Suddenly, Becca's Mother spoke up again, it seemed like her was breathing rapidly. "Rebecca, is he really making you happy? Do you feel loved?"
Becca was straight to the point. "Yes, Mother. He is really really good to me. Every day is better than the last."
"I'm so glad!"
Becca's Mother quickly stood up and walked over to Becca. Half way to Becca, she burst into tears. When she reached Becca, she learned over and wrapped her in a big hug.
"I'm so glad, sweetie. I was so worried about you all this time."
Realizing how much relief and joy her Mother was experiencing, tears started to stream down Becca's face as well. "You don't have to worry anymore Mother. Nick will treat me better than any husband has treated their wife in this entire Kingdom."
Becca's Mother pulled back with her face looking like a mess. She reached over with both her hands and tenderly held Becca's cheeks.
"I'm sorry for being so strict on you, Rebecca. I was just so scared how you would be treated once you had to leave the house. Luckily, I was short sided. Nick was willing to accept you for who you were all along."
"You don't have to apologize, Mother. The younger Nick didn't have any reason to have confidence in him. Fortunately, he has learned the error of his ways and become a better man. Now, let's all be a big happy family."
"Yes, that sounds nice, but I'm watching you, Nick! If you ever revert back to your original way of treating Rebecca, we will no longer accept you as family!"
Becca's Mother's was glaring at me with a stern face. I couldn't help chuckling, having protective parents was a good thing. "I don't mind being watched carefully. I plan to cherish Becca from now on. The more you watch, the more trust you will have in me."
Becca's Mother took a deep sigh. "You really do seem to have become a better person. Before, I would have been attacked for criticizing you. I'm glad you are more open to constructive feedback now."
Becca's Father had his eyes popping out in shock. Evidently, he was still scared for his wife's life. "Ruth! You still need to respect him! He is a Duke!"
I replied to calm him down, "we are family now! My Mother-in-law has every right to criticize me when she sees fit. Especially when we are alone together, I rather drop the noble formalities."
Becca Father's shoulders slumped as his face relaxed. "Well, me and my wife were raised without the noble formalities, so we are more comfortable that way too…"
"Actually, one of the reason we came to visit is because we wanted to hear some of your stories about how it was to convert from a commoner to a noble! I thought it would be interesting! I want to hear about all the things we nobles do like second nature, which would feel very alien to a commoner like you were. I'm trying my best to get more down to earth and understand the commoners now. I want to do everything I can to improve the lives of the people in my Duchy."
Becca's Father's ears perked up. "Well, I can't argue with that! With your level of authority, the people's lives can drastically improve with just a few decisions."
Becca wanted to jump onto her Father's train of thought. "Father, you remember how I said that Nick has encouraged me to be more true to myself? That combined with the fact that he wants to understand his people more and make their lives better means we have made a big decision that will end up changing the Duchy forever."
Becca's Father's excitement turned into nervousness when he heard the scale of our efforts. "Come out with it already! You are making me worried that you have decided something so life changing in a couple of weeks…"
Becca smiled to reassure her Father. "We have decided to start a revolutionary progressive moment here in the Duchy. I have long thought that the weak and powerless in our society were taken advantage of without any protection. To start our movement, we have already started drafting two laws."
"You already have two laws ready? You need to think about the impacts. People are very opposed to change…"
"Father, change is the only way our people can have better lives. And the only people who don't want change are the ones that are currently using the status quo to take advantage of people. I don't care what they think."
"Becca…you are going to awaken a hornet's nest…"
"Father, this should be a joyous occasion! Let me at least tell you the laws, before you worry! The first law is a law that will extend the assault penalty so nobles can no longer hit commoners and spouses can no longer hit spouses."
Becca's Father's sunken eyes seemed to gain new life. "I actually like this law! I already do that with my servants and I think it makes for a more efficient workplace. As for a husband hitting his wife…I think it will be hard to enforce behind closed doors and some nobles will be against it, but I think it is to the level that no one will hold a grudge against you."
"See! We are just trying to make everyone have a better life! Now, I'm sure this second law will be harder for you to accept…the second law is that a wife is now allowed to have multiple husbands or concubines if their husband also has multiple wives or concubines. For new couples, both sides have to agree when one of them will add a spouse or concubine."
Becca's Father's face grew dark. He spit out in a low growl, "Are you saying that your Mother can now take on male concubines?"
Becca stood her ground and responded, "whenever you go on long business trips, you always take 1 or 2 concubine to play with. Why can't Mother do the same while you are out with other women?"
Becca's Father was furious, "It's not the same! I have my pride as a man!"
"Then maybe with this feeling you now are having, you should realize how much it hurts Mother to know you are with women beside her! Pride is a human thing, it is not for men alone!"
I feel this is probably something that Becca has been bottling up every time she saw her Father leave with his concubine. Even if it was an expected thing for all noble women, it still hurt when it happened to them personally.
Becca's Mother ended up stepping up to relieve the tension. "Don't worry, Honey. Even if this law was passed, I won't take in any concubines. All I need is you."
Her words eased the tension, however, they ended up making Becca's Father feel even more guilty. His eyes softened as he looked at his wife and he fell into deep thought.
The silent atmosphere became increasingly awkward, so I decided to speak up. "Well, we have finished our food, so Becca and I will go take a walk to look around the area. I have been wanting to see the places Becca would play as she was growing up. We will be back around dinner time."
I could hear Becca's Father mutter under his breath, "you could have seen those places as a kid if you ever wanted to spend time with Rebecca."
Becca's Mother again had to soothe things over. "That sounds good. We will see you for dinner. Your Brother-in-law and his family should be joining us as well."
"Great! I'm excited to talk to him. See you both later."
Becca and I left the dinning room hand in hand.