Love Knows No Social Rules (Preview)

Chapter One

Charlotte walked along the busy streets, attempting to hurry in the crowd. Something about the busy summer had brought a lot of people to the market, and it was hard to hurry in the crowds milling about. Some people stood in the crowd, looking at the goods, and blocked others from getting through.

She held the glass bottles of milk in front of her the best she could. This way, if one was to shatter, she was sure to take most of the damage from the broken glass. She would also get a talking to if she were late, hence her attempt to hurry past everyone else. Charlotte Allen was in no mood to be yelled at by the Baron or the housekeeper for being late with the milk.

Especially when she remembered the cook needed it for dinner tonight.

She sincerely hoped getting sugar was the last errand she would have to run today, but that was almost debatable. The cook and the housekeeper seemed to take great joy in running her around all day, from one end of town to the other and back again, for no reason at all. They simply enjoyed staying in the house all day.

As she weaved through the crowd, dodging a child here and a woman seeming mad about some trivial price there, she managed to find it was easiest to hurry if she were closer to the walls of the market. It would mean getting out of the market itself would be almost impossible, but she would at least get to the exit easier this way.

As she finally managed to exit the market, having had to make her way around it a couple of times, she realised the temperature had dropped. It must have been later than she thought… or clouds had rolled in. It was one of the two, and she didn’t have time to worry about what was going on.

Instead, she hurried along the main road back to the Hyatt place of residence. She had been working for the Hyatt family for a year, and she enjoyed it immensely, even if the cook and the housekeeper used her as a pack mule to get the groceries and run errands they would rather not have to run.

It was easier for Charlotte to keep her head down and do it than to kick up a fuss over it. If she made a fuss or a scene, the baron could easily fire her. He wouldn’t even need a reason; he could literally simply wave his hand and say she was no longer employed there.

And that would only leave her without a place of employment, and a former employer who had no wish to help her get another job. It would not be easy to come back from, and she wished to avoid being fired with all her heart.

As she was stopped at a street corner, trying to find the easiest way to cross it without having to worry about perhaps getting hit by a buggy or a horse, she noticed a soup stand on the other side of the street, on the corner where she would go if she had to go to get something from the tailor’s.

It wasn’t a very big soup stand, as many corner soup stands were only big enough to fit a couple of people behind them and a couple of people in front, and maybe one large pot of soup on the table itself. There was not much of a line, either.

Then, she noticed Colin Hyatt was helping the soup stand run. This didn’t surprise her.

Colin Hyatt, her employer’s eldest son, was something of an oddity from the higher classes. He preferred to give his time helping the poor in London, instead of trying to get them banned from every high society function.

If she were not employed by his family, she would go to the soup stand just to be close to him. Her heart fluttered upon seeing him there, and she almost forgot what she was doing.

A horse whinnied nearby.

Charlotte turned to look at the street, but it was just as busy as it had been when she arrived. So, she returned to watching Colin Hyatt do what he did best: donating his time to help others live a better life, if only for a few seconds.

He was reaching into his pocket now. This didn’t surprise her either. He often gave children coins instead of waiting for them to pickpocket them away.

At this thought, Charlotte pulled the milk a little closer to her legs and lifted it slightly. It was as heavy as it had been when she left the shop. A good thing to know.

She found her chance to cross the street as he gave the coins in his hand to a small child in the line. The last thing she got to see of the corner soup stand was the way the child’s face lit up upon being given the coins.

Colin was good at making others smile, laugh, and have better days. Even if it was only temporary since he could not do much more to help. His father would yell at him if he knew this was where his son had gone to everyday for the last year. Probably longer, but it was not the first time Charlotte had seen Colin behave this way.

She finished her walk back to the Hyatt residence, and was immediately beset upon by the cook – a young woman named Loretta Jepson who had a terrible temper and a permanent sour scowl to match the temper.

“You are late.” Loretta Jepson did not take kindly to being kept waiting when she needed to get started on something immediately. “What took you so long?”

“My apologies, ma’am, but it was rather busy at the market, and I was unable to hurry through the crowds today.” Charlotte was out of breath by the time she arrived at the kitchen, but it didn’t matter. Not to Mrs. Jepson. Nothing she ever did was good enough for Mrs. Jepson.

“Well, next time I ask you to get milk, you’ll have to hurry a little faster.” She gave Charlotte a long look of disappointment before taking the milk. “I have nothing more for you to do right now. Go see what Mrs. Worthy has for you to do. If she doesn’t have anything for you to do, I’m sure you could help Katherine with something, or perhaps the baron has a chore for you or two.” Katherine was the other maid in the household, and Mrs. Jepson considered her a better maid than Charlotte could ever be.

