The Reluctant Duchess Ch. 04

She walked to the bed and slipped under the covers. Mark, still mostly asleep, opened his eyes, and seeing Sophie, turned on his side, facing away from her.

"Mark, I'm sorry." She put her arm around his waist and pressed herself against his back.

"Um-hn," Mark grunted. He neither pushed her away, nor turned to face her.

Sophie wasn't sure if Mark really was sleeping, or just pretending to avoid her, but either way, she knew better than to push it. She lay in bed, unable to sleep, her mind racing over all of the issues and all of the emotions that were stirring in her brain, none of which seemed to have an easy resolution. As she finally drifted to sleep, she thought that maybe what Mark was really saying to her was that she needed to grow up and make some decisions, even if they weren't easy.

*

It took Sophie a few seconds to realize where she was when she woke up in one of the lodge's guest bedrooms. Sadly, Mark was not lying next to her, so she got out of bed and used the bathroom before returning on her bare feet back to her bedroom to get dressed. Upon arriving in the dining room, she saw Mark, eating breakfast, and staring intently at his phone.

Sensing Sophie's arrival, Mark looked up. Sophie thought she saw disappointment, even sadness, in his eyes, but maybe she just wanted to see that. "There's a flight to New York late this afternoon. Do you think you can arrange for someone to get me there in time?"

Sophie sat across the table from Mark. "Please. Stay until the jet can take you home tomorrow. I want us to talk about last night. I'm sorry. I said some things..."

"You certainly did, Sophie." He took a breath before continuing. "But I did, too, and I'm sorry."

She reached across the table and took his hand. "I have a lot to work out. It's been a really shitty year, and you've been one of the only good things that has happened to me. You're the first guy who I've ever let myself feel something for. The first one I didn't push away when things got real. Look, I'm still not sure that I'm ready to settle down with one man. I can't promise you anything right now, and if that's a dealbreaker, then I'd be sad, but I'd understand. But I ask you not to close the door. Give me time to work out my issues, and please keep being the great, supportive guy that you've been." She wiped a tear from her cheek with her free hand before continuing, in a soft voice. "Please?"

Mark didn't pull his hand back. Instead, he squeezed Sophie's smaller hand in his. "OK. I'll stay. I mean, flying on the private jet is way better than commercial, right?"

Sophie disengaged her hand and slapped Mark playfully on his, which was met with a smile. By that time, Sophie's breakfast had been delivered, and she suddenly found herself with an appetite.

After breakfast, they took a short walk on the grounds of the lodge, ending up sitting on a large flat rock with an incredible mountain view.

"I've thought a lot about what you said last night, Mark, all of it. And I've decided what to do." She took a breath. "This is kind of secret, OK?"

"You can trust me, Sophie."

"I know that." She explained about the Succession Decree, and her call with Frohberg.

"Wow, Sophie. I can't believe you did that."

She shrugged. "Yeah. So, when my mother found out, she almost killed me, but she convinced me that at the very least, I needed to get advice from my Ministers. I expect their reports any day now. I'll read them, and discuss them, and if there's any reason to think that the country might possibly be better off joining with Germany, I'll arrange a referendum. That'll allow the people to decide whether to keep the Grand Duchy the way it is, change the role of the Grand Duke or Duchess, change the Succession Decree so that some distant relative could assume the throne, abolish the royal title, or authorize negotiations with Germany—or Switzerland—to attempt to join."

"I'm pretty sure that I know how that will turn out."

"You may be right. And if the people vote that they want me to stay, I will. And I'll stop complaining and try to make them—and my father and ancestors, as proud as possible."

"I'm impressed, Sophie. That makes a lot of sense."

"Now, get me back to the lodge, so I can continue to impress you."

They stood and nearly ran back to their bedroom.

Closing the door behind them, Sophie and Mark stripped off their clothing quickly and fell onto the bed, kissing. They lay facing each other, pressing against each other and kissing and rubbing. Mark's hard cock pressed against Sophie's flat abdomen and he stroked her smooth back and ass.

