Page 133 of The Duke Who Saved Christmas
This was a play I’d acted in hundreds of times as a child. I knew the script better than I knew myself.
A hand gently wrapped around my wrist and pulled my hand away from my eyes. “Ladies, I think we’ve all earnt ourselves a tea and coffee break. Cassandra, dear, will you take everyone’s orders and text them to me? My future daughter-in-law and I will walk over to Sue’s place and bring it back.”
“Who are you calling your future daughter-in-law?” I muttered.
Emily laughed breezily, looping my arm through hers. “Come along, darling. Oh, but give me a minute to swap my slippers out for my boots. I don’t fancy having wet socks all day.”
She swept me away before I had a chance to say anything against her, and before I knew it, I was in the space we’d designated as the cloakroom and was putting my coat on.
Almost as swiftly as she’d swept me in there, Emily was fully kitted out for the outdoors, and I was dragged outside by her movie-star looking self.
Seriously.
She was dressed as though she was right out of that sexy, spicy Hollywood era of the nineteen-fifties.
Good for her.
I’d look like a potato if I tried dressing like that.
“That was very succinct of you, Your Grace,” I muttered.
Emily chuckled, linking our arms again. “Enough of that. You know my name, Sylvie, so use it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She tutted. “I suppose that’s better than the last one.”
I swallowed, looking at the crowds of people bustling through the streets. The undeniable energy of the festive season rang through the air despite it being the middle of the week, and it was an infectious buzz that trickled over me no matter how hard I tried to ignore it.
I did love Christmas, after all.
“You know, I see a lot of myself in your relationship with your sister,” Emily said, ushering us to the side to avoid a group of little old ladies while greeting them with a gentle smile. “My sister is four years younger than me, and I had the same issues you’re facing right now. I was the oldest, so I had to be the mature and responsible one. My parents would have forgiven Maggie if she murdered someone on my mother’s favourite rug, but I got in trouble if I didn’t notice she’d left her bedroom light on.”
“Sounds familiar,” I muttered.
“There, there, dear.” She patted my arm. “It’s frustrating, isn’t it? No matter what you do, you’ll never be recognised or appreciated for your efforts and achievements. Oh, I’m not saying your parents aren’t proud of you,” she added quickly.“Goodness knowsI’mproud of what you’ve achieved in your life, so I’m sure they are, too. I could merely see that your mother was far more bothered about you upsetting Hazel than Hazel upsetting you, and I thought it best to get you out of there before I joined you in kicking up a fuss.”
I glanced at her, fighting a smile. “You don’t need to do such a thing for me.”
“Nonsense. It’s just standing up for my future daughter-in-law.”
“Please don’t go around the village calling me that. People will get the wrong idea.”
She grinned. “The wrong idea? Was my son not being a bit of a floozy at your house last night?”
I coughed into my fist and looked away. “That’s… irrelevant.”
“We’ll agree to disagree,” she replied, far too cheerily for my liking. “I always wondered why you moved away as soon as you graduated university. You didn’t even come back after, and I thought it was strange.”
“Ah. Hazel’s birthday was a couple of weeks after, and there was something about a joint party. I decided I didn’t want to share my moment, so went on a trip to Ibiza with my classmates instead.”
Emily laughed, momentarily tossing her head back. “A good choice, it seems. I did wonder, though, but now it makes sense. I also now understand why you rarely came back.”
“It just… was easier not to. It was hard enough whenever I did. There were only so many comparisons I could take, especially when I was younger. It doesn’t bother me as much anymore, but probably only because of the distance between us.” I sighed. “I do love my sister, but right now, I really don’t like her. This wedding is the most stressful one I’ve ever organised.”
Emily patted my hand on her forearm. “That’s because you care so much about it, darling. Of course, it doesn’t help that she’s royally buggered up your schedule. Everything you said was completely true, and if Hazel has any sense, she’ll leave before we get back.”
“What a tall order.”
