The crown prince spent most of his time at the university, serving as chief engineer of the kingdom and developing things that would further the progress of our kingdom, but he was frequently seen partying very hard with his fellow soldiers and attending the balls of his peers.
He was also frequently seen being a complete and utter bastard to anyone that didn’t please him in whatever manner he thought he needed to be pleased, but his was particularly cruel to women.
God forbid a woman sweat through the powder on her face, because he would surely point it out with disgust.
The kingdom both loved and loathed him.
I, however, only loathed him.
If the tumor in his mother’s womb hadn’t killed her, her son’s behavior would have done so.
This upcoming birthday of the prince was particularly important, since he was turning twenty one and would gain control over the portfolio of land and property that before now was only his in name. After turning twenty one as crown prince, he would be gaining much more control over the management of the kingdom and it was expected he would be throwing his weight behind building bridges and improving the roads that were so vital as our role as the merchant kingdom.
And as was the favorite for the fairyfolk, his birthday would be a masquerade ball.
Any upper class youth would be in attendance to celebrate, but anyone that had a title would be invited and could send someone in their place. It wasn’t uncommon at all to sponsor a young woman to go the ball in the place of a titled land owner in the hopes she might catch the eye like the prince’s mother had when she met the king at his own twenty first birthday.
But I doubted that anyone would catch our prince’s eye.
The only thing he seemed to be attracted to was power. He knew he was fighting a losing battle against his much blessed younger brother, so he was trying to gain it by making improvements to the kingdom he thought would secure him wealth, as if he needed more money. It was rumored he intended to marry a daughter from the royal family of the neighboring kingdoms, but the brutal truth was that no one wanted him.
He was a real awful young man.
Devilishly handsome, but what a prick.
I spoke briefly with the Duchess about what she might want and we made an appointment to meet for a sit down discussion later in the week when she was passing through our town again. Afterward, I walked her out with my sisters and saw her on her way.
Once she was out of sight in her pristine white carriage, I looked across the street to the bakery, where the baker was filling the rack in the window with fresh bread.
“Anna,” I said, catching her attention, “Don’t you think I should invite Lenard over?” I asked her lightly, eyeing her then as she scowled, looking confused.
“Do as you please, brother,” She said, looking unbothered.
My lips thinned. “I mean, shall I invite the baker over so he and I can talk about him courting you?” I stressed, and immediately she gave me a scathing.
“Don’t you DARE put that out into the air!” She said, stabbing me in the chest with a gloved finger, Celia giggling. Anna lowered her tone then, hissing at me “I will not settle for a baker!”
“He is very fond of you and could give you a very comfortable life, Anna!” I hissed right back, Anna lightly slapping my chest before she turned away from me.
“I don’t want to be comfortable – I was to be rich and wear entirely uncomfortable but fashionable things!” she snarled in a very unlady like manner, grabbing Celia’s hand as she laughed to drag her back to their mother’s store.
I sucked in a breath as I put my hands on my hips, calming my nerves. I stayed outside for a bit longer and took in the midday breeze, enjoying what was surely to be one of the last clear, sunny days before the rainy season began.
Such a brat.
Anna needed to lower her expectations or she wasn’t going to be very happy with life – she already was unhappy with what I could provide, and though she was a beautiful young woman, she needed to be more realistic with her expectations. She didn’t have the income or inheritance to warrant such bad behavior, and the baker was a very nice man that made a very good living. His business was growing and he was branching into wedding cakes and seeing very favorable growth.
And so Anna could do a lot worse.
I turned back and looked over the exterior of my shop, making a mental note that I would need to spruce up the sign soon, since it was starting to fade. I went back inside and immediately went to the store window to start cleaning a smudge, and as I was there, I saw the baker, Lenard, come out from his shop across from mine with his younger sister, Mildred. They chatted and I saw Mildred wring her gloved hands and throw me a glance while Lenard looked embarrassed. She pushed at him a little, tugging on his sleeve to turn him toward my shop, and I knew right away what was happened.
