If the duke desires

"This is spurious. I'm twenty-three and already under pressure from father to find the lass with the right breeding. Who talks like that nowadays?" Emery says poking at his baked beans and crisp toast.

"I hear you Knipschild. I thought being the next Baron of Chesterfield meant hot desperate lasses wanting to please me, use me and abuse me; but old Baron Chesterfield wills none of that." Koen grunts into his sunny side up.

I sit back and look at my friends

"Knipschild, your father had you in his mid thirties and you're his first." I point out

"I know!" He exclaims agitatedly

"That's some attractive twaddle right there. He ought to be taken up by the devil." Hilliard announces passionately

"Hodge, hold your horses, perhaps old Lord Knipschild has a point in his intentions for Emery." Leigh says

"I'll none of it! He had his fun in his youth and wants to deny his son any. That's blasphemy and treachery sliced maliciously and malevolently by the very green hands of self intent." Hilliard preaches prudently

"I second that." Emery announces with a nod and a salute of his glass of orange

"And I join the wagon baron Hadley." Koen concurs fully

"I say to Hades with those bureaucrats, we have minds of our own. We ought not be told what to do with titles we didn't ask for at the origins! In fact what we should do is teach those old chums a lesson in modern society." Hilliard declares, flaring his red head of hair like he was already in the House of Lords making a speech on pressing issues.

"And what lesson might this be?" I inquire hiding my smile behind a cup of tea

"We ought to break their backs in a match of polo where we will cast lots on our independent minds." He announces.

And therein the fault in his highness the next Baron of Hadley lies. Hilliard cut a tall figure in his coat. I'd be the first to admit he had too many pints of charisma in his blood, but all that seemed to do was place ideas of grandeur in his head, make him ignite fires he couldnt feed as you have just witnessed.

"You barely play." I point out

"Must you be so wet a blanket duke Angelford?" he passionately inquires

"I must be the sense in your fiery endeavours Baron Hadley." I reply

"I second the duke." Leigh announces

"Thank you baron Burlington." I nod at him appreciatively

"I do however understand Hadleys distaste. His mother is at the moment chatting up Lady Harris." Leigh adds

"I fear were back in the eighteenth century and not the twenty first." Emery dramatically announces making a house of his crisp toast

"I may have a ploy to get us out of this." Koen brightly announces, flashing his aqua eyes at us.

This ought to be interesting!

"And what could it possibly be?" Hilliard encourages him

"Charlton's impact." Koen divulges saucily.

I sit back, the tension of hope that for once something cheerily intelligent would spew from the rose-lipped next Baron of Chesterfield dying away like a rose in old water.

"Chesterfield you have the sensational intelligence of a headless spring chicken." Hilliard says glaring his hazel eyes at him.

"Perchance there is a connection twixt the dethroned Baron and our situation if Chesterfield was but given the pulpit to explain." Emery says flashing a smile at the auburn haired Baron to be.

I sense this is more from desperation than endearment.

"Charlton, like us, was under pressure to wed at a morosely early age was he not?" Koen points out indeed.

Leigh seconds him "and thus he went for the worst possible match he could find; Gloria Durante." He adds

"She was glorious indeed!" Emery chuckles dipping the roof of his crisp house into the beans

"Marvelously sculpted." Hilliard agrees with a smile

"But she was so badly bred his parents would never have approved if she had been finished." Leigh states in distaste. That was slightly exaggerated.

Lady Haris' finishing school taught many a future duchess how to be a lady and would have done the same for Gloria Durante. But something told me Charlton was not into ladies. Leigh must be the only real blue blood at this table, the rest of us would have had a go at Gloria if she as much as liked teenage boys back then!

"As a result his parents lowered the standards of expectation allowing him to mingle with any woman in the ton he wished as long as it wasn't Gloria; which is what we want to happen is it not?" Koen arrives at his point

"You want us to court ill mannered seductresses such as Gloria in order to gain access to whichever dame we deem fit among the ton?" Hilliard investigates.

By Jove! Hes got it! The lad's got it!

Koen lies back on his seat like the very intelligence of him had been placed entirely into his explanation of the Charlton impact. He runs his hand through his auburn hair and smiles.

"Was he not overwhelmed by Glorias seduction of him such that he was bound by her charms and chose to wed her against his parents will?" Leigh confirms

"The end is immaterial, it is the impact we seek. If we can keep our hearts out of the matter and use only our heads we should be in for quite the ride noble men." Koen decides. I smile at him; quite the ride indeed

"we have a few weeks to the Rollins summer open. I suggest we get us company." Emery announces, his slate eyes widening like he was viewing the cafeteria for the first time.

