Chapter 4
Henry was not in a good mood. He had not been allowed to go out of the house since break began, and though he knew why, his parents had still not discussed the matter with him. So he was sitting in his room, trying to read books and not get too bored. Even a big palace could get boring when one could not go outside to run and play sports. He was sure his uncle had told his parents everything. Finally, his parents told him to come out to his father�s office. It was never a good thing when a conversation took place there. Still, he had no choice but to go or suffer even worse punishment than death by boredom.
�Sit down, son,� Duke Oen said.
�As you know, we are very disappointed with you,� Henry�s mother said.
�Yes, I know,� Henry gulped.
�We have heard about the sanctions you have already dealt with,� Duke Oen continued. �We especially liked your having to deliver a mea culpa to the Young Senators as well as doing public service announcements. Still, we feel like more could be done on our end.�
�Lady Cherie is the sister of the wife of the Directrix, and we do not want to anger Natonito or his wife,� Henry�s mother said.
�I know,� Henry gulped again.
�As you can guess, you will be grounded this entire break. The only time you will be allowed to go outside is if you are doing some work around the manor,� Henry�s mother said.
�You will also have to research the laws of the land on illegitimacy, and the stigma on parents of foundlings,� Duke Oen said. �I wrote some of those laws myself.�
�Okay,� Henry said weakly.
�If you get too bored, you can always think of ways to pay for your child. After all, I am having my brother-in-law give a breakdown of the child-related expenses for Cherie and your child and have them sent to me, where I will deduct them from your allowance,� Duke Oen said.
�You are wealthy enough to pay for your family. You will also have to marry this girl after the school year, when you will both be old enough to marry. I am sure Natonito will agree to let his ward become married, and will require you to act rightly in the future. He is furious that you two circumvented his rules against fraternization, and I can�t say I blame him,� Henry�s mother said.
�Yes, mother,� Henry said.
�You are lucky the young senators didn�t kick you out for good. If Natonito hadn�t have done a good job of showing how sorry you were by the public service announcements, the seat in the Senate might have passed to another family. Natonito would not have been pleased if that had happened,� Henry�s mother said.
�Yes, Henry. What you did was horribly stupid. What were you thinking of at the time?� Oen said. �I can�t imagine it was anything more than Cherie�s pretty breasts.�
�She has the most beautiful face, too, Dad,� Henry replied weakly.
�Still, all you were thinking about is sex. Now you will learn the error of your ways. You are a man now, and you will have to be as mature as a man now as well. You do not have the freedom to enjoy life, you have to think of another life now, too,� Duke Oen said sternly.
�Yes, father,� Henry said.
�Well, go to your room now and think about this. You will have a lot of time to think this break,� Henry�s mother said.
�Yes, mother,� Henry said.
�You are dismissed,� Duke Oen said.
Henry went up to his bedroom and thought about life. That night with Cherie had been wonderful. Her skin was so smooth, her face so expressive, her kiss so sweet, her body so responsive to his touch. He was sure that no girl would ever be as good as Cherie was, and will be. Still, it was a heavy price to pay for one night of love. He was a father now, and he had to face that.
He wondered what the child would think about that night of love, and he hoped that the child would not bear ill will towards him or Cherie. Maybe in time, the child would understand what it was like to be young and in love, dealing with new passions, and making mistakes. Still, the child would be born into a noble family, and would have a good life, even if he would grow up before his parents were even close to old.
He looked up the laws, eyes glazed over, in the family library. Apparently, there could be restitution to the family of the girl if someone impregnated a girl outside of marriage. Natonito had been kind in not demanding land or money to add on to his fortune. No wonder his parents were so concerned about punishment. If Natonito saw too lax a punishment, he would require additional payment out of the family fortune, and his parents would try to do everything to stop that.
No one could blame Natonito either. After all, his name was on his school, and if scandal became too widespread, his reputation would suffer. When people besmirch the name of the Directrix, their lives were usually at stake. Henry did not want to face the wrath of his uncle, who he had known to be extremely angry on occasion. Still, Natonito had been kinder to him than could be expected. Maybe he was good to family after all.
�What is going to happen to me,� Henry said to himself. Looking outside, he saw a young lady at the door. �Who is she?� he asked.
Looking further, he saw the girl delivering a message to his parents. It must have been an S.M.S. He went back to looking at boring books of law about parental procedure when he heard a knock at the door. Glad to find a distraction, he went and opened the door.
�There is a message for you from the Directrix of yours,� Duke Oen said.
�Alright, I will read it right away,� Henry said.
�Hopefully you will be awake still when we return from the Cork Poetry Festival,� Duke Oen said.
�You�re actually going to that?� Henry said.
�Of course, I love the cute limericks the peasants make. Sometimes they are quite clever,� Duke Oen replied.
�If you see my friend Daniel there, say �hi�,� Henry said.
�No problem. Try not to look too bored looking up these laws. As a senator yourself, your lifetime will be spent dealing with laws. It pays to know them in case the Emperor and Directrix decide to enforce them on you,� Duke Oen said, closing the door.
�Yes, father,� Henry said, opening the message.
�I have heard of the sanctions your parents have given you, and I think it is a fair judgement. I see no need to confiscate any of your estate. I hope you thank your parents for looking out for your best interests. Cherie is doing fine, and awaits your return. You are a very lucky man to have such a wonderful young lady, and I hope you never forget it,� the message read.
�I want to see you too again, Cherie,� he said. Penning a response to his uncle, Henry returned to his studying.
Some hours later, long after dark, the Duke and Duchess of Bravia returned. They opened the door where he was only half-awake, having finished looking at the laws on illegitimacy. They were pleased to see him still awake, and not bored to death, either.
�Well, your friend Daniel won the poetry competition this year,� Duke Oen said. �I was surprised to see that you would be friends with the son of poor farmers. Is he in the imperial school as well?� Duke Oen said.
�Yes, he was the best student in the first semester,� Henry replied.
�I should take him under my wing. A bright kid like that deserves to have his way to success smoothed. We can always use some more Bravians in high places,� Duke Oen said.
�That is true, I will go to sleep now,� Henry said, tiredly.
�You look like you could use some sleep,� Duke Oen said.
And so Henry went to sleep, and then awake and prepared for his return to the Imperial School. He could not wait to see Cherie again, and was glad she could not wait to see him again. He knew that he would spend the rest of his life with Cherie, and he hoped it would be a good life.
| Jump to: |
Quick Links: Bobby's Stories | Nathan's Stories | Government | Map | Main