“Yes, Mrs. Jepson.” Charlotte silently breathed a sigh of relief.

If Mrs. Jepson didn’t have anything more for her to do, it was highly unlikely Mrs. Worthy had something for her to do. The worst she could get now was perhaps serving tea, or being asked to help Katherine with whatever she had been tasked to do.

Until dinner, that was. Mrs. Jepson was notorious for giving her all the dishes to do on any given evening, and then expecting her to finish them before she went to bed for the night.

Upon finding Mrs. Worthy in the dining room, Charlotte found her mind quieting itself immediately. Mrs. Worthy was not as ruthless in her demeanor as Mrs. Jepson, but there was clearly a bias towards Katherine that the two shared.

“You have been summoned to serve tea.” Mrs. Worthy did not look up from her own tea. “Lord Hyatt and his son are in the sitting room, and they would appreciate some tea. Now, hurry along and get it done.”

Mrs. Worthy had her usual no-nonsense tone. A quick look up from her tea was all it took to send Charlotte towards the hot teapot on the stove. Someone had at least taken the time to do that for her; it was singing by the time she was able to get to it.

She pulled the teapot off and started to steep some leaves. It was a rule of thumb in the Hyatt residence that tea was done when the servant brought it in and poured it. It didn’t matter what your preference was; you drank what the servant gave you.

So, when Charlotte was tasked to serve Colin Hyatt tea, she took her time to make sure it was to his liking. It didn’t matter to her who else was in the room, even though she should have technically made the tea to Lord Hyatt’s liking instead of to Colin’s liking.

Again, she did not really care at that moment.

Once the tea was ready, she set it on a tray and got two cups and saucers ready. Taking a single tray up the stairs and up to the proper sitting room would not be too hard. She had done it a thousand times in the last year; Colin often requested tea, and she was the one to serve it every time.

It was a happenstance she had never thought of before. Now she had thought about it, her knees wanted to give out. She had to take a moment and steady herself against the table. Thankfully, Mrs. Worthy had not noticed. Or if she had, she did not say anything.

As she took the tea to the sitting room, the sudden thought that she was going to be close enough to Colin to smell his cologne caught her attention. Her knees again buckled, but she was able to catch the tray without spilling any of the tea.

That was what most surprised her about this.

Why would he want her so close to him? He barely noticed anyone who didn’t mean anything to his life: Mrs. Worthy, Mrs. Jepson, Katherine… even Charlotte considered herself someone who did not mean much to his life.

And she was alright with that place in his life, if she were honest. It would be bad if he knew how much she yearned to be beside his side… to be his wife. To be someone he could confide in.

“You clumsy girl!” Lord Hyatt’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “You’ve ruined Colin’s suit!”

She looked down. She had been serving the tea, and she had spilled it all over Colin Hyatt. Her face flushed.

“Father, please. ‘Tis alright.” Colin spoke up. Her heart fluttered.

Why did she have to make a fool of herself?

“Charlotte. In the kitchen, now.” Mrs. Worthy’s tone told her she was about to be severely chastised. Katherine had entered the room too, and the look on her face only told her that her secret was out. At least, to Mrs. Worthy and perhaps to Lord Hyatt.

As she had predicted, Mrs. Worthy gave her a good chastising for spilling the tea.

And a new order: the cook needed sugar. Though Katherine was originally going to do the errand, giving it to Charlotte seemed to be an additional punishment.

“You’re so clearly in love, Charlotte… sometimes I wonder why he has not yet noticed.” Katherine couldn’t hide a giggle as she spoke. “I think you’ve absolutely gone bonkers, Charlotte. He’s a noble. You’re nothing but a servant to him.”

“I can dream, can’t I?” Charlotte sighed. “I should really run off to the market again… Mrs. Jepson will want the sugar as soon as I can get it to her.”

“Just make sure you don’t spill that everywhere too.” Katherine smiled as she walked away to go to do something else that needed to be done.

Charlotte sighed. She had made such a fool of herself in front of Colin… how could she have allowed herself to get so caught up in thought that she did not notice the teacup spilling over?

At least Colin had not seemed to mind the spill.

Chapter Two

Colin did not mind the tea on his pants. While his father may have cared – and a little too much, if anyone were to have asked Colin his opinion – he thought it was rather interesting. Why would a young maid seem to lose her mind being around him?

He did not think about the maid for long. Mrs. Worthy brought in a fresh pot of tea and soothed everything over. Due to her years of experience, Mrs. Worthy never spilled the tea.

Colin had always wondered what kind of name ‘worthy’ was. It was one he had never heard before, and he wondered if it was something she had created just to make sure she was not taken advantage of. After all, she could shed the identity if she had created it just for this job.

“Colin. I was talking to you. Have you not been listening?” His father’s voice broke the train of thoughts. “I was asking if you are aware of a dead chicken that has been left on a rival’s porch.”

“I am aware.” He had to hide a giggle.

Of course he was aware of that dead chicken. He had been the one to place the dead chicken.

“This is a serious matter, Colin. I have it on good authority you are the one who placed it.” His father gave him a stern look.

“And what if I was the one to put it there?” Colin could not help but laugh a little. His father was too quick to get angry at him, and there was nothing he could do about it now. Then again, there had never been anything his father could do to control him.

Not that it stopped him from trying, anyway.

“Colin.” His father’s stern look turned into a stern glare. “Are you admitting you put the chicken there?”

“No. I am simply saying that there is no way you can show if I was the one who put the chicken on the porch.” A smile started to form on Colin’s face.

This was not going to end well for him, but he could not deny his prank had been funny. His rival had practically gone on a run across town upon finding the chicken on the porch. Of course, it had ended in him getting kicked out of the gentleman’s club.

“Then why were you kicked out of our gentleman’s club today?” His father stood up. “Colin, you have got to stop doing this kind of thing.”

“What kind of thing am I to stop doing, exactly, Father?” He decided to play stupid still. His father knew for a fact he had put the chicken on that porch, and he had given him a chance to deny everything.

Didn’t his father know he would never openly admit to his tricks if he was given a chance to deny them in front of him? Or had that fact become part of the ploy this time?

“You are to end this feud. Or at least end your acting on your childish instincts about it.” His father did not waste any time telling him what to do. “I have no idea what to do with you, Colin. You will end up getting kicked out of every club in town if you continue like this. White’s is the only one left for you at this point, and I doubt you will ever be elected into it if you continue this behavior.”

“Did it ever occur to you that perhaps I had a reason for putting the dead chicken on his porch?” He kept a cool tone. Enraging his father further would only end in more pain for Colin later.

He would like to avoid the pain, if at all possible, when these things happened.

“Then why did I get a letter from said rival about the dead chicken?” His father gave him a look with his eyebrows raised, as if to say he was now in check.

Colin raised an eyebrow. So, his being kicked out of the club had not tipped his father off to what he had done. If it had not been getting kicked out, what had alerted his father these events? Why would Bamber bother to send something to his father? It would only serve to make the feud worse.

“If Mr. Bamber sent you a letter about the dead chicken on the porch, then I want to hear nothing of it, Father.” Colin huffed at his father. This had gone on long enough. “I do not appreciate being lectured to. I was defending a woman’s honor, and he punched me. In the face. I thought perhaps a dead chicken on his porch would be a more practical way of handling things.”

“He did not see it that way, Colin.” His father walked over to him. By the time he reached Colin’s chair, he was towering over Colin.

It did not scare Colin, as he knew that was his father’s intention.

“If you are trying to scare me, Father, then you have utterly failed to do so.” Colin stood up, pushing his father lightly out of the way. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have other business I need to attend to.”

“We are not done here, Colin.” His father shoved him back into the chair. “You cannot continue to do these things. Do you not understand that, as the son of a baron, there are certain duties and responsibilities you have to fulfill? You cannot do so if you are off killing chickens and leaving them on the porches of your rivals!”

“I did not kill the chicken.” Colin took in a deep breath.

This was a wonderful way to start the day. Not.

“I do not care if you killed the chicken with your bare hands or had someone else slaughter it for you!” His father’s face began to turn red. “You are acting incredibly childishly, and you need to grow up.”

“Me, grow up?” He scoffed. “This coming from the man who cannot contain his rage when someone dares to defy him?” He stood up. Anger soured his face as he remembered why he had started to resent his father in the first place. His cousin… he took in a deep breath to calm himself. “Father, I am done with this conversation.”

“You are not done here until I say you are done, and I have not said you are done.” His father crossed his arms on his chest. “You are not going anywhere until I hear a reason behind the dead chicken. I can stand here all day if needs be, Colin.”

“You want a reason? Fine. I left the dead chicken on Bamber’s porch so he would leave me alone for once.” Colin spat at his father as he spoke. “I will not tolerate the kind of behavior he has shown around me, and he had to be told as much in some manner, Father.” Colin narrowed his eyes.

