Page 109 of How to Ruin a Rake

“Are you expecting Max to dine with us?” Allegra eventually blurted out.

“I believe he went to his club with his brother,” the duke said. “If you need to see him immediately, I can send a message and tell him to return.”

“There’s no need, your grace. I’m sure he’ll come back at some point.”

The duke put down his wineglass. “You seem a little tense, my dear. Are you quite certain that everything is all right?”

“Everything is fine, your grace.” Allegra tried to sound convincing. “I suppose I’m just looking forward to seeing him.”

“Despite everything, I do believe this has been a good match for Max.” The duke’s long fingers curved around his wineglass. “He seems more mature, more settled, and some of that has to do with you.”

“I think it’s all him, actually,” Allegra said slowly. “He was tired of doing nothing of consequence and was looking for the opportunity to be taken seriously.”

The duke regarded her closely. “Despite such a short acquaintance, you seem to understand him remarkably well, my dear.” He paused. “I don’t believe we heard the full story of what occurred in Suffolk when you and my son were thrust together.”

“I believe you heard the important bits, your grace,” Allegra said, trying not to betray her sudden alarm. “Max was wonderful.”

“Did I mention that I sent a private investigator to follow your supposed trail?” The duke smiled. “He came back with some very interesting information indeed.”

“Oh.” Allegra held his gaze, wondering what on earth he’d discovered and fearing the worst. “Did you receive that information before or after you agreed to the marriage?”

“Before.”

“And you let it go ahead?”

The duke shrugged. “As I said, I realized that you were very well matched, and the fact that Max had gone to extraordinary lengths to protect you and your reputation sparked my interest.”

Allegra leaned forward. “Did you hear about the inn where we were almost murdered?”

“Murdered?” The duke’s eyebrows shot up. “My investigator found an inn where Max’s second horse had been stabled and brought the beast back.”

“Did he stay the night?”

“I don’t believe so.”

“Good. Because if he had, you might never have seen him again.” Allegra sighed. “I told Max that he should write to the authorities about those people, but it seems he never did. I do hope they don’t make a habit out of murdering random travelers in their sleep, but I fear they will continue to do so if not stopped.”

“Tell me exactly what happened,” the duke commanded.

“I shouldn’t have mentioned anything, but I thought you knew all.” Allegra grimaced. “Max is going to kill me.”

Max entered the house and paused in the hall. He could hear voices in the dining room, one of them female, and wondered whom his father was entertaining all by himself. George’s notion of a good night out had quickly degenerated into a drunken gambling fest, of which Max wanted no part. He could no longer imagine why he’d got up to such idiotic things and was bored enough to tell George he was going home and to ignore the jeers from his ridiculous friends.

His stomach grumbled, and he headed toward the open door of the dining room. If there was still food available, he would sit down, make himself pleasant to whomever his father was entertaining, and then head straight to bed. The woman laughed. Max stopped in the doorway and stared disbelievingly at his wife, who appeared to be having a wonderful time with his father.

“Max,” his father said. “Do come and join us. I’ve just been hearing about your adventures with the murderous innkeepers.”

Allegra sighed. “I’m so sorry, Max. I thought he knew.” She turned to the duke. “Your private investigator did a pretty poor job if he didn’t suspect something was wrong at that place.”

“He was more interested in retrieving that valuable horse,” the duke said. “It was one of the things I asked him to do.”

“Still, it’s a good thing that he didn’t stay the night, because, as I said, you might never have seen him again.”

Max sat down and stared at his wife and his father in something of a daze.

Allegra smiled brightly at him. “Your father hired a private investigator to trace our steps through Suffolk. He located your second horse and brought him back to London.”

Max took a sip of wine. “I did wonder how that horse ended up coming to Somerset with the rest of my stable, but with everything going on, I forgot to mention it.”