![]() Chapter OneA Chapter by ShalynDelaney loved libraries. At least, she used to love libraries until the evening she found herself sitting in Lord Ratham’s library only three weeks after her coming out. She sat on the soft chair, playing with her handkerchief to give her hands something to do while she waited; she wasn’t sure what she was waiting for, but she knew it was something she didn’t like, because if Papa told her to do something, it was never something she was going to like. Often, if Papa was involved it ended with her hiding limps and breathing quickly to keep the pain in her ribs from becoming overwhelming, but still she sat in the library, because Papa had told her to, and she was afraid of Papa. He’d told her calmly that she looked a little pale, and that she was to go sit in the library until he told her she could come out, but Delaney knew it wasn’t that simple. Something was going to happen. Delaney’s eyes flickered to the newspaper sitting on the nearby table, and on an impulse, she set her handkerchief in her lap and picked it up. She never risked reading when there was a chance she might get caught at it, but at the moment, she was so nervous that she needed something to take her mind off of the fact that Papa was inventing something that was, without a doubt going to make her miserable. With a sigh, she turned the pages, skimming over the headlines, no longer amazed that they were about her. The newspapers had found her the perfect target for millions of interested readers, because she was different from other girls. According to this particular article, she was interesting, because unlike other girls in society, who pretended to be stupid, she was stupid. Very, very stupid. Delaney rolled her eyes inwardly. The real difference was that she was better than other girls at pretending to be stupid, because she didn’t pretend to be stupid to impress the gentlemen. She pretended to be dimwitted because it kept her safer. Papa left her alone much of the time, and did not force her to do all the things he tried to, because she would just pretend not to understand what he was talking about. She pretended to be an idiot because it was necessary for her survival. It often made Papa send her away with an exasperated grunt instead of a beating. She turned the page of the newspaper, her eyes settling on the article about ‘The Cloaked Sentinels’. It was one of her favorite sections, not because she believed it, but because it showed imagination, and it was amusing. Oh, she believed there was really a group of people that guarded those in danger, but she had a feeling that they did not call themselves anything as romantic as The Cloaked Sentinels, and that unlike the article, the real guards were not ghosts but living breathing people with a great deal of training. She shifted, so that she was sitting up a little straighter and began to read the latest tale in earnest. It was as fantastical as all the articles about The Cloaked Sentinels were, with the leader being a man known as ‘The Grand Ghost’ and his main helper a woman, his wife, named ‘The Sneaky Sentinel.’ All of it was ridiculous in the extreme as the group of ghosts desperately tries to save the king from the evil Stingy Siren. It made her smile inside, just a bit, and made her insides loosen up a bit. “What are you reading?” Delaney nearly screamed. For an instant, she had the horrible feeling that Papa had caught her reading. He would be furious. It was very rarely that someone could startle her, so either the man who had spoken to her walked very softly, which meant it wasn’t Papa, or she’d been much to engrossed in the article. Very slowly she lowered the paper and stared up at the man. It was not Papa, but the Duke of Montague. That did not give her any reassurance whatsoever. The Duke of Montague was really the only one who rivaled with her for the front pages for an entirely different reason than her. His scandals. He was very well known for never being seen without being at least half drunk, he was rumored to have murdered his mistresses, the count of which the public had lost track of long ago. But being the Duke of Montague, he didn’t just pick up mistresses from anywhere. He was well known for targeting a certain kind of women. The young girls, who’d made stupid enough mistakes to have their reputations irreparably destroyed, the ones who were most often disowned by their families, often even if it was not their fault that their reputations destroyed. Those were the ones the duke was known for targeting, the young ones, who were vulnerable and disgraced with a bad scandal. Delaney felt a tiny shiver run down her spine as she stared up into his striking green eyes, realizing with dread, that if he liked, he could very well destroy her reputation, as she was a young lady, alone in a library. Without looking away from him, she folded the newspaper and set it back on the table. He tipped his head to the side the slightest bit, his gaze studying her thoughtfully, before he quite coolly, sat down on the floor so that she did not have to crane her neck to look up at him. That surprised her, as she blinked at him. He gave her a smile that she didn’t trust in the least, but the curiosity in his eyes didn’t disappear. Instead, it deepened. “You’re not stupid, are you.” It wasn’t a question. It made Delaney shiver again. He’d
caught her reading. Everyone in Skillia knew Delaney couldn’t read.
It was plastered all over the newspapers. And he’d figured out
without her saying a word to him, that she wasn’t stupid. She just
stared at him, though, keeping her face blank, the way she always
did.
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1 Review Added on January 24, 2025 Last Updated on January 24, 2025 AuthorShalynIdaho Falls, IDAboutShalyn has been writing stories for her family ever since she was thirteen years old. If she is not writing, she can most likely be found reading. Shalyn lives in Idaho Falls, and when she is not writ.. more..Writing
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