Page 7 of A Christmas Temptation for the Duke
“Here, Pickle!” Winnie sat down beside Alison’s mother and was quick to tear off a piece of toast and hold it under the table.
“Don’t feed it!” Alison’s mother exclaimed.
“Winnie, that is disgusting.”
“He likes it!”
Alison paused at the doorway as she observed the scene before her.
It had always been this way. From the moment that Felix entered the world crying, Alison’s mother’s attention was focus entirely on him. And when Nerissa came two years later, she spread that attention further, while offering little to Alison who was six by that stage. And seeing as Felix and Nerissa bickered like fishwives, Alison had always found it difficult to truly connect with them.
“Good morning,” Alison said as she entered the breakfast room. “How did everyone sleep?”
Felix barely spared Alison a glance, and Nerissa did not look at her at all; their bickering was all they had time for. And as for her own mother? She was too busy chastising Winnie to greet Alison.
The only one who took notice was Pickle, who barked happily and scampered across the room. Alison beamed and scooped the terrier into her arms, letting it lick her face and laughing all the while. And, as she expected, no one seemed to care.
“Don’t listen to them,” she whispered into her dog’s ear as she scratched his belly. “You are far more well behaved than all of them put together.”
“Alison!” Her mother finally looked up as Alison took her seat. “Finally. I was about to send someone to wake you.”
“Oh?” Alison said as she set Pickle down on her lap. “Did you need me for something?”
“What I need is for you to watch that dog – keep it away from Winnie,” she explained with a warning scowl. “The last thing she needs is to be distracted.”
“I won’t be!”
“You need to pack your things,” her mother said to Winnie. As she did, Alison pulled a face which had Winnie giggling. “We leave in a few days, and I do not want the packing left to the last minute.”
“Best listen to her,” Felix said rightly. “I refuse to be late because you can’t do as you are told.”
“You too, Felix,” her mother then said. “And Nerissa. Your father wishes to take the two of you into London today to purchase gifts for your cousins. I expect the two of you to be ready as soon as you finish breaking your fast.”
Felix snorted. “We do not need to be babied.”
“Oh, really?” her mother shot back at him. “I wish that was the case, but history tells me differently.”
Nerissa burst into laughter and Felix glowered as he went back to his plate of food.
Alison shook her head, not at all surprised her mother was forced to treat her children in such a way. They might have been adults in the most traditional sense, but they behaved likechildren. What was more, they enjoyed the attention, as if they wanted to be rebuked, coddled, and dotted upon day and night.
This left Alison on the outskirts of her mother’s attention, because she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Not that she wouldn’t have minded if just once her mother cared to remember that she was her daughter also, even feigning the need to look out for Alison to remind her that she was a part of this family.
While this state of calamity was common enough, it had grown worse this week on account of an impending trip to be made in a few days. The entire family were set to head north for Christmas, and this last-minute rush just now was to ensure that nothing would be forgotten.
Ironic, Alison thought, as she was starting to feel forgotten herself.
“Good morning, family!” Striding into the breakfast room came Alison’s stepfather, the Baron of Pemberton. “How are we all feeling?”
“Father!” Winnie cried with delight. “Where have you been?”
Alison’s stepfather swept toward Winnie and gave her a kiss on the head. Next, he kissed his wife on the cheek, before moving around the table to kiss Nerissa, finishing his morning greetings by giving Felix a pat on the shoulder.
As for Alison? He found her at the end of the table and offered a polite nod. “Lady Alison,” he said.
“Lord Pemberton,” she greeted in return.
He was always so formal with her, still unable to refer to her as his daughter. And Alison, not wanting to appear desperate, called him by his title. Which itself only added to the distance she felt existing between herself and her family.
