It gives women the idea that he does not care a whit about propriety or society’s rules. I remember at one time being guilty of dousing my clothes in alcohol merely to suggest that I had been out gambling and whoring all night rather than nursing a head cold. A rake can never be too careful. Many years ago a certain gentleman turned rake, forgot this little rule, and was discovered drinking tea at a gambling hell. Tea! The next day he was laughed out of the country. So you see my point. Liquor, my friends, liquor. —The Private Journal of Viscount Maddox “Are you sure this is wise?” Colin asked the following night at Beaumont’s dinner party. “But of course,” Anthony assured him. “After all, you are halfway there. To be a true rake you must not be too polite, yet your smile must always be given freely to women.” Colin smiled. Anthony shuddered. “Not like that; a man only smiles that wide when he wants one thing, and it isn’t a woman.
