Grand Duke Eider

Prompt: “He did not believe there was a bolder rider in England!” (Sense and Sensibility, pg 206)

Eccentric was the word most people would use to describe the so called Grand Duke Eider. He was a legend among people in society across nearly all of England. Miss Eva Bennion could scarcely find a town without a story of the man, and she had traveled all over the countryside and visited any town of importance. She seemed to be the only one who differed in opinion, finding the legend exciting and intriguing rather than scandalous.

Eva sat wrapped up in her own thoughts as she usually was as her father and Mr. Bowman, her uncle, conversed loudly on the subject. Her aunt and mother sat next to Eva on the couch and wondered who might be the one to plan the next ball in their town. Several wealthy men had returned for the season, and marriage was on the mind of every mother in Eastry.

‘Yes, I was just with Sir Drake the other day, and he said he did not believe there was a bolder rider in England! Quite a strange fellow, to be sure, but he does make for good conversation…’

‘Who?’ Eva asked suddenly

‘Why, that Grand Duke Eider!’

‘Oh, I don’t think him strange at all.’

Before Mr. Bowman could respond, Eva was told she had a visitor, and she quickly rushed to see who it could be. To her delight, she found herself with Caroline, one of her closest friends. Caroline had only last summer fallen madly in love and married an admirable gentleman and had, since her marriage, been visiting noble families all over France. Eva had missed her terribly and had many stories to relay. They decided to take a turn in the gardens to catch up.

‘Eva, dear, I’ve heard the most scandalous tale since my arrival,’ Caroline whispered after hearing all there was to hear of Eva’s eldest brother’s recent marriage to a young lady from London.

‘Whatever do you mean?’ Eva said cautiously, thinking of the events leading to her brother’s marriage.

‘Why, surely you must have heard! Every house I visit has little more to tell than the stories of this Duke Eider!’

Eva almost wanted to laugh, but decided to say nothing. She could recite every detail of the stories by heart, but she decided to let her friend play the story teller, and listened quietly to the tale she knew too well.

Her story started how they all do; a mysterious gentleman was one day seen riding through a town of little importance on the back of a zebra as you might see a man ride a horse. But this wasn’t the strangest part at all. Pretty soon, as this man was spotted in more and more villages across the countryside, people started to notice strange things disappearing after the man had passed by. A spool of ribbon, a child’s toy, three pairs of shoes, quills, bread, and even pigs were reported as being stolen by this gentleman, whoever he was. The stories grew stranger, the man stealing progressively more things until young women started to disappear in the dead of night. The worst of it all happened just two days prior, when a bride was stolen from her very wedding inside the church by the zebra riding fiend. It is hard to gossip without a name, and soon the people started to call him the Grand Duke Eider, but most believed he was no sort of Duke, but rather a pirate and a scoundrel bent on terrorizing those of good fortune.

When her friend had finished, she asked Eva what she thought of the man. Eva couldn't bring herself to the truth, so she repeated the usual phrases or horror and surprise. When Caroline bid her farewell, Eva simply stood in the garden, once again lost in thought.

Then, checking to make sure nobody could see her, Eva ran to her favorite tree, a sturdy, ancient Chestnut tree, and scaled the familiar branches to the top. Eva loved to climb trees and explore above all else. Though she was as well-mannered as she could be expected to be, in her heart she abhorred her lifestyle. Whenever she could, she had amazing adventures as far away from home as she dared. She longed for a more exciting lifestyle, and her thoughts quickly turned to Duke Eider.

Eva was the only person on earth who knew both the man and the legend. She heard the stories, but she knew which were true and which weren't because she knew the man herself. This Eider was truly Mr. Peter Hartley. He was a young gentleman who lived just on the other side of the forest Eva found herself in.  They were childhood friends and would often sneak away from their governesses to climb trees and to play in the forest. Peter still stopped by whenever he was around, but he was more often away from home than not. He was the only child of his late father and he grew bored and lonely on his estate. Peter often made voyages to Africa to explore and discover his fortunes, which is where he happened upon his zebra, which was the only part of this whole Eider nonsense that turned out to be true. Just yesterday, Eva received a letter from Peter, who told her the whole truth of the matter- he had never stolen anything, and especially not young women. He simply roamed the country on his zebra to evoke more excitement in the people about the African frontier.

‘I did sorely wish to bring with me an elephant, but the captain of the ship refused him passage. I wish I could show you an elephant, they are marvelous creatures.’

Eva tried to imagine what an elephant must look like from the descriptions she had heard, when suddenly she noticed a rocking in the tree and a slight creaking noise.

Oh no! She desperately thought. My father has discovered me and will surely marry me off to a disgustingly rich man to be rid of me.

Before she could fear the worst, however, the only face she could ever have wished to see appeared in her line of vision.

‘Peter!’ she squealed ‘Oh, Peter, I am so glad to see you!’

Peter reached the branch where Eva sat and plopped down beside her. He looked at her more seriously than he ever had.

‘What is it?’ She asked.

‘Eva, I am afraid I shall no longer come to visit. Scotland Yard is now on my trail and I fear I must quickly collect my fortunes and flee to Africa.’

‘Scotland Yard?’ Eva pronounced the phrase as if completely foreign and unknown to her. ‘But… why? You told me those stories were all lies. You are not a scoundrel and I shall never believe you to be!’

‘You forget that I have not said anything of the latest incident for which the Duke takes blame. I truly did take that young woman from a church on the very day of her wedding.’

Eva could almost feel her heart ripping in two. Of all the tales she had heard, this was the only she longed for to be rumor and nothing more.

‘But you must not mistake my intentions for doing so, Eva.’ As he pronounced her name, his hand moved on top of hears, and they both sit looking at their hands for a very long while.

‘I did not wish to marry the girl myself; I hardly even knew her. An Irish sailor I met on my last voyage told me many tales of his fiancé, a beautiful girl from a small village near a port. He was planning to marry her, but her father opposed. The day after we pulled into port near her home, he ran to find me and told me that his bonnie girl was that very day at her wedding to a very rich man and that she had written to him asking his forgiveness in the whole matter and professing her undying love for him still. From what we reasoned, the father had made a deal with the man and forced his daughter to marry him at the threat of a noose. Before he could say more, I jumped on the back of my zebra and demanded to know the way to the church. So I rode inside, stole her away, and left her delighted with her fiancé. They have already eloped to his home village in Ireland, and I wish them every happiness. Unfortunately, a man at the church had known my father well and thought he recognized me. Knowing my dealings in Africa, he concluded I was the Duke Eider and told the authorities just that. I fear they will be at my doors by dawn.’

Eva quickly offered to hide him away until the authorities had left. ‘My family will never be able to find you, for I and the servants alone know the secrets of our estate, and the servants are loyal to me before anyone else, and….’

As Eva rattled on about her elaborate plan to fool her family, Peter suddenly leaned close and kissed her. It was more beautiful than Eva had imagined. Her heart soared as her body went numb and her head went fuzzy. In that moment, the only thing in the universe was Peter.

Without even a word, they came to an agreement. Something they had both harbored secretly in their hearts since infancy. Eva tiptoed into her room and packed her favorite dresses and books, then met with Peter at the trunk of the Chestnut tree. He slid his mother’s ring onto her finger and promised to marry her at the first church they saw. She jumped on the back of his zebra, held his waist as tight as she could without causing his discomfort, and they left to start a beautiful new adventure in Africa, far away from gossip, dowry, and pincushions.