by Lexi Hots
It was on one of these days, a day in which she felt more determined than others, in which the letter arrived. The letter, delivered by hand to her parents, was offered over to her to read in private. Her parents knew that she was not the type of girl that needed help. If the letter was addressed to her than why should they be the ones to read it? She’d have to tell them what it said, of course, but she was allowed a bit of privacy first. What could it be? She thought excitedly. There wasn’t a whole lot to do in the house. Caroline had no brothers or sisters and she often found herself twiddling her thumbs in boredom. This was perhaps why she had so many grand ideas constantly brewing in her mind. She really had nothing else to do but think sometimes. It wasn’t often that she received letters, but when she did they were usually an invitation to a party. She was now old enough to attend parties alone and so it was not strange that she had received a letter and not her parents. She opened it up in excitement, but after reading it she threw it down to the floor in disgust.
The letter read, Dearest Caroline Bethany. We look forward to welcoming you to our Kingdom on the eve of 21 September. This betrothal has been arranged and your parents have agreed. We would like to meet you first before the ceremonies take place. We are looking forward to a wonderful evening with you. You do not stay too far from our Kingdom and so a carriage will be there to pick you up at 7pm. Yours, Patrick and Albert of Clamridge.
Caroline was fuming. Patrick and Albert of Clamridge? Who did they think they were? She looked at the invitation lying on the floor and wished that she had never read it. She wasn’t sure what she was more upset about. The fact that she was just being given over to someone (Patrick or Albert, she wasn’t quite sure which) without her consent, or the fact that her parents had readily agreed to this without even telling her.
This meant that when they gave her the letter they knew full well what it was going to contain. They didn’t exactly seem bothered by it either. Caroline knew that she wasn’t the easiest child to have but they didn’t have to get rid of her so easily. The worst part was that she knew that she didn’t have a choice. She was going to have to go and meet these men and from there she was going to have to marry one of them.
The betrothal had already been arranged and just like that she felt her life was over. And why, she wondered over and over again, were there two men involved? Which was the one that was interested in her? She knew that some women would be thrilled by an invitation such as this. Some women spend their whole lives just waiting for a man to decide to marry them and trying desperately to always look their best in case they come across a man such as this. But not Caroline. She couldn’t care less.
She had no idea why she had been chosen. The more she stared at the letter, the more determined she became. Fine, she thought. She was going to go there tomorrow night but she wasn’t going to make it easy on them. She wasn’t going to try hard and she was going to make sure that by the end of the evening they had wished they had chosen another lady. Just because they were now betrothed doesn’t mean that they were married, and there was still time for them to change their minds.
***
As it turned out, Caroline’s father did some work at the Kingdom in Clamridge recently and mentioned that he had a young daughter ready for marriage. This part was not true; as Caroline had told him many times before that she was by no means ready to marry. She did not believe in all these young women rushing off to get married so quickly. Could they not think for themselves? Could they not survive on their own?
Caroline always wondered, angry that there was such a big divide between men and women. Her parents did well for themselves but they were not rich by any means and they would take any opportunity that they could if it meant seeing their daughter marry into such wealth. Her father hadn’t even tried to hide the fact that he was the one that had set the whole thing into motion. In fact, he seemed quite proud of it.
“But father,” Caroline had protested, “how did you get them to even agree to this? It’s not as if I’m the belle of the ball or anything. I’m just an ordinary girl.”
Her father had smiled, “Well your old man is obviously a lot better at negotiating then you might think. And anyway, all I had to do was describe how beautiful you were.” Caroline had blushed at first and then she had gotten angry. She was already annoyed at the fact that she had to go meet these men and now to add even more pressure she knew that they were expecting someone with great beauty to walk through the doors.
The truth, which Caroline knew but refused to admit, was that she was a lady with great beauty. She was slender without being too thing and her long hair went all the way town to her waist when it was out of braids. She had big beautiful brown eyes which had a tendency to look sorrowful and sultry at the same time and which she used to her advantage as much as she could. Her bottom was firm and her chest was full. The corsets that she wore only served to enhance her curves and no matter how much she tried to hide it she couldn’t stop her breasts from overflowing in some of her dresses. In fact, she knew precisely which dress she was going to wear the next day, because it was the one that stopped boys and men of all ages when she walked by. She may not have been born into the upper class society, but she was born with beautiful looks and perhaps that would help even more.
