Page 29 of Duke of Chaos

“If you are sure,” Juliet said warily, her frown finally breaking a little. “I…I do have something to share.”

“Yes,” Lydia urged, moving from Alice to her, “I ammostcertain. Now tell me! What is your news, dearest sister? I pray it is good.”

Juliet looked sheepishly around at their friends as if asking for their permission to move on. Lydia ignored the sliver of annoyance that went through her as she saw Barbara and Alice give her a cautious nod. She really did wish they would stop stressing. Did they really think she could not handle Ezra?

Their flirtations had increased steadily by the day, but no matter how wicked either of them became, every time she warned him to stop, he would. It would often leave her bristling and sensitive, with an unsteady hand on both her temper and her thoughts, but he had not laid an inappropriate hand upon her. Even though she sometimes secretly wanted him to do so.

“I have heard from Edmund,” Juliet continued, as a small but genuine smile began spreading across her face. “He has sent Papa a proper wedding proposal and Papa has agreed!”

Lydia, delightfully shocked at Juliet’s news, felt as if she could have been knocked over with a feather.

“That is…Juliet, that is amazing!” she said with awe, opening her arms to hug her younger sister.

“How? When? Why did you not write me about this?”

Juliet let out a soft laugh as she hugged Lydia back enthusiastically, and Lydia finally found their usual ease around one another slid back into place.

“I wanted to deliver the news in person,” Juliet explained, “And it took place under the strangest of circumstances. Edmund’s letter was delivered by his father about a month ago. He’d apparently made Papa an offer he could not refuse if he allowed the engagement to take place, although the details beyond that are not known to me. All I know is that I officially met the baron for the first time after he emerged with Papa from his office, and after he made his introduction he invited me to call him father.”

“But where is Edmund?” Lydia asked.

Her mind was already reeling with the added details, but she needed more.

“Still at sea,” Juliet explained, “Apparently he coordinated this all with his father after he wrote a brutally honest letter about how much he cares for me and means to make me his wife. He even offered his father an additional two years of service in the Navy if he could secure our marriage.”

“Is it not the most romantic story?” Helena sighed.

Lydia glanced away from Juliet and was relieved to see that the others had also relaxed.

“It truly is,” Lydia agreed heartily. Then, hoping to keep the momentum of the new topic going, she quickly added, “Now all of you, tell meeverything.”

“She seems to be in one piece,” Morgan mused, his eyes on Lydia. All of their eyes were, to Ezra’s annoyance.

“A rather fine piece at that,” Morgan continued, “Heavens, chum, she looks downright gorgeous. Has she always been so lovely?”

Ezra slapped the back of Morgan’s head, followed by a gritted, “Get your eyes back in your head, you fool.” In a low voice, he added, “Of course she has always been.”

“Morgan has a right to be confused,” Ambrose countered, coming to his friend’s defense, “After two months of no contact, we have every right to wonder what had become of her.”

Ezra turned a bored look toward Duncan.

“Were you and your wife not in my home barely three weeks ago? Did you not find sufficient evidence of her good health?”

“Indeed, I was,” Duncan, agreed, swirling the scotch in his glass, “But I know how strong Lydia is, and she isverycapable of putting on a good show.”

A deep, black anger sliced through Ezra, and because he was wearing his mask, he allowed himself to bare his teeth.

“The woman is a saint,” Ambrose acknowledged, tilting his glass toward Lydia and the other women in their lives. “To put up with all that you do. But word has spread. Your reputation already appears to be transitioning from Monster to Honorable Husband.”

“All that I do?” Ezra drawled, if for nothing other than his own morbid curiosity.

“Your…proclivities,” Ambrose muttered, having the grace to at least look away from Lydia before he said it.

Ezra’s anger suddenly twisted into amusement as he recalled Lydia’s jest on that topic, and he let a wicked chuckle slip past his lips.

“The last time I checked, you had some interesting proclivities yourself, old friend,” he replied dryly.

“Yes, but I stopped,” Ambrose replied, his tone low and edgy as he threw a tentative look toward Barbara and Helena.

---