Duke Edward was well known throughout the country and even beyond. He was not a man of many words, and it was his action that had brought him this far. His great fame was as a result of the things he had achieved. At twenty- five he had become one of the richest men alive and that was what made him that famous and it was as well what had earned him his position in the society.
They were no longer Pariahs in their circle like they used to be, they could now raise their heads in the assembly of the people and redress their unhappy lot. But it did not come off easily. He faced unimaginable pain and the fact that he was bombarded by ridicules each and every time during their years of serfdom made him possessed by determination, and it was that determination that culminated in his success.
Edward was only eighteen when he found out about his rightful claim to being the Duke of Bedford. He had expelled the urge of doing something about it when he discovered that the line of power had been taken away from them forcefully. He did not find it useful at first but as days dragged by, he began to see into it. He soon got bold enough to do whatever it would take to bully his way into taking back the power that was seized from them but there was nothing he could do against the Carys, considering their position back then.
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So he devised another plan which was to work for them and weed out the fact from their fantasies. That was after a few advices from his most trusted friends and well-wishers. He worked for the Carys and got closer and closer to the truth with each passing day. Everyday he saw more light into what his parents were ignorant of and what he had to do to bei g back their family to the line of royalty and nobility. But it was not a straight and smooth road. The things he faced and defied made him a stronger man.
He was despised and ridiculed and spat upon by his employers, the Carys, on many uncountable occasions and that was one of the things that culminated in his anger issues. It took him almost two years before he could do something about reclaiming the position which was meant for him. And it was a very risky one since his reputation would be damaged and the Carys might punish him in an unimaginable way if he ever failed to win the trial at the court. That was one thing he was scared of, and it was the only thing that had scared him in his whole life.
He couldn't imagine facing severe punishments when the only cause that would change his life and reshape the future of their family for the better would fail. Even though there were a very few people who'd been behind him, ready to support him, he was confident in himself. He still saw that there were chances of light being at the end of the dark, cold tunnel. But he was worried, and turned insomnia during the day he thought about what fate had in store for him in case his plans failed.
He knew for sure that he would be ostracised if that ever happened. Nobody would talk to him and his family would be treated in the most degrading way they could ever think of. Because of that he had to hatch his plans carefully and make sure that there was always a backup to each. That was why it took years for his dream to come to fruition. He spent nights reviewing and reading about the history of the Bedford Dukedom.
He consulted the grandees of the Shire and took carefully detailed notes, bribing some of them before they could agree to come help him in court. There was no doubt that the people hated the Duke and his Dutchess, Jack Cary Cunningham and Lady Pip, for their insolence to human dignity and because of the way they carried themselves live gods, how they treated the people derisively and how they lived in affluence while Bedford nursed fresh wounds of terror, crime, injustice and poverty. Despite the happenings, no one raised their voice to talk about it and look for solutions.
Instead, they talked about it in the shadows. The name, Cary, was always whispered in the dark as if the word itself was dangerous. That was the situation of things before Edward intervened and brought the new order. And despite the fact that nobody showed their support when he took up the matter to the court of chancery, everyone hoped he would succeed. It was laughable at first, charging a Duke to court was one of the most unrealistic ideas anyone could hold on to. But things began to progress.
Edward took the Carys to court and he won. The confusion and shock that followed without parallel, nothing of that sort had ever happened in their history. People who saw it as a walkover for the Carys and threading a treacherous path towards doom for Edward and his family couldn't believe their ears. For months they couldn't find the mouth with which to say what they had heard. Bedford was shaken and even the Carys couldn't believe their ears.
That was many years ago, ten years or even more, and during that time Edward's fame had grown like wildfire. He was the least person anyone would have expected to take such a bold cause, let alone winning it when everyone thought about how his family would be brutally treated as soon as they lost the case. Edward was pleased with the way things had turned out. He was confident but a part of him was still scared about what might happen and he had Already prepared to flee the City if he lost.
He'd already gotten his family ready and had already gone around to some of their friends to make them aware of what had happened in case they lost the case and they suddenly went missing. He couldn't wholly believe the whole thing when the Court announced that power be restored back to them alongside the incredible amounts to be paid for the damages that had been caused to their family line.
It was big enough to take care of two generations, and that in fact had made him one the richest men in the country. But there were some traits that had been moulded into him during his years of suffering and hard work to get rid of the Carys. Edward turned out to be annoyed most times. He had a slight temper and would always pounce on anyone whenever he was angry. He had quick anger issues that nothing seemingly nothing could pacify. But above all he was a man of dignity. He commanded respect and he got it in return.
When he took over, several harmful laws were banished and the right ones were implemented seriously. Bit what people found rather harsh about him was the brusque way he treated people who he thought were weak. There was a rumour that he despised his father as much as he despised some men he had met. That was because they were soft like women and had not done what they were supposed to do when it was time.
And had he not intervened by learning about the truth and following it up, they would have still bwen living in total darkness without any iota of hope about the future. They were the kind of people that always incurred his wrath and he said harsh things about them without minding who they were or whatever position he held. Those were the seemingly inhuman things the years of serfdom and suffering had crafted into him.
He was at a position he couldn't even imagine but he did not allow it to get into his head, even though some people claimed it did. He was still a bachelor and people were trying to get their daughters to find favour in his eyes but it looked like marriage was out of the question at the moment. It seemed he had more important things to attend to. He'd received offers from fellow Dukes and Lords even, but it all fell through because therre was none which he approved of.
Duke Edward was lean and tall, with overgrown eyebrows and clean-shaven jaw. He had blue, cerulean eyes and his straight nose and perfect lips were the most striking features he had, no doubt the ladies flicked around him even when he had not yet attained the fame and respect he was getting at the moment. Above all his life was a very simple one, and he gave respect to whom it was due. That, infact, made the people love him more. And he did everything possible to reciprocate the love he received, which was what changed Bedford for good.