Page 66 of How to Ruin a Rake

Max took a moment to puzzle out her logic before replying. “You know damn well that the only reason I agreed to bed you was because you swore you’d never have the chance to experience physical intimacy.”

Two spots of color appeared high on Allegra’s cheeks, and she took a step toward him. “That wasn’t the only reason. You agreed, because it meant you got off the hook!”

“How do you know why I agreed? Did I make you privy to my private thoughts?”

“Oh, I know your private thoughts. You let your father bring you here like a naughty schoolboy, didn’t you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Allegra glared at him. “You obviously made no effort to defend yourself, or—”

“Or what? You might as well spit it out, Allegra. It’s not like you to be coy.” Max took a step toward her so they were really close. There was a damp curl stuck to her cheek, and he resisted the urge to release it.

“You let him tell you what to do,” Allegra repeated. “The only reason you are here is because of him. You let him set out the terms of this ridiculous marriage.”

Max stared at her incredulously. “Are you angry because I didn’t propose to you myself?”

“Yes!” Allegra was shouting now. “At least that would’ve been honest, and I could’ve turned you down to your face, but no, I have to deal with your awful father.”

“I was trying to protect you,” Max said through his teeth. “I thought it best to let him manage things himself, so that when he failed, it would all be his fault.”

“By acting like a sulky schoolboy?”

“That’s unfair.” Max glared at her.

“Well, that didn’t go quite as planned, either, did it?” Allegra said. “We’re stuck here, and everyone seems to have decided we’re getting married.” She looked away from him. “What on earth are we going to do?” she asked again.

“The first thing that might help is if you stopped shouting at me,” Max said.

“You started it.”

Max held onto his temper. “If that is true, then I apologize. The most important thing is that we work together to find a way out of this mess, yes?”

“Yes,” Allegra said. “And I apologize for shouting at you, too.”

“The main thing to remember is that they can’t force us to marry.”

“Agreed.”

“And if you can persuade your Mr. Cooper to propose to you in the next few days, then when my father returns, everything will have been settled, and he won’t get his way.”

Allegra nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

She walked off with her dogs, leaving him standing by the bridge. He knew he should be relieved that such an easy solution to their problem was available, but the thought of Allegra having anything to do with Mr. Cooper appalled him. Cooper wouldn’t understand her like Max did. No one would. She was unlike any other woman he’d ever met.

He decided to go for lots of long walks during his stay so that Allegra would have plenty of opportunities to persuade Cooper to propose to her. The last thing he’d want would be to witness that event. Somewhere deep inside, he would hate it.

Allegra walked back to the house in a strangely unsettled mood. Max had obviously decided to let his father deal with the situation. Allegra wasn’t sure if it was a sound strategy or laziness but, after having met the duke, she could see why he might have tried it. The duke was a man who expected his will to be obeyed instantly, which was why her outright refusal to fall in with his plans had been completely ignored.

“Lady Allegra.”

She looked up to see Postumus coming toward her and immediately felt a sense of rising panic. She’d suspected that he might want to marry her, but she had no idea how to broach the subject without blurting out her situation and ruining her prospects with him.

He paused. “Are you feeling quite well?”

She bent down to pat the dogs to conceal her blushes. “Yes, I’m fine. Have you breakfasted?”

“Yes, I had a good conversation with Mr. Laurent and a brief one with the marquess, who treated me rather like a member of staff.” His smile invited her to share the joke, but she was in too much of a state to do so.