The Duchess at Sea

by Marília G Barbosa

  “I thought you were just rich, not the richest person in the realm! You are richer than me! Your lands not only provide food for a third of the realm, but also has the biggest mine of gold!”

  “Yes, I am aware of my profits.” I finally let go of his arm. “And I didn’t know your brother was the king! And I don’t understand, I thought he was sick, why hadn’t you returned home earlier?”

  “That’s exactly why I had to leave. When we were young, he got some sort of sickness and lost the ability to move his legs. When Father died and he was crowned. There were some people that believed he couldn’t properly fulfill his role as a ruler because of that and wanted me to be crowned. Arguments got worse to a point he believed I was plotting against him, even if I wasn’t. So leaving was the best option I had at the time. Part of the reason for this marriage was because my mother wanted to force me to return.”

  “And because you need more wealth.”

  “Of course.”

  “And so you left to become a pirate.”

  “Not exactly. I left with some loyal friends and servants, but we stayed for a few years in one of my castles in the north. However, we got bored, and we had the idea to set sail. All agreed, I got a ship and headed to the seas. First, we acted as a trading ship, but when word came to me that there was a country messing up with the agreements with my country, we decided to steal from them, thus we became pirates.”

  He laughed and stopped in the middle of the garden. His hand slowly reached my cheek in a soft touch, his expression already completely changed in an instant, showing how serious he was.

  “But I’m sorry about this.” He retrieved his hand and cleared his throat. “Anyway, we can arrange another agreement for the wedding and I’ll make sure he won’t hurt you again.”

  “Good, because I have no wish to marry a liar.”

  “What do you mean? I’ve kept my word to you!”

  “You didn’t!” In a lush of anger, I hit him on the chest, though luckily, the guards didn’t seem to notice I had hit their prince. “You said you’d be there until sunrise, but when I got there just before then, you had already left! I crossed the streets at night, alone, and frightened for nothing because you had set sail minutes before you said you would! You abandoned me, you liar!”

  Callum reached for my hands. “So you came back to me?”

  “Are you deaf or stupid? That’s what I said!”

  His face lit up in silly hope in those lips that curved into a smile.

  “I had stood there the entire day, looking at the harbor, praying to see you again, but you didn’t even look back…my friend convinced me to depart a little earlier.”

  “If you hadn’t listened to him, you’d have kept your private entertainment on board. Now that we’re here, I just need your assistance to get my uncle away from me and I will provide your mom with what she needs.”

  “Wait!” He prevented me from walking away, still holding my hands. “You had chosen me, let me redeem myself to you.”

  “I had chosen a pirate, not a prince. And he broke my heart.”

  “Then give this prince a chance, he won’t make the same mistake.” In a gentle motion, he guided my hands up so he could kiss mine.

  I couldn’t deny I felt something warm inside me, almost as if the shattered pieces of my heart were ready to mend. I liked his company and admired his character, being married to him didn’t seem like a bad idea, in fact, I found myself wanting more of him as I got lost in his honey eyes.

  I stepped closer until his breath brushed my skin. I kissed him, and Callum let go of my hands to pull me in. I caught myself doing the same as my hands surrounded his neck and I couldn’t deny anymore: I wanted him.

  EPILOGUE

  Just because I wanted Callum, it didn’t mean it’d be easy for him. He had to earn my heart and prove to me he deserved it. He assured me he had a plan and three days later, at the ball for the official announcement of our wedding, he’d put it into action. I had to admit; I was quite curious.

  The Queen provided me a new dress for the ball since my options were limited by the ones I’d brought. So I entered the Great Hall in a sapphire gown, adorned in golden details, covered in jewelry. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t decide if it was positive or negative.

  The King was sitting on the throne, overlooking the ballroom as five steps elevated the place where the thrones were. It was the first time I’ve seen him. He resembled his younger brother, though the much longer beard and tired brown eyes made him look even older than he truly was. He was so lean he didn't seem healthy enough, which made the rumors of his weakness truer.

  The Queen was sitting by his left side and Callum was sitting on the other side. His dazzling honey orbs scanned the ballroom in a serious and thoughtful expression up until the moment he found me. A small smile appeared, and even from afar I could see a gleam in his eyes.

  I looked at my uncle on the other side of the room as if urging Callum to go on with his plan. He nodded slowly, acknowledging my silent request, but also lifted up a hand discreetly as if asking me to wait. He pointed at my uncle, and I followed the direction. I was surprised as I realized the red-haired man by Oliver’s side, pouring wine in his cup, was Felix.

  So I waited.

  When it was time for the official announcement, the King declared his mother was to do the formalities; the Queen stood up and proceeded to explain the joyous occasion, gesturing for me to come closer. I walked up to her as she told the nobles in the room about the future wedding. That was when Callum stood up.

