Page 22 of Raising the Duke’s Unexpected Twins

“Heaven’s sake.” Nicholas rolled his eyes. “Fine. I will handle it.”

“Excellent. You seem in the perfect mood for it too.” Darren gleefully left, and Nicholas considered more whisky but thought better of it before he left his office, shutting the door behind him.

He went out onto the landing and looked down at the establishment he had built from the ground up. Cordelia was right; it was not exactly honorable, but by God, it was fun. It was teeming again with customers, as usual, and ladies worked their way through the crowd with drinks or with other favors on offer.

After spying Banbury, looking far too drunk already and talking to one of the ladies in a feverish whisper, he rolled his eyes and hurried down the steps. Nodding at a few acquaintances, he watched the dealers as they kept their customers happy but kept to the rules.

He wove his way through the crowd until he found the drunk, pudgy Banbury, clasping onto one of the women and berating her in his usual way.

The man was slurring his words as he said, “But I am such a good customer, a loyal customer. Surely that entitles me to liberties.”

Finally, Nicholas was close enough to grasp a hand tightly around Banbury’s wrist.

“Oh!” Banbury, looking up at him with wide eyes and a sweaty brow.

“Unhand the lady, Sir Banbury. She is not your property.”

Banbury followed the order and took a step back, looking frightfully offended.

“Yes, well, Your Grace, they are here to be ‘rented out’ as it were.”

Nicholas took a deep breath, wishing to hit the man in the face. But instead, he gave him a sickly smile. He glanced back at a furious Marianne.

“Feel free to go on your way, Mari. You’ll get no trouble from him anymore.”

“I had better not,” she said, stomping away.

Nicholas grabbed Banbury by the cravat and dragged him closer to the edge of the room.

“I have told you once and I have told you many times. You are a customer. This is not your home, nor is anything in this place your property. These women are working women, and they are here as my employees to work and serve the guests of this establishment. They are under my protection, and none of my staff will be abused by drunken fools. Do you understand me?”

By then, his face was close to the quivering Banbury’s, and the man nodded.

“Good. I think you may take your leave now, Sir Banbury, and return home. The evening has taken it out of you.”

The man opened his mouth and closed it again like a fish, and Nicholas nudged him away towards one of the burly security men who dragged him towards the exit. As he looked on, Marianne approached him.

“You saved us yet again, Your Grace.” She smiled.

“I think I had better ban him from the premises. What say you to that?”

“I think me and the other girls would be most happy indeed.”

He chuckled as she walked off. No one at the gaming tables had even looked up during the whole of the interaction, and that was the way Nicholas preferred it. He pulled on his jacket sleeves and brushed down his lapels when he spotted the last person he both expected to see or wanted to see in the whole of the world. The Duke of Wexford. Making a disgusted sound under his breath, he headed towards the stairs again, only for the duke to follow him.

“Quite the establishment you have here, Your Grace. A duke running a gambling house. Disgraceful.” The man had said it far too loudly, but thankfully, no one seemed bothered by it.

Nicholas spun around on the first stair. “I do not see why on earth you could be here, Wexford. Unless I am dead and this is hell.”

The duke bristled under the comment, and he looked around him. “We are certainly close to the devil in here. You were such a bad influence on my son, and I was forever attempting to separate you two.”

“Is that so? Well, I have it on good authority that David was at his happiest when he was bloody well away from you.”

He scowled and then stomped up the stairs, only to have the duke follow him once more. Nicholas was not eager to have any discussion with the man he hated most, but it was better than having it on the floor of his gambling den. The duke followed him into his office, but Nicholas kept the door open.

Nicholas leaned against the edge of his desk. “My establishment is a place for men to be honest about their vices. Can you say the same of your house?”

The duke’s pale face suffused with color. “How dare you?!”