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Post by NPC on Apr 27, 2011 14:18:59 GMT -5
The messenger had ridden hard, day and night, in an attempt to arrive here before the court procession. He knew very well that the King didn't like having to wait, and the messenger wanted to give this highly-regarded noble family time to prepare themselves for the coming Royal and his entourage.
Both him and his horse panting and almost out of breath, the messenger reached Manderley in the late afternoon, the horse's hooves clattering as he pulled to an abrupt halt.
"House of de Winter!" He called, jumping off and onto his feet.
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Post by Kat de Winter on Apr 27, 2011 17:46:12 GMT -5
((AND NOW: I make an executive decision to make Manderley another 16th-century-bubble))
An odd change had come over Manderley. The installed telephones, put in storage while they were hosting 16th-century guests, had disappeared entirely, as had the 20th-century staff uniforms. The cars in the garage had disappeared, and it had reverted to its status as carriage house. To everyone but the lady of the house and her granddaughter, it may as well have been the 16th century, tenants and farm activities included. There were never-before-seen farm animals by the outbuildings and stables. It was altogether weird, but Micaela supposed that sometimes these things happened.
Thus it was an actual page, a ten-year-old boy with a bowl cut, who came to receive the message. He'd pass it along to the steward, who would take it to Lady de Winter herself.
Temporal shifts aside, she would be delighted to have to accommodate a whole procession of guests, and would figure that a royal visit was sort of like this century's version of a house party. Rooms would be opened, pigs and chickens and ducks killed for a grand dinner that evening, every vendor in the nearby town bought out.
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Post by NPC on Apr 27, 2011 23:38:12 GMT -5
Happy to deliver the message, and thanking the pageboy for his prompt reply, the messenger once again sped away, this time heading back to the English Court--a longer trip than it normally would be, oddly enough. On the way back he passed the procession, glad that he'd made it quickly enough that the house would have just enough time to prepare before the King and nobles arrived.
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Post by Henry VIII on Apr 27, 2011 23:41:39 GMT -5
The procession was large, elaborate, and took up most of the road as it made it's way to Manderley. Leading the line, in full royal splendour, was Henry himself followed in his wake by the nobles of the court, in descending order of rank. Henry had heard many things about the de Winters, all of them good, and though he was coming ostensibly to bestow a royal honor on them, one could not deny that another reason was behind it entirely: the very beguiling Kat de Winter.
He'd found it hard to get her off his mind, and when she'd left court with the Borgias, it had left him oddly restless to be without her around. It didn't take long for him to decide to pursue her--in a veiled manner, of course. And thus did Henry VIII and his entourage arrived at Manderley.
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Post by Kat de Winter on Apr 28, 2011 0:13:59 GMT -5
It had come as a major shock to Kat herself that the King appeared to have followed her to Cornwall. A week of hanging out with Lucrezia and Cesare, picking out furniture and resisting the urge to bicker, and suddenly they found out the King was coming. Evidently the visit would be extended--she couldn't see the King of England coming all this way for a week.
Micaela had no illusions about Henry's intentions--she remembered meeting him, actually, but didn't think she'd mention that. This world worked in strange ways sometimes, and it was just as well she'd wound up with Maxim instead of beheaded or cheated on. Maybe Kat would fare better, though that Cesare was awfully handsome, and she liked the idea of dark-haired Spanish grandchildren... Either way, she was sure Kat could handle either man. She was her granddaughter, after all.
The whole household lined up outside the house when the first horses were spotted, staff to carry things in and get people accommodated, and residents to greet. When the King rode up, resplendent of course on his mount, the whole assembly bowed or curtseyed, awaiting his signal to rise.
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Post by Henry VIII on Apr 28, 2011 14:32:41 GMT -5
Henry dismounted with a flourish and nodded to the assembled staff members and household alike. At that signal, the other attendant nobles also dismounted, and some had already begun chattering away as they followed Henry.
Henry, for his part, was looking for the head of the house--he'd heard some interesting stories about Kat's grandmother, and he was always one to want to meet such persons of interest. Finding her, he have Micaela a slight bow, no sign of recognition on his face--though for her, at least, it'd been a long time.
"My thanks, Lady de Winter, for having us at your lovely estate."
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Post by Kat de Winter on Apr 28, 2011 14:41:02 GMT -5
When he bowed, Micaela was allowed to look up and come out of the curtsey. The rest of the people assembled did so as well, first Kat and then the staff, following her lead. She was glad he didn't recognize her--that could have made things so awkward.
"Your visit is as welcome as it is unexpected, your majesty..." oh, she was old, she could say whatever she wanted. "Though some warning next time might be nice. I think I've given the steward an ulcer getting this house ready in half a day," she said, clearly not serious. "You know my granddaughter, of course..." Micaela put a hand back to usher Kat up.
The younger de Winter curtseyed again and rose gracefully. "Your Majesty."
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Post by Henry VIII on Apr 29, 2011 0:18:44 GMT -5
Micaela's response got a crooked smile.
"My apologies. I didn't meant to run anyone ragged."
The smile changed character at the sight of Kat--seeing her again brought home how on his mind she'd been.
"Pleased to see you once again, my lady."
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Post by Kat de Winter on Apr 29, 2011 17:05:58 GMT -5
"Like my grandmother I am... most surprised," she said with a touch of humor. "I wasn't aware you held my family in such high regard."
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Post by Henry VIII on Apr 29, 2011 23:28:48 GMT -5
"I think you will find that many hold your family in high regard. In fact, I am here to confer upon the house of de Winter a royal honor...during proper ceremony, of course."
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Post by Kat de Winter on Apr 29, 2011 23:55:42 GMT -5
"A royal honor? Well now you have me intrigued," she teased gently. "But before we continue, it would probably be best if your party got settled," she noted. Them standing around talking was inhibiting everyone from moving in, so to speak.
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Post by Henry VIII on Apr 30, 2011 23:32:06 GMT -5
He spared a brief glance over his shoulder at the waiting nobles.
"Ah, yes...of course. Let's head in so we aren't cluttering up your driveway anymore."
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