Grace FitzRoy and Cecily Neville were two sides of one deal. On Loveday in the year 1458, when York and Lancaster came together ceremonially to reconcile their two warring factions, the Duke of York and King of England struck a deal. A daughter for...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
DUCHESS' WRATH
≿————- ❈ ————-≾
The day before Elizabeth Grey was set to arrive, the sky opened up to the greatest downpour Grace had seen in years. It made the day's events increasingly duller than she'd imagined, so it was a blessing when George invited her and Cecily to play cards with him and Richard. While Edward was off ensuring everything was prepared for his wife, the two youngest Yorks had nothing to do.
That was what George told her, at least, but Grace didn't doubt there were a dozen duties he was dismissing for a later time and dragging Richard along with him. The ebony-haired duke didn't seem to mind. Not when he was free to speak with Cecily, who was seated beside him at the table reserved for their card game. Grace couldn't help but grin to herself, halfway hidden behind her cards, as a bright pink blush spread over his pale face and neck when Cecily looked at him for longer than five seconds.
They were adorable, and Grace suspected that something was growing between them. It was as slow as a flower blooming through a blanket of snow. It didn't matter, Grace told herself. They were both still incredibly young. There was plenty of time to figure out who they were and what they wanted.
Richard's shyness was brutally contrasted with George's bold demeanour. His words were constantly laced with a level of flirtation that made Grace want to curl up in bed and giggle, maybe even kick her feet like a girl dreaming of a fairytale prince. To some level, that was exactly what she was, but she didn't think she fit the role of an illustrious princess any more than George the honourable and just knight he was meant to be.
"Your turn," George spoke, the tone of his voice sultry in a way that made Grace afraid to meet his eyes. It was a wonder that Richard didn't raise his brows or elbow George in his side. Instead, the youngest of the brothers pretended he didn't hear a thing and continued to study his cards as if they were the most perplexing equation he'd ever had to solve.
With a slow exhale to calm her rapidly beating heart, Grace pulled a card from her hand and dropped it onto a pile at the centre of the table. Almost instantly, George's flirtations disappeared, and his jaw dropped, head shaking in mild disbelief.
"How have you not had a single bad hand this entire time?" he asked, exasperated. Grace couldn't help but grin at him and offer a nonchalant shrug. A giggle sounded from beside her, and Cecily attempted to hide it in time but failed, earning a glare from George. Cecily answered it by sticking out her tongue at him like a petulant child. Grace thanked god that they were all alone, save for some servants who wouldn't ever say anything because the four of them were acting like Richard and George weren't royal dukes but some random village boys instead.
