Kyuhyun could hear the commotion in the courtyard through the open window. He sat up while noting the frenzy around him.

Is it fire? He asks as the noise of servants running around sounding busy permeates the air.

“Your Grace? Are you awake? It’s time to dress, His Grace is back.” Henry’s voice came from behind the locked door.

He’s back! Kyuhyun’s heart flew into his mouth. Did Siwon somehow got wind of what occurred last night and sped through the night to confront him in the morning?

He hopped out of bed in a hurry to unbolt the door and Henry dashed in. The efficient valet washed and combed and brushed him at the speed of light and they threw on his day clothes before he checked his appearance in the mirror only to discover that he couldn’t have looked worse than when the duke left him. His clothes, which had merely looked tired before is now looking absolutely worn out. Here and there it is threadbare and a few seams are threatening to give way any moment now. The fit is not entirely loose, in some places uncomfortably tight.

He ran nervous fingers through the curls in his hair and his heart constricts painfully, Jumyuk had hinted that Siwon prefers straight hair, the portrait of his late wife certainly attested to that.

But his face has to be the worst. He has the guilty flush of a wife who had kissed another man.

Kyuhyun left the room and makes his way down the stairs trying to keep his composure calm and his body steady.

Siwon is in the entry way shouting orders to the servants and directing various bags, boxes and crates to their destinations. As Kyuhyun watched silently at the top of the stairs, Siwon shrugs off his long traveling cape and passed it to his valet. His boots are dusty from the long travel but the black suit he is wearing is perfectly pressed, shirt points crisp and cravat neatly tied and firmly held in place by a sliver stick pin. He shone every bit like the rich and well bred gentleman he is and Kyuhyun could help feeling a sense of pride that he is his.

Hearing soft foot falls, Siwon stops his instructing and looked up to meet Kyuhyun’s gaze, following the boy’s every step as he descends. He couldn’t help noticing how Kyuhyun is fidgeting with the ends of his sleeves.

Reaching the floor, he stops a few feet in front of the duke and bowed slightly. “Welcome home, my Lord.” He greeted calmly while fighting his curiosity to ask where Siwon really went for such a long period of time.

“It’s great to be home again with you here to welcome me.” Siwon replied while his eyes roved over his wife appraising. And when he is satisfied, he allowed a light smile to grace his lips. Gesturing to the boxes around him, he said “I have arrived at the same time as your purchases so I brought them along. Have you used the last 2 weeks to spend my money?”

Kyuhyun blushed furiously. That wasn’t the first impression he had intended on giving his husband. He had hoped that all the new things would be installed before his return and the debts hidden in the daily expenses because husbands seldom notice slight improvements in the house once they are in place.

“I can explain.” Kyuhyun offers.

“Come with me to the study and you can do so there.” Siwon strode past him and led the way into his study. Once inside, he sat down and began shuffling through the huge stack of mail that accumulated during his absence.

Kyuhyun stood in front of him in silence, like a schoolboy in the headmaster’s room, wringing his hands fretfully.

“Well?” Siwon asks without looking up.

“The boxes…”

“Are probably filled with unimportant items which you do not need to explain to me.”

“Are filled with curtains and paper for the dining room.” Kyuhyun corrected with a glare. “When we tried to clean the room, the velvet curtains fell apart upon touch. And the silk coverings were covered in so much grime they cannot be saved. I did not make any major changes but I’m sure you will appreciate the refreshing feel in there once the new purchases are up.”

“You attempted to clean the dining room?” Siwon repeats incredulously.

“Of course, the cleaning needs to be done urgently. I did not touch any of your private rooms-“ yet, he thought. “The common areas in the house desperately needed a thorough scrubbing.

“Come here.” Siwon commanded, and Kyuhyun steps timidly forward . Siwon reached out and took his hands gently, turning them palm up and ran a finger along the softening calluses. “I hope you did not attempt all that workload by yourself?”

“I had the help of the servants, my Lord. Although I had to find extra help from the village but they are only temporary.”

“And what was the housekeeper’s opinion?”

Uh-oh…here it comes. Kyuhyun steel himself before speaking. “I sacked her but the new one was most amicable.”

“Sacked?” Siwon’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Um, yes. She was not feeling very cooperative. And I felt that that cannot be the case if I was to continue being here.”

Kyuhyun was surprised to see a flicker of smile on Siwon’s face before the duke went on.  “So you’ve spent several hundred pounds on new hangings and sacked the housekeeper. Anything else?”

A delicate cough in the doorway signalled the presence of the butler.

“Not now, ahjussi. I am speaking with my wife.” Siwon dismissed sternly.

“No, I think this is a good time as any.” Kyuhyun spoke up bravely, emboldened from surviving so far without a scolding. “I’ve not sacked him yet since he is an old family retainer. It would be better if you handled things.”

Siwon’s eyebrow arched fiercely. He has never been told by anyone in his whole life span that it is his job to ‘handle’ anything.

“Ahjussi has been unhappy lately. And this unhappiness turned him onto your wine cellar. I have not calculated how much is the current losses but the amount is quite huge and it is affecting his ability to attend to his duties.”

“Is this true, ahjussi?”

The butler must had hoped to have a chance to plead his case before the duke was informed by his wife of the situation. Now he is at a total loss how to answer.

“But there had been improvements this week, and I think I’ve the solution!” Kyuhyun charges on.

“What is it?”

“I’ve been through the household expense books, which is how I got the idea of getting the new curtains. Your mother did not…..she was…..” Kyuhyun struggles to put together a sentence without speaking ill of the dead. “Although the servants were loyal, she has not given them a raise for several years.

“The rate here is much lower than what I am used to seeing.” Kyuhyun speaks confidently since he was very well acquainted with the pay of a servant in his past life.