“With a dead chicken to the… Colin, there are better and more civilized ways to tell him that!” His father’s rage only worsened. “You cannot do something like this dead chicken stunt again. Do you understand me?”

“I hear you, but I make no promises. Bamber had it coming this time, and I will not hesitate to do it again if he crosses the line again.” Colin stood up again as he spoke. “You lay a hand on me to shove me back into the chair, and I will shove you to the floor. Move.”

“No.” His father stood still, blocking his path to the door. “I will not move. This is not how you talk to your father. Now, apologise.”

“No.” Colin took in a deep breath, puffing his chest out a little. He would not back down from this. “I will not apologise, because I see no reason to do so when you will not apologise to me for shoving me back into the chair. Nor when you refuse to apologise for attempting to control my life.”

“The way you live your life, you need a little control!” His father’s patience with him came to an end. “You refuse to take anything seriously, and I cannot leave you alone for a day without you doing something stupid that ends up in you getting kicked out of some event or worse. Let us not forget the time you were arrested for assault on Mr. Bamber!” His father looked down his nose at Colin.

“I only assaulted Mr. Bamber one time because he was refusing to leave a woman alone.” He defended his actions. He had said as much – and ‘as much’ had been the truth – when he had been arrested, and he would stick to that story. Partly because it would make his father angry to see that he would not change the story. “Now, I am going to leave.”

“You will sit back down and listen, Colin.” His father put a hand on his chest, getting ready to shove him back into the chair.

“I told you if you touched me again, I would shove you to the floor.” Colin followed this sentence by doing exactly what he had promised he would do: shoving his father to the floor.

There was a loud thud as he hit the floor. Colin took off running, ready to escape the lecture that was surely going to happen if he had stayed any longer to listen. He knew his father well enough.

It was not going to be a civilized discussion, but that was all he could say about it. Not without knowing the context of the lecture, anyway, and the context he had right now told him that his father was too angry to be civilized.

He stopped in the kitchen to catch his breath. His father would never look for him to catch his breath here, which made it a perfect place to do so.
While he was there, Mrs. Worthy came over to talk to him.

“I sincerely apologise for Charlotte spilling the tea earlier.” She had a soft smile on her face. “She is a willful young girl, with her mind going to various topics as she does things. I must teach her better.”

He did not want to listen to this either, so he only nodded and left the house through the back door in a rage.

How dare his father tell him how he ought to be living his life? How dare his father attempt to control him any longer?

It had never worked in the past, and he did not understand why his father thought the same approach would work if he continued to use it. He wondered why his mother approved it at all. It was only driving the family apart, and he could see it.

If his father did not stop trying to control his life, there was going to be a major fight one night. He couldn’t say how or why or when it would happen, but he could feel it coming. He would end up throwing a punch at his father, and he would aim right for the nose.

It would stun his father long enough that perhaps he would listen to Colin’s complaints.

When his father attempted to control him like this, the air in the very room escaped. Soot and dirt now remained trapped in his lungs, in the room, and there was not a window in sight. The longer they fought, the more he felt this way.

Once he was far enough away from the house – and he had a feeling he had walked far enough to not be visible from any of the windows – Colin leaned against the fence he had followed. Arguing with his father like this always made him shake afterwards.

It had to be the way his father riled him up that made him shake. Nothing else would make sense, at least not as far as the shaking went. Everything else was up in the air.

Colin looked up at where he was.

The lake. Perhaps this would be a good place to calm down; it had always worked in the past. He only hoped it could help him now.

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“Love Knows No Social Rules” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

Charlotte Allen has known a lot of struggle, having grown up in an orphanage and having to work as a maid. This is not all there is though, as she is defined by a strong thirst for reading, and she is gifted by a captivating personality too. After an unexpected twist of faith, she will get hired by a baron. Her lucky streak won’t end there, as the baron’s son will quickly become her secret infatuation… And how could it not be just a secret considering her position?

Despite Colin Hyatt’s aristocratic background, he has had a very troubled past and he is constantly on the verge of exploding with anger. His charming looks are definitely not enough to erase the bitterness from his past, while he seems to be making all the wrong choices. Will Charlotte’s appearance be what it takes to wash all of his pain away?

It might be fate that brought the two of them together, but every rule of society is against their potential love. Will our heroes fight back the unbearable social restrictions or will they have to eventually conform to the norm? A seemingly hopeless and doomed match of different classes is bound to cause sparks! Can Colin and Charlotte avoid the fire, or will their lives go down in flames?

“Love Knows No Social Rules” is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

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