A Day is a Year in the King's Court -4-

Okay... I wrote the next part for you... Hope that you enjoy it! It's.... well... a very interesting part.

A Day is a Year in the King's Court: The Intruder

Catherine was thankful that there was no one else in the room, for she gave a very ungraceful jerk when she heard the sound and then leaped/ stumbled of her bed. She composed herself and went into the library. She heard the man again before she saw him, he was laughing at something in one of her books. She stood in the doorway waiting for him to notice her. She examined him while she waited for him to notice her, and saw that he was quite handsome, but with something hinting at arrogance about him. When he did notice her, she said, "Ahem." In a very I-am-making-myself-noticed-because-you're-too-stupid-to-notice tone.
The man lazily looked up and then said, "How did you get in here, and who are you?"
Catherine was understandably indignant and replied, "Pardon me, but it is I who have the right to ask that question, not you. It so happens that these are my apartments and you are invading my privacy. I would appreciate it if you would tell me how you managed to get in. I would also, that you never came here again without permission and a chaperon."
It truly is incredible how those polite words conveyed her meaning more effectively than had she simply said, "Get out of my library and never come back." For the man was truly taken aback at this, but then put on a sly smile and said, "You must be one of the country girls."
Catherine was insulted at having been called a "girl". Her father had not called her a girl since her tenth birthday, and she was certainly not going to accept his degrading tone, let alone the remark.
"Indeed, I am just a country girl who happens to own the library which you have invaded. Since you do not seem to be a gentleman, as a gentleman would have graciously left when a lady asked him, I must assume that you are a guard or servant. As a guard or servant you can have no business with my library, and I must ask you more forcefully this time to remove yourself from my library." Catherine did not truly believe that he was a servant or a guard, his clothes were too elegant for that, but she thought that by insinuating that he was behaving below his station, the man would apologize for his rude behavior, and leave her alone.
Catherine was not normally so forceful. But she'd had a long day, and everyone in the castle seemed so rude, that she had no choice but to be more forceful than she liked.
The man, however, did not seem to mind, but found it all a great joke.
"You really are a country girl if you expect a man's manners to define his station. I am not a guard or a servant, but as you might have known had you more experience, I am a nobleman."
Catherine thought that the title had never been more ill-used.
"In fact, I am... well. I'll not brag about my position, but I'll not have anyone speak to me that way, not even a "lady"." The word "lady" was dripping with so much sarcasm that Catherine wished he'd drown in it.
"I have every right to use this library, as I obtained the key legitimately, and as there has been no one occupying these rooms for years. And.... if I am not mistaken and I'm not. You are merely the daughter of Lady Jeanette, and the rooms will not officially be yours until her death. Even then they do not belong to you because everything in the kingdom belongs first to the king."
Everything in the kingdom did not belong to the king. Catherine thought the man was being a pompous... a.... mule. She just stared at him with immense dislike, and asked him again, "Well then. Since you are, as you say, a nobleman, then you will be so noble as to leave my library as I have asked you to. And although you may have had the right previously to enter this library at will, you no longer have that right, and I must ask you to give me the key in your possession."
The man smirked, looked as if he were going to argue again, changed his mind, reached into his pocket, took out the key and looked at it as he said, "As you wish, lady...."
Catherine did not want to supply her name but could find no polite way out and so finished for him, "Lady Catherine."
"Ah..... Well, Lady Catherine, " he said as he sauntered uncomfortably close to her, "I am Hector, and very pleased to meet you."
He took her hand and kissed it. Catherine tried not to show how disgusted she felt, even as her heart was moving faster because of his close proximity, he was really quite good-looking. But the smile he was giving her was not pleasant for all it's charm.
"There are very few ladies at court with your kind of.... spirit. It is an attractive quality, even if it is a little, shall we say, rustic."
He leaned too close, and Catherine was about to slap him when he turned and sauntered out of the room.

Okay. I know that was a bit... well. It was kinda fun to write, I hope that it wasn't too frustrating to read. I have the next part in my head and I'll get it written as soon as I have more time.
Have a good day!