“Are you seriously suggesting that we reward drunkenness and theft with a raise?” Siwon is edging on fury while the butler looked around for a hole in the floor to bury himself in.

“Yes, I am.” Kyuhyun continues calmly. “ When servants find themselves working for an ungrateful master, they sought for ways to repay themselves. They steal; they shirk from their duties; they skim from the budget, short changed the grocer and dilute the wine. I know you can afford an increase in household budget because at this moment, your servants are robbing you blind and your house depilated.

Siwon frowned and his face darkens. “That level of candidness is uncalled for.”

“I speak truthfully. The housekeeper is gone because she bought inferior groceries, doctored the books and kept the difference. The staff is still in chaos but at least the dinner is now edible. A raise will pacify any unhappiness , prove that I do indeed have the accredited authority in household matters, and allow me a freer hand to get the house in order.”

“And what about the butler?”

“If he will stop his current behaviour, he is welcomed to stay.”

“Is this what you hope for too, ahjussi?” Siwon questions in a stately manner.

“Yes, your Grace.”

“Very well. Inform everyone that there will be a 5% raise all around.”

Kyuhyun raises his hand up discreetly and Siwon shot him a disapproving glare.

“10%, all around. And make it known to everyone that his Grace is to be thank for the raise.”

“Yes, sir.” The butler disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“If that will be all, my Lord.” Kyuhyun made to leave the room too.

“No, it will not.”

Kyuhyun turned around again, a dash of cold ran down his spine. Siwon’s face is pokerfaced now.

“You have been busy.”

“Yes, my Lord. There was much to be done.”

“And are you satisfied with current situation?”

“W-what?”

“When we last spoke before I left, you seemed somewhat unhappy with our union. You wanted to return home. I take it that you’d a change of mind since?”

Kyuhyun dropped his gaze to the floor. “It was childish fit, my Lord. It will not be repeated. You honored me by marrying me and I am grateful and intend to return the favor by being a faithful and submissive wife.”

For a moment he thought he will hear a mocking snort at his words but Siwon remained silent and stern.

“Very well. And I notice that you have no problem spending my money with abandon in my absence.”

Kyuhyun wonders if the duke will turn out to be a miser after all. “You did not leave specific instructions on how to proceed. I thought it is best to take control of the household as soon as I could. I’m sorry if you find the expenditure more than you expected.”

“In future, please let me look over the receipt of any purchase over a hundred pounds. But if you continue prudently as you have, I see no reason not to accept your judgement in household matters.

“Thank you, my Lord. And now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Go ahead.”

Kyuhyun turned and hurried towards the door when he called softly. “Kyuhyun?”

“Y-yes?”

“Your hair.”

Kyuhyun panicked at the mention of the forgotten curls in his hair.

“They suit you very well.”

Kyuhyun couldn’t help smiling back at the duke. “Thank you, my Lord.” And then he hurried back to the safety of his room.

I wonder where he’d been? If only I had dared to verify. He had claimed to be a rake when I first arrived, maybe the lady he visited is now wearing new silk and pearls and completely satiated after her two weeks' rendezvous with the duke.

Kyuhyun felt a pinch in his heart at the thought of Siwon gallivanting with a faceless trollop while he was left behind to work his back to breaking for the house. His eyes ached as he pushed at his door to enter.

It wouldn’t open.

“Just a minute, your Grace. Let me clear your things out of the way so the door may open.” Henry called from within.

My things? Kyuhyun raised both brows in surprise. He cranked his head through the crack in the door and almost choked on his breathing.

“Isn’t it wonderful that his Grace found your missing trunks? They were not lost after all. And you do have some of the most striking things, your Grace. Let me lay out a new suit for you to change into for lunch.”

“NO!” Kyuhyun shouted as he wrap his arms stubbornly around his thin body. Then became aware of the guardedness Henry’s eyes suddenly adopt. No doubt, the valet must think him mad. “I-I mean….I don’t want to change yet till we unpack everything.”

And until I figure out whom these things belong to.

Kyuhyun can’t help feeling perturbed. The trunks are labelled his name, his title and his married name. Maybe Siwon found some unfortunate person’s unlabelled luggage and assumed it’s his?

He knows how unlikely his line of thinking is. The clothes are clearly new, some still bearing base stitches on the hems. Absently he picked out a leather shoe with a diamante clip and slipped it on. It was the most comfortable thing he had ever worn. He held a shirt up against his body, the billows of lacy ruffles brushed his jaw.

“Do you like them?” Siwon asked from where he is leaning leisurely on the doorframe between their rooms. In that instance he saw the marked resemblance between both brothers. His eyes scrutinized him hungrily and his smile was pure wickedness. Kyuhyun felt his skin burn as if his husband had physically came close and laid a hand on him.

Seeing his master’s dazed look, Henry quickly steps in. “They are very splendid things, your Grace. The wearer will turn every head decked in these.” He said excitedly.

“Very good then. Leave us, Henry. Let me have a word with my wife.”

Henry bowed with a knowing chuckle and left quickly. Siwon steps into the room and moved towards him before choosing to sit down on the bed amongst all the clothing laid out before by Henry. “I believe you will be more settled now that your things arrived.”

Kyuhyun spun around with a sullen frown. “You know very well these aren’t mine.”

“Of course they are yours. The trunks are labelled, and every item bears your name too.” Siwon replied calmly as he fingers the a silk shirt while murmuring a famed tailor in the city. “You have remarkable taste.”

“Is that what you were doing for the last two weeks?” Kyuhyun snaps in frustration. “Playing dolls at a tailor?”

“I left general instructions and they filled the order. It’s unnecessary for me to oversee every detail of your wardrobe.”

“I did not ask that of you.” Kyuhyun replied bitingly.

“Clearly someone must. Although you ran up consider