The Reluctant Duchess Ch. 05

The Reluctant Duchess 05

Part 5 of a Hallmark-style romance reimagined for Literotica. This chapter includes the "Christmas Episode," a mainstay of the Hallmark Channel. Reading the prior chapters will certainly help you understand what is going on. The story is complete, and each of the seven chapters will be posted a few days apart. Thanks for reading.

Mark realized that spending Christmas in Klippenberg gave him a new appreciation for the festive season. Celebrating the holiday with his family the same way since he was a child meant that it had lost some of the excitement over the years as everyone settled into established routines. But having to learn new traditions and new ways reminded him of how much fun Christmas could be, and he looked forward to spending it with Sophie, although his family was disappointed by his absence.

He also loved his job at the Fund. He spent the entire first month in Munich at a German language immersion program for business executives, all expenses paid, and he emerged with a rudimentary knowledge of the language, although he learned quickly that the Klippenbergish dialect was quite distinct from the standard German that he had been taught. Luckily all of his co-workers—most of whom were from Klippenberg, with a few from Germany and Switzerland—spoke perfect English, and indulged his stumbling attempts to communicate with them in some form of German. Sophie often laughed hysterically at his fumbling attempts, but not in a malicious way. And since he started working in the Fund office, he found that while it was intense, it was not cutthroat, and his immediate superior, Bernd Lesser, was incredibly helpful in integrating him into the team. Everyone seemed to know that he was dating Sophie, but he didn't sense any resentment. At least no one seemed to dare make any lewd comments to his face, although he probably wouldn't have understood what they were saying if any of his co-workers were talking behind his back.

With a little help from Sophie, essentially the largest landlord in the country, he had gotten a small, but comfortable, furnished flat in the old city, not far from Josef Karl Platz, where the Fund's offices were. It was an easy walk or bicycle ride from the flat, and when the weather was awful, there was a convenient bus. Getting to the palace was even easier—all he needed to do was to text Sophie, and a car appeared within a short period of time.

Preparing for the big holiday, Mark had purchased what he believed would be thoughtful gifts for Sophie and her mother, who had not warmed to him yet, despite the fact that he worked hard to comply with every possible rule of etiquette and protocol when he was in her presence. And in his spare time, he studied Klippenberg history and traditions and the local dialect so that he could show Charlotte Marie that he wasn't just interested in Sophie, but the country, too. He assumed that Charlotte Marie's suspicion of what went on behind Sophie's closed bedroom door did not help him curry her favor. He also enjoyed the traditional Christmas market, and purchased some smaller items as stocking stuffers and to send home to his family.

Although Charlotte Marie remained aloof, things with Sophie were going well. While Mark's job sometimes forced him to work late, they usually spent a couple of nights a week together in the palace, and even went out occasionally, often with Johanna and Albert, or Frederic and Maria, or Zoe and her new boyfriend Karl. And a couple of times, Johanna's sister Julia and her husband Alex joined the group, leaving their baby with Jo and Julia's parents. Usually, they would go to one of the others' flats, or even Mark's, and Albert would sometimes serve them a late dinner after his restaurant closed. Sophie's campaign to begin to demystify the Grand Ducal position began to allow her to walk the streets almost like a regular person, although the subtle presence of security guards, and the fact that passers-by whipped their heads around when they recognized her, was certainly out of the ordinary.

Before heading to the palace, Mark Skyped with his parents, sister Denise, brother-in-law Allan, and their baby Charlie, who was born right before Mark moved to Klippenberg. It was Christmas Eve afternoon, and Mom looked a bit tired from cooking dinner, but everyone seemed happy. Dad couldn't get enough of his grandson, and kept grabbing him away from Denise. Despite their disappointment that he wasn't coming home, they understood why, and thought that it was actually pretty amazing that their son was dating a Grand Duchess and celebrating Christmas in an actual castle.

After reluctantly ending the call, Mark showered, shaved and dressed before calling for the car and gathering his presents and a small bag of clothing for the next day. Despite the fact that, to his knowledge, Sophie wasn't seeing anyone else, she stubbornly refused to allow Mark to leave any belongings in the palace, a fight which he had lost, and reluctantly accepted as part of Sophie working out her commitment issues.