A Day is a Year in the King's Court -3-

Here you go GinNs :)


A Day is a Year in the Kings Court: Introductions


"Oh, my dear Catherine! Do not be so hard on them, they were only following my instructions. I had hoped that you would be so enraptured by the library that you would not notice until they had done. You see, it is my intention to buy you an entirely new wardrobe. I knew that your dresses would be horribly out of fashion, and I've been planning this for weeks. Do not blame the maids for getting a little carried away."
Catherine was not placated. "I do not care who told them what. Any well-mannered servant would treat property belonging to a lady with more care than this no matter what state that property be in. And if I may say Lady Margaret, although I appreciate your gesture, I would have preferred that you consult me before throwing away my things. As it so happens, I am aware that my wardrobe is out of fashion, and I planned on redesigning my dresses to fit the fashions at court as soon as I had a chance to observe them.
Lady Margaret was unperturbed, "You must call me Aunt Margaret, dear! And don't get so worked up about it. I am sorry that I didn't consult you first, but I wanted to surprise you."
Catherine found that she couldn't stay angry with her decidedly cheerful aunt, and gave into her.
"Very well, Aunt Margaret, I forgive you, but please remember that I only like surprises that do not include ruining any of my things."
"Of course, dear, of course. Now. I have already had a dress sewn for you, based on the measurements your mother gave me, and I am simply dying to see if it fits you! You must try it on at your earliest convenience. My apartment is two doors down to your left, visit as soon as you finish settling in. Oh yes, and these young maids were hired especially to wait on you as I knew that your mother would not think to send any with you. Their names.... oh well. It doesn't really matter, I suppose that you can call them whatever you want and they'll answer. I'm off! I shall see you shortly, yes? Goodbye dear!" And with that, her aunt swept out of the room with a flourish that Catherine had not known was humanly possible.
Catherine considered that cheerfulness was not really a virtue, and lamented how ill her aunt had treated the maids in speaking about them the way that she just had.
There were a few moments of silence before Catherine remembered that her maids were still in the room, and were probably waiting for her leave. She turned to them, and said, "I do not suppose that you young women are used to being on informal terms with the ladies you serve, if you have served any before, but I am afraid that I must insist. I absolutely refuse to treat you as no more than servants considering the close proximity of our living conditions, and the amount of time that we shall be spending together."
The young maids were shocked into silence, and Catherine could not help but feel a little anxious that they like her, and that they not think her to be too capricious.
"First and foremost, I would know your names."
She turned to the maid on the right, and waited for her name.
"My name is Martha, milady."
"And where do you hail from Martha?"
Martha unsure how to answer for a moment, but then replied, "My mum works in the kitchens, and my d... my father is a guard."
Catherine smiled and reassured Martha saying, "Do not be ashamed of your parents, Martha. I am certain that they are honest, hard-working people."
She turned to the next girl who took her cue, and said, " I am called Anne, Lady Catherine. My father is a merchant in the city."
Catherine detected refinement in Anne's speech and asked, "And your mother? Anne is a name for a lady. Is your mother a lady, Anne?"
Anne reluctantly responded, "She was, Lady Catherine. However, when she married my father, she was disowned by her father... my grandfather."
"Do not fret, Anne. Sometimes, the noblest of people are not possessed of a noble title. I am certain that your father is a very worthy man."
Anne dimpled, and earnestly replied, "He is Lady Catherine! I truly believe that he is."
Anne sighed contentedly and then felt badly for having dissappointed her new mistress earlier by treating her things so carelessly. She was ashamed for her ill-mannered behavior, and determined to never behave so again.
Catherine asked the next young woman her name and was surprised when she answered in thickly-accented English, "Olivia, my lady."
"Olivia.... That is a very Italian name. Are you Italian, Olivia?"
"Yes! How did my lady know?"
To which Catherine responded in fluent Italian, quickly explaining about Cecilia, her beloved Italian tutor, and friend.
And then in English for the benefit of the other two maids, "I have spoken Italian since my childhood."
Catherine was excited at the prospect of speaking Italian with Olivia, and Olivia returned the feeling twofold.
"My mother was a lady-in-waiting in Italy too, only, my father was a baron. He lost his land in a small war, and now he is forced here. He is trying work as a merchant, but it is being very hard for him."
Catherine chatted with the girls a little longer and then left them to carry out the rest of their duties. As she left the room, she noticed Mark sitting in a hard-backed chair by the door.
"Why, Mark. I must apologize, I completely forgot about you. I suppose that you are waiting to be dismissed?"
Mark had jumped out of his chair the moment Catherine began speaking to him and was now standing ready to be given orders.
"No, if you'll excuse me for contradicting you milady, but I am supposed to wait on you all day, every day should you wish to give me a task."
Catherine could not imagine doing such a thing, and told him so.
"Mark, I am giving you the rest of the day off, and from now on, it would suit me if you were to find another way of making yourself useful throughout the day, perhaps help in the stables, and just check to see if I need anything every few hours. I imagine that will suffice. If I desire to change arrangements I shall let you know. But do not forget to come at eight tomorrow so that you can guide me through the castle."
Mark began to protest, but Catherine insisted, and so he went, reluctant at first, and then happy about his unexpected good fortune in serving so gracious a lady.

