Page 1 of Duke of Chaos

CHAPTER ONE

“Iam sure that my sister misspoke her words,” Lydia Knight laughed nervously as she smiled at Lord Tarren.

To her relief, he smiled back, but when she turned toward her little sister Juliet, she frowned at her blank expression.

“Juliet,” Lydia urged, forcing her smile back on her face, “Perhaps you would elaborate for our guest?”

“I meant precisely what I said, Lord Tarren,” Juliet replied coolly with a raised brow. “I do not find insects at all thrilling, not even butterflies. And I could not possibly feign interest in any research you so obviously want to go on and on about.”

Lydia gasped as Lord Tarren cleared his throat and ducked his head, a deep blush overtaking his handsome face.

“Juliet,” Lydia whispered in horror.

“My deepest apologies,” Lord Tarren said, his voice trembling as he rose, “It is clear that I have wasted everyone's time this evening. I shall no longer bother you ladies.”

“Lord Tarren, wait,” Lydia implored as Juliet called out, “’Tis most appreciated, my lord.”

For a moment Lydia felt herself torn in two; unsure whether to run after the Earl of Peamont and his bruised feelings or shake her little sister until her brain rattled back into place. Deciding that going after Lord Tarren would only lead her to comforting a grown man, which she did not feel inclined to do, she turned back toward Juliet and fixed her emerald green eyes on her little sister.

“What in heaven’s name has gotten into you,” Lydia scolded her as she took in Juliet’s irked expression.

“I did not like him,” Juliet replied with a shrug as she inspected her nails. “He wants a wife that will swoon over every boring word he says, and I haven’t the patience.”

“Is that not what you want to be for your husband?” Lydia asked, knowing what her sister was looking for: A match. A traditional but loving marriage where she could fulfill her wifely duties happily and willingly.

Juliet looked up at Lydia, her green eyes mirroring her own, and raised an inquisitive brow.

“You want me to swoon over bugs?” she asked, then chortled, “I will listen eagerly and even swoon over my future husband’s stories, to be sure, but they must be about something more exciting than butterflies.”

Lydia opened her mouth to argue, but the truth was she saw her sister’s point. Lord Tarren seemed to be obsessed with creeping, crawling things, and it would take a woman equally obsessed to genuinely enjoy everything he had to say about them. Still…

“Did you have to be so rude with your response, though?” Lydia asked finally. “I do not see why you had to be so, so…hateful.”

At this, Juliet sighed in irritation, turned in her seat toward Lydia, and said, “Lydia, Itriedto change the subject.Youtried to change the subject. There was attempt after polite attempt to change the conversation, but he refused to allow it! Finally, I could not take it anymore! And if his reaction was to sulk like a scolded boy then it only confirms my ill regard for him. I do not want to marry a boy! They are more emotional than women!”

Again, another point she could not argue. Sometimes Lydia wondered what her mother might have said or done if she were still here. She did not doubt that she would have been better equipped to handle Juliet’s first season. Unlike Lydia, their mother had the experience of being part of a marriage. As the eldest of the three daughters, Lydia was the spinster. With their mother gone, their strict but distant father had allowed Lydia to remain unmarried.

Lydia knew it was only because he could not be bothered with the daily involvement it took to raise three daughters, but she was thankful for it all the same. Like Juliet, she too thought that the men of her time were far more emotional than they used to be and were quick to become offended by any intelligent thoughts. It was wearisome.

However, like their middle sister, Alice, Juliet was to be married and would not be allowed to follow Lydia’s footsteps into spinsterhood. Alice had tried to remain single before she’d met her husband Duncan, the Duke of Baxter, and had found her love match. Now Lydia was trying desperately to help Juliet find the same.

“Is it just him?” Lydia asked, speaking a tad kinder to her youngest sister as she moved a little closer to her. “Or is it something else? Lord Tarren is not the only gentleman suitor you have discarded as of late. You were most excited to come out this season! What has happened?”

Juliet’s eyes softened as she let out a heavy breath and unclenched her fingers from her own arms. However, before she could speak, a knock came from the doorway and the sisters turned toward it.

“My ladies, forgive me,” said Cora, one of their servants, as she curtsied toward the two of them, “But the Lord Knight would like to speak with you, Lady Lydia.”

She paused, her young, pretty face flushing as she added with a timid whisper, “He seems most urgent about it, my lady.”

“Take a rest, Cora,” Lydia responded kindly as she rose from her seat. “Why don’t you take these leftover cakes back to the kitchen and have yourself a treat?”

Relief flooded the maid’s face, and she quickly curtsied again before bustling to collect the trays. Lydia knew how intimidating and impatient her father could be. They tried to hire male staff as much as possible, but their turnover rate for maids was incredibly high due to them becoming frightened of his temper. Lydia found through the years that they were inclined to stay longer if she offered the maids little breaks after being cornered by her father.

“May I go to my room now?” Juliet asked, sounding both bored and annoyed.

Lydia turned back to her sister just as she reached the door.

“Absolutely not,” she replied sternly, becoming more maternal than sisterly, “This conversation will no doubt be about you. You will stay here until I find out what Father has to say.”

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