Unsuitable Girl

by Ling, Maria

  "Luck," the colonel snorted. "We have two more hands to play, gentlemen."

  Hoyle passed the deck to Captain Parkes, who shuffled it and passed it back. The colonel cut, and Hoyle dealt.

  "Hearts are trumps," he announced as he faced up the ten as last card.

  William picked up his hand. For a moment he stared at it, dumbfounded, unable to believe his luck. This was a hand to dream of. He had six trumps, including ace and king, and a brilliant run of spades. A weakness threatened in clubs, but even he should be able to pick up some tricks.

  He schooled his expression into one of dutiful attention. Parkes led with clubs, which offered an opportunity for William to lose his weakest card. The colonel smacked down a triumphant queen, then uttered a sharp expletive as Hoyle took the trick with an ace. Three tricks later, Hoyle succumbed to the colonel's ace of diamonds. The colonel led with hearts, and after that the play was all on William's side. He took seven tricks in a row, watched them line up in front of Hoyle, and fought to suppress a grin.

  "Best two out of three, sir," Hoyle told the colonel in a bland tone when the hand concluded. "Six hundred pounds, I think we agreed."

  "Damn you," the colonel snarled. "That was nothing but blind luck. We'll have another rubber."

  "For a further six hundred?"

  William clenched his jaws. He couldn't get another hand like that.

  "For a thousand," the colonel growled. "And double for a double. Right, Parkes?"

  The captain - from a wealthy Northumberland family - only smiled.

  William bit down on his doubts. Hoyle's confidence suggested he had a scheme in mind. If they could pull it off, Annis and the child would be provided for no matter what happened. A half share in sixteen hundred pounds, plus whatever William could get for his commission, would set them up nicely. He'd be a plain trooper, and go abroad, and after that they might never see each other again.

  He shuffled the deck and passed it over to Hoyle, who cut. Parkes dealt. The hand went smoothly, but Colonel Powell took a crucial trick with the king of spades which won him and Parkes the game. William dealt the next hand, in which Hoyle twice finessed their adversaries and won the game by two tricks. For the third and last hand, Hoyle shuffled and the colonel dealt.

  William blinked at his hand. It shone less bright than his previous brilliant one, but it ran strong on trumps - clubs, this time - and diamonds. He worked hard, cudgelled his brain for every morsel of advice Hoyle and the colonel had ever slipped him. Hoyle played a superb game, and when all was over they had won the double.

  "Three thousand two hundred pounds, sir," Hoyle said. "I think we'd better stop there. Dean isn't good for more, I am certain."

  He took a risk by those words, and the colonel growled in reply.

  "Come, sir," Parkes interceded. "Hoyle did lose to you last week. You can't have it all your own way."

  The colonel glared at William. "Since when did you learn to play a tolerable game?"

  "I strove to remember what you've taught me, sir," William said. "If you are satisfied, I'd be honoured to partner you next week."

  The colonel brightened. "Next week," he mused. "Yes, indeed."

  ***

  Hoyle bought them breakfast at a coffee house. After that, they strolled back to their lodgings through streets awash with morning light. Once they reached the door, Hoyle shook the wad of notes from his sleeve and held it out to William.

  "Keep it," Hoyle said.

  "It's a fortune," William protested. "I can't take that off you. Besides, you earned that money."

  "I don't need it."

  "Of course you do."

  "I could use it," Hoyle conceded. "But my need is less pressing than yours. Settle it on Annis if that's your preference. I can win more next week."

  William stared at the packet. It meant freedom for Annis as well as himself. He grappled with his conscience, then reached out and took the money.

  "I have to ask," William said. "Though you may not want to answer. The two best hands I got, you either dealt or shuffled. Was it all clean play?"

  Hoyle stared up at the blue sky as if about to commune with heaven. Then he shot William a reckless grin.

  "Go and see your girl," he said. "Don't be fool enough to call your superior officer a cheating man."

  ***

  "But what happens next week?" Annis asked, her cheeks indrawn with worry. "Won't you lose a lot of money?"