  “It was a surprise to me when I received a letter from my mother about it, but now I admit I couldn't be happier with her choice.” He held my hand and kissed it lightly. “And I also must admit I was astounded to know about my wonderful fiancée’s past. I shall thank Duke Oliver Leannain for raising her and taking care of her lands after her parents passed away. A marvelous deed, indeed.”

  I squeezed his hand. Was he out of his mind?

  He ignored my glares and continued with a smile on his face as my uncle dismissed it, humbly.

  “It was my duty, your Royal Highness.” His voice was slurred and relaxed, I knew he had had too much wine in his system already.

  “It certainly was, but I’ve heard of your work there. In fact, I’m so admired by it that I want to personally invite you to take care of the crown’s finances. I’m sure our team is competent enough, but it’d be an honor to have this brilliant addition working for King.”

  As if on cue, Hayden, standing by Oliver’s side, exclaimed in awe, almost too exaggerated, putting a hand on my uncle’s shoulder and congratulating him before he could even think of an answer. Enric soon began clapping and was followed by the rest of the nobles. Oliver tried to say something, but his voice was almost inaudible by the clapping; once it was over, Callum declared he was happy with his approval and now Oliver couldn’t decline the job.

  It couldn’t be a coincidence; they had set it up.

  The sharp stare the Queen gave to Callum told me she wasn’t aware of it.

  “Now, I believe it’s time for our first dance.” Then the Prince guided me to the center of the hall, people already moving out of our way, leaving the center only for both of us as the music started playing again.

  He put his free hand on my back and glided around in the rhythm of the song, almost tripping here and there, nearly as rusty at dancing as I was.

  “What were you thinking?” I hissed.

  “My dear Lenna, I want my enemies close as much as I want my friends.”

  “But he’ll be right here all the time.”

  “You wanted him out of your lands and I did it. My friends will make sure his acceptance to it will be the talk of the night and tomorrow morning. He won’t be able to decline. And those who work for the crown receive power and prestige, however, they must not have lands of their own.”

  Which was why only nobles who had no right to heir anything ended up working for the
crown.

  “Yes, but I also didn’t want him here. Besides, now everything that is supposed to be mine will go to his son, which is just as bad.”

  “But until we marry, your lands will be yours. You’ll be in charge of them for the next few months, you can even appoint a family successor since you don’t have any heirs. It would of course, naturally be your cousin’s but I’m sure we can work something out until the wedding. Any good excuse, the support of the Queen and Prince should be enough to send your lands straight to whomever you like.”

  That was something I didn't expect, and that I liked even more than I could have imagined. I had to admit, his plan was brilliant, but he didn’t stop there.

  “Besides, here, I’ll keep an eye on him and Hayden will keep an eye on his work. If we catch him doing anything wrong to you or my brother’s money, we can send him straight to the dungeon.”

  I liked this part even more.

  Callum has kept his word, and I liked his plan so much it was hard to contain my smile.

  “I guess you approve of my plan?”

  “You are smarter than I gave you credit for.”

  “My friends helped me with some details. It was Felix’s idea to make Oliver drink more than he should so he wouldn't have time to deny my proposal.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Have I passed the test?”

  “So far, yes.”

  Callum totally ignored the protocol when he leaned to kiss me in front of everyone. It was quick, though. He had proved to me he would keep his word. I believed he would take my broken heart and take care of it, maybe even better than I had done.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENT

  Since I can’t do everything by myself, this story wouldn’t have set sail if there weren’t for some very important people in my life. So thank you to:

  To my parents, Ana Maria and Eduardo Barbosa, for shaping my character through the hard work of raising me.

  To my dear high school friend and beta of everything I write, Nathally Simonetti, thanks for helping and supporting me for so long!

  To my long-time friend, Rebeca Kelmer, who has always helped and supported me in my writing journey.

  To my friend Diego Pessoa, for always helping me with my biology questions when I need to hurt one of my characters.

  To my dear beta reader friends who helped me improve this story: Indrė Lionikaitė; Débora Silva; and Susana Silva!

  And to my editor, Faith Lane, for all the corrections and details I needed to do to make it on point.

  ABOUT THE AUTOR

  Born and raised in Brasilia (Brazil), Marília Barbosa is the oldest of three sisters and graduated in Design and Japanese, but is also graduating in English. Living with her head in the clouds, she fell in love with creating stories at 14, when she started playing and creating stories with her friends at school. With time, she took the writing more seriously and now it takes all the author’s free time that by every story she finishes, she has already five new ones in her mind.

  You can find her on:

  Instagram: @author.marilia

  Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/MariliaGB

  Other books available on Amazon and Wattpad:

  Between the Land and the Sea (YA contemporary supernatural romance, short story)

  Thor, the Cat (YA contemporary romance, short story)

  Thor’s First Christmas (YA contemporary romance, short story)

  The Night of the Last Disappearance (contemporary supernatural suspense, short story)

  A Tale of Blood and Flames (fantasy romance, short story)

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