675-09-04 - Another Betrothal
| Another Betrothal | |||||||
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| Summary: Right after the first meeting with the Ningo leader King Barret discusses some matters with his advisor Lord Jarvis Bainsworth. | |||||||
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King Barret Brais seems to be less fatigued than one would assume after this first encounter with the Ningo leader. He rises from his seat and smiles when Agostino leaves in the company of the Bainsworth. A long glance is shot towards Lord Jarvis, however before he departs, and the faintest of nods on the part of the advisor indicates he will return as swiftly as possible.
And so Barret will retake his seat, left with a servant who will poor him a goblet of wine as he waits. There may be more business to discuss – of the same, but also a different matter. Brown eyes are raised once Lord Jarvis returns, a hand lifted in greeting as well as invitation to join the king at the table.
“You think this wise, your majesty?”, the Bainsworth inquires softly as he leans a bit over. “To consider even to marry your daughter off to this… man?” Accepting the goblet offered to him at the king’s gesture.
Barret ponders the question before he leans back and breaks into a good-natured chuckle. “Why not, if it provides us with the peace we need at the moment? No, seriously. The barbarians have proven to be a problem. This seems like the most constructive outcome – we gain new allies and lose an old enemy…”
“Which remains to be seen, your majesty. I would not want to lie to you, but I have my doubts. Maybe it’s because I am not a very trusting character.” Jarvis smiles back, pensively. “As for what other matter did you wish to speak with me?”
King Barret’s features twist into a thoughtful grimace now. “That other matter… I have to inform you, of an exchange with letters I had with my brother-in-law, the King of Estoria…” he pauses to take a sip from the wine as he ponders on how to continue, “which started sometime after Princess Madalyn Onimus left for the Isles… Well. King Hroaldr has expressed his confidence in me marrying again amongst his kin. His confidence and his wish, as he seems… anxious to lose an ally – should I indeed marry someone of another kingdom. And so he has made me a number of offers. A niece of his. Some daughters of the other Great Houses of Estoria. Most of them less than twenty years old…” He sighs. “Alas… I feel so /old/ when I think of me marrying such a young woman. What will Luanda think? What will Barbeta think? Barbeta is in a strange rebellious state of mind at the moment. Her running off – this whole endeavor. I am worried about her, to be honest.”
Jarvis Bainsworth listens while his king speaks. His pale grey eyes are lowered, his demeanor showing calm curiosity, little more. At the mention of the princesses his lips curl ever so slightly and he looks up. “Your daughter Princess Barbeta is playing games, Your Highness. She has sent this handmaiden of hers off with a purpose. When this Esther, yes the very same one that acts as translator now, when her horse arrived here at the castle in a very sorry state, without a rider, the princess seemed /very keen/ on keeping quiet about her whereabouts. I did not believe her when she said she didn’t know where her handmaiden was. She asked me to /forget about the handmaiden/ even, and not pursue the matter any further. And then Princess Barbeta disappeared as well.”
“She mentioned a village where an artisan was… something about a wedding present,” Barret replies, his bushy brows furrowing slightly. “That was before she got into an argument with me however, and ran off.” He sighs, rolling his eyes a bit. “I will have to speak with her, to hear what kind of explanation she can offer to me. I will not tell her, for now, about my other plans. She seems surprisingly eager to enter into this marriage. It could be youthful enthusiasm at accomplishing something that serves our kingdom well. I would not want to… dampen her eagerness by news of another betrothal, which I am bound to announce as soon as we have finished our business with this Ningo leader.”
“So you’ve made up your mind to marry again, Your Majesty?”, Bainsworth inquires curiously at a lower volume as he leans over to the king once again. “Who shall it be?”
The King gestures for his servants to move further away before he leans in the Bainsworth’s direction. “I would not want a young one. She would have to be younger than I of course, as to provide me with an heir, if we should get that lucky. King Hroaldr has offered me his niece Sigrid, the widow of the late Duke Bjornsvartr. She is almost thirty, and has been a renowned beauty in her younger days. She still is probably. Also she has proven her fertility, as she has already given birth to three daughters. I recall I saw her some years ago, and then again last autumn, at the funeral for Livia. Now her husband has died, and the title has gone to his younger brother.” The tone of the king shows some awkwardness as he admits all of this, but the sparkle in his brown eyes is evident when he looks up to meet the gaze of his advisor. “Do you think me a fool to consider this, Bainsworth? Should I rather give up and refrain from the possibility, that I of all could father another heir for this country?”
A faint smirk has appeared on Lord Jarvis’s features ad he inclines his head in approval of what he has heard. “Fair enough, Your Majesty. As your advisor, I can only ask you to pursue this marriage. Two Rivers needs all the legitimate heirs it can get. Even if your daughters may marry. Even if they would produce heirs of their own. The best solution would be the son of the current King, as it complies with our old laws.”
“King Hroaldr has proposed a match for Luanda as well. But we will have to wait and see what will become of our negotiations with the Isles first.”. King Barret continues, with a thoughtful smile. “The Isles have been fickle negotiation partners of late. I am certainly considering other possibilities. Hroaldr knows that, the old fox.” A chuckle breaks free, a low rumble of a chuckle, as is so characteristic for the king. “He may be even more eager for a bond of marriage when he hears of our current negotiations with the Barbarians of the North…”
There is a gleam in the Bainworth’s eyes when he joins the king in that short moment of calculating joy. “Indeed. You should write back to King Hroaldr and finalize all details of the betrothal as swiftly as possible. Who knows…? Mayhaps there will be not one but two wedding feasts soon to be held at the Sanguine Hall.”
