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and Alex felt rather more conspicuous, but a
welcoming nod from General Scott, who happened to
look up from his hand at the moment they entered the
gaming room, reassured her.
For a time they both stood watching, then a
corpulent young man laid down his cards in disgust,
exclaiming, I ll be damned if I m going to continue
playing with you, Reggie. You re in too rare a form
tonight for me. I might as well just fork over my blunt
to you and save you the effort of playing. Let someone
else who can offer you a run for your money take you
on. Catching sight of Alex as he waddled away from
the table, he continued, Here is a likely-looking
player. How about you, sirrah?
I... Alex was groping for a reply when the young
man spoke.
Here, Nigel won t mind you as a partner. You could
hardly have worse luck that I did. What do you say,
Nigel?
Thus appealed to, his former partner could only
confirm that Colin had had the devil s own luck that
evening and he invited Alex to join him.
Not having her partner selected for her as she had
had before, Alex was rather uneasy, but she was soon
able to read him. By leading her own cards well, she
was able to coach him into helping them do quite well
for themselves. Well enough, at least, for Nigel to crow
sometime later, It only takes some new blood to make
the Goddess of Chance desert you, Reggie.
That is because the stakes are so blessed low.
Raise em to a level that makes a man think and then
you ll see what we are made of, his friend replied.
Very well, then, one hundred pounds a point,
winner take all. Nigel was not about to be shown up
by his opponent.
Alex had a good job of it concealing her dismay, but
she managed a laconic nod. Come, my girl, she
encouraged herself, this is precisely what you wished
to do, challenge your opponents enough to rake in
some real winnings. Relax, it is perfect. You already
know your opponents; the only thing changed is the
stakes, which only works to your advantage. Keeping
this little monologue in mind, she was able to accept
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the cards dealt her with a degree of equanimity. Once
she began to examine her hand, she forgot everything
as she planned her strategy.
So intent was she on playing, though she did her
best to mask this by lounging in her chair and
drooping her eyelids, that she was completely
unconscious of the little crowd that, attracted by the
rise in stakes, had slowly formed around them. It was
not until Nigel laid down his last cards with a bewil-
dered shake of his head, pronouncing disgustedly,
Damn me if I can see how this happened, why I had a
hand ... Dame Fortune is kind to you young rustics.
But just wait until you have been on the town awhile,
sirrah, she ll be as hard on you as she is on the rest of
us, that Alex looked up and saw that they had an
audience.
And there among them, his gaze fixed intently on
her, was Major Lord Wrotham. He smiled and greeted
Alex pleasantly enough, but that did nothing to allay
the uncomfortable suspicion that he had been
observing her very carefully for quite some time.
Though it was not quite her place to invite him, Alex
decided to seize the bull by the horns. If he suspected
her of cheating, or whatever he suspected her of, it
was time to prove him wrong. Will you not join us.
Major? She indicated the place vacated by the
disillusioned Nigel.
An appreciative smile tugged at the corners of
Christopher s mouth. So the lad knew he was being
watched, did he? He was as clever as the major was
beginning to think he was, and bold too, to challenge
him so quickly. De Montmorency must be very sure of
his card-playing skills either that, or he was very
cleverly employing marked cards. But Christopher s
innate sense of character told him that the young man
with the auburn hair, bright green eyes, and
determined chin, who was now regarding him with just
a hint of wariness, was not the sort to profit by
dishonest means. No, if the major knew his man, and
he usually did, this one was confident of himself and
his abilities, and he was set on proving them in the
most demanding of situations. Why, thank you, I
shall, if the others agree. There was a general nod.
The major sat down and the cards were dealt.
Almost the moment the play began, Wrotham knew
he was up against an opponent who was very good
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indeed. The lad never seemed to give an obvious lead,
but that was the very skill of it. Even though
Christopher was alerted to this, he was still surprised
when the game ended in de Montmorency s favor. The
second game the major and his partner most definitely
lost because Wrotham was more intent on studying his
opponent s play than on his own.
The man seemed less intent on taking the individual
tricks than on winning the entire game. Something of
a veteran, both of the Peninsula and the card table,
Christopher could recognize and appreciate a master
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