That was earlier today. And Catherine had time to consider her situation since. She had not yet gone to visit her aunt about the new dress, and her thoughts were moving ever foreward.
"How am I ever going to get accustomed to this?" She lamented to herself.
"Lord, please help me to accept, and make the best of my situation." That prayer was her last thought before she leapt from her bed, startled at the sound of a man's laughter coming from HER library!

A Day is a Year in the King's Court -2-

Here is #2 of my story....

A Day is a Year in the King's Court: Ungracious Arrival at Court

The following days had gone by only too quickly, and before she knew it, her carriage was drawing near the Castle. It was HUGE! She had always thought of her father's castle as being immense, which it was. Sir. Michael had the largest castle within thirty miles. Many of the villagers houses were shielded within the fortress walls, and their cottages spilled out, surrounding the castle. The town within the castles walls spanned a quarter mile deep, and an eighth wide, and the town surrounding the castle was a mile wide and a half deep, and there were mile, and miles of farmland, and pastures around the town. Truly, her father's fief WAS large..... but THIS. The city outside of the fortress spanned miles, they traveled two miles before reaching the fortress gates, and within the castle was an expansion of the city. Not a small town, but a busy, thriving city. It was another mile and a half before they reached the castle gate, and Catherine's head was beginning to ache from the stink and noise of the city. When her carriage came to a stop, Catherine was helped down and steadied out of the carriage by Nicholas, one of the guards who had escorted her to the palace. Catherine took a deep breath- the air was not so offensive her in the inner courtyard, thanked Nicholas for his help, and looked around her. She could not, and did not want to take it all in so instead, focused her attention on the young pageboy who had stationed himself in front of her waiting for her to give him her attention.
"Are you to show me to my room, young man?"
The boy blushed at the kindly smile and form of address the pretty young country lady gave him, and could only nod. At a gesture from Catherine, the pageboy started off through the maze of corridors that were so familiar to him, but which were quite overwhelming to Catherine.
They soon arrived at what Catherine assumed to be her mother's apartment. Upon entering, Catherine's spirits fell. It was only one medium-sized room, and though Catherine admired the elegance and size of the couch, she could not see a bed anywhere!
"This is a rather small apartment, is it not?" Catherine would not have made the remark except that she was tired, and disappointed.
"But my lady!", the pageboy was quite genuinely astonished, "You have one of the largest apartments in the castle!" The young man had thought that this country lady would be pleased and overwhelmed by the size of her rooms.
Catherine merely sighed, sat down on the sofa, and gave the a tired, please-explain-what-you-mean look.
He went to a door on the side of the room and explained.
"Your chamber is through this door, separate from this room, which is for entertaining guests and any other activities you might want to engage in during the day." He moved across to the other side of the room and continued, "And your library is through this door, and your study through the door within the library."
There was a moment of silence and then Catherine quickly stood and went into the library, admiring the books. As she ran her hand along a shelf of books, the pageboy, feeling awkward, and not knowing what else to say stated, "No one else not even the king has a private library in their room. Although I heard that it is because this was once a small dining room that one of your ancestors turned into a library because they enjoyed reading so much."
And then then poor boy, having felt he said too much and had behaved inappropriately, fell into a miserable silence. Catherine sensed his feelings and asked, "What is your name, young man?"
The boy blushed, and answered, "My name is Mark , milady."
"And where do you come from, Mark? Does your family live in the castle?"
"No milady. My father is a blacksmith in the city, and my mother works as a seamstress whenever my father's business gets slow.... but that is not often."
"How nice. I am very glad to meet you, Mark. And I am happy to have you as my pageboy. That is, I am assuming that you have been assigned as my pageboy for the length of my stay... Am I correct?"
"Yes milady."
Catherine picked a copper out of her bag and gave it to Mark.
"This is in gratitude for your assistance, Mark. And if you would be so good as to give me a short tour of the most important places in the castle, I shale have more for you."
Mark stood awkwardly, and nearly had found his voice when Catherine decided a further explanation of her request was needed.
"Not today, of course. I imagine that you have other things to do, and I certainly have. However, how would tomorrow morning do for you? You might knock about eight tomorrow morning?"
Mark was startled and responded without thinking, "You will be up by eight, milady!?"
Catherine laughed, and the poor boy blushed yet again.
"Indeed I shall be up, well before then. I trust that you will also?"
"Oh yes, milady! Well before. Only.... it is only that, most ladies...."
Catherine understood and said, "That suits me well. If most ladies are not up, then we shall be left alone while you show me the castle."
Catherine heard laughing coming from her chamber and commented, "Who is that in my chamber?", but did not wait for an answer before going to investigate. Poor Mark wanted to be helpful and tell her, but unfortunately was flustered by the question, and was left standing alone in the library. By the time he caught up with Catherine she had already discovered the source of the noise, and was standing, seething in quite the most dignified yet indignant silence that Mark had ever seen. The source of the commotion, was three maids who were unpacking Catherine's bags. Catherine had never seen maids treat a lady's things in a less reverent manner. They had been holding up one of her dresses, laughing at it when she walked in, and others of her dresses were strewn on the floor. Only two of her ten dresses were hung in the closet. After what Catherine considered to be the appropriate amount of silence, she demanded, "Who do you think you are, treating my things like this? Did you believe me to be no better than a wench? Did you think that because I am not from court that I would not notice that my dresses were wrinkled and dusty!? I do not care if you find my clothing to be quaint and out of fashion. You have no right to treat them as you have. And if you had been taught manners properly, you would not treat clothes thus, whether they belong to a Duchess or a chambermaid."
The maids were mortified, and frightened. And Catherine did not notice, but someone had entered the room behind her while she was scolding the young women.

