The Duchess' Enchantment

Chapter 9

well, this time we get to see Branstein's point of view! enjoy!

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Annalise's departure from the study left Lord Branstein extremely furious and flustered as he had forgotten how irritatingly stubborn and opposed to instructions she could be. He had never come across anyone quite so arrogant and indifferent to their superiors as her. As a woman she should differ to the opinions of men. It was not as if she could miraculously form an opinion of her own, especially due to her fragile emotions and female temper, she could never be able to do so. By the stars, he always wondered why she had turned out so different from other women. It was blasphemy.

It was fortunate indeed for Annalise that Lord Branstein's valet had appeared to deliver news from the King and his imminent arrival to the Duchy of Goslar. The King was rather dim witted, Lord Branstein thought, but at least he was merry when needed and knew how to throw an event. The King was known for his lavish spending, something that made him and Lord Branstein get along fabulously, due to their shared ideals. However, Lord Branstein disliked The King's brother, prince Ivon, as Ivon was hot tempered and well.. obsessed with his niece. That could be used to his advantage. He never understood what the prince saw in Annalise, yet it was undeniable that they would make a good match; their match would get Annalise out of his way, while bringing in that lost wealth that was overspent and at the same time, the prince, more than anyone would curb her spirit.

The prince however, was a completely different story from his brother. It made him wonder how the two siblings shared a womb. Where the King was lacking, his brother more than made up for it. It made him wonder why the prince had not gotten rid of his brother and seized the throne, as anyone knew the prince was more capable to run the kingdom than the king.

He scanned the letter. He was partly hoping that the prince would take the throne as it would keep his niece away from his duchy while providing him with the power and influence of a guardian of the queen of his country. The only problem in this plan was that the prince was very unpleasant when he wanted and extremely charming when he desired. It just so happened that prince Ivon was unpleasant toward him. Which only served to make matters more.... Complex.

According to the letter the king would be joined by the prince, his brother,his young wife, the queen, along with members of his court. If a proposal be formed, they wanted it to be validated, especially if his troublesome niece would reject the prince's proposal (which he was certain she would) the court would be present to override her silly little scene, which would result in her showing her feminine emotions and bursting into tears. For as amusing as that scene would be, if she ever did what he predicted he would, it would reflect badly upon him.

He began making the necessary arrangements to see them welcomed warmly and lavishly for he wanted to make a good first impression. That would certainly help with making certain marriage requirements to appeal to the rest of the court. But for that... he needed more money, more tax produced to compensate for his expenses on the welcoming party and of course the rest of the season.

He needed a talk with his Duchy's treasurer and tax collector and fast. For they could collect the necessary funds that he so desperately needed to make a good impression. He was glad that it was his Duchy that was hosting the beginning of this year's season. It would give him more power and influence over the guests, all of whom, he was sure, would be begging to secure an invite from his Duchy. It would also stop all those pompous, silly 'guests' from looking down upon him due to his illegitimate status, for he could lord his power over them, especially if it was in his Duchy. Especially if he had the royal family's favour. And even more especially if his niece married into the royal family, thus becoming a princess, or better yet a queen.

Though in title, the queen would be presumably more influential than a Duke, people forgot one simple, essential detail: a queen was a woman. And a Duke, well a Duke was always right below a prince in the hierarchy; queens never had any real power, they merely had an empty title in name only. Their only job was to produce heirs and comfort their husband, like every other woman, with the added responsibilities of hosting events and negotiating alliances in matchmaking and of course representing their family and country well.

Of course, he doubted that Annalise would be heeding well to the responsibilities of a queen well, if only due to her irritating, stubborn nature or her crude manner of speech. She had quite a mouth on her, that was for certain, and a mind to match. He always wondered what had made her so different from women her age. They were respectful of their elders and the choices made on behalf of them. They knew that their sole purpose was to marry well and benefit the family they were born into, and later the one they married. Since Annalise was neither, and only thought of the benefits of irrelevant people, such as the commoners, she was a disappointment from the beginning. No doubt, her father had instilled in her these beliefs. Caring for the commoners and speaking her mind? Lord Branstein had no idea how the late Duke advocated for these ideas, but they certainly did not serve him well. One just had to look at his death to know that.

Well, Lord Branstein blamed the late Duchess, the wife of the late Duke for his unconventional ideas to say the least. She may have been very pleasing to the eye, but it made him extremely uncomfortable to bear her presence; she was another woman who spoke her mind and challenged the notions held dear by the society. That and of course her status as a commoner before her marriage that skyrocketed her prominence in society, well it was another anomaly. Never to occur. Commoners marrying Dukes? Women speaking their own minds? Now that was peculiar.

One had to rule with an iron fist if he wanted to be considered a good ruler. And he planned to have his name retold across the ages featuring his great feats and achievements and how his is the pride of his Duchy.

However, the true question was given with everything we know about him, would he truly be capable?

End of chapter 9