Sexual Equity 05: the New Due

The New Duke

-----

Royalty in New Dorset

In New Dorset, the royalty consists of the King, the Crown Prince, and the duke of each province. The royalty is separate from the nobility (See article,

Nobility of New Dorset)

, and do not sit in the House of Lords by virtue of their royalty. However, except for the King, royals may also be be granted noble titles and sit in the House of Lords.

In New Dorset, royalty is not hereditary. Royals are are elected for life by the Privy Council (see article,

Privy Council of New Dorset)

. They may be removed by impeachment: the House of Representatives brings charges and the member of royalty is tried in the House of Lords.

In New Dorset, royals may not be married; for a royal to marry is considered an abdication. Instead, royals are entitled to receive state service from those who hold elected office within their realms: see article

State Service in New Dorset.

List of royal titles and styles

King (His Majesty, the King): constitutional monarch

Crown prince (His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince): Heir apparent and regent. Usually vacant; elected only when the King is unable to perform his duties.

Duke (His Highness, the Duke of <province>): Constitutional leader of provincial government, with a role similar to lieutenant-governor in Canada or Australia. Note that in New Dorset, this is a royal title, and not part of the nobility, as it is in the United Kingdom.

Courtesy titles

The children of royals, and the mothers of those children, are entitled to use a royal title and style as a courtesy, even though they are not themselves royal. They receive these titles even if the they were born before the royal is elected, and retain them in the event a royal abdicates or is removed from office.

Mothers of royals' children keep their own surnames, and the children use their mothers' surnames.

Descendants beyond immediate children (grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.) do not receive a style or title.

Princess-Chatelaine (Her Royal Grace, Princess-Chatelaine Mary Smith): Mother of the child of a king

Prince (His Royal Highness, Prince John Smith): Son of a king

Princess (Her Royal Highness, Princess Mary Smith): Daughter of a king

Chatelaine (Her Grace, Chatelaine Mary Smith of Alicia): Mother of the child of a duke

Infante (His Highness, Infante John Smith of Alicia): Son of a duke

Infanta (Her Highness, Infanta Mary Smith of Alicia): Daughter of a duke

Nobility in New Dorset

The nobility in New Dorset consists of those men who have been granted a peerage: the right to bear a noble title and style, and have voting rights in the House of Lords. (See main article:

House of Lords of New Dorset)

The nobility forms the highest echelons of the New Dorset honors system (see main article:

Honors System of New Dorset)

Although there is some similarity to the system of nobility in the United Kingdom, from which New Dorset's system was adapted, there are important differences. Chiefly, no aspect of nobility is hereditary in New Dorset. All peers are life peers, and children do not receive any special title or style, even by courtesy.

Letters patent for new nobles are granted by the King on the advice of the Lord Chancellor's Committee of the House of Lords (see main artlcle:

Lord Chancellor's Committee of the House of Lords of New Dorset).

The House of Representatives has a veto on any new members of the House of Lords, but has no say over the rank or name used for a peer.

There are four ranks of nobles: in order of precedence, Marquess (styled as "The Right Noble Marquess..."), Earl ("The Very Noble Earl..."), Viscount ("The Noble Viscount..."), and Baron ("The Noble Baron..."). (Note that Dukes are considered royalty and not nobles in New Dorset: see article,

Royalty of New Dorset).

The ranks are used only in determining precedence among peers; the higher ranks grant no special privileges.

Lord Chancellors and former Lords Chancellor are accorded the style "The Most Noble" whatever their rank, although it is usual that Lords Chancellor will be granted a marquessate.

In oral address, all peers are addressed as "My Lord," "Your Lordship," or "Lord Smith."

Although children of peers do not receive titles in New Dorset, peers are allowed to grant their wives the use of the feminine version of their titles (Marchioness, Countess, Viscountess, or Baroness). In oral address, all wives of peers are addressed as "My Lady," "Your Ladyship," or "Lady Smith."

