George said nothing. She played with the baby’s hand. She’d seen plenty of marriages where the husband and wife might as well be strangers, for all the concern they showed for each other.

Emm continued, “When I married your uncle, there was no talk of love—it was a purely practical arrangement. He wanted someone to take care of—and control—you three girls, and I, I wanted security, a home and the chance of having a child of my own.”

George looked up. “But you’re in love with Cal, aren’t you? And he with you?”

Emm smiled. “Oh, yes, but that came afterward. And that’s what I want you to think about. Try to keep your mind open about the duke. I know you think he’s arrogant and cold and—”

“He is.” But George knew now that wasn’t all he was.

“Yes, but think back to how Cal was when you first met him. Was he not arrogant, bossy, infuriating?”

“He most certainly was.”

“So what changed? Did Cal change? Or did you?”

George thought about it. Cal was still pretty arrogant, and very bossy at times—only not with Emm. He’d been downright hostile toward Rose’s long-lost husband . . . until he decided that Thomas was all right. That Thomas could be trusted.

He was being protective of Rose, and she couldn’t really fault him for that.

As for how he treated George, they’d started off badly when he more or less kidnapped her, but now she thought about it, he’d softened quite a bit toward her, and in fact had championed her on a number of occasions, particularly with Aunt Agatha.

“You’ve begun to let the duke get to know you—that’s a good start. And if he’s reluctant to open up himself, persist, but gently,” Emm said. “Some men find it very difficult to reveal the softer side of themselves, to let themselves be vulnerable.”

“Vulnerable?” George couldn’t imagine the duke being the slightest bit vulnerable to anyone or anything. He only wanted her to feel vulnerable.

“Vulnerable to love. Cal was as tightly bound up against letting himself love as any man could be. He didn’t have an easy time as a young boy, losing his mother and being rejected by his father’s second wife. And then there were his years in the army, where a man has to arm himself against the softer emotions simply to survive. He was out of the habit of even thinking about love. It simply never occurred to him. And if you recall, it took the rather drastic action of someone shooting me to shock Cal into the realization that he loved me.” She smiled. “I, of course, knew a long time before that that I loved him. But even so, it was a nerve-racking realization.”

“Nerve-racking? For you?”