Elise Meets Duke Drury Dottydum
Elise Boissonneau • Chapter 8
Meanwhile, in Kapri, Elise encountered Kapri’s newest resident, Duke Drury Dottydum. Elise will take the narrative for this portion of the story.
Unaccustomed to such luxurious accommodations, I woke early the following morning. I decided to explore Kapri on my own. I dressed quickly and headed down the stairs, where I was greeted by Andelbert.
“Good morning, Miss Boissonneau. Shall I have Amelia prepare some breakfast for you?”
“Thank you, Andelbert, but no. I would like to go for a walk and explore more of Kapri. And please call me Elise.”
“Very well. Shall I wake Britpop to accompany you?”
“Let him sleep. I am quite comfortable exploring on my own.”
“As you wish. I recommend you stop at the bakery for some fresh muffins.”
“That sounds delightful. I will do that. Good day.”
“Good day, Elise.”
I strolled down the road leading to town. Once again, I was taken by the stunning view of this charming village. Why Britpop ever thought to leave is beyond me. As I reached town, I took Andelbert’s advice and made my way to the bakery.
“Miss Boissonneau, what a pleasure. What may I get for you? A tart or a pastry, perhaps?” Felix Peel asked.
“Andelbert recommended a muffin.”
“He is a wise one. What topping do you desire?”
“Fruit jam would be nice.”
“I have some delicious raspberry jam.”
“Perfect.”
As Felix was preparing the muffin, an older man, quite tall, wearing an English bowler hat, walked into the bakery. He wasted no time. In a firm voice, he said, “My good man, please tell me you have some proper muffins. I have just arrived from England and am in desperate need of one.”
“You are in luck, Mr.?”
“Duke Drury Dottydum. At your service.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Duke. Welcome to our humble village. Allow me to introduce Elise Boissonneau. She is visiting on business. Her father is a well-respected shipping merchant in France.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Boissonneau.”
“And you, Duke Dottydum. It appears we are both sampling the English muffins. Would you care to share a table outside?”
“It would be my great privilege. Thank you.”
The Duke and I took our muffins outside to enjoy the morning sun and sat at one of the bakery tables.
“What business brings you to Kapri, my dear? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Not at all. I am attempting to arrange a business agreement between my Father’s shipping business and Grand Duke Goatbeard’s.”
“Impressive. You seem quite young for the task.”
“In truth, my father doesn’t know I am here.”
“Then it is all the more impressive. As for myself, I have left the business world and moved here to retire.”
“What business were you in?”
“Textiles. Primarily wool clothing.”
“What made you decide to leave England?”
“That young fool, King George, insists on fiddling with Parliament to fulfill his own desires. That coupled with the British Empire’s fondness for war has nearly bankrupt the nation and led to widespread discontent and instability. And now we are on the brink of war with our own Colonies! It is too much. I wish to live my remaining years in peace. So I have chosen this idyllic village as my new home.”
“It sounds like a smart decision.”
“Forgive my rant. I did not mean to burden you with my political views.”
“It is quite alright. I know very little of England. It was a good lesson.”
The Duke laughed. “You are too kind, my dear.”
We both took a bite of our muffins, and the Duke said, “Forgive me for being bold, but the baker said you were from France, and yet, you have the coloring of a Scot.”
“My mother was Scottish.”
“Ah, that explains it. My wife was Scottish. Sadly, she passed in childbirth. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss her. For many years, I tried to find a bride to provide my son with a mother, but I could not bring myself to marry. All women paled in comparison to my dear wife. After a while, I quit looking. Fortunately, he had two wonderful nannies who filled the need of a mother’s love in his life, and my son grew to be a fine man.”
“I am sorry to hear of your loss.”
“Thank you.”
The Duke suddenly smiled and said, “Listen to me grouse and moan. What terrible company I have been.”
“On the contrary, I have enjoyed our time.”
“That is kind of you to say. I shall endeavor to be more cheerful from this point on. Now tell me more about this business deal.”
I told the Duke about the loss of my father’s ship and the proposition I made to Grand Duke Goatbeard. He seemed quite interested.
“It sounds like a worthy plan. The Grand Duke would be foolish not to accept. I tell you this. If the Grand Duke does not accept your offer, I would be pleased to meet with your father as a possible investor.”
“Truly? That is quite generous, as we have only just met.”
“Did you know the Grand Duke before you made your proposal?”
“No.”
“You see? A good business deal is a good business deal. And I am not promising to invest, only to meet with your father.”
“Of course. I didn’t mean to presume anything.”
“Let’s talk of it no longer. The day is too nice for business.”
“Indeed.”
We chatted pleasantly for a while, then I excused myself. It was nearing lunchtime, and I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to enjoy more of Andelbert’s bread.
"It appears we are both sampling the English muffins." Until this point, I was not aware we were talking about ENGLISH muffins. I pictured putting jam on regular muffins, which seemed odd. Maybe "'We have English muffins, madam, will that be acceptable?'" or some comment about the muffins being more scrumptious than regular English muffins or some other way not to picture big puffy round muffins.
I like the Duke. He's old and crusty, but he knows it and tries to be better.