-----

Emma had heard that the audience chamber had changed since she was here last, but the furniture in the anteroom looks the same. She takes off her clothes and puts them and her purse in the closet. She has time to take a quick shower; the washroom hasn't changed either. Coming back to the closet, she finally sees one change, one she'd been warned about: the standard service robes are nowhere to be found. Instead, there are square scarves, intended to be tied at the side of the neck in the mode of a flight attendant. They have the province's coat of arms printed on them. She puts one on, checks her appearance in a mirror, and wearing nothing else, enters the audience chamber.

The room has been redecorated in a forest theme, with muted green tones and dark wood furniture, and landscape photos of forests and lakes. But there are still the same elements: bed, nightstands, sofa, coffee table, kneeling stool. There are still curtains in front of a wall of windows on one side. Emma kneels upon the stool and waits for the duke to enter.

The duke arrives shortly, and says "Declare yourself."

She looks up now, sees the new duke, bare-chested in a silk pajama pant. Smiling professionally, she recites the greeting. "Greetings, Your Highness. I am Emma Walker, member of the Legislative Assembly for Collinsville East, here at your summons. How may I serve you?"

"Yes, thank you for coming, Emma. Please stand."

She rises off the stool and stands before him as he looks her up and down. He reaches out to run his fingers through the tuft of hair on her mound, dark on her pale skin. "Well, that's one thing not in the file. I don't know if I've ever seen someone who still had her hair." He reaches up to stroke, and slightly lift, the underside of her breast. "And natural breasts, too, not that they need any enhancement. Do you believe in natural methods in your own upkeep, as you do in agriculture?"

Emma smiles weakly. "Not exactly, Your Highness. I was a late bloomer and I was so glad to have the hair finally come in that I just couldn't bear to get rid of it all, although there's less than there would be naturally. And of course, in my work, I've looked at ways of cooperating with nature rather than fighting against it, but of course it's still necessary to manage what's planted and where, and what symbiotic relationships can be fostered between the flora and fauna."

"Yes. I learned a lot from your YouTube talk on the basics of agroecology. I did try to read some other things you wrote, your dissertation and one of your papers, but they went way over my head. As you're probably aware, what academic background I have is in politics and economics. I have to take it on faith that the House of Lords knew what they were doing when they inducted you into the Order of Merit. Can we sit down, and maybe you can explain some more of it to me?"

The duke sits on the bed, and invites Emma to do so as well. On the bed sitting cross-legged, Emma begins a discourse on on the basics of ecologically sensitive agriculture and how it could be put in place in the province's farms. "Not only will it help reduce pesticide pollution and allow us to better adapt to climate change, but it will also reduce our dependence on foreign companies. Our province can be a model to the world, if we can only step up."

"Is that why you came back?"

"I never intended to stay away, Your Highness. I learned a tremendous amount, studying in the Netherlands and the USA, but I always meant to come back to put it into practice here in Alicia. But while it's been very satisfying to do research with my students, the pace of change has been slower than I would have liked. The university bureaucracy, the government bureaucracy... all, you're forgive my saying so, Your Highness, more than a little hidebound. That's why I ran for the legislature — I felt I could make more of a difference here."

"I'm surprised Jacqueline didn't make you agriculture minister."

"Well, that would have been nice, but the premier... well, it makes sense that she wouldn't reward those who didn't support her for the premiership. And she's worked with Minister Dowie a long time. Still, the agricultural minister has worked with me on a number of measures I've introduced. I'm making some progress, anyway. And I can still have a half course-load, which I wouldn't be able to do in cabinet."

"Well, I'll put in a good word for you with Jacqueline."

"Oh, Your Highness, you don't have to do that."

"Actually, I do. Just a second — could you turn around, please?"

"Of course, Your Highness." Emma, puzzled, slides herself so she is facing away from him. She is enlightened as she hears him remove his pajama pant and come up behind her. He presses his torso against her, putting his hands around her waist, feeling down the curve of her hips. "Part of my responsibility is to be an independent voice to the premier, one she can't just ignore, even if she doesn't have to do what I say." He begins moving his hands — up to caress her breasts, down to stroke her labia, and with special attention to the hair on her mound. "I have the right 'to be consulted, to encourage, and to warn.' And I think ignoring you is something she should be warned about."

"Well, thank you, Your Highness," Emma manages to say, although the Duke's attentions have taken her away from thoughts of agronomy.

