A/N:
A chapter was requested and when I realized it was weeks since I gave you an update, I couldn't deny the request!
Title: The Duke & The Swan without Wings
Author: MarieCarro
Beta: Alice's White Rabbit
Pre-reader: Brierlynn03
Genre: Historical Fiction/Drama/Romance
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Edward Cullen, the Grand Duke and second son of the King, must find a bride. Isabella Sinclair, daughter of Countess Catherine and Duke Charles, was born out of wedlock and has neither titles nor land to her name. Could she be the bride Edward's looking for? But how is Isabella to marry a man of the royal family without a proper dowry?
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
{CHAPTER 8}
Isabella was led to her seat by a servant, and even though the duke had never hosted royalty at his dinners before, she was grateful she still knew she had to wait for His Majesty to tell the party to sit and stood patiently behind her chair.
Edward was already there, and he gave her an encouraging nod and smile.
One by one, the rest of the royal family entered the dining hall, and it didn't go unnoticed by Isabella how the women appeared to appraise her. Her heart jumped up in her throat, afraid of doing anything untoward whatsoever, and focused instead on His Majesty.
Once they were seated and served the first course, she felt able to relax the tiniest bit as conversation started up around the table.
"Miss Sinclair." Thomas began to garner her attention, and she turned to him. "I do hope there are no bad feelings after our meeting earlier today. I'm certain you can understand my position."
She took a drink from her glass to swallow the food she was eating before answering. "Of course, Your Majesty. I understand. I was grateful for the chance to speak with Your Majesty even though I already knew the outcome would most likely not be in my favor."
"What makes you say that?" he asked, and while he noticed the others around the table were now more focused on their conversation than their own, Isabella did not.
She gave the King a sad smile. "My prospects in life have never been great. I knew that from the moment I could think for myself as a child. Just sitting here with Your Majesty, surrounded by your family, is beyond what I ever dared to dream."
Thomas took a bite of his food and contemplated what the young woman had said. "Then why, Miss Sinclair, did you ask for an audience? If you already knew I would say no?"
"I had to take the chance given to me," she said honestly. "Don't mistake me. I am most content with my station in life. When His Royal Highness approached the duke with his proposition, and I was summoned, I thought I was being sold to become a servant."
Edward paused with his food halfway to his mouth and lowered it back down. He never knew Isabella had thought such a thing before he proposed, and he felt his hatred for the Duke grow tenfold. Only a horrible man could cause his daughter to have such thoughts when she was simply being summoned.
"It's not my intention to change your mind, Your Majesty," Isabella continued, and every single person around the table unabashedly listened in now. "You need to do what is best for your kingdom, and you have my loyalty, as your subject, no matter what. All I want you to know is that my only motivation, while selfish in a way, is to have a life with His Royal Highness. Our acquaintance is new, but I genuinely care for him. Not his title nor his ties to you, Your Majesty."
Carlisle looked toward Edward, who couldn't hold back his pleased smile, and there was an air about him that Carlisle couldn't pinpoint, but he was also certain it was there thanks to Miss Isabella Sinclair since it emitted undiluted happiness quite rare for his little brother.
Clearing his throat to take the attention away from Miss Sinclair before she noticed the staring, Carlisle stood up and raised his glass.
"I want to propose a toast to our gracious host, His Royal Highness, a man I am most proud to have as my brother, as well as the guest of honor this fine evening, Miss Isabella Sinclair." He met Miss Sinclair's eyes and smiled. "Despite the precarious circumstances of your visit, I believe wholeheartedly it won't be long before I can call you a sister, and I look forward to getting to know you."
Most everyone around the table nodded softly in agreement and raised their glasses, except for Thomas who narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at his eldest son's choice to confidently trumpet out his faith in Miss Sinclair's future as his sister.
"To Miss Sinclair," Carlisle said, and everyone echoed him except for Isabella who blushed furiously.
She was much too insecure and shy to take on the role of Grand Duchess on that day, but her words to his father had convinced Carlisle there was a woman in there who would prove to be the perfect match for his brother.
After all the food had been eaten, the King and Queen decided to retire for the evening, and so did Princess Esme who said bearing this second child took more energy out of her than Prince Henry had.
Isabella was about to excuse herself as well when Princess Rosalie intercepted.
"Miss Sinclair, would you be open to taking some air with me and my sister? The men will enjoy some brandy over a couple board games before they retire, and the room can feel rather stuffy."
She hesitated ever so slightly but quickly pushed it away and accepted. "Absolutely, Your Royal Highness."