I pulled out of the window and quickly cut to the front desk to pull out my appointment book to look busy.
I had been dodging this talk for weeks, and with any luck, I could dodge it just a bit longer.
But in walked Lenard and I deflated, closing my appointment book to greet him with a smile. “Good afternoon, Lenard.” I greeted.
“Elliot.” He greeted in return with a tight smile and a curt nod. He came over to the desk and drummed his fingers on it for a moment, looking around my store before he finally looked at me. “Mildred would like to have a word with you,” The baker said with little tact, rubbing the back of his neck with an embarrassed look, “She’s just to nervous to come in and ask for your time.”
I refrained from sighing, because I knew what this was.
I was fully aware of my popularity with the local girls. I had my mother’s good looks, and though I lacked her incredible warmth, I was always polite as possible. Being polite and kind to everyone, but ladies especially, was very important to me because I had seen what a little bit of kindness could do for someone, as well as what a little unkindness could do.
Plenty of people were not kind to my stepmother after my father died, including members of her own family. It had been devastating to watch as the hope faded in her eyes that someone could help us get back on our feet and we could keep the home she had made.
Turning to my cousin was the absolute last resort for us.
Though he was family, I had absolutely no love for him. I enjoyed his son’s company, yes, but my cousin…
Was not especially kind to women either, especially not my very kind mother, who was naive with a tender heart, but terribly fragile.
My stepmother had been able to pull herself together and push on after others were cruel to her.
My mother had not.
And so I vowed to never hurt someone like my stepmother and mother had been hurt, nor would I tolerate someone else causing that level of emotional hardship-
And God save the fool that was ever unkind to either of my sisters, because then the cruelty I inherited from my father but rarely used would finally have it’s moment in the sun.
But while I was as kind as I could be, I refused to marry.
There were plenty of girls that would make wonderful brides, mothers, and even business partners, but I was determined to stay single and unattached until both my sisters were married and settled.
If I were to die unexpectedly like my father, I wanted to ensure what little fortune I had was passed directly onto my sisters to ensure that they were taken care of. If I were to marry and have children while my sisters were still maidens, then I didn’t know if what I had saved could ensure they would all be able to sustain this level of comfort.
And I would never allow for them to fall farther then they already had.
And the Baker, who I had grown to become close friends with, knew that, which is why he was so embarrassed.
I glanced out the front window to see Mildred peeking in and I straightened, giving the baker’s sister a little strained smile and an incline of my head before I started toward the door. I opened it and stepped out, glancing to where Mildred was nervously playing with the ribbons of her bonnet.
Mildred was a wonderful young woman – everything a viscount, a duke, or even a prince would want in a bride. Kind, intelligent, beautiful. She was incredibly well mannered, well read, and well educated. I told her all of this as I took her for a walk, telling her that she could afford to have much higher standards than myself.
My secret title as Viscount was one that those in our town knew to keep to themselves because the steady stream of upper class clients that I attracted also visited the other businesses here, but as I explained to Mildred, the title was only something for the papers.
I would never be more than a tailor, and though she pleaded and insisted that it wasn’t the title she was after and that she deeply cared for me, I myself pleaded and insisted that she hold out for someone much better to myself, as marrying me would be an incredible disservice not only to herself, but her family and our town.
She was a lady, born to the lower class, but one that I was sure someone of great value would want as a bride. She needed to hold out a little longer, and if she did, I was sure that good fortune would come her way.
I was as kind as I could be.
Mildred really was a wonderful young girl, but settling down was absolutely not in my near future.
In ten years, maybe, but only after I had everyone else around me settled. Firstly, I had to wrestle a pair of proper suitors into marrying my own sisters, and that was going to be the greatest struggle of my life, even greater than clawing us our of the dire situation we had been in.
While Mildred was everything that a titled man could want in a bride, my sisters were…
A little rougher around the edges.
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