There was too much in Alessandra’s life for her to worry about who was sleeping with who, be it two men or a man and a woman.

’Eleanor has told me about women meeting with each other. Why does the town only judge the men?’ Alessandra thought. Once again, the town picked and choose what was acceptable though both situations were equal.

Emma looked at Alessandra, wondering if she knew all along that Oliver was never interested in women. Since Edgar and Oliver were once great friends, Alessandra or Edgar had to know something. While Lucina and the older women found something else to talk about, Emma tapped Alessandra’s hand.

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"Hello duchess," she greeted Alessandra. "It has been so long since we spoke to each other."

"It has been," Alessandra replied.

"I wished to invite you to my wedding, but now that is all over," Emma said, looking down at her lap. It was a painful discovery to catch the man she loved with another. Not even a woman but a man of all things. "Did you know about it?" She asked.

"That you would no longer be having a wedding?" Alessandra asked. She wasn’t following any news about Emma so if Eleanor had not told her the news, she would not have known. She was not friends with Emma to reach out after she had heard. She had always tried to distance herself from Emma because of the complicated history between Edgar and Oliver.

"I meant about what Oliver likes. Did you know?" Emma asked once more.

"Oh," Alessandra looked away from Emma. If Oliver’s preference was so frowned upon, why did they insist on talking about it so much?

"You did," Emma bitterly smiled. "How cruel of you to not think to mention it to me so I would not make a fool of myself."

"It was not my place to tell you. That was something Oliver needed to do on his own. Please do not bring me into this because your love for him did not end how you planned," Alessandra said. The only relationship problems she wanted to deal with were her own and since she didn’t have any with Edgar, that didn’t mean she wanted to be wrapped into someone else’s problem.

"You must think that I am cruel to have told the town about him. Men have been taunting him. Throwing rocks at him and his own father turned his back on him. I didn’t think it would go like this," Emma said, hoping one person understood her intentions.

Alessandra did not believe Emma. Emma knew well how the town would react. That Oliver would not be safe once those words left her mouth. Alessandra thought the two handled their relationship poorly. Oliver could have been honest with at least Emma and Emma shouldn’t have told the town.

Oliver could lose his life because men would be after him. This town didn’t like people who were different.

Alessandra appreciated how much she and Edgar spoke to each other. When she looked at some of the couples around her, she counted herself extremely lucky. Alessandra chose not to continue to speak with Emma. She did not want to fall deeply into what happened with Emma and Oliver.

"Now that everyone is here, we can move around and take a look at my garden," Lucina said loudly to capture the attention of the women present. She spent a lot of money to have her garden prepared for this very moment.

"It is now a battle of the gardens since winter is over," Priscilla whispered to Alessandra. "There will be many tea parties to show off. We should plan a party around the time young ladies debut."

"What isn’t there a battle for?" Alessandra whispered back. From men, dresses, furniture, and now gardens. What more did she have to keep up with?

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Priscilla chuckled. "There is always a battle, dear. It is how we establish a rank among women. There will come a time to show off husbands. Now, there are plenty of young women here dying to have a moment with you. They want to attach themselves to a high-ranking woman before the season officially starts. Gather your circle carefully."

Alessandra carefully stood up to join the women walking around. She wasn’t here to just have a good time. Alessandra looked around the large open room at the vast number of young ladies. They would do anything to be under the wing of a duchess, but Alessandra didn’t want just anyone around her. She wanted her space to be filled with people she could enjoy her time with.

Her eyes went to two young women who immediately stood off in a corner away from a crowd. It was always her goal to be the person to help those who found it hard to fit in. Alessandra wanted to be the person she wished she had when she became duchess. A shoulder to lean on.

Alessandra left Priscilla’s side to introduce herself. She did not need Priscilla to be with her for this moment.

As she got closer to the two young girls, she noticed their similar features and how one stepped behind the other to hide. These days Alessandra had to wonder if it was because of the old rumors about a curse or if being in the presence of a duchess was just too intimidating for some.

"Oh. Are you scared of me? I promise I am not coming to hurt either one of you. I wanted to introduce myself," Alessandra said, keeping a distance since the smaller of the two remained hidden.

"Everyone knows who you are, duchess. Please do not take offense to my cousin’s actions. She stutters when she gets nervous, so she chooses to hide instead of embarrassing herself. My name is Thea Ramsy, and this is my cousin Wren Ramsy. Our fathers are brothers," said Thea. Just like Wren, she was nervous to speak with a duchess, but she had to muster some courage to not offend Alessandra.

"It is nice to meet you two. I believe I have heard of the Ramsy brothers before. Your fathers have a business in making carriages, right?" Alessandra asked, receiving a nod from Thea as she was correct. She knew about their fathers because Edgar spoke of having them fix his carriage wheels.

Alessandra looked behind Thea at Wren. She found it cute how much they depended on each other. They were cousins, but the way they acted would have anyone mistaking them for sisters. ’Their fathers must have raised them to be close.’

"Do the two of you intend to hide away here forever? We are going outside to see Lady Lucina’s garden," said Alessandra.

"We are going outside behind everyone else. This is our first season and attending a party like this. We don’t know anyone other than my aunt who has wandered off to catch up with an old friend," Thea said,

Her mother suddenly fell ill, so her aunt was acting as her escort. They were left with the task of finding friends on their own and speaking with women who had sons still without a wife.

"I see. Well, if you do not mind, you can walk with me. The only person I am close to here is my mother-in-law and I don’t want to burden her with my presence for so long. You do not have to join me if you do not want to-"

"We would gladly join you!" Thea exclaimed and bit her lip after feeling embarrassed by how excited she sounded. They were failing on their own to speak with the other noblewomen, who already had a crowd of young girls around them, so they could not miss this chance with the duchess. "Come along," she said, grabbing Wren’s hand to pull her along.

"I will not judge you if you stutter around me," Alessandra whispered to Wren.

Wren looked at the floor instead of Alessandra. "I-It is embarrassing," she replied. She was made fun of when she stuttered, which made her stutter more. She depended on her cousin, but soon Thea would marry and leave her.

"Only when you surround yourself with people who do not care for you. The people who love you will accept it. When you surround yourself with people who wish to help you overcome your nervousness, you will be surprised by the woman you can become. Trust me," Alessandra said.

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