The Duke's Sons

Choring

Back on my family’s farm I am slow to wake up. I was having an amazing dream involving Grant of course. I clasp the bobble he gave me in my hands. I would need to return it. It was much to expensive for me to keep. It would buy dinner for my family for at least two days. My eyes flutter open and adjust to the darkness. Farm life requires you to rise before dawn and get to work before the sun. My feet dangle off the edge of my lumpy mattress. I need to rotate it soon or I will be sore later. My room is small and I have one little dresser that fits all of my clothes but I am very happy. My parents love me and give me all that they can. It just isn’t very much. When you don’t know anything else though it is a nice, simple life. I shuffle around and throw on my brown dress, my boots, and a smock. Then I tied my hair up and wrap it around itself. I like to keep it long but it can get in my way when I’m working. Farm families usually have tons of children to help with the workload. My parents couldn’t have any other children after me so we do all the work just the three of us. They would have loved to have given me ten brothers and ten sisters but we are still very happy.

I hop down the stairs and head to the barn. Our old horse Gail knickers at me when I walk in waiting for whatever treat I am going to give her. I am a sucker for her sweet nature and pull out an apple. She takes it from my hand and I rub her head and behind her ears.

“Gail I think I’m in danger of falling for someone I can never have.” I whisper.

She nibbles at the cloth on my shoulder and huffs. Gail is the best listener I have ever known. I hear my fathers heavy footsteps coming to the barn. He had already been up for hours was my guess. I quickly get back to the chores. Hoping my father did not hear my conversation. He is one of the most supportive people that I know but would never approve of Grant giving me attention. The difference between his station and mine was severe. I had no idea what he was thinking. I was perfectly fine with just admiring him from afar and dreaming of all of the things that I could do if I was a duchess but that was all it was. A dream. I huffed and went back to shoveling out the goats stalls. They were the cutest things I had ever seen but holy cow were they messy.

“Hey baby.” My dad calls. He has to get the plow and the two oxes we have and continue with the fields.

“Hey Papa.” I call back. “ Do you need any help with the boys?”

The two oxes could be quite stubborn in the mornings but they always got all the work done. We were lucky to have them. They had shown up on our farm one winter. The mother had calved early and sadly died out in one of our fields. We never did track down the owners but the miracle of twins was a blessing to our family. We hand reared them using milk from one of our cows that had lost her baby in the womb. She was happy to have two little rambunctious rascals to look after and probably thought they really were her own. The arrival of the brothers meant that we could expand our little dairy farm into a crop yielding farm. We were one of the few farms that could turn out such a large amount of crops and it was all thanks to the boys.

My father’s dream was to save up enough to purchase another female ox in the next few years so that our farm would always be profitable. If we switched from dairy to ox sales I think it would take a lot of work of my fathers shoulders. He is one of the hardest workers I have ever met and I aspire to be just like him one day. 

“Yes. That would be lovely. Let’s get these boys hitched up I want to try and finish the fields by sundown.” My dad says. He leans down and kisses my cheek before giving me a quick squeeze and handing me the harnesses.

Another day another dollar I guess. My mind drifts back to thoughts of Grant as I move to the ox stall.