🌷The Duke and The Widow🌷

{3}Pleasure

🌷Chapter 3🌷
Pleasure

  Duke Howard just arrived at the gates of the Central Palace, at the door awaited a servant.
"Duke Howard, wherever have you been?"
"Needn't worry, now take me to the meeting room."
"Why of course, Duke Howard." The servant bowed before taking the lead into showing him to the meeting room.

The guards opened the doors and now all eyes were on him.

"Forgive me for arriving late, your Majesty. For I had been delayed at the market." He trotted over to his seat.
"Have a seat, my dear son. We've merely begun!" Said King Irwin, his father.

A chuckle errupted in the room, it was Prince Ashton, the first born and Crown Prince to receive the throne. His brother. Ashton loved picking on his younger brothers, not that they could do anything about it. 

The King had five sons, Ashton the Crown Prince age 29, Spencer second born 28, General Tilton the third born 27, General Warrick the fourth age 26 and Nicholas age 25, the baby, as Ashton likes to refer to him as.

Princes once killed each other for the throne, but King Irwin made changes to that rule, instead having the other brothers beneath the Crown Prince become Dukes and Generals to an assigned area of the Kingdom. This is so that information can easily flow between them and that they can assist the Crown Prince when it comes to war and such.

There are five Palaces in the Kingdom, the Eastern Palace for Spencer, Western Palace for Tilton, Northern Palace for Warrick, Southern Palace for Nicholas and Central Palace, the main Palace in which the Crown Prince will inherit and stay in.

The sons of the Kings have different mothers, Nicholas' mother died right after his birth and once he became Duke, he ordered to be addressed as Duke Howard, his mother's maiden name.
Rhoslyn Howard.

  The King rambled on about what he expected if his sons when he passes, marriage, war and on the list went. However, Howard wasn't paying attention. He was reading the book he had borrowed from that peasant woman.

This book is the property of: Orletha
Croft.

  He practiced to himself in his mind the pronunciation of her name over and over again.

The next thing he knew, the meeting was over.

"Nick! Little brother," He threw his arm around his younger brother, "What delay caused you to be so late?" Howard removed his arm from around his shoulder.
"An incident."
"Tell me about this incident."
Howard's patience was wearing thin with Ashton, he was bothersome. Yet, he told him what happened.

"So you took pleasure from a peasant woman? A widow at that? Have you no standard?" Asked Prince Ashton.
"Well, if you think a book and a refreshing cup of tea is 'pleasure', then yes. I did." Howard finally took his leave.

What do you think about Ashton?
See you in the next chapter!