. “Are you decent?”
Alison looked up to find her mother loitering in the doorway. She looked unsure and nervous, fiddling with her hands, unable to meet Alison’s eyes directly.
“Mother…” Alison sighed but forced a smile. “Now is not a good time.”
“Oh? Is it… I understand that you are still upset with us, but I was hoping –”
“It is not that,” Alison said and bowed her head. “I know you meant well, and I believe what you said. But truly, Mother, I would like to be alone.”
Her mother hesitated and Alison prayed that she would heed her words and leave. Strangely, she did no such thing, finding courage and crossing the room, and then sitting on the bed beside her.
It might have annoyed Alison, but she realized too that this here was exactly what she had always wanted. A mother who not only cared for her but saw when her daughter needed her most. A mother whowantedto help in any way that she could.
“Do you wish to speak about it?” Her mother took her hand and rested it in her lap. “If not, we can just…”
Alison forced a thankful smile. “It is not an easy thing to talk about.”
“I understand,” her mother said. “Perhaps we can just sit here? I find that often, just having someone to share in whatever it is that troubles me, is enough.” She brought Alison’s hand to her lips and kissed it, her smile shining through.
Alison’s heart cracked open in that moment. She and her mother were never two who spoke about their feelings. That was just because her mother had never been one who was there for her. But she was there now, and she wanted to help. She looked at Alison, and she saw her there, pleading with her eyes the way a mother should.
“I love him…” The words caught Alison by surprise, as she had not meant to say them.
“You love who?” her mother asked.