They continued to exploring each other with their hands and mouths until Sophie lifted her right leg, and reached down to slide Mark's rigid member into her well lubricated hole. Mark pressed forward so that his full length was inside her. They squeezed together tightly, Sophie's right leg over Mark's thigh, clutching his lower body and her rock hard nipples pressed against him. They stayed still, just pressing into each other, before Mark slowly began to withdraw his cock and then press it forward. They rocked together in this position with minimal pumping, their pleasure drawing from the pressure of their lower bodies against each other.

Mark rolled Sophie over on her back, and she bent her knees and pressed her ass up off the bed as he moved onto his knees, still imbedded inside her. Sophie arched her back and kept her hips aloft as Mark began to ram his cock into her exposed pussy. Somehow, she maintained this awkward position that allowed Mark to pound her deeply. He started to rub Sophie's clit as they fucked, and her body began to quiver.

Sophie lowered her ass to the bed and began to writhe, meeting Mark's thrusts and gasping for breath. They went on, faster and faster, needier and needier until Mark could hold out no longer. Sophie yelled and Mark could feel her vaginal muscles tighten around his cock, as they climaxed together. Mark fell on top of Sophie, his head nestled in the crook of her neck, and he drank in her smell, until he could sense Sophie's discomfort. He rolled off and lay next to Sophie in the large comfortable bed, as their hands found each other and their fingers entwined.

They spent most of the rest of the day in bed.

*

The next day, they packed their things, said goodbye to the lodge and were driven back to the palace. Mark continued to marvel at the beauty of Klippenberg. He had to assume there were some places that weren't beautiful, because he had read that there were some factories, and there must be some warehouses, but he hadn't seen any yet. They sat in the car, gently holding hands, lost in their own thoughts as they approached. When they arrived, Charlotte Marie was waiting for them in the parlor, and they gave her a short, very expurgated, account of their activities. She was particularly pleased that they had visited the Kraemers. Charlotte Marie had always enjoyed their cheeses and milk, and the dignity of the family, despite their status. And Franz used to love tramping up to their farm, sitting and drinking wine and eating cheese with Gustav, pretending that he was just an ordinary man for a day.

Mark gathered up the rest of his things before getting back in the car with Sophie for the trip to the airstrip where the private jet awaited. Mark was surprised to see Karin Baumann waiting for the jet, too, and was glad that he had listened to Sophie's suggestion that he wear something nicer than shorts and a t-shirt for the journey. Unfortunately, it also meant that he couldn't give Sophie the passionate kiss that he had hoped to. Instead, he had to be satisfied with a chaste hug and cheek kiss before approaching the jet.

"Good to see you again, Ms. Baumann," Mark said, extending his hand.

Baumann shook his hand, "And good to see you, too. Please call me Karin—we are about to be stuck together in close quarters for a while."

"Of course, Karin. Sophie didn't tell me that I'd be travelling with you."

"Oh, I often fly to New York on Sunday for meetings starting on Monday. In fact, I'm probably the reason that it was available for you to fly on, rather than be stuck on a commercial flight."

Mark looked back at the car and waved, despite the fact that he couldn't see Sophie through the tinted glass. Baumann noted the look on his face, and understood why Sophie had called her briefly the prior day.

They boarded the flight, and while Mark tried to politely sit away from his distinguished and intimidating companion, she insisted that they sit across from each other so that they could pass at least some of the flight talking. Once the jet took off, and they were served their first drink, they began to chat.

*

The two weeks after Mark's visit were busy for Sophie, and she was lucky that Jo had really mastered her job of both scheduling meetings and acting as a sounding board and friend to her boss, while somehow still having time to work on planning her wedding.

As expected, Sophie had received thick reports from the various ministries relating to what was internally referred to as "the German issue." And, as requested, she received shorter, focused executive summaries. Most of her days were filled with reading sections of the reports, reviewing backup documentation, and meeting with Ministers or staff members for clarifications and explanations. She made sure though, to make time to Facetime with Mark, most days, if not every day.

Jo, of course, was aware of these video chats, and even teased Sophie about them, but rather than snap back, she simply admitted that she had developed feelings for him, which made Jo happy.