A Day is a Year in the King's Court

Well.... I came up with this story earlier today and decided to write it down. It is only a small part of it, but you two are used to reading only parts of my stories anyway. It's about time I posted a new idea anyway. Ummmm.... enjoy! And don't forget to tell me what you think of it.
:)

A Day is a Year in the King's Court

Episode one: Reflections


The young Lady Catherine could not say that she was particularly displeased with the prospect of spending the next six months in the castle. However, she already missed her family and her mare, Rowan, and so far, even the castle staff was inclined to behaving rather rudely.
Catherine had been raised a lady by her mother, the Lady Jeannette of Tearstrom, and her father, the Lord Sir. Michael of Stoneridge had always treated her like one. That is not to say that he was distant as a father, quite the opposite, but Catherine could not remember a time when he had not referred to her as, " my little Lady". Catherine had three brothers, Sir. Martin, John, and Timothy. Sir Martin had been knighted by the king two years before, and John was well on his way to earning knighthood. Timothy was only five, but was promising in his athletic abilities. Catherine's sister, Elizabeth, had just turned thirteen, and had asked to not be addressed as "Lady Elizabeth" just yet. Although the girls were nearly six years apart, they had always been as close as sisters could be. Catherine had received Rowan on her tenth birthday. Rowan was just a newborn filly then, and her father had told her that having considered her joy at watching the men train the horses, she could assist in the training of her own. Catherine still smiled at the memory of that day and the days of childish bliss that followed. She could not think of anything she had ever done that was less ladylike...... except for those two years when Martin, and John had been young enough to think it great fun to let her practice sword fighting with them. They had never been caught, but Martin's conscience began to bother him, and one day he told her, as politely as a young boy might tell his sister, that sword fighting was not for ladies, and that mother would be ashamed of the way they were acting. Catherine had cried for hours and had not spoken to Martin for days after that. Martin had subsequently felt very badly for the harsh words he had spoken to his sister, and eventually taken her aside, and explained the matter more gently. He could not "risk the servants finding out, and spreading it through the village". Her reputation would be "forever blemished, and all for a few games" of fencing and swordplay. He reassured her that he and John would still find time to spend with her, and John, who had somehow found them, reaffirmed Martin's comforting words. Her brothers had spent time with her, but never again had they treated her as a friend. From that point on they had treated her as a sister and a lady, which was not bad, but not the same.
Catherine had known that she would miss her family, but she had not anticipated how much she also missed the servants, and the people of the village. Although in every other respect Catherine had been raised a perfectly proper and mannerly lady, Catherine was on very informal terms with most of the servants and villagers. Her tutors and her personal maid did not even bother to call her "Lady Catherine", that is, all but her Latin tutor, who was a very old a traditional man and insisted on addressing her by her proper title. Most of the squires, pageboys, stable boys, and young men of the village had been madly in love with her at one point or another, but most had gotten over it, and instead felt a sincere loyalty for the young daughter of their Lord, Sir. Michael. Catherine especially missed her Italian tutor. Cecilia, was the young daughter of an Italian immigrant, her mother had been a lady-in-waiting in Italy, but had run from her mistress to wed her handsome farmer, and the two had fled to England. Sir. Michael had admitted them to his fief, and Lady Jeanette had seen it as a golden opportunity to provide Catherine with a companion, and Italian tutor. Cecilia had not spoken any English at first, but the two young girls had quickly learned to understand each other. Although Catherine had learned Italian, she had also formed the unfortunate habit of integrating Italian into her speech so that only Cecilia and her mother understood her. Lady Jeanette had wanted her children to be well-educated and so all had learned to dance, and to speak Latin, French, and German. During the summer, those brief sessions were the only time they spent together. The rest of the time, the boys were with their father, or helping to oversee the fortress, while Catherine learned to be a lady from her mother. The two skills Catherine's mother had been unable to teach her were music and painting.
