Eleanor, Duchess of Milan was enjoying her time in the nursery, thankful to see only harmony in that rooms: Ippolito de’ Medici, the illegitimate son of the late Giuliano of Nemours, at sixteen was too old for being truly seen as part of it, and was more Francesco‘s squire, waiting for a decision from the Emperor for his future, like his seventeen old cousin Alessandro (officially illegitimate son of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, but likelier to be son of the late Clement VII), who was sent in Spain after the fall of Florence. So the eldest of the children in the nursery was her niece, Charles’ illegitimate daughter, Isabella Margherita, nine years old, followed by the eight years old Caterina de’ Medici, the legitimate heiress of the main branch of the Medici, as only child of the late Lorenzo of Urbino by his french wife. The next in age was her own daughter, the seven years old Maria of Portugal, followed by the six years old Cristina di Danimarca, daughter of her sister Isabella. At only two months, her son by Francesco, Ludovico Sforza, Count of Pavia, was far too young for having any role in the nursery, other than being the main object of attentions from everyone employed there.
If Caterina and Maria had not established a great relationship with each other, the arrival of her nieces from Burgundy had taken away any tension as Caterina now followed Isabella Margherita while Cristina and Maria had needed just five minutes after meeting each other for becoming inseparable and now were far closer than she and Isabella had ever been, something who many, including their aunt Margaret, would think impossible, but she and Isabella had two years and half of difference, with Charles between them in age, while their daughters had less than six months of difference and very similar temperaments.
Eleanor suspected who another reason for which the split in pairs of the four girls had been so automatic and worked so well was their difference in status and prospectives: Maria and Cristina were royal princess by birth, whose future had been already planned as her Maria was engaged to the young King of France and Cristina to the heir of the Duke of Lorraine, while nothing had already established for Isabella, who was illegitimate, and Caterina, whose family was still seen as parvenues, as both girls needed to wait the decisions of her brother.
Eleanor knew who Charles had taken in consideration the option to marry his little Isabella to Alessandro de’ Medici and give the rulership of Florence to the pair, but she hoped who Charles would choose the other option: finding elsewhere an husband for his little Isabella, and give Florence to Ippolito and Caterina, as they would be likelier to be loyal to the Habsburgs than the favorite and possible son of Clement VII, who had been only an enemy for their family.
Plus she knew who Francesco would not be unfavorable to use Isabella Margherita’s marriage for resolving a certain question with the Pope in a satisfying manner for everyone…
Still she would meet Charles again in few months, as her brother would be in Rome in the following spring for his Imperial coronation and neither Eleanor or Francesco would ever think to miss that event, and as Charles would bring his wife Isabella with him, Eleanor was awaiting impatiently to meet again her cousin, sister-in-law and former stepdaughter, as she was quite worried for some things who Isabella had implied in her letters and feared who Charles had not caught her hints… Well, only few months, and she would meet both of them in person and they would have the chance to talk in private and resolve any misunderstanding.
And while she awaited anxiously the reunion with her brother and her cousin, for now she would concentrate her energies in what shew had nearby: Francesco, the kids, Milan and her duties to all of them, who luckily had never felt heavy: she liked and respected Francesco and their marriage had quickly become an affectionate one, she loved her kids and her young nieces and had quickly warmed to the orphaned Caterina and fulfill her duties as Duchess was something quite natural for her as she had been raised for such role, in the same way in which she was raising the four girls in the nursery, and Milan was a beautiful city who had given her a great welcome, as the inhabitants had been glad and proud to receive the sister of the powerful Charles V as wife of their ruler, so she had immediately started to love the city and in short time Milan had truly become her new home, in a way who only her native Burgundy had ever been.
love how you incorporate the personal/emotional lives of the people involved here.