Once Sophie felt that she had mastered the materials relating to the German issue, she called for a secret, off the record meeting with all of the Ministers. She had spent a great deal of time going over her remarks, and even practiced in front of Jo a couple of times. They all met in the conference room, with Sophie at the head of the table, Count Markel to her right, and the other ministers and one senior deputy per ministry, along with Karin Baumann, representing the Fund which was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Finance Ministry, but in actuality was mostly autonomous. Sophie also invited her mother to attend, because she would, in all likelihood, find out what happened anyway, and it saved Sophie from having to repeat everything.

Sophie called the meeting to order, and started by thanking everyone for coming before consulting her notes.

"As most of you know, becoming Grand Duchess was never in my plans—and why would it be? My father was not an old man and was in good health, both of my brothers were ahead of me in the line of succession, and well trained for the position, should it fall on their shoulders. And you probably also know that I've been reluctant to take on the role since the tragedy that took my father, Josef and Karl-Franz from us. I've worried about not being up to the task..." Some of the people around the table began to speak, and Sophie put up her hand to silence them before continuing. "Yes, I worry about that every day. And selfishly, I admit, I enjoyed my relatively anonymous life before."

Sophie paused to take a sip of water. "When I was approached by a representative of the German government, I waited to respond because I was conflicted. But I also wanted to understand my options. I felt that, despite the fact that some might consider it a betrayal," Sophie flashed a look at her mother, "I saw it as wanting to know whether considering joining one of the most powerful countries in the world, with which we share a history and a language...well, mostly..." There were chuckles around the table, because it was a well-known joke in Klippenberg that Germans never seemed to be able to understand their dialect.

"Whether that would make sense in the current world. And, of course, whether it would provide me with a way for me to stop worrying about failing as Grand Duchess and to resume the life that I was suited for. I felt that as an unlikely heiress to the throne, it would give the country the chance to re-evaluate things that had been long been taken for granted, as talented leader followed talented leader."

Count Markel began to speak, but Sophie again put out her hand. "Matthias, please let me finish." The older man nodded respectfully, and Sophie returned to her notes.

"I realize now that freelancing like that was wrong, and I should have come to all of you first, so that I would have been prepared and you would have known what was going on in my mind. I want to thank everyone for their hard work. I've read your reports and looked at the backup, and have met with many of you to discuss aspects of the material. And I come to the same conclusion that I started with. I think this is an opportunity for the people of Klippenberg to decide how they want to proceed going forward. Whether they want to stay independent. Whether they still want a Grand Duke or Duchess as head of state, and if so, whether to limit or totally curtail the power of the ruling family. Whether to change the Succession Decree to allow someone out of the direct line to become Grand Duke or Duchess. And whether they want to consider joining Germany, or possibly Switzerland.

There seems to be little hard evidence in any of the reports that I've reviewed that any of these choices are demonstrably worse than any other—there are pros and cons for all of them." Sophie paused for a breath and looked at her mother, who had a scowl on her face, so she added, "Including the possible end of rule of my family, which has provided enlightened leadership for hundreds of years." Returning to her prepared remarks, Sophie continued "And I promise that if the people vote that they want me to remain as Grand Duchess, I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to do the best job that I can, and I'll stop complaining and trying to figure a way out of my obligations. OK, Matthias, you can speak now."

Count Markel composed himself. "Grand Duchess," he began, but Sophie shook her head. "Sophie, you know how I feel about this—we've discussed it at length. But I've been impressed by the work that you did to understand this issue, and the questions that you asked." He looked at Charlotte Marie, as if to reassure her that Sophie wasn't acting immaturely. "I don't think any of us around this table have ever been pressed so hard to reevaluate positions that we have taken for granted, and frankly, that's an exercise that is very useful." Sophie could see most of the people around the table nodding, and the scowl on her mother's face was less pronounced. "Personally, after all of this good work and personal reflection, I still think that retaining the status quo is still the best option, but I also know that I'm old-school, and that may not be the prevailing position of the people. But I think that the vote will be overwhelmingly in favor of keeping things the way they are."

