Woman Hating Duke 17 & 18

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17 Julia goes to the Central Ward: 

Since then, James still came to visit me at the Bourbon house and invited me out. I did not want to be seen with him, so I refused him. Yet, James did not mind my cold attitude; he continued to visit the Bourbon house regularly. Because of this, a rumour started going around about the status-gap love between the Third Prince of Basseterre and the Ideal Poor Lady. The Earl and Countess were wide-eyed in surprise by the development. Isabel made sarcastic comments. It was not hard to imagine that if Isabel was not remaining amongst the Duke’s bridal candidates; she would not be so sanguine.

Anyway, now it was nigh impossible to meet my destined man in the capital.

James had visited yesterday, so he probably would not come today. He was very popular amongst Society. He had a wide range of friends and acquaintances and he would introduce me as his beloved woman. Ah, so annoying. I knew his aim. Currently in the Basseterre kingdom, the first and second Princes were in contest for the throne. He was not interested in going with either side, so he was creating a smokescreen, using his pretend courtship with me to make him look like a frivolous Prince, therefore, he would not be used politically.

But today was mine.

‘Hannah, today we will be going to the central market. The monthly fair is being held today, so prepare plain clothes for me to wear.’

Aside from finding my destined man, we were also in the capital for another reason. Dairy farming was the biggest commerce in Hermiata, but there wasn’t much money in it. So I wondered if we could sell something that could be classed as a speciality product made from our milk.  I came up with caramel. Caramel could be made using only sugar and milk; it kept well for long, so it could be transported from our remote county to other places without trouble. The caramel was made from the milk of the Kaliminaco cows that were native to Hermiata country; the milk has a rich and deep taste, if I could say so myself, but it is rather tasty. I was convinced that if the caramel was recognised in the capital city’s central ward market, it would soon be well known throughout the Kingdom.

I wore a simple inconspicuous beige dress. Hannah wore a white shirt over a blue skirt. However you look at it, we look like nice town girls on a day out. It did not look good for an aristocratic miss to be seen selling things. If we put on a fancy cloak over our simple clothes, no one would notice. The staff in the Bourbon house did not care what we did.

We took the Bourbon carriage to a nearby ward, we told the coachman to wait for us there while we took off our fancy cloaks and took an omnibus carriage headed for the central ward. We each carried a small basket full of caramel. The carriage was full of passengers sitting on benches attached along the long sides of the carriage, and we rattled and shook on the journey to the central ward. It was quite uncomfortable to be pressed on both sides.

‘Miss, I heard that Helmina dropped out of candidacy for Duke Magnaria’s marriage.’ Hannah whispered in my ear, ‘Now, the Duke has been seen around town with Lady Muriel. I heard they seem to be very close and compatible, and meet each other everyday. It may already be decided.’

‘Is that so…Muriel was the exemplary aristocratic lady, she would be a perfect match for the Duke. 'No wonder Isabel was in a bad mood this morning, I was harassed so much.’

Muriel’s true nature was a far cry from an exemplary lady, but the Duke also hid his true nature. They both were well matched. It would be perfect if they would get married quickly! (Zuben: hmmhm)

I felt a frisson of fear whenever I recalled the Duke’s feverish gaze at Vondel Park; his beautiful eyes looking down at me as he rested his arms on the statue and leaned over me, his soft golden hair hanging between us tickling my cheek.  His blue eyes were slightly narrowed, but stared at me as though he would devour me, as though he was looking at his beloved…however, it was all an act.

While I was deep in my thoughts, the omnibus arrived at the Market Square of the Central Ward. Most of the passengers alighted there. I got off the bus amidst the crowd and looked up to see a different world.  The expanse of the square was surrounded by tall buildings with amazing architecture. There were lots of market stalls in the square and close roads. It was filled with people. It was the first time I had seen so many people.

‘Oh my…~’ I gasped unconsciously. My mouth was agape as I took it all in. An old man who had been on the carriage with us laughed at me, his beard shook as he did.

‘Sweetheart, is this your first time in the central ward? Welcome, this is the centre of the Kingdom of Bosch; Central Ward Myseln.’

There were so many people, and I got bolstered by their liveliness. I got pulled along by the trailers running through the crowd, I managed to get swept in a human wave without knowing where it was going, but it was impossible to stop, so I made sure I pulled Hanna along with me. Everything I saw was new and fresh. Watching the glimpses of the citizen’s lives as we went by; a lady who was engrossed in bargaining, a fishmonger shouting at a cat who had just stolen his fish, a girl who was selling flowers. Even the dogs sleeping under the shade of a building was fresh. Everything sparkled like treasure.

This was Myseln! I could not believe I was surrounded by the three great powers. I was in the district called the centre of trade and politics. A noble’s daughter had probably never stepped foot here before; it was exciting to see the centre of civic life. (Zuben: Oh look at the peasants. Wave!)

‘Milady! Where are we going?!’ Hannah asked a bit harried. She was clutching the basket close to her chest so she would not drop it, her face was blue and she was out of breath.

‘I’m your little sister Julia! Hannah, let's get into that alley between those buildings and think about our strategy.’

We managed to escape from the crowd and entered the narrow alley between buildings to catch our breath. After confirming the caramels were intact, I said to Hannah who was looking a bit sweaty and peaked, ‘It’s a sunny day today, they are going to melt if we dally, we should find shops that will be willing to sell them. Should we try shops on the main street?’  

