Chapter One

"Now I hope that you will behave this afternoon, Zeus," Lady Esther Cooper whispered to her faithful four-legged companion, who was trotting happily alongside her as they entered the lush green expanse of Victoria Park.

Zeus wagged his tail, now distracted by the crowd of park-goers that populated the area. Esther caught a few dirty looks thrown her way as they took in the sight of her overly excited dog.

Well, not her dog exactly. He belonged to her mother, Albina. But it was Esther who tended to all his needs.

"Lovely day we're having, are we not?" Esther plastered on a smile as a pair of two women, who appeared to be mother and daughter stopped to examine Zeus from a distance. "Would you like to give him a pat on his head?"

Esther was not sure whether it was her dog or her desperation that caused the reaction, but the short-lived curiosity quickly turned into horror as the two quickly dashed off without even acknowledging what Esther had said.

She watched their retreating figures in disappointment, only brought back to reality when she felt Zeus pull at his leash. He looked at his owner, tilting his head to the side.

"It seems our endeavor has proven to be unsuccessful," Esther sighed, talking to the dog as though it could understand. Sometimes, it felt as though Zeus was the only one that was listening. "Perhaps they had something urgent to attend to…"

The weather had been so lovely this afternoon that Esther had decided to take the Welsh sheepdog for a walk in the park. On the surface, the purpose of her little sojourn was to make use of the lovely weather and get Zeus some needed exercise. A dog of his size required a walk of at least one hour per day.

Of course, both objectives could just as easily have been achieved in the back garden at Ramsbury Manor. So then why make the tedious journey to Victoria Park, which was at least a half an hour"s distance from her residence?

Esther bit down on her lip and recalled her list.

"Number one," she repeated to herself as she began to scope the surrounding area for others who might show interest in Zeus, "Win favor among the ton."

As the eldest daughter of William Cooper, the Earl of Ramsbury, Esther had been raised to be the perfect lady. Even the act of walking her dog had to be done in the most elegant manner possible with her back straight as an arrow. It was important to her that everyone around her perceived her to be the pinnacle of poise and grace.

Her mother had always said to her that whenever she makes a public appearance, she must make the men want to be with her and the woman wish that they were her. To what degree had Esther been successful in achieving that, she was not yet sure. But that was the impossible standard that her mother had set for her early on.

Esther, while friendly in her disposition, had never been much of a socialite, like her mother. Albina Cooper had a vibrant social life. She had a large group of friends, whose daughters she loved to compare Esther to.

"Lady Bridland's daughter has won accolades for her sewing skills. Esther, how come you cannot sew just as well?"

"Lady Grimshaw has just informed me that her daughter is already excelling at the pianoforte. Esther, you can hardly play for five minutes without losing key…"

Or perhaps, the worst of them all…

"Esther, Lady Primrose's daughter has been named the Diamond of the Season. You did not manage to even get a single man interested in you enough to ask you to promenade."

Esther had been eighteen then, fresh faced and wide eyed at her Debut. She remembered being nervous to attend, as her mother had greatly exaggerated the occasion of her first ball.

She just had to be perfect.

But fate had other plans that day.

As Esther glided into the opulent ballroom, adorned in her finest gown, she had… tripped, falling flat on her face.

"What a tragedy," one of the girls had snickered right in front of her face. "Good luck finding a husband with two left feet."

Her luck had only gotten worse and worse as the evening wore all. It seemed that all the girls around her were able to fill in their dance cards, while Esther's was empty. That did not change, even by the end of the ball.

That night, Esther had gone home and cried herself to sleep. She swore off balls entirely, refusing to ever go to one again.

And she was happy keeping it that way until…

"Esther, are you set on your ways of becoming a spinster? At your age, I had two children. This is embarrassing for our family."

That was how her mother had spoken with her on her last birthday. The combination of turning twenty-five and being without a proposal had forced her to reconsider her priorities.

"Number two," she bit down on her lip as she began to follow along Zeus' lead to the other end of the park, "have an impeccable reputation."

Her sisters, whom she loved dearly, often tried to make her feel better about herself.

"Marriage isn't the only thing women must do."

"There is a silver lining to the situation. The longer you stay unmarried, the longer you get to live at home with us."

"It would be a nightmare living with another man to begin with."

Esther interpreted their comments as pity. In her mind, the implication was clear: there must something wrong with Esther. But no one dared admit it out loud.

Esther had finally had enough. Being without a match felt like a fall from grace, and she was determined to climb her way back up to the very top of the ivory tower that she was ousted out of.

And the only way to do that in her eyes was to fulfil each item on her list, one at a time.

"Number three…" Before Esther could finish her sentence, Zeus' excited bark pulled her back to the present moment. Spotting a small animal on the other side of the park, the dog lunged forward, his leash slipping from her grasp and darted off in the distance.

"Zeus!" Esther called out as she began to run after him. He had a knack for running away like this, and it was always very difficult to regain control of him.

She carefully skirted around picnickers, muttering apologies and holding up her dress so as not to get it mixed with the grass.

"Pardon me, excuse me, my apologies," the string of justifications left her mouth as she tried to keep up with her canine companion. Some onlookers began to laugh at her, causing the heat to rise in her cheeks.

