A King So Obsessed

He walked through the meadows leading up to the front porch of the massive cluster of stones and pillars he had always known to be home. As he climbed the porch he was yet to get to the door when it was opened by the seasoned family butler, Mr. George. The elderly man must have already known he was approaching; he seemed to have a sixth sense for this sort of things.

“Welcome home Lord Hamilton” George greeted his young master as he walked through the door. Taking his coat with a much-practiced action, it was like second nature to him.

“Thank you, George. It’s a pleasure seeing you after all this time” Hamilton replied his seasoned butler.

“Same my Lord, we are all pleased to have you back home. I truly cannot express how glad I am to see your face again” the butler said having hung his Lord’s coat and ushering him past the foyer into the front hall.

“Your mother would be waiting upstairs in her rooms, along with your sisters” George informed his Lord as he led him up the huge curved staircase.

James Arthur Hamilton sighed looking around the walls of his childhood home that haven’t been much of his home ever since his father died and his elder brother, John Hamilton the third, became the new Duke and took over the business of running the family’s estate. Being ever the less responsible younger son, he totally abandoned all family business and went off to frolic in London where he resided primarily at the family London residence for a while before he began to travel to other lands on the continent with his companions. Now he was back home, to see his family he hasn’t seen near three years, he wondered how they would receive him, most especially his mother. She was very dear to him, that it broke him so to see how broken she became upon the death of her husband, that once the funeral and all formalities were over he fled off at the first chance he got. He loved his father and his family all dearly, they were quite close-knit when his father the former Duke of Osbourne was still alive. When the Duke died, it brought so much grief and pain upon the entire Hamilton family and it seemed too much for Lord Hamilton who just was not one of those people who liked to get in touch with their emotions, and his best recourse was to escape. Albeit it has been too long, way too long a time he has been away from his family.

He slowly pushed open the door of his mother’s chambers, from behind which he heard the laughter of his mother and his sisters. ‘Oh how he missed these joyous melodies’. As he opened the door and stepped inside, however, all laughter died. His mother and the three beautiful ladies that surrounded her who are his sisters, all turned to look at him, a mixture of shock and surprise evident on each of their faces.

His youngest sister, Jane was the first to snap out of it “James!” she exclaimed as she rushed up to embrace him. Soon his other sisters followed.

“Welcome home brother, we have missed you!” Jeanette, who was a couple of years older than Jane said as she also embraced him. He could not help but smile, his heart swelling up with emotions, as he returned their embrace.

“I was beginning to think you would never return back to us, but here you are in the flesh, you run away!” said the oldest of his sisters, Jessica who was the last to greet him. After embracing and being greeted by his sisters he faced his mother who had now stood up to come greet him herself.

“Mother” he simply said as he tried to gauge what she was feeling upon seeing him. The beautiful Dowager Lucia Hamilton, who seemed to be untouched by age, said nothing as she slowly approached her younger prodigal son who looked at her with hopeful eyes. She stopped directly in front of him and before he could say anything she engulfed him in a bear hug that was quite unexpected strong for someone of her petite, fragile frame. Hamilton was by no means a small man, if he was any smaller though, she probably would have crushed him with the strength of her hug.

“I have missed you so much my son. We all have” the Dowager said finally releasing her son from her bear hug after what felt like minutes, albeit still holding him as she spoke.

“You have been away for many seasons; you barely wrote home. Constantly moving….” She cut herself off. “All that doesn’t matter now though, does it? Because you are back home to your family, to where you belong, and you are here to stay for good this time” she said smiling, even as she wiped a sole tear that tried to make its way down her perfectly elegant features from her left eye. She was happy, her son was home. All her children are home and she don’t have to worry about how he fared anymore.

A while later after much hours spent catching up on what has happened in their lives during the time spent apart, they all went down together to dinner. Each of his sisters had much to say and he also had lots of stories to share from his adventures, but alas there wasn’t enough time and they decided to hold it off till after dinner. However, before dinner, they did share that Jessica had gotten married to the son of the Duke of Canterbury and they had a son near a full earth cycle old. His second sister, Jeanette had also gotten married to a Marquis. Though her husband was no future duke, they were more than comfortable and they loved each other dearly. This he didn’t doubt as her eyes sparkled each time they spoke of him. John their older brother and his wife also did have another child within the last three years, a lovely girl, now making them the parents of three little Hamiltons. All these were well and fine, the news that did come as a shock to him however was that Jane, his youngest sister who was a season away from being twenty years old was engaged to be married soon. It’s not that she is too young to be getting married, no, that was not what was shocking, rather, the shocking part was that Jane had always been too much of a free spirit who was very convinced, before he left three years ago, that she won’t ever get trapped in a marriage.

“Who is the lucky man, or should I say unlucky man that was able to convince someone like you to be his wife?” he had asked partly joking as he had been told the news.

“Don’t be like that now James” their mother chided him, her hands lovingly on the arm of Jane who now glared at her older brother at his words. Jeanette tried to hide her laughter at the words of Hamilton behind her teacup and got nudged by Jessica who was sat nearest to her, holding a laugh of her own. They all knew their sister well and as such knew well what had prompted his question. As a matter of fact, they had similar reaction when she shared the news of her engagement to them.

“Oh any man would be extremely lucky to have our dear Jane” Jessica said, seemingly in her little sister’s defense. “How he convinced her to get married to him though, that would forever remain a mystery to us” she concluded, her eyes had shone with its usual mischievous glint, earning some laughter from all in the room, Jane included.

“Would I be honored with at least the name of this ‘lucky man’?” James asked after some time

“His name is Michael” Jane proudly stated dramatically puffing her chest, as though trying to prove that by saying his name he truly existed and was indeed a lucky man. The name though, it did ring a bell in James mind. He ransacked his memory to recall who he knew that bore that name, finally it clicked.

“Wait now, Michael as in Michael Braintree?” he asked of Jane to which she nodded to the affirmative.

At her confirmation, James let out a loud laugh “I thought you always laughed at his last name, what changed?”

Jane smiled as she shrugged her shoulders, “I thought it was funny at first, but soon I found out its actually not all bad”

“Jane Ophelia Braintree” Jeanette said testing Jane’s full name with soon to be last name. It actually didn’t sound all bad.

“Not yet though.” Jane had laughingly said “I still am a Hamilton and would forever be” she added with a dramatic wave of her luscious deep brown hair.

Now as they sat at dinner, as James remembered the conversation, a faint smile appeared on his lips. If it was Michael Braintree that was Jane’s groom, he could understand how he could convince her to marry him, there probably wasn’t needed much convincing on her part anyway. As he watched their interactions from when the two were yet children, he always had this impression that there was something between the two or rather that something could be, and now they are soon to be married. At this the realization also hit him that he would now be the last Hamilton to tie the knot, soon all his mother’s matchmaking attention would return to him and he only just got back. He knew he just had to wait until after Jane’s wedding and the pressure to marry he escaped all those seasons ago would come back with more force. Bloody hell! How was he gone just three years and all his younger sisters are already married off?

Bloody unfair.