Prologue, Part I: Where We Lay Our Scene

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"In fair Verona, where we lay our scene"

For centuries, the Duchy of Verona was ruled from its namesake capital by the House of Percy. The Percys, a prominent family in the Old Empire, were elevated to the ducal throne when they led the revolution that separated the duchy from the crumbling Empire. Verona was soon such a beautiful and prosperous realm that even the very rich rarely went abroad. The capital district, comprised of the Old City and the surrounding countryside where the rich and noble lived apart from the rabble, was considered by the Veronese to be the most lovely place on Earth. Not even the inevitable squabbling of the noble and the toils of the poor could make many wish to live elsewhere.

Misfortune visited Verona when one of the last dukes reached old age. His wife, who had recently died, had given him only one child, Lady Emiline.

Tradition dictated that the throne must pass to a male heir, but no law existed that completely excluded females from succession. This troubled the Duke. Though he loved his daughter, he rightly judged her to be too meek to rule.

The matter was further complicated by the Duke's two sons. Many years ago, he had 'fruitful' relationships with two of his wife's ladies-in-waiting.

Thomas Capulet and Lucentio Montague were born only a few days apart. The Duke thought it was a shame that the boys could not be his heirs. At fifteen, they both promised to be be strong and capable men.

Yet, the law was as wise as it was hard. Both boys came from noble families that would rise up if the other family's 'heir' was named the successor. The Duke feared that a civil war would erupt after his death to place one or the other on the throne (at the expense of his daughter's life) if he had no male heir.

One day, a resolution presented itself to the Duke, quite literally. Lord Downing was one of the Duke's closest friends. They often consulted on matters of importance, and the Duke so valued his advice that he granted Lord Downing more land and favors than any other nobleman. This day, Lord Downing proved his worth again by offering his eldest son, Hex, to the Duke as a husband for Lady Emiline.

By decree, Lord Downing suggested, the couple's firstborn son would be the next Duke. If necessary, the child's parents would serve as regents until he reached majority. The Duke was very satisfied with this idea, as he knew Hex Downing as an iron-willed young man with an honorable record of service. However, he conditioned his consent on his daughter's acceptance of the proposal. Though he did not think Lady Emiline was fit to rule, he cared for his daughter and her happiness. Lady Emiline thought Hex was an ugly brute and did not want to marry him, but she knew her father's anguish and agreed to the scheme without complaint.

Hex no more wanted to be married to Lady Emiline than she to him. It was unbearable to him to be below his wife in consequence, even if she was so mild that she never contradicted him. Worse still, he considered his wife one of the homeliest women in the duchy. Three months and a 'conversation' with Lord Downing were necessary before Hex suffered to repeat his wedding night. He gave no thought to how little Lady Emiline liked to be visited by her drunk, rough husband, nor to how his amazing lack of bastards might relate to his humiliating lack of heirs. Two miserable years passed.

Despite his friend's assurance that a son would come, the Duke despaired of ever seeing an heir born. In a panic, he married Elizabeth Nowell, a young noblewoman in his daughter's service. The entire realm was breathless ten months later as they waited for the result of their young Duchess' confinement.

Lady Emiline prayed for a half-brother to remove her from the line of succession. Her husband's cruelty was becoming harder to bear (and to conceal), and she hoped that an heir for her father would end her marriage. Naturally, the Downings all hoped for a girl. The other noble families were content to wait to make their decisions until the child was born; each sex would carry its own set of complications. The Duchess believed she would grant her husband's wish for a son, as surely no daughter could be so large in the womb, and she was right. After a short labor, she presented the Duke with twin sons.

In later years, when the heart of Verona was a place of war and bloodshed, historians would lay the blame at the feet of Lord Downing. Lord Downing was even more angry than his son at the ruination of their plans to seize the throne and plotted the death of the twin lords with his son. The two met frequently at night, not far from Lady Emiline's chamber, to discuss the details. Hex was sometimes cognizant of the dangerous proximity, but he believed his wife too cowed and too stupid to disrupt the plot even if she heard a few words.

Lady Emiline heard almost everything that was said, and as soon as she felt she knew enough to convince her father, she went directly to him. The Duke was shocked and a bit reluctant to think his good friend could be so heartless, but he was a father before he was a friend. After a series of small traps, evidence enough was gathered to convince the Duke to arrest Lord Downing for conspiracy and treason.

To Lady Emiline's despair, her husband's involvement had not been fully exposed. Hex had been removed from the family apartments, but she still feared his reprisal if she stood up to him directly. She took heart, for the time being, in her father's promise that Hex would be shamed and banished with the rest of his family after Lord Downing's conviction. Once Hex was away from her, she knew she would finally feel safe to tell father everything about her marriage and ask for his blessing for an annulment.

But a madman is rarely denied his justice, for he will do what sane men cannot conceive. Hex had always been given to violence, especially toward his wife. He blamed her for every wrong in his life, including his lack of heirs. (His preference for almost anyone else in his bed, but on those nights when merely striking his wife was not enough amusement, was not to be considered.) Now, his family faced utter annihilation at her hands. The Downings would be stripped of their nobility and exiled to the most remote, inhospitable patch of land the duchy had to offer once Lord Downing was found guilty. All of this, Hex might have been able to withstand. It was only when he learned that he too would be disgraced and banished that he fully lost his mind.

Lady Emiline's brothers were too young when she died to remember her, but they never forgot her bravery. The futility of it all, however, was out of their hands. Lord Edmund, the younger twin, died in an epidemic at fourteen. The elder, Lord Frederick, lived to succeed to the throne, marry, and father a child. Unfortunately, that single child was a girl, Alice Emiline. In or out of the marriage bed, Frederick could not produce another child.

When Frederick died of an apoplexy, four noble families began their battle for the throne. Their one and only agreement was to form a council that could rule the duchy until the succession issue was resolved. Several generations later, the council remains in place, with families with names like Nowell and Fitzwilliam squabbling over current problems as much as ancient history. However, none fight so much or so well as the families called Capulet and Montague.

Next post: "I would my father look'd but with my eyes."