@goodhunter They don't love each other romantically, like Gebera said, it's not "true" love. It's just a very close friendship that was common in a lot of literature, something that's a very tight bond. Not all love is romantic, as
@Liquidxlax pointed out.
@Purplelibraryguy Honestly given what we know about the Duke's grandfather, he was a very strict but caring and gentle man. I doubt that he would raise someone that would treat his wife like an object, given the dynamics we have already seen within his family. Plus the fact she describes him as very honest and sincere implies that he genuinely loves her, but it was some sense of alienation on her part that drove the two away.
I think it would be more interesting to invert the trope, where the Duke's father is a good husband and he genuinely is trying to care for his wife and family, but the obligations of his social standing and his incredible duties means he can't interact with them much, and you can sense that feeling of alienation from his wife who has lived a very strict life where everything was taught to be prim and proper, and so his attempts to extend the olive branch just came across as strange and she wouldn't be able to fully bridge the gap between them, so to say.
Obviously we're both just speculating because we don't have much basis for this, but I think it would be a much more interesting story that would be more consistent with what we know about the characters
@emMeBi86 They couldn't because I think they're both already married, albeit I don't know who Alice's dad is. I might be wrong, though.