"Oh, none of that." She leaned closer to Isabella and whispered conspiratorially in her ear. "When Mother and Father aren't present, we're all rather informal. Rosalie is enough when we're out of earshot of the servants, or Lady Hale if you're not comfortable with first names yet."
"If you insist," Isabella agreed, but her head reeled from the revelation of the royal family acting so … familial. Not even her own family did that.
"Alice," Rosalie called out, and the younger sister immediately approached them. "Miss Sinclair has agreed to take air with us."
"Please," Isabella said. "If you can be informal, then so can I. Isabella will be just fine."
Rosalie and Alice exchanged a look and smile before they started to move toward the balcony doors. It was too dark to take a walk about the grounds, but the balcony still gave them the privacy the two princesses sought with Isabella.
"I'm sure this day has been rather overwhelming for you," Rosalie said once the three of them were all outside. "We know our father can be very intimidating, but you held your own splendidly at dinner."
"Indeed," Alice agreed excitedly. "If I hadn't known it before, I never would have guessed you are a natural child." She gasped when her mind caught up with her words. "Oh, I'm sorry! I hope I didn't offend you. It's just you expect those born out of wedlock to act a certain way, and—"
"Alice, shush," Rosalie said calmly, effectively silencing her younger sister, and then turned to Isabella with an apologetic expression. "You must excuse her. Though a princess, Alice has yet to learn the art of thinking before speaking. We're hoping her soon-to-be husband will help her with that." She laughed softly, and Isabella chimed in with her own, much more uncertain laugh.
"It's quite all right," Isabella assured. "I can see you didn't mean anything malicious with your words, which is more kindness than I've ever been bestowed with by my own sisters."
There was a moment of silence where only the sounds of the night could be heard, but then Rosalie spoke again, clearly the more vocal of the princesses.
"Tell me, Isabella, how are you being treated at Swanselm?"
Isabella shook her head in a sad manner. "As you would expect. I'm naught but an annoyance. I'm not a servant, but I'm not part of the family either. I don't have a purpose except to constantly remind the duke of his failure upon my Lady Grandmother's orders."
Alice blinked in confusion. "You mean the Dowager Duchess lies behind all of this?"
"In a way, yes," Isabella confirmed. "If it weren't for her, I'm certain my mother would have returned to her parents the moment Uncle James broke their betrothal. Maybe, without her interfering, I would have been spared my sisters' scorn and my father's disdain."
Alice nodded, but Rosalie decided she needed to teach Isabella to see her situation in a different light. "True as that may be," she said and smiled at Isabella. "The result could also have been you would never have met our brother, and you don't regret that, do you?"
"Heavens, no!" Isabella immediately said. The last thing in life she would ever regret was meeting Edward.
"Good. Because God knows you've captured his heart, and such a feat is not easy. Many ladies have tried before you," Rosalie said and looked out over the gardens shrouded in the night's velvety darkness.
"W-what do you mean?" Isabella stammered. "How can I have captured his heart already? We barely know each other."
"My dear, if an advantageous marriage was all our brother was looking for, he would have married years ago when our father first insisted upon it," Rosalie explained. "And he certainly wouldn't have chosen a betrothed with such a complicated past." Isabella blushed, but Rosalie placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Isabella, I'm saying you're special to him. The second he stepped into the hall to present you to Father, I could see his affection for you."
"I have never seen him look upon a lady the way he was looking at you," Alice said.
Isabella swallowed thickly, overcome with the emotion in her heart. "What does it matter, though?" she asked in a voice scarcely above a whisper.
"Of course it matters," Rosalie said in surprise.
"But does it really?" Isabella gave the princesses a quick glance with blank eyes before she turned away. "As long as I'm a bastard, the King will never allow us to marry."
"I think you're underestimating yourself. You spoke well for yourself at dinner, and Father took notice of that. He may not have high thoughts of the man who sired you, but you most definitely won his respect tonight."
"I did?" Isabella asked. "How do you know?"
Rosalie laughed. "Isabella, I'm his second-born. I learned to read Father's face and body language when I was naught but four years of age."
Alice shivered, and she and Rosalie took note of the late hour.
"We should all retire," Rosalie suggested. "But I must insist you join us tomorrow for a couple games of cards, Isabella. And I will not take no for an answer."
"Then I won't decline," Isabella said with a smile before the three of them parted to retire to their separate rooms for the night.
A/N:
Rosalie will remain kind to Isabella because she's got enough nasty people in her life. Rosalie is also one of my favorite characters and I enjoy not making her a bitch. She's honest and direct, but never mean!
Btw, it's crazy to me that I only have until the end of this month left in school! Wow, like where did the time go?
Anyway, until next time,
Stay Awesome!