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.
