I'm not sure what will happen to Margaret here... If she still has her impulsive tendencies she may find herself looked down upon by her brother, but, she may have someone to advocate for her in England... Margaret's surviving children are the same as IOTL sadly, but we'll have to see where her son marries here.... Thank you so much!
Hopefully she doesn’t do anything too stupid! I’d like to see her avoid angus for once...
 
Chapter 61, November 1513
Murcia, Kingdom of Castile, November 1513

Gulls flapped around the docks, as they squalled loudly, and of course, left other signs of their presence. Catalina, with her nose upturned and armed with a thick parasol, leisurely strolled down the freshly scrubbed pier. Anchored, and moored to the pier was a large carrack, the Santa Barbara. From the undamaged hull, it had obviously yet to see combat, yet, it had just returned from a rather important voyage, nonetheless. She, her ladies, and of course Maria de Salinas, who had finally recovered from her traumatic stillbirth, made their way to where the gangway met with the pier. As they stood quietly for a moment, a grizzled old man, with a rather conspicuous cap on his head trundled down the gangway, swearing at a seagull as he shooed the bird away. Some of the younger ladies giggled at this, and Catalina could not bring herself to lecture them on the impropriety of doing so, for she herself found it quite humorous. Still, she inclined her head slightly, hoping to bring some measure of dignity to the situation,”Captain Velazquez, I presume?”

The Captain flushed clearly embarrassed, and he bowed as deep as his aged body would allow,”Si, Infanta, it is I. Forgive me for my uh… outburst, these gulls have all but driven me mad.”

Catalina dismissed the apology with a wave,”It is nothing Captain, tell me, what is the state of your Milanese cargo?”
Velazquez responded with an almost toothless grin,”Quite well milady, it was obtained with little issue outside of Lucca.”

“Ah good, I trust that it shall soon be unloaded?”
“Yes of course.”

What they had spoken of was not cargo in the strictest sense of the word, yet was an important arrival, nonetheless. She soon came to meet said cargo, which consisted of a tall bear of a man, whose bristles of black hair were underneath a hat, and despite his youth, he sported a full beard. By his side was a stout blonde woman and behind her a thin, older lady, who fixed a protective gaze upon her as they all walked down the gangway. Catalina curtseyed to the group,”I am glad to see that you have arrived safely, Duke Francesco, and I see that your wife Duchess Bona is already with child.”

The young couple blushed, and the older woman smirked, replying on their behalf,”Yes, my daughter and son-in-law have already done their duty to Bari and Milan.”

“That is well Duchess Isabella, for I plan on helping the Sforza reclaim their rightful lands one day.”

Bona looked to the woman who would be their hostess,”And we are very grateful for your help Infanta Catalina, I can only hope that my family will prove useful to you.”

Yes, you shall, Catalina mused, They shall be most useful to me indeed.
 
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Great chapter! Although the idea of Catalina traipsing around on the dock with what I imagine to be a just massiveparasol with a group of giggling ladies-in-waiting behind her is incredibly funny to me for some reason...
 
Great chapter! Although the idea of Catalina traipsing around on the dock with what I imagine to be a just massiveparasol with a group of giggling ladies-in-waiting behind her is incredibly funny to me for some reason...
Why thank you for your kind praise! I decided to mix things up with some humor (those damned seagulls), especially considering that the last few chapters have been rather gloomy, :closedeyesmile:.
 
So we will have soon a new conflict in Italy.

That the Sforza line will stand strong is a good thing of its own.
Yeah, at some point there will be a war there with the express goal of bringing the Sforza back.. The Sforza will certainly survive longer here as well. Thank you so much!
 
Supporting character family trees as of 1513
Hello everyone, I should be able to get another chapter up this weekend, but until then I thought I'd do a summary of the family trees of our supporting characters (in this case the chief lady of each main character)


Gabriel Fernández Manrique (b.1486) m. Maria de Salinas (b.1490) has issue
1) Martin Manrique, (b.1510)
2) Pelayo Manrique (b.1512)
3) Stillborn son (1513)


William Willoughby, 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby (b.1482) m. Antonia de Cardona, Baroness of Willoughby de Eresby (b.1481, d.1512) had issue
1) Miscarriage (1510)
2) Miscarriage (1511)
3) Agnes Willoughby (b.1512)


Johanne van Oosterbroek (b.1470) m. Korneel van Ots (b.1459, d.1491), second marriage to Lars van Honing (b.1468, d.1510) had issue by both (Johanne's surviving daughters are also serving in Eleanor's household as ladies-in-waiting)
1a) Nicolaas van Ots (b.1491, d.1491)
1b) Martijna van Honing (b.1493)
2b) Stillborn daughter (1495)
3b) Doortje van Honing (b.1496)
4b) Jacoliene van Honing (b.1498)
5b) Carolijn van Honing (b.1500)
 
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Ooo the drama if Henry takes one of johanne's daughters as a mistress while eleanor is pregnant...:evilsmile:
And giovanna should push agnes as a bride for charles.

Oh we'll see what happens with Johanne's daughters 😏... As for who Charles will wed, I
it's spoiler territory, though it would be a good match for the both of them since Agnes is an heiress and the daughter of Giovanna's dead friend.. Thank you!
 
Oh we'll see what happens with Johanne's daughters 😏... As for who Charles will wed, I
it's spoiler territory, though it would be a good match for the both of them since Agnes is an heiress and the daughter of Giovanna's dead friend.. Thank you!
Loving the trees, a little worried for this part...
 
Oh we'll see what happens with Johanne's daughters 😏... As for who Charles will wed, I
it's spoiler territory, though it would be a good match for the both of them since Agnes is an heiress and the daughter of Giovanna's dead friend.. Thank you!
Wouldn‘t Willoughby want to remarry though? At least to try for a son? He'll grieve for a few years, but he's a rich baron who needs a male heir.
 
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