“I told him you have a sweet tooth and you’d love the crème caramel they serve here. Miguel was delighted and hoped that you enjoy his preparations. And he also said that you’re quite beautiful, to which I wholly agreed with him.”

I beam at Damien and he brushes a strand of hair from my face.

“Damien,” the Duchess calls out, drawing his attention, “I’ve heard you missed out on all the social events in the last weeks. I had specifically sent the social calendar to your assistant marking all the ones that were a must to attend. Did you not receive it?”

“Joan gave me the calendar. I chose not to go,” he replies.

“You have to attend, Damien,” she persists. “You’re the Duke now and you have a duty to your title. Everyone expects you to participate in the social scene. Besides, David was a darling at the social circuits; you have to live up to his legacy.”

His mother is truly awful! She has treated Damien dreadfully all his growing years, ignored him the rest and now she is trying to compare him to his dead brother whom she knows for sure Damien abhorred.

Ignoring her, I concentrate on Damien. A deep groove mars his forehead and his fist is curled tightly around his whiskey glass. I place my hand on top of his and his hold on the glass loosens.

He sighs before he speaks. “First of all, I’m not David. I’ll never be like him, ever. It’s best you remember that, Mother. Besides, aren’t you the one who taught David that a Duke can get away with anything? Well, since I’m the Duke now, I daresay I can and will get away with doing whatever I want.”

The Duchess goes red in the face and takes a sip of her wine.

“Damien, don’t be impolite,” Celia chides. “You’re upsetting your mother.”

The Duchess turns to her. “Leave it, Celia. Damien neither understood nor cared about me ever. That responsibility always fell to David. Expecting more from my other son is futile.”

My heart aches something fierce for Damien. His mother has no qualms about belittling him even now. How can she, a mother, be so cruel? Were his father and brother as bad as her? Or were they worse? My gut says it was the latter. Has he grown up dodging insults from his family all the time? Is that why he chose to walk away from it all?

Without much thought, words spill out of my mouth. “It’s high time you accept that David is gone and Damien’s still here. Maybe a little compassion on your part for what he’s gone through wouldn’t be remiss.”