They went around the table, with most of the ministers agreeing with Count Markel, some more vehemently, and a couple respectfully suggesting that a British-style figurehead monarchy might be more appropriate in the modern world. None of them advocated for merger with Germany or Switzerland, and Karin Baumann was particularly adamant.

"Sophie, you should know that I see Germany's interest as mostly wanting to get their hands on the Fund, and our investment strategies—"

"And you, Karin." Finance Minister Gugel interjected.

"And me, probably. But should that be the choice of the country, you can tell the Germans that I will retire. I've long past reached the point where I could retire quite comfortably, but haven't because I feel an obligation to the people of this country. I don't feel that same obligation to the Germans."

"Understood, Karin," Sophie said. "What I want, though, is to make sure that the people have as much of the information that you gave me as is possible so that they can make the right decision. Including disclosing the terms of the Succession Decree."

"As you wish, Sophie," Count Markel replied. "Is there anything else?" he added.

Sophie shook her head. "No. Thank you, and I do appreciate the work that you have done, and continue to do for our country." Knowing that everyone would sit there until she stood, Sophie stood, everyone else leapt to their feet, and she walked out, heading directly to her office, followed by Jo, who closed the door behind them.

Sophie sat down behind her desk and reached for a glass of water. Jo noticed that her hand was trembling.

"Can I say something, Sophie?"

"Of course, as always."

"Holy crap, Sophie. That was an incredible performance in there. You totally commanded the room."

"Like a real Grand Duchess, huh, Jo?"

"Like the Grand Duchess I knew you could be, if you wanted to."

"I still don't want to do it, but I'm beginning to think that I can do it if I have to do it." She looked at her watch. "Jo, see if you can get Mark for me. I don't think it's too late." Jo stood up and headed out to her office to make the arrangements. After she left, Sophie put her forehead on her desk and sobbed as her adrenaline began to fade and her likely future became clearer.

*

It was a cold November evening when the key members of government filled the private screening room in the palace along with Charlotte Marie, Jo and Albert. Sophie sat in one of the overstuffed chairs, watching the news reports of the referendum results and tightly holding Mark's hand. He had flown in that morning, at Sophie's request, to be there with her as the future course of her life was decided by the voters of Klippenberg, a concept that was foreign to him. Sophie had told him that she was pretty certain that the people were going to vote for the status quo, based on what she had been hearing. She had been sitting there for some time, feeling mixed emotions and trying to reconcile herself to the expected outcome.

Count Markel's phone rang, and all heads turned to look at him. He listened, smiled, listened some more, and ended the call.

"Can I please have everyone's attention, please?" the Prime Minister asked as he walked to the front of the room. Looking at his phone, he said, "We have 90% of the vote counted, so the results, while not official, are overwhelming. 75% of the voters have reaffirmed their desire to retain the Grand Ducal system, with no changes." Most of the people in the room cheered and applauded. Sophie squeezed Mark's hand, and smiled grimly. Count Markel continued, "13% voted to end the monarchy completely, 7% supported a figurehead Grand Duke, 3% voted to merge with Germany, 2% for Switzerland. And in the second question, 98% of the voters supported retaining the Succession Decree as is." He paused. "Grand Duchess, your people have spoken, and they want you to continue to rule over them."

Everyone in the room stood, including Mark, as Sophie sat, gathering her thoughts. As the applause petered out, Sophie stood. "Yes, Matthias, the people have spoken, and as I promised, I will work hard to be the Grand Duchess they expect and deserve. I hope I don't let them down." There was more applause, and Sophie could see her mother smiling, although it disappeared when she touched Mark before continuing. "I'm not my father or grandfather. And I'm certainly not Josef—" There was some uncomfortable chuckling from those who knew Josef's stern personality. "So, I'm not going to be the same type of leader that they were, or would have been. So, expect things to be different in the future. But, I hope, different in a good way." She took a deep breath and sat down, grabbing Mark for support.

Johanna stood and announced that a celebratory dinner for all was being served in the dining room, and invited everyone to head there immediately. As the room emptied, Sophie sat next to Mark, thinking, and not noticing the disapproving look that her mother gave as she passed them on her way to dinner.