The Miskin Legacy - Generation One, Part Four: The Heir and the Spare

Juliet Miskin

Juliet was definitely the apple of her father's eye. They shared a love of knowledge, and spend their daddy-daughter time together on intellectual pursuits, such as chess.

However, despite her deep love for her father, one frightening thought forever plagued Juliet's mind. If her parents went on to have a baby boy, then he would become the heir to their father's legacy. He would be the important one. She wouldn't be special to them any more. The idea of losing her father's love scared her so much that she desperately prayed she would never have a baby brother.

It didn't work.

Shortly after Juliet started school, another Miskin came into the world. A bouncing baby boy. He was named Montague... and often called "Monty" for short. 

Myron instantly adored him.

Upon meeting her new brother, Juliet did her best to smile and be kind... making her face into a mask to disguise her heartbreak. 

However, her parents were not fools. Although Juliet's mouth was fixed into a grin, sadness shone in her eyes. Katrina, who had been worried this would happen, asked Myron to talk things through with her. 

And so, one evening, Myron knocked on the door to his daughter's room.

"Juliet? Darling? Can I come in?"

A muffled voice replied, "Yes."

Myron entered. He noticed right away that Juliet had been crying. He sat beside her on the bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"What's wrong, my little red rose?"

"Now that Monty's here," Juliet sniffed, "he's the one who matters most. You don't need me anymore. You're going to love him instead."

Myron chuckled deeply, shocked that a child as clever as his daughter could think such strange things.

"Oh, sweetheart, don't be silly!" he told her reassuringly. "I will always love you, and my heart is big enough to love you, your mother and your little brother in exactly equal measure. Whilst it is true that the law means Montague will inherit my legacy some day, that does not mean I'm going to cast you aside. I will always do my best to make sure you both are happy."

He smiled at her.

"Besides," he added, "in a way, you're blessed. You will never have the pressure Montague now faces of continuing the family and the legacy. You'll be free to live your own life exactly as you see fit - and whatever makes you happy will make me happy, too."

He wiped away her tears with his finger, and gently kissed her cheek.

"You will always be special to me, my little red rose. Don't you ever think otherwise - not for a single moment."

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A few weeks after Montague's birth, the family had an unexpected visitor - Lord Ronan Miskin, Myron's eldest nephew. His teenage years now behind him, he had grown up into a true gentleman.

As he sat down to dinner with the family, Lord Ronan was introduced to his first-born cousin, Juliet. As the pair chatted away, Lord Ronan had to admire her wit and wisdom, which was beyond her tender years.

As the young nobleman updated his uncle on his own family news - Fleur and Titus now teenagers, and Dowager Lady Amelia now much happier and starting to recover from Mostyn's passing, albeit still a singleton - Myron made a promise to himself that, one day, when Montague was a little older and better able to travel, he would pay a visit to Miskin Manor.

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After her heart-to-heart with her father, Juliet strived to be the best possible role model to Monty. She read him bedtime stories whilst he was still in the cradle, and thus, it was no surprise to his parents when the young heir grew up into something of a bookworm.

Montague (Monty) Miskin

Happy that their two little ones were getting along so well, Myron and Katrina decided that they were not going to have any more children. Katrina, having left her job to focus on child-rearing, was determined to develop some skills, whilst Myron was keen to advance in his career and secure the best possible future for his family.

Besides, they needed to set a good example!