"Music and painting", Lady Jeanette had told her, "are skills that were not common in ladies when I was at court. However your Aunt Margaret tells me that every true lady at court is now well accomplished in both. I am grieved that there are no musicians or artists for me to hire for you dear."
Because of the importance her mother attributed to them, Catherine had always wanted to learn to play the harp, and to learn to paint. Catherine was not, however, entirely lacking in artistic ability. She had inherited a lovely singing voice from her mother, and despite the impropriety, she and her mother sang in the choir for mass.
She was to learn to paint and to play the harp while she was here at court, but as she confessed to her mother the day before she left, she would rather be home than learn all the skills in the world.
Catherine remembered the day her father had asked her to represent the family at court. He had seemed out of sorts all day, and Catherine had wondered why until he after dinner, when he asked her to follow him into his study.
"Catherine. As you may know from the servant's chatter, and the gossip in the town, the last of the conflict with Scotland has finally ended, and all the kings men are coming home."
Catherine glowed, and answered, "I did know, father, this means that Martin and John will be coming home."
Sir. Michael hesitated and then replied, "Yes. However, since they were with the last regiment, they must travel to Scherton to report before they come home, and that means they will not even start for home until July."
Catherine waited for her father to continue, he would not tell her this unless there was more to be said.
"The king is holding a celebratory tournament. It will start in April and will go six months so that even the knights of the last regiment will have a chance to participate. Knights from other countries are invited to come, the king wished this to be in celebration of the current world peace. Every one of the kings vassals is duty and honor bound to have a representative their house present. As you know, we lost some of our best men to the war, and I am needed here to oversee our land. As I have just explained to you, your brothers will not be back home until mid-July, and will leave to go to the tournament shortly after. Your mother has not been well, and your sister is not old enough yet to go to court."
Catherine had caught on to what her father had been trying to tell her towards the beginning of his explanation, and was now trying to hold back her tears at the thought of leaving her family for six months. The most she had ever been gone from her family was one month, and then she had been visiting her cousin, Lady Anne. That was nothing like this. Then, she had been visiting a dearly loved relative, and her family had been but a days journey away. Now..... she was going to court where she would know no one but her aunt, and would be a weeks journey from her home.
"Catherine, what I am trying to say is that.... it falls to you to represent our family at court, at least until your brothers join you. Your mother has a lovely apartment at the castle, and your aunt, Lady Margaret, will no doubt be more than happy to help you settle into life at court."
Sir. Michael waited, trying to read Catherine's thoughts.
"Of course I shall go, father. But I shall miss you and..... everyone ever so much!"
Catherine could not hold back a tear which slowly made its way down her cheek and settled hard on her father's heart.
"It will not be for long. And really, your mother and I have neglected you by not sending you to court sooner. You are eighteen. Far too old to never have been to court. Had it not been for the war, your mother would have taken you to court years ago."
Catherine lowered her head and nodded, not wanting her father to see the emotion on her face.
"I shall go at once to make preparation."
She kissed her father, and walked as only a lady can, even in such a disconsolate state.
Her mother helped her to find dresses that could easily be restyled to fit the fashions at court, and had even given her a few of her own prettier and more fashionable dresses.


There. I hope that you hadn't already read this far because I shortened it due to your complaints. I'll add more once you have aknowledged that you're even reading it.