  They stood in the kitchen yard, where they snatched what privacy they could in the shelter of a water-butt. Through the open door, Mrs Goodman's innocent whistling cut the air.

  "I won't," William said. "Because I'll have sold my commission by then - or if Hoyle hasn't finished the deal, I'll get myself on duty for that night. Don't fret, love. I'll escape before the colonel can grab back a shilling."

  Annis managed a wan smile. Her eyes flickered every time he mentioned the man. William promised himself she'd never hear that name again once he was free of the regiment.

  "I love you," he said. "And I know it will take a long time before you can be comfortable again. But I'll do all I can to make things easier."

  "I know." Annis took his hands, and leaned her head against his chest. Her hair smelled of kitchen, of food and warmth and good care. "They are easier already, just because you are here."

  From somewhere nearby, a woman cleared her throat. William turned to see a solid creature block the kitchen door.

  "Mrs Swann wants to see you," Mrs Goodman said.

  "At this hour?" William asked.

  "She said to tell you when you next came by," Mrs Goodman said. "Which I think young Annis had clean forgotten. And yes, Mrs Swann will be up and breakfasting. She rises early, unless there's been a party. Not like some other fine ladies I've heard about." She glanced at Annis, briefly, then withdrew.

  "I'd better go and see what she wants," William said. "I hope it's for the good."

  "It will be," Annis promised.

  ***

  "Have you considered trade?" Mrs Swann clutched a cup of tea between her hands and peered at William through the mist that rose from it.

  William blinked back. "Never. I'm qualified for none. Why?"

  "My husband is looking for an assistant. He wants a smart, responsible young man who's willing to be trained and to work hard. I think he'd look favourably on you - and I could speak in his ear, of course. Think about it."

  "I'd planned to go abroad," William said. "Can't let Bonaparte have things all his own way."

  "We can't," Mrs Swann agreed. "But I think you'd do him more harm in your current position. You're already established as an officer in Colonel Powell's regiment. As a trooper elsewhere you'd have to earn a place. If your main concern is patriotism, I suggest you stay put."

  "I'm not much of a favourite with the colonel at the moment."

  "That will pass."

  "He'll be out to revenge himself at whist."

  "You've already showed you can play," Mrs Swann said. "Time for you to excel. Is there any true reason why you cannot master the game?"

  "None," William admitted. Her direct words made him uncomfortable, but he stayed honest. "I have not previously been inclined to apply myself."

  "Then do so now."

  "Very well." William turned his shako over in his hands. He smiled at the regimental badge. "Colonel Powell's Hussars it is, then." He glanced up and met the glitter of Mrs Swann's dark eyes. "May I see Annis?"

  "With all my heart."

  ***

  "I've sent her on an errand." Mrs Goodman floated a serene smile towards him. "She said something about stopping at the church."

  ***

  William hurried down the street. He dared not hope, but as he swung into the alley a pale dress shimmered in the shadow of the church wall. Annis waited for him.

  He caught her hands and told her everything.

  "We're free to marry," he said. "Will you have me?"

  "Of course I will. When?" She wore smiles now. The
clouds that had hung over her that morning all scattered, and her eyes shone with joy.

  "Whenever you like," William said. "We have no one to please but ourselves. Can you get time off this Saturday?"

  Annis laughed. "We need banns read first, don't we?"

  "Not unless we choose to."

  "And you'll want your family there."

  "It doesn't matter. Yours?"

  A slight cloud scudded across her face.

  "I only have a brother, and he's away at sea."

  William cast about in his thoughts. Yes, he still had that newspaper - buried under his bed, where it kept out the draught from the board wall. He would show it to her later.

  "We could run away," he suggested.

  "To London?"

  "Or Doncaster."

  Annis giggled, and the sound pushed him into laughter, too.

  "We'll marry here," Annis said. She laid a hand on the worn stone of the church wall. "Here in this church."

  Nothing could be better or more fitting. William laid his arms around her, and she turned up her face for a kiss.

  ***

  About the Author:

  Maria Ling is the romance pen name of fantasy author M P Ericