The Duchess of Darmound

I. The Young Miss of Coldmarrow

Chapter I
The Young Miss of Coldmarrow

Alright, folks. Gather 'round and I'll say a few words about myself. I am Lady Rivera Coldmarrow. And what I don't like about this title is that I'm feared. Why so? Because I am the legitimate heiress to the only non-royal duchy of England and also the daughter of the most influential and revolutionist noble. There are six other duchies but they're all part of the royal family so... even if they are stripped off of their duchies, they'll still be princes and princesses. We will not be shown the same leniency.

But... there's one person who doesn't fear me... or should I say her fear is relatively less? No matter that, this dear friend of mine is Miss Evelyn Birdwhistle, daughter of Viscount Birdwhistle.  So... as you can see, she's pretty lower than me on the hierarchy but that doesn't really get in the way of our friendship. But what annoys me most is that she still curtsies when she sees me, even though I told her not to.

Anyway, enough about my friend... let's move on to my hobbies. As any lady from an esteemed noble family would, I was taught etiquette, sewing, ballroom skills, the piano. But what is all that of use if I cannot sustain on my own? After all, if the conditions would be ripe for the hypothetical situation I have in my mind, where will be the expensive silks I sew on and where will be the ballroom where I flaunt my flawless waltz? Also, I'll not have Daisy with me and I don't know what I'll do then.

On the note of Daisy, she's my lady's maid and she's been so since the time we were 8. Yes, it's been 11 long years. And I intend to keep her by my side for a lot longer.

Anyway, my hobbies include maintaining a herbarium, studying the human anatomy (yes, I have to keep it under wraps), reading Jane Austen, reading about the wildlife in Australia (I find it amazingly astonishing), reading about modern medical procedures, keeping my diary updated (I find it quite hard to express myself in that way but it's rewarding, nonetheless), and practising fencing and archery (yes, it is surprising but my father allows it).

To sum it all up, my whole life mostly revolves around books. What am I supposed to even do? Except for attending etiquette and ballroom classes, the other noble ladies only gossip. But I have too little of time to engage in such a blasphemous activity as to speak about one behind their back. Simply atrocious.

Moving on, I have recently been sneaking out a lot incognito with Daisy, for all the interesting incidents at the manor has almost come to a standstill. Now, there is this stumpy little gentleman down the street whose name is Mr Gastrell. And he happens to have the most astonishing object I have ever laid eyes upon. A camera. It, apparently, makes portraits of people in just about fifteen minutes! I can bet on all of my allowances that I can't even sketch that fast! So... I might have done a bit of bribing so that Mr Gastrell lets me work for him, of course, he doesn't know who I am, and he agreed. Then I made my father agree and I am all set to lay my hand upon the most magical object in the world ---- a camera.

Now onto the next problem in my current life ------ Theodore Darmound. We were really great buddies when he was 8 and I was about 6. Our friendship was hugely caused by the close friendship of our mothers.
Now, one thing you need to keep in mind is that back then, I wanted a little sister a lot, so much that I put it in my list of Christmas gifts. My mother, exasperated, told me that babies are made when two very friendly people give each other a very tight hug and then, one of the people get pregnant. I then thought that it was fairly easy and that I will make a baby sister myself. The main ingredient was a friend. And that was Theodore. So I did everything my mother told me about hugging and all, and then I explained it all to him. Now, what happened was that he thought I had made him pregnant and started to cry really, really loud. After that, I saw no more of him.

Hence, after that huge fiasco, I know for a fact that he doesn't find the idea of seeing me again quite lovely. Nor do I, as matter of fact. But like my father said earlier, he is a good sort of person. Impeccable manners. I like people with good manners. Not that I like him, though! But it will be good to see him after all these years. I heard he's earned quite a reputation for himself in the meantime. It's all good meeting and greeting him... but when it comes down to the prospect of marrying Theodore Darmound... NO, NO, NEVER. I can't stand facing him again without turning beet-red, but marrying him? You can kiss that idea farewell.

------------------------------------------------------