Her frail hands folded themselves into little fists, and she pushed forward, realizing that she had followed her dog out to a secluded corner of the park that was surrounded by shrubbery, concealing it from direct view.

"Oh, you are being far too naughty," Esther chided when she finally caught up to him. He had stopped in his tracks and assumed guard position as he faced towards the sound of muffled voices coming from behind the shrubbery.

Esther strained her ear to make out what was being said.

"She will be a suitable candidate to be your wife. Her family is…"

"No need to bore me with the details," a gruff sounding voice replied, "I am not interested in getting to know her at a personal level."

"Of course. But a marriage for someone with your status, it is important that we are thorough with our investigation."

"That is what you are here for. Are you telling me that I must do your work for you now?"

Esther felt her stomach churn as she listened to their conversation.

How awful. She thought to herself, feeling pity for the poor woman who was to be married to such a man.

Number three on her list was getting married. The pressure on her to find herself a suitable husband was immense, both from her parents side and society. But no matter how bad her own situation was, surely it was better than being put into a marriage of convenience with someone who was not even interested in knowing his bride to be.

Surely, that was the least one could expect.

Just as she was about to turn away and head back, the men started walking out from behind the shrubbery, causing Zeus to bark away them.

"Get back," the older looking man began to shoo away her dog. She noticed the man beside him, towering over the other with his tall stature and a mop of raven colored hair, stood calm as though he had not been fased in the slightest.

Esther pulled back on the leash, "There, there, Zeus. Stand back, my boy."

Esther managed to control the dog before the situation would escalate, quickly placating him with a small treat she had packed for him in her bag.

"You really ought to be careful, My Lady," the older man said, disappointed.

"I must apologize," Esther sputtered out, embarrassed. "He is usually quite well behaved. He was just caught by surprise when he saw the two of you emerge out of the shrubbery like so."

"Well behaved?" the man with the raven colored hair turned to look at Esther, raising his eyebrow. "If bothering at unsuspecting strangers is what you consider to be well-behaved, then I am afraid that your definition of the word is quite skewed, My Lady."

Esther could hear condescension dripping from his tone.

What on earth did he have such an attitude for?

She crossed her arms out in front of her, defensively. Zeus was like a child to her, and she would not stand for to see this entitled man berate him like this.

"My Lord, I am not sure how you can so confidently make that judgement when this is the only interaction you have had with him. It is quite presumptuous, if I may say so," Esther finished her sentence with a small laugh.

The man stared back, unimpressed and his expression unchanging. His face looked like he had not smiled in years, let alone entertained any sort of humor.

What an entitled bore. She thought to herself.

"I do not need more than a moment to judge what is what," he replied without missing a single beat. His words exuded a certain kind of confidence that could not be learned. It could only be inherited. "You are the one that needs a lesson in judgment, as you're walking around with a menace to society."

"Menace to society? My Lord, I urge you to make some room in your judgement for your own benefit. Zeus is well-trained, and does not bother anyone," Esther defended fiercely.

That elicited a mirthless laugh, shaking his head.

Oh, so he does laugh after all…

"You could leave me for any given stretch of time with that…. Rat-looking creature, and I assure you my judgement would be the same."

That riled Esther up. The audacity! She opened her mouth to shoot back an equally sharp reply, but the man waved his hand his in the air dismissively, gesturing his companion to follow him before walking off himself.

"Coming, Your Grace…" the man scrambled to keep pace, following orders immediately.

"Your Grace," Esther repeated as she watched their retreating figures disappear into the distance, rolling her eyes. "Of course he is a Duke. His entitlement should have been a giveaway."

She had heard many tales of the entitlement that seemed to plague the offspring of the highest of the noble families. They carried themselves with an air of superiority, expecting the world to bow to their every whim.

Zeus had now finished eating his treat and looked up at Esther for her next move. Seeing his big brown eyes made her heart melt, and she knelt down to pat him on the head.

"You are not a rat," she assured him in a whisper. Esther had always been of the opinion that animals were sensitive beings, perhaps even more so than humans. They could sense when someone had uttered someone nasty about them, "If anything, he is one for being so awful about his future marriage. I feel terrible for the woman already."

Zeus wagged his tail, not understanding anything that was going on but happy to be getting attention regardless.

Just as Esther was about to stand up again, the bottom of her dress snagged underneath her shoe and caused a small tear to appear.

"Oh, no, no, no," Esther groaned as she knelt over to examine the damage. It was quite visible, and a lady could not be seen out in public with a ripped dress.

That meant her stroll at the park was effectively over. She sighed to herself, gathering Zeus' leash and mumbling under her breath, annoyed.

"Number one," she sighed as she began to retreat with Zeus following in tow, "Win favor among the ton… not with a ripped dress, I cannot. We must go home."

Her plans for the afternoon had been soiled. All because of an entitled duke. If she had not crossed paths with him, she would still be out there amongst the park goers, perhaps having already succeeded in striking conversations with a few of them.

But of course, he had to be hiding away behind the shrubberies, diverting the attention of her dog and leading her here.

Stealing one last look at the park, she promised herself that it was only going to get better from here on out. At twenty five, her youth was already beginning to slip away from her, at least by the standards of society in which she lived.

She had to complete all the tasks on her list, in order to prove her worth. And if it was one thing that Esther Cooper was adept at, it was not giving up even when faced with adversity.