The air was crisp as Mark got into the car and greeted Werner, the driver, and an almost surreally beautiful snow shower began as they drove through the winding cobblestoned streets of the old city toward the palace. The exterior of the palace was beautifully and tastefully lit by white lights, along with lanterns and garlands. Mark thought that between the decorations, the palace architecture and the snow, it looked like the kind of Christmas card picture that was so exaggerated, you knew that it was fake. But this was real, and he was going to be celebrating Christmas inside, with the woman he had fallen in love with.

When the car parked in front of the palace, Mark wished Werner a "Frohe Weihnachten," or, at least he tried, based on both Werner's chuckle, and his return wishes, which sounded only vaguely like what Mark had said. He gathered his things and headed for the door, again trying with a similar lack of success to wish Christian the doorman "Merry Christmas."

The inside of the palace was warm, and also decorated tastefully for the season. Mark could smell a wood fire burning, which reminded him of home, although the palace couldn't have been more different from his modest childhood house. After a short wait, while Christian took his topcoat and scarf, Sophie arrived to greet him, looking beautiful in a simple red off the shoulder dress, with her blonde hair framing her pretty face. Her kiss was welcoming and welcome, and afterwards, she led Mark to the parlor, where the wood fire that he had smelled was burning furiously in the large stone fireplace. A tall, lavishly decorated fresh fir tree stood imposingly in the corner of the room, and candles were burning on almost every flat surface. Mark could still smell the piney scent of the tree over that of the fire, which made sense, because Sophie had explained to him that it had only been recently cut because the tradition was only to decorate the tree on Christmas Eve.

"Sophie, where should I put these?" Mark asked, indicated his gifts.

With her eyes sparkling with delight at the prospect of presents, she replied, "Gifts under the tree, stocking gifts in the stockings. Mother's is on the left, mine is in the middle." Mark was amused that even someone as wealthy and privileged as Sophie was still excited by Christmas presents.

Mark noticed that there was a third stocking hanging from the mantel, which he assumed was for him, and it helped him feel less homesick for his family. He deposited his presents where appropriate, and when he turned back to Sophie, she was holding two glasses of white wine. Mark took a glass, touched it to Sophie's and took a drink of the cool, refreshing wine. He tried wishing her Merry Christmas in German, and she laughed, and responded with something that sounded both similar and different, causing Mark to shrug and take another drink. They made small talk until Charlotte Marie entered, which immediately cast a pall over the room.

Once again, Mark could see the strong resemblance between mother and daughter, although he realized that Charlotte Marie, at least in his presence, always had an unhappy look on her face that detracted from her own natural beauty which was apparent in the flattering candlelight, while Sophie looked relaxed, happy and particularly beautiful. Mark tried to account for Charlotte Marie's unhappiness by remembering that this was the first Christmas she was celebrating without her husband and sons, but he knew that some part of it was because of his intrusion into her family celebration.

Charlotte Marie said something to him that sounded like what Sophie had said in response to his attempt to wish her Merry Christmas, and rather than botch the reply, he simply said, in English, "Merry Christmas, Duchess, danke, thank you for having me." Charlotte Marie smiled politely back and drank from her wine glass. They made small talk, mostly about Mark's work at the Fund and his family's Christmas traditions before being called into dinner.

The table was also decorated beautifully, and while the conversation continued to be strained, the food was delicious, as platters of carp, goose, sausages and potatoes, among other things, were circulated by the staff.

"This is delicious, all of it," Mark said to Sophie, who finished chewing a piece of goose before responding,

"I know. Almost every Christmas, I eat too much and then just lie on the couch, barely able to open my presents."

Mark noticed Charlotte Marie shaking her head with disdain. "What happens to the rest of the food?"

"The staff gets to eat what they want and take the rest home. Unfortunately, for them, they all have to be back here early tomorrow for the Open House."

"What's that?"

Charlotte Marie interrupted, as if she was the only one sufficiently knowledgeable about Klippenberg tradition to properly answer the question.

"On Christmas Day, traditionally, the Grand Duke, or in this case, Duchess, after church, opens the palace to anyone who wants to visit. It is supposed to be only for Klippenburghers, but years ago, they stopped checking passports. There are light refreshments, and Sophie will have to spend the day shaking hands and talking to her people and a few tourists."

"I used to hate it when I was a kid. I just wanted to play with my presents, or run around with my brothers..." Sophie paused briefly and her face briefly turned sad, before she continued,"I felt so bad for Father, but he actually seemed to enjoy it."

"He did, Sophie. Your father was always grateful for the support and love that he felt from the people he ruled over. And he knew how happy it made them to be able to see their Grand Duke, shake his hand, and say a few words to him."

"It's going to be strange tomorrow, but I hope I enjoy it like Father did."

After dessert, and more wine, the three made their way back into the parlor and began to open presents, with a member of the staff handing them out one at a time. As befit protocol, the first gift was to Sophie from her mother, and it was a beautiful embroidered dress, which Charlotte Marie had made by a local dressmaker. Sophie's eyes shone as she held it up to herself and admired it. Sophie's gift to her mother was a large framed and matted photograph of the whole family, before the accident. Clearly taken as an official photograph, the family was posed around the distinguished looking Grand Duke Franz, wearing some sort of military style uniform with medals and ribbons, a younger, handsome, tall man in a business suit to Franz's right, who Mark correctly assumed was Josef, standing next to an attractive blonde woman, his wife Caroline. On the Grand Duke's other side was Charlotte Marie, looking beautiful, happier, and regal. To her left was another handsome young man, shorter than Josef, with a bit of mischief in his eyes, Karl-Franz, and finally, at the edge of the frame, was Sophie, looking uncomfortable, but pretty.

Charlotte Marie looked at her daughter with tears in her blue eyes. "Thank you. I've always loved this picture, and it was the last one of the whole family. I thought that it captured everyone's personality perfectly. Of course, we had to take so many of them because somebody kept refusing to smile properly." Sophie hung her head. "I have a smaller copy of this in my house, but have been meaning to get a larger one to hang on the wall, but I never got around to it. Thank you again, Sophie."

Sophie beamed at her mother's uncommon praise.

Mark was handed a package, which was a gift from Charlotte Marie. Briefly worrying that it might explode, like one of those packages of money that banks give robbers in movies, he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a beautiful woolen sweater, also from a local artisan, and Mark was effusive in his thanks.

The next gift was from Mark to Charlotte Marie, and he hoped that the hard work that he had put in to find it would pay off. She unwrapped the heavy rectangle, and at first, Mark could see that her face looked confused at the old, worn book in her hands. But when she was able to read the words gilded on the front cover in old Germanic script, her eyes lit up. "Where did you find this, Mark?" she asked, her voice softer than usual when speaking with him.

"I found a rare book dealer in Stuttgart that had this copy. I hope you like it, Duchess."

Charlotte Marie began leafing through the thick pages of the old book.

"What is it, Mother?"

She turned the front of the book toward Sophie. "It is a history of the von Waldenburg family from the 12^th century until 1775, when this book was published. I've only seen one, in my grandfather's library." She paused, "Mark, how did you know?"

"Duchess, I know how proud you are of your lineage, and I easily discovered that you are a descendant of the von Waldenburgs. It took a little research on the Internet, but I found it."

"Thank you, Mark. It is an incredibly thoughtful gift, and I really appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure, Duchess. I owe you so much for the hospitality you have shown me, and also for Sophie."

Charlotte Marie's face hardened, and Mark realized that he might have gone too far. She drank the last of her wine and said, "If you both will excuse me, I am tired, and would like to return home to rest for tomorrow, and to look more at this wonderful book." Without waiting for an answer, she stood and strode out the door, carrying the book with her.

Sophie looked annoyed, but said, "That was an incredible gift, Mark, and I'm not going to let Mother's rudeness ruin our Christmas." She nodded at the staff member, and said, "Hans, please bring another gift."

He brought Mark a flat package, which indicated that it was from Sophie. Opening it, he discovered a white dress shirt of much higher quality than his usual choices and a small box, which contained cufflinks. Mark looked at the cufflinks closely, trying to decipher the design.

