Page 94 of How to Ruin a Rake

Mrs. Smith glanced up as he came in. “Mr. Brice said someone had arrived, sir.”

“Yes, it’s the Duke of Barfleur.”

Mrs. Smith pressed a hand to her bosom. “The duke is here? Where on earth is he going to sleep?”

“That’s a very good question. Perhaps you can put your mind to solving it,” Max said. “Have you seen Lady Allegra?”

“She’s in the scullery with the dogs. They got rather muddy on their walk, and she’s giving them a good scrubbing.”

Max walked down to the scullery and paused at the door to watch his wife. She had Cromwell in a tub and was carefully washing his paws while she talked nonsense to him. Her hair had come down, and she wore the oldest of her gowns with an apron on top, which was doing little to stop her getting soaked. He smiled at the sight of her, the love he felt leaving him suddenly breathless.

She looked up. “What’s wrong now?”

“My father’s here.”

Her expression of horror would have made him laugh if things hadn’t been so dire. She straightened, and Cromwell immediately jumped out of the tub and shook himself. Allegra shrieked and covered her face. Max grabbed a drying cloth and cleaned off the dog while Allegra tried to wipe off the worst from herself.

“Where is he?” Allegra asked as she took off her apron.

“In the study.”

“I have to change,” she said, gesturing at her sodden dress.

“Yes, meet me in the study when you’re ready. I’ll stall him with some tea.”

Max took the dogs into the kitchen, asked Mrs. Smith to make a pot of tea for three, and wondered where on earth he’d put his coat. His father despised slovenliness, and the sight of Max in his shirtsleeves in public would have appalled him. But there was no time for him to change, so his father would have to put up with it. He suddenly remembered that he’d left his coat hanging on the bottom of the stairs and retrieved it before reentering the study.

“Allegra will be here in a moment, Father; she is just changing her dress,” Max said.

“I’m glad you’ve at least put your coat on,” his father said. “One has to keep up one’s standards in front of the staff.”

Max didn’t bother to argue about such a minor matter when he was sure there was much worse to come. The duke took up position in front of the fire, his expression difficult to read. He was immaculately turned out in clothes suitable for a country gentleman. His boots gleamed, his cravat was perfectly pinned, and his coat was a masterpiece of exquisite tailoring.

“What exactly is going on here, Max?”

“Well, you’ve caught us at something of a disadvantage,” Max said.

“You’ve been here for over a month, and this place looks as if it’s been ransacked. And where is Mr. Cobbins? He hasn’t answered any of my secretary’s letters for weeks.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Cobbins have departed, but I can assure you that the authorities are pursuing them.”

“What in God’s name are you talking about?” Behind the duke, the door opened to admit Allegra. “I leave you with a competent land manager and you fire him? No wonder this place is in such a state.” The duke shook his head. “I should’ve known this was too much responsibility for you. Your brothers warned me, and everyone else told me not to do it, but I thought you were finally maturing and that your marriage would give you some stability.”

Max felt a familiar sense of doom as his father berated him. He’d always refused to argue his case in such situations, because what was the point? In his father’s mind, Max was always guilty.

“Your bank manager came to see me because he was concerned that you were running through your money. Now I’m here, I can see why. I gave you a limited budget for a reason. I did not intend you to throw out all the furniture and start again!”

“That’s not what we’re doing, in fact, we’re trying to—”

“Do not make excuses, Max,” the duke interrupted him. “You have let me down. I’ll have to rehire Mr. Cobbins and make sure you don’t have the authority to change anything in this house until I deem you old enough to do so. And let me tell you, my boy, that change will not be happening any time soon!”

Allegra came past the duke to stand by Max. “Good afternoon, your grace.” She curtsied.

The duke looked down his nose at her. “I had hoped, madam, that your good influence would help my son settle down, but it appears that my trust was mistaken. I suppose, with your family’s reputation, I was a fool to even think that.”

Max took Allegra’s hand, a strange coldness settling over him. “May I speak, now?”

“What is there to say? Your apologies and pleas that you will do better next time obviously mean nothing, and—”