"Of course." The duke kisses her on the side of her neck, continuing to stroke her. She feels herself dampen as his erection grows against her derrière.

"Emma, can you get on your hands and knees for me?"

Emma does, and the duke raises himself up on his knees and enters her from behind. Slowly thrusting, he reaches around to rub her clitoris. She moans. The duke thrusts faster. Emma does a kegel and this is too much: the duke has an orgasm and withdraws. Emma turns to lay on her side.

After a moment, the Duke says, "Emma, may I?" Without waiting for an answer, he leans his head toward her sex and begins to use his tongue on her clitoris, while stroking her nipple with one hand. Emma is not expecting this, and issues a soft yelp, but does not pull away. In a few moments she too has achieved climax, and the two lay together on the bed for several minutes, resting.

After a while Emma gives a sly smile. "Well, I do enjoy talking about my work, Your Highness."

"Ha. Emma, I enjoyed today as well, both the discussion and the service you provided. Thank you. I hope you know that I appreciate your beauty and your genius in equal measure. Alicia is lucky to have you."

"Your Highness, I don't know what to say."

The duke grins. "Hmm. Well I believe it starts off 'Thank you for this opportunity..." But first, I have to give you leave to depart. You have my leave, Emma. Thank you once again."

"Yes, Your Highness." Emma gets off the bed, and kneels on the floor. Smiling again, this time genuinely, she says "Thank you, Your Highness, for this opportunity to serve your person as I do your dominion. Farewell." She rises and leaves the way she came.

—-

A week later, Emma finds herself again kneeling on the stool in the audience chamber, reciting her greeting. The duke says, "Thank you for coming, Emma; I hope a week isn't uncomfortably soon."

"I am happy to serve you, Your Highness."

"Yes." The duke pauses, sits on the foot of the bed, facing Emma. She looks at him, still kneeling. He says, "I did have a question. Can you explain about the ladybugs again?"

Emma begins an explanation about the way ladybird beetles are used to control aphids and other pests on crops in lieu of pesticides. "But it's important not to just get ladybirds, or lacewings, or other insects sometimes considered beneficial without considering the other impacts on the flora and fauna. It's usually the immature beetles that are beneficial, and people don't always recognize those for what they are. Adults often feed on pollen instead of pests. Also, the beetles sometimes carry parasites and diseases, which can affect other native insects."

The duke has been half listening, half staring. "Yes, Emma. Thank you. Please come to the bed and lie down now." She gets on the bed from the side, near where the duke is sitting at the foot, and lies herself flat. The duke gets up and walks over to her, and then gets on his knees on the floor, by the bed's side. He bends down and begins licking, then sucking on one nipple, while using his fingers to trace circles around the other.

After a while of this he reaches his other hand to first stroke, then rub along, Emma's outer lips. Emma gives an "mmm" and opens her legs wider. The duke then moves his head down, running one hand over the hair on Emma's mound and his other fingering her sex, while using his tongue to tease her clitoris. Emma moans, says "Your Highness, please, fuck me." The duke rises and removes his robe; then, he gets on the bed, holds Emma's legs up and apart, and inserts himself into her. After a number of thrusts, pushing himself up and into her, he climaxes, and then rests himself on the bed next to Emma, on his side. He is spent. He says "Emma, do you think you can get yourself off?" She rubs herself for a moment before herself achieving orgasm.

They again lie there for a time, after which the duke leans himself over and kisses Emma on the lips. "Thank you, Emma, for being here today. Whenever you're ready, you have my leave."

The kiss is unexpected and has spooked Emma a little. She gets up, kneels on the floor. She recites her line quickly — "Thank you, Your Highness, for this opportunity to serve your person as I do your dominion. Farewell" — rises, and exits.

—

Another week passes and Emma is once again greeting the duke in the audience chamber. The duke says, "Hello, Emma. I am glad to see you today."

"Yes, Your Highness. I am happy to serve you again, as I served your predecessor, and as I serve my constituents each month."

The duke gives a small smile. "Emma, you're worried that I may have a crush on you. Rest assured that I have no illusions about the nature of our relationship.You've undoubtedly given, and I've definitely received, service more than once since we were together last. But part of what service is supposed to do is bring you legislators closer to the people you serve so that you can better serve them, and I am the representative of those people. So I don't see how our getting closer could be anything but beneficial for you."