I watch the heads around our table crane in unison, the blond curls of Baron Burlington turning last before mine does. Am I partaking in this misindustry? I should think so!

"Do we hope to find someone for ourselves this way?" Leigh asks smoothing his glasses over his peridot eyes

"I should hope so." Koen announces

"I like the one in the blue three tables down." Hilliard decides

"Her dress is but too tight and too short!" Leigh exclaims

"Exactly what I like." Hilliard decides with a firm nod like this was but a shop and the assistant would deliver the missus to his apartment later on this evening

"I have her! In a floral get up seven tables down to the right!" Emery declares proudly.

I smile at his choice, he had to pick out the most absurd of matches, and I had to outdo him! She had skin like the distinct brown of Saharan sand at sunset, short nutmeg hued curly hair cut close to her head in an asymmetry and a tattoo that peeked out of her left shoulder blade.

"You'll kill the old man!" Koen proudly says with a wink of his aqua eyes

"Pick one Leigh. Go ahead." Hilliard urges like we were at the horse races and betting

"To be exact by the window three tables to your left." Leigh says with a tinge of rose on his cheek.

I turn to a blond with long straight hair like sable, her eyes aqua in contrast. I doubt his parents would disapprove seeing Emery's choice!

"By Jove! If she had but Auburn hair she would be Koen" Hilliard whispers proudly

"I lack feminine looks as such!" Koen protests as we laugh

"I know not why you lament. Leigh obviously thinks you quite attractive!" I chuckle

"Chesterfield and her bare no similitude save for the hue of their eyes!" Leigh defends himself

"I'd watch myself around Burlington if I were you Chesterfield. He might attempt to kiss you in a corner!" Emery chortles as Leigh rouges

"Angelford? Shall you go last?" Koen pries changing the subject

"Indeed I shall." I announce not seeing any one I would do the honour of scaring my parents with.

He smiles triumphantly, as though he had seen someone he expected me to pick and was going to swipe her from under my arms

"Four tables up to the left, beside the window." He proclaims.

I turn around counting the tables and looking for the girl, all I see is a curly haired man

"I am going to pretend I am gay." He announces in elucidation as the door to the cafeteria opens.

I hadn't expected this to be a war of egos as it had turned out to be, but everything with us always turned into one such thing or another, a race, a challenge, a competition or contest, and here was Koen Broughton, the next Baron of chesterfield, pushing the bars up even higher for me to jump. And that's when she walked in as if to save the day for me...

The graffiti of her sport shoe must have been the first thing that caught my eyes, colourful things my mother would cry over! And then the sporty exactness of the lengthy deep earth coloured leg being exposed in confident gait as she swung her hips past table after table in that golden print pair of shorts, the blue jacket swinging side to side half rested on a backside that I was frankly surprised the high waisted shorts could handle. A glove in her hand and a blue scarf of love heart prints tied as a choker on her neck whispered excitedly to me that maybe she was a biker or something. My mind went instantly into calculation; how many things would my parents dislike about my new-found girlfriendjQuery214039496589106804025_1516799904468

The list wrote itself out, the seductive walk that made a weaponry of those hips, the gum she was chewing and the particular red of that lipstick on those full delicious looking lips, her sense of style, the way she filled her bra cups so immodestly, her over-sized cat eyed sunglasses in a room, her vogue afro hair style, the deep chocolate of her skin, the chutzpah and attitude I could tell she has a lot of, the motor bike riding, the way she filled the room with her presence, the way those shorts fit her extraordinarily, the way she just walked up to Emery's choice and picked up both her butt cheeks in her palm! To cut a descriptive story short; she was the one for me!

"She's worse than Gloria!" Leigh announces.

She is rather delicious isn't she?! I was getting uncomfortable in my slacks just looking at her. She smiles and pulls in Emery's choice for a hug then turns around back for the door. I turn to look for my butler then sigh. I have to do this on my own! Gratefully she's looking at her phone when I push Emery's leg out from under the table. She somehow misses it, but the talking lass behind her doesn't, driving the sharp heel of her leopard print shoes right into a toe of his. He yelps in pain, spewing out some choice words as she gasps and lifts her foot

"I'm so sorry!" she cries as my choice walks on by on the phone