Secrets of a Proper Countess Read Online Free PDF Page A

most.”
    â€œShe’s eighteen!” Carrington snapped.
    Phineas said nothing. How had little Miranda reached the age of eighteen without his noticing?
    â€œMost girls come out at seventeen. I’ve made her wait an extra year, Blackwood, in the vain hope that you’d marry and reform before she was exposed to your disgraceful behavior. I cannot wait any longer. She is the granddaughter of a duke, and I have only one great-grandson to date. If the worst should happen to Marianne’s son, and you fail in your duty to marry and get an Archer heir, it may fall to Miranda to breed the next Duke of Carrington. If I might remind you, you have a birthday of your own coming up in a few weeks. You will be thirty-two.”
    â€œI doubt you’ve come to wish me a happy birthday,” Phineas said lightly.
    He went over the long list of his most recent misdeeds in his mind. It was too soon for his grandfather to have heard about his tryst in Lady Evelyn’s garden. Unless he’d spoken to Burridge on the way in, of course. He wondered how long it would be before Carrington—and all of London—knew he’d come home last night with the buttons to his breeches in his pocket.
    â€œI’ve come to invite you to Miranda’s debut ball,” the duke said. He withdrew an envelope from his coat and tossed it on the table. Phineas picked it up and opened it, scanning the elegant engraved invitation briefly.
    â€œShould I convey my regrets to you or Great-Aunt Augusta? I assume you do not actually wish me to attend.”
    â€œI do not,” the duke confirmed. “But your sister does. Most heartily, in fact, so I’ve come to insist on your attendance.”
    â€œThen for Miranda’s sake, I shall be there,” Phineas replied stiffly.
    The duke fixed him with an icy glare. “On one condition, Blackwood. I insist you curtail your whoring and gambling for the duration of Miranda’s stay in London. I also expect, as I do every year, that you will avail yourself of the opportunity of being in polite company to find a suitable bride. It is past time you got an heir. If you do not, then I shall be forced to—”
    â€œLeave every penny that’s not entailed to Marianne’sson,” Phineas said, completing the familiar threat. The duke scowled. They both knew it was groundless. Carrington would never destroy the wealth and power of the dukedom, no matter how much he despised Phineas. It would break four hundred years of Archer tradition.
    â€œDon’t be flippant, Blackwood. You’ve had your years of freedom and frivolous behavior. It is time to accept your responsibilities and think of the future. I do get the London newspapers at Carrington Castle, you know. I’m fully aware of everything you get up to.”
    â€œAnd I thought I was being discreet,” Phineas quipped, and watched his grandfather redden dangerously. Fortunately, Crane entered with the coffee.
    Phineas waited until he set the cup before Carrington. “Whisky, please, Crane,” he said, and watched his butler’s eyes dart to the duke for permission. “Now,” he ordered, and Crane crossed the room to the decanter.
    There was no point in arguing with his grandfather. Still, the situation presented a number of problems. Either Whitehall or the duke was going to be very unhappy with him. He could not be rake and gentleman both. Duplicity made people suspicious, less trusting, and less talkative.
    He took the tumbler of whisky Crane offered and downed it at a swallow under the duke’s censorious gaze. “Another,” he said.
    â€œIt’s not yet ten o’clock, Blackwood,” the duke said primly.
    But he swallowed the second tumblerful as well. Discreet behavior was not how he did his job. This wasn’t going to be easy. Or pleasant. Pleasure reminded him of the lovely Yasmina. Such encounters would be impossible if his sister was present.