"Yes, Your Highness. Thank you, Your Highness."

"Of course. Emma, please walk with me." The duke goes to what Emma had thought was a wall of windows, pulls back the curtain, and pulls open a sliding glass door. "This is my private park; there's no need to worry about anyone seeing or hearing us."

The duke exits through the door and Emma follows behind. It is mid-morning and the heat of the day has not yet come. This is a portion of the woodland that lies behind the palace, with thick coverage of oaks and pines. She walks out on a stone path that has been made very smooth, comfortable under her bare feet. She cannot help but be aware that she is wearing nothing except a small scarf; she has come to used to being nude in front of a stranger, but she finds being outdoors, the breeze on her skin, arousing.

The duke leads her through the wood about fifty meters before they come to a clearing; there is a small naturalistic pool, stone stairs leading down into it. On a stone patio sit a pair of chaises, a sofa, and a cabinet with clean towels and a bin for wet ones.

"My predecessor didn't take advantage of the grounds," says the duke. "But I wanted to be able to go outside and enjoy the open air. I hope you enjoy it too."

"It's lovely, Your Highness. I'm not used to being outside dressed like this."

"Well, nobody comes here except the caretakers, and only when they know I won't be using it. Nobody can see us, and we're far enough away from the palace that we can make noise without causing a commotion.

"Come, let's enjoy the pool." The duke removes his pajama pant and sets it on the towel cabinet, then walks down the stairs into the pool. Emma follows him; it is comfortable, neither cold nor hot. A faint smell of chlorine belies the pool's artificiality.

The duke lies on his back and floats; Emma sits on a ledge inside the pool. She realizes she still has her scarf on and tries to keep it dry.

"What do you think, Emma? I asked them for a private park and this is what they came up with. I think they did a great job."

"Yes, Your Highness. It's idyllic; I can see why you'd want to have it created. Although the understory could use a little more work. There is not the diversity of plants you'd find in a real forest."

"Ah, it figures you would see something like that. I know it's not really natural. But I'm glad to have a place that at least gives me the feel of being in nature."

"Yes, Your Highness. I miss that when I'm here in the city. I miss the open air, the countryside. Not everybody has a forest in their backyard."

"No. I'm a fortunate man. In several ways," he says. He sits down next to her and puts his arm around her waist, then reaches around her to stroke her breast.

Recognizing her cue, she begins stroking his penis with her hand; it is not long before it is erect. She stands and faces him, then, holding his shoulders with one arm, she raises herself up and guides his penis into her with the other hand. Once he is inside, she holds both shoulders and moves herself up and down in the water, splashing, feeling him slide inside her. He puts his hand on her mound, and her tuft of hair rubs against it; he uses his fingers to stimulate her clitoris, as his other hand holds her derrière. Before long he climaxes, leans back and closes his eyes.

Being outside, being in the water, has turned Emma on as well. She sits back on the ledge and rubs herself until she also climaxes.

She lies back in the water, forgetting her scarf until she feels that is has become soaked. She unties it and takes it off. "Your Highness, what's with the scarves?" she asks.

"Aside from the water, do you like them? The Duke of Bathurst came up with that. They highlight that you're nude in the same way that the robes do, but they don't get in the way. Women giving service are always having to take the robes off and put them on again. With the scarves, they don't have to do that."

Emma makes a thoughtful expression. "I suppose that's true, Your Highness. I imagine stockings or garters or something would do the same."

"Yes, I suppose, but we'd have to have many sizes of those, unlike the scarves. Anyway, I think they're sexy."

The duke gets out of the water and goes to the towel bin, where he picks up a towel and dries himself off, before putting his pajama pant back on. "You can leave the wet scarf here with the wet towels," he says. Emma gets out and follows his example, and puts her wet towel and scarf in the bin.

"Then again, there is something about seeing a beautiful woman completely nude," says the duke. The combination of the unexpected praise and the trill of being naked outdoors makes her blush a little. "Thank you, Your Highness. Your Highness, by your leave?"

"Yes, Emma., you have my leave."