18 Hannah’s encounter:

We walked up and down the main street’s cafés and sweet shops. We were mostly turned away, but then we found a shop that would take three dozen caramels. The third shop that accepted out caramels was a small but fancy café off the main street. The proprietress was called Hilda and she liked the taste of the caramel, she told us she would put it on her menu experimentally.

‘Thank you so much!’ I said, ‘I am confident of it’s taste; it is very popular back home in the Hermiata county. ‘

‘Eh…back home?’ Hilda asked puzzled. It looked like Hilda was confused about my wording. It would be a bit of an issue if there were rumours that a noble miss came to the market to sell caramels.

‘Ah…that’s my home town; Uchino. Yes, Miss Hilda, I’m hungry. Could we have lunch here?’

‘Of course you can. Will your sister be eating with you? I recommend the sandwiches for lunch.’ Hilda replied laughing as she patted her large tummy.

‘Oh yes please,’ Hannah said, ‘I’m a bit shaky and I’m starving.’

Hannah’s face was pale and she looked a bit sweaty, I bet she must be crowd-drunk. (Zuben: Dunno, there must be an English equivalent but I can’t think of it) Back in Hermiata, there were more cows than there were humans. It was the first time she had seen many humans, so it was understandable that she was shaken. At the rear of the shop, the chairs and tables were rustic style. There were cute vases with dried flowers dotted about the place. When we sat down, Hannah seemed to feel even worse. She put a handkerchief over her mouth and her face looked a little green. Hilda took one look at her, she shouted towards the kitchen.

‘Thomas! Bring some water with mint in it. The lady looks like she got crowd drunk.’

‘I’m sorry to trouble you,’ Hannah said with the handkerchief over her mouth.

‘I’m sorry. Hannah-nee, I should have noticed earlier. Are you alright?’ I said apologetically as I rubbed her back. I’m really stupid, (Zuben: no truer words have been spoken), I was immersing myself in the sights and I did not notice Hannah’s condition. A young man appeared and placed a glass of water with mint leaves on our table.

‘Are you alright?’ he asked with kindly concern, ‘If you don’t mind, you can rest here for a while, the noon time rush is over.’

He was a tall young man with dark brown hair and light brown eyes. He had a refreshing but calm and mature aura. I wonder if he was a café’s cook. He had a black apron around his waist. The moment Hannah looked up to say thank you. I could feel a charge in the atmosphere between them. There was a blush to Hannah’s cheeks and the young man also seemed nervous unable to meet Hannah’s eyes.

‘Oh, thank you,’ she said, ‘But mi- Julia, I can’t let you go around the shops by yourself.’

‘What are you talking about? I only need to find one more shop; I’ll be fine by myself. I’ll come back as soon as I am done, so don’t worry about me.’

I could not stop now. I’m always in Hannah’s care; I wanted to be useful to her when she needed me.

Thomas chuckled and smiled encouragingly, ‘If your younger sister says it’s alright, why don’t you take advantage?’

His face was a bit pink. Hannah seems to have fallen for him as well, when she saw his humble smile, she thanked him with a shy voice,

‘Thank you…um I’m Hannah. You’re Thomas, aren’t you? Hilda had called you that…’

As she spoke, their gaze met; they immediately blushed and looked away from each other. They were so easy to read. Hilda watched from afar with warm eyes.

I quickly put a portion of the sandwiches Thomas made for us in the basket, and left the café. I did not want to interrupt the love route going on in the café. As I walked down a shopping street by the river, I came across someone who should not exist here. I tried rubbing my eyes to make sure I was not seeing things. Piercing black eyes and glossy black hair, he was wearing a white shirt over beige trousers and black boots. He looked like an everyday guy in town, but it was definitely him. He was talking closely to the man next to him, and he was laughing cheerfully. 

So he could make a face like that, even though he is always so unfriendly with me. But his smiling face is nice…Useless! Useless Julia! Have you forgotten what he did to you?! He is the lowest guy with a handsome face. (Zuben: Don't forget to wipe your drool)

I pretended not to notice Marius and just passed by. I stiffened as he went by me. He seemed to have not noticed me as he walked by with his friend.

‘Huff! The nerve of that man! He did not even notice me. After doing all that with me!’ (Zuben: I thought you didn’t want to see him again…<.<)

While embracing the hurt I felt, I badmouthed the Duke as much as I could. It did not make me feel better, so I put it out of my mind and got on with what I need to do. I did not want to waste my time. I eventually found a shop where I could sell the rest of the caramel.

‘Yay, victory! But if I return too soon it would be bad for Hannah, so let’s do more sight-seeing and return. It is rare to come to the capital and visit the central ward after I return home to Hermiata.’

With my empty basket, I felt relieved that all the caramel was gone. I walked around and found a fashionable shop with a happy face and browsed around the store. It is indeed here in the central ward that the head of fashion trends began. There were so many interesting things, and it was fun to see them. I found a rabbit hair clip in the shop,

‘How cute…’

It was a cheap looking thing, not made of high quality materials, but it’s design was very cute and attractive. I was wondering if I should buy it or not, but being a noble lady, the motif would look childish and the material was too cheap. I was at a loss at what to do, so I put it back. I left the shop and walked down the street; there were lots of stalls and shops so I got absorbed looking at each one carefully.

‘Julia?! Is that you, Julia?’

Someone called my name from behind and placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find an unexpected person standing behind me. I would never have thought I would have met him here of all places. I stared in shock at him. I could not hide the upsurge of trepidation on seeing him. 

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