A Widow's Freedom

I was miserable, being a useless, petted daughter with no voice. What was worse was that I didn't know it.

I soon got a taste for freedom, though. I started noticing that my maids could choose their husbands for love more than I could. I started noticing how segregated we were from the men when they'd go on their own to play Poker. I started noticing how much I was treated like a pretty thing who was there as an ornament.

What was worse was that I had an older brother so I had no chance of inheriting.

I was a duchess and cousing to a prince. I didn't like him. Of course, how can one like someone who blackmails them when they're barely in their double digits?

The cruel boy grew into an even crueler man. He had no interest in having affairs himself, only in hearing about those of others and lording them over them.

Here are the rules I had to live by:

1. A lady is seen, not heard.

2. A lady does not have an opinion.

3. I lady must only learn what will impress her husband.

Then I'd watch all the handkerchief dropping and picking up by the other nobles and Prince Daniel's spying on them with devilish glee on his face. He never took any notice of me because he didn't think me smart enough to counteract him.

Well, before I left, I left Daniel a little going away present. He had one defect: he took notes about everything, not burning them later. While he was down at dinner and I was at the palace, I pretended to be sick. I snuck into his room and got his notes out od his desk. I wasn't close to any of the other nobles, but I was on polite terms with Lady Charlotte. I showed her the notes, which she passed along to the other nobles through their valets and lady's maids. I didn't think any of them liked having their secrets exposed, much as they shouldn't have done what they did. Unfortunately, it meant exposing their own secrets if we presented his notes to the king and queen.

One of the nobles that was Lady Charlotte's friend had a penchant for sketching. Lady Charlotte and I took him to the brothel that Daniel tended to frequent on a night I'd seen him sneak out through the servants' door. We searched for the right window, then made sure Lady Charlotte's friend was right up against the window so he could sketch them. Once we were done, I went right up to the king's bedchambers and handed their majesties the sketch.

Daniel was disinherited and his younger brother would get the crown.

The next day, I got married to some distant cousin who was also a duke. I couldn't stand him. I didn't hate him; I just couldn't stand someone that dull. And when he did make a joke, it was never funny. I always understood that it was about. On top of all that, he was ugly. He always had a dumb look on his face.

I would often go downstairs to learn to cook from out cook just to get away from mys husband's dullness. After cooking, I learned to sew from my lady's maid. After that, I learned to clean from the housemaid. Eventually, I was able to cook and pack my own picnic, which I treated myself to once a week. The duke had a big property. He hardly missed me.

Then, it happened. I don't know why he decided to drive a carriage himself as dukes really shouldn't drive carriages at all, but he did it. He drove it straight into a ditch, the horses ran loose then made it back home, then he crashed into a tree skull-first. This was what the police officer told me. I was better at looking depressed than at producing fake tears. I took care of his funeral arrangements, wrote letters of reference for all of the servants, met with the lawyer regarding my inheritance of the duke's wealth, then left the manor back in his parents' care.

I stayed in a hotel until I had a home to move to. I could have gone back to my parents' home, but that would have reinforced the sense of being a spinster. Either that or dread whoever they'd next marry met to, probably someone as boring as the duke.

So I bought a property in the countryside, on a cliff overlooking the coast. It had no house there so I was obliged to remain at the hotel until the house was finished.

In order to have the house built to my standards, I sent my lawyer in to speak for me so they would deal with a man.

The house was all of wood. The stables were separate and so were the servants' quarters. There was a fence around the property. I had window seats built into every bedroom and sitting room, doing the same with fireplaces. I had my desk in the library, which was all in autumnal colors. The parlor was more of a summer. The dining room was in cream with a brown dinner table that seated six. I had a breakfast table in the kitchen, which was in white and blondewood. There were only two bedrooms, which were both upstairs. Mine had cream walls and blue bedding. The guest room was done in cream and brown wood.

I did need a coachman, so I hired one. I could do the rest of the duties myself.

I stacked my library with books that would teach me new things. I gave myself quite a bit to do each day. I did my own washing, my own cooking, my own cleaning and my own clothing repairs. I would read one chapter a day from whichever book I was reading. Luckily, my coachman knew enough ot what to do for himself without needing the help of any other servants. That was on top of his skill with horses. Other than him, I had a gardener come once a week.

The duke and I never had any children because we never consumated the marriage. If I ever do remarry, I want it to be to someone I am in love with.