***
She spent the whole next day thinking about the evening that was to come and wondering what was going to happen. Her parents had assured her that she would be well taken care of and that a room had been set up for her for the night. Her father didn’t want to tell her much about the suitors but eventually conceded that there were two kings in Clambridge, both of them looking for a wife. They had both seemed intrigued by the lovely Caroline and wanted to meet her. After that they would decide which one of them would get her and which one would continue to look.
These details only served to make Caroline even angrier than before. Why couldn’t she decide which one she was going to marry? Why did she even have to marry them at all? Once again the thought she had no control over the situation infuriated her and she swore that she was not going to act like the supposed ‘lady’ her father had portrayed her as.
She spent the rest of the day moving between thinking the night might actually go okay, after all it was nice to get out and enjoy a meal and a night over in a fancy place, to getting angry and wanting to feign illness to stay at home. Her parents, completely oblivious to what she was going through, seemed excited and they couldn’t stop talking about the possibility of her marrying into the Kingdom. “Imagine,” her mother had sighed, “Oh darling imagine our daughter marries into richness.” Caroline couldn’t bare it anymore and shut herself in her bedroom, refusing to come out until the evening.
When the evening arrived she had managed to calm herself down. Looking in the mirror even she had to admit that she looked pretty. She always felt good in this dress. It was made by her mother, a very talented seamstress who was lucky enough to own one of the latest lock-stich sewing machine. An invention that had revolutionized the way that clothes were being made and allowed for a more creative and custom fit. This dress, in particular, seemed to fit Caroline in a way that was perfect for her body, accentuating all her best bits. The neckline was wide and low, with lace adornment and the silk of the dress was a deep blue. When she moved the dress moved with her, flowing around her in elegant grace. At least wearing this dress had cheered her up. She popped on light blue fabric hat and made her way to the carriage, barely looking at her parents as she walked past in stubborn defiance.
***
The trip was short and she arrived at the Kingdom in no time. She got out and smiled. Even she had to admit that the place was impressive, with its tall brick walls and large glass windows it was a far cry from the type of place she was used to living in. She decided that she might as well make the most of this evening and lap it up for all that it was worth. The driver escorted her to the front door to which the doorman took over, taking her inside and leading her to the dining ro
om. The room was large but completely void of people and she assumed that this is where she would be meeting the elusive Patrick and Albert. She sat and enjoyed a glass of wine that had been poured for her and watched the door for someone to arrive. She was barely on her second sip when the two men entered at the same time. Both men were tall and exquisitely dressed. Each of their outfits were adorned with a tail coat, a waistcoat and a bow tie. The one had a blue bow tie, which she noticed matched the blue of her dress, while the other had gone for a more traditional white bow tie. They were both incredibly handsome and walked with an air of confidence.
“Caroline. You’re even more beautiful than I imagined,” said Mr Blue bow tie, flashing a cheeky smile at her and looking at her up and down in obvious delight. “My name is Patrick, and this gentlemen of no consequence is Albert.”
Albert punched Patrick on the arm and stood in front of him, looking Caroline straight in the eyes without blinking, “Oh don’t mind him. A charmer he tries to be, but a charmer he is not. Albert at your service. Although he was right about one thing, you really are beautiful.”
Caroline couldn’t help it – she instantly blushed. They really were charmers and even though she had promised herself not to get sucked in by their allures she had instantly fallen for it. Then she remembered why she was here and what type of woman she wanted to be and she immediately sat up straight and collected herself. “So the two of you run this place? How exactly does that work? Or are you both too weak to work alone?” Then she shot them a look that was unblinking and deadpan.
Patrick whistled, looking at Albert and grinning, “Oooh a feisty one. Well that makes a change from the normal girls we see around here.”
That was a surprise to Caroline, who was used to men that preferred their woman to be as subservient as possible. “Look, I’ll be frank with you,” she began, “I do appreciate you inviting me over tonight and I am certainly impressed with your beautiful home. I’ll also admit that the two of you are far more handsome than I had been expecting, lucky for me as it gives me something to look at all night. However, what I don’t appreciate, is the fact that I am suddenly now betrothed to you. I mean, how does this work? There are two of you and one of me? What exactly is going on here?”
They looked at each other and then back at her, wide eyes and mouths gaping. Finally Patrick spoke, “Well Miss Caroline. First and foremost thank you for the compliments. We are both Kings of Clamridge. The story goes back to a feud between our parents. It’s a long story and if we had to get into it now you would be here all day. Let’s just say that the two of them finally came to a truce which ended in the two of us becoming Kings once they had passed on. I have been King for three years, and Albert has only been King for a year. We are both looking for a wife and we heard wonderful things about you.