"That's the Klippenburg Royal Seal, Mark. It used to be common for the Grand Duke to hand them out as gifts—y'know, back when people wore cufflinks. And the shirt is designed for them. I hope you like it."

"They're both special, Sophie." He stood up and took a couple of steps closer to Sophie for a kiss. Which might have led to more, except for the presence of Hans, waiting patiently to deliver the final gift of the night, which he did, after Mark sat back down.

It was a small rectangular box, for Sophie from Mark, and when she opened it, she was surprised to see a silver chain and a small silver pendant in the shape of Klippenburg, with small red, yellow and blue stones set where the capital was located.

"It's amazing, Mark. Thank you. Where did you get this?"

"I found a jeweler near my apartment, and when I told him it was for you, he was so excited to do it—maybe even more excited than I was to give it to you."

"It's perfect. Help me put it on." She stood, opened the clasp and put it around her neck while Mark moved behind her and closed the clasp around her smooth pale neck. Sophie leaned back, pressing herself against Mark, and feeling his rapidly rising erection. She turned and kissed him, before running over to the nearest mirror. The pendant lay perfectly on her chest, above her cleavage, and glistened in the candlelight.

"Thank you, Mark, I love it. And I bet that once I post a picture of it on Instagram, the jeweler will be swamped with orders." She turned to Hans, "Hans, could you bring us another glass of wine, and then you're done for the evening. Thanks." He nodded, poured them each another glass of wine and left the room. "Let's finish these and head upstairs, and you can unwrap your last present," she said, smiling lasciviously.

"You do know how cheesy that joke is, right?"

Sophie smiled. "I know, but I still think you're interested." She drained her glass, put it down and headed towards the door. Mark put his glass down and followed.

*

As often happened when Mark stayed at the palace, he was awakened by a knocking at the door, and found himself naked and tangled up with Sophie, who awoke with a start. "What?" she said, sleepily, extracting her limbs from Mark's.

"I think that's the wakeup call. Church, right? Then the Open House?"

"Fuck." She looked at her phone. "Shit. We need to shower—really, just shower—get dressed and get to Mass. Sorry. I mean, you don't have to go if you don't want to, but I kind of have to be there."

"No. It's OK. I wouldn't go at home, but I'm happy to keep you company."

Sophie was already on her way to the shower, since she had to deal with hair and makeup issues. Mark shook the cobwebs from his brain, waited a reasonable amount of time before heading into the bathroom, in hope of getting a few minutes in the shower with her before she finished. Stepping into the steamy shower stall, he was happy to see Sophie, naked and glistening in the water. She was facing away from him, and he watched the water flow down her back, over her round ass and down her legs.

Sensing his presence, Sophie turned, displaying her small, firm breasts, but her face was showing displeasure.

"I told you, just showering this morning. We're running late."

"I just wanted to watch, OK?"

Smiling, she replied, "I guess. But keep your hands, and that thing, away from me. I have to get ready."

Mark nodded, but as she attempted to get out of the shower, he grabbed her, feeling the warmth and softness of her body, kissed her on the back of the neck, and let her go before she protested.

"You know, I could have you thrown in the dungeon for that," she said, smiling.

"Jo told me about the dungeon, Sophie."

"Damn." She laughed, and turned away to get a towel. Mark quickly showered, shampooed his hair, and shaved. When he emerged from the bathroom, Sophie was drying her hair in her underwear, and it appeared that she was planning to wear her mother's gift to church. She returned to the bathroom to finish her makeup.

Mark had been given the heads up that he needed to have a suit on hand, but instead of the shirt he intended to wear, he put on Sophie's presents. The shirt fit perfectly, and the cufflinks looked nice to him.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Sophie looked great, but she asked him to help her put on his pendant, and they rushed off to church.

*

After Mass, they returned to the palace. While they were gone, it had been transformed for the Open House, with velvet rope guides, protective coverings on the carpets, and food and drinks set out in various rooms. A line was already forming outside the door, and there was a festive mood as musicians entertained the waiting crowd with holiday music. Sophie and Charlotte Marie gave their coats to Christian and headed directly to the area set aside for them to meet with the visitors, where Johanna was waiting to assist Sophie. Mark handed his coat and scarf to Christian and approached Sophie.