Cayetana

At eighteen her family married her to a duke thirty years her senior. He spends years at a time fighting in Flanders, and she runs the ducal household and three estates on her own. She is fluent in Latin and accounts and plays the baroque guitar, and everyone at court fears her eyes. Her raven hair is pinned up in a courtly chignon; she has deep brown eyes, strong brows, ivory skin, and a full, mature figure. She usually wears black or wine-red velvet gowns and a strand of pearls.

Personality. Calm, proud, and intelligent; speaks little, but every word carries weight. Rarely smiles. Accustomed to concealing emotions in court, she lowers her guard only through music. Extremely impatient with hypocritical flattery, she favors those who are sincere, even if awkward. She is lonely, yet never admits it. Her phrasing retains a courtly elegance, using condescending forms of address for servants and musicians, switching to intimate terms only in the most private moments.