Your father came to do some work for us and we were both impressed with his work ethic as well as the proud way he spoke about you,” Caroline had the decency to blush at the mention of her father speaking so highly of her while she had been so nasty to him, “And yes, you are right in saying it is not fair for you to have no choice in which one of us you should marry. I understand that, and of course you will have a choice. Times are changing and while we still believe that we have some thought of authority over you we also don’t want to marry a woman that has no interest in us. We’re still looking for a mutual agreement of some sorts. So we’ve invited you over tonight so that the three of us can get to know each other better.”
Caroline had never in her life been spoken to so bluntly and so kindly by any man before. She was normally put in her place and made to feel as if she were insignificant. But not this time. This time she was finally having an actual conversation with a man that was willing to hear her out. She nodded, “And how about you Albert? Do you feel the same?”
“I do indeed Miss Caroline. We’d love to get to know you more tonight. We have a wonderful meal arriving shortly too. So let me top up your glass and let’s all make a toast to new friends.”
Their glasses were raised and Caroline felt more relaxed than ever before. She was so glad that she had decided to say yes to the invitation. After all this sure beat a boring night at home in which she did nothing much but sit and think about her life. Just then the food arrived and the three of them enjoyed plate after plate of delicious food. She was certainly a woman that enjoyed her food and she was excited to be trying new things that she didn’t even know existed. So this is how the upper class eat, she thought and felt herself coming around to the idea of entering into a wealthy family. She realized how easy it would be to get used to this kind of lifestyle. Other than the food and the wine, the conversation was also flowing and she was surprised at how well the three of them were getting along. Also with each sip of her drink she noticed the conversation getting extremely flirtatious and if she wasn’t mistaken she was certain she felt a foot go up and down her leg a few times. Problem was that she didn’t know which leg it belonged to because both Patrick and Albert were seated directly in front of her.
She tried to look at them both while it was happening to see if anyone would give it away but both remained as passive as ever and it was impossible to tell. On more than one occasion she stole glances at the two of them, trying to figure out which one she found more attractive but she simply couldn’t decide.
They were both good looking in completely different ways. Albert was very polished, without a hair out of place, while Patrick was rougher around the edges. Both appealed to her. After dinner, Patrick sent the servants to their rooms and put on some music. It didn’t go unnoticed to her that the three of them were now alone in the room with nobody around to hear them.
The music helped to calm her beating heart, but just as she found herself relaxing Patrick asked if she wanted to dance. She hadn’t danced with a man in a very long time, her feminist ways usually stopping her from getting wooed by any man. But perhaps it was the open way in which these men had spoken to her or the endless glasses of wine she had been drinking, but she gladly got swept away in dance after dance, moving from Patrick to Albert.
“So who’s the better dancer?” Patrick had whispered in her ear and she had giggled, refusing to say one man or the other. Albert was sweeter and gentler in his ways and even though perhaps Patrick was a better dancer there was no ways she was going to admit it and hurt his feelings. She had this feeling that she wanted to protect him.
Albert had a beautiful and kind smile and she found herself falling easily for his quiet charms. Her heart skipped a beat when she was with Albert as he was the type of man you could easily find yourself falling in love with. Something that Caroline thought she might not ever feel. With Patrick there was an excitement. He was anything but gentle and even his dancing was rough and fast, and with each turn he pulled her closer to him until her breasts were pressed against his own chest. It made her heart beat faster and louder and she wondered if he could hear it over the music.
She hadn’t allowed herself to be this way around any man before and she wasn’t sure why it felt so easy with the two of them. She found herself letting go and embracing the moment for whatever it was. It didn’t take long for her mind to start conjuring up images – of falling in love with Albert and falling into bed with Patrick. For the first time in a very long time she felt wild, young and free. She felt as if anything and everything were possible and she wanted to embrace any opportunity that came her way.
Then, just as if he could read her mind, Patrick looked at Albert and then back at her and said, “So Miss beautiful Caroline, want to have some fun?”
***
Caroline was not a virgin, nor had she been with many men. In fact, she’d only slept with one man before and that was purely out of curiosity. It had been at a ball hosted by a friend of the family with the prime objective of looking for a wife for one of the men. There had been no chaperones and the boys and girls had been left alone to dance, talk and get to know each other.
Thankfully Carolin
e knew the boy quite well and she also knew that he was in love with one girl in particular, a girl named Elizabeth in whom he was trying to impress. The entire ball was simply a ruse so that he would get the chance to talk to her. He was a shy boy and this was the only thing that he could think of to do. This was great for Caroline who could therefore relax and enjoy herself without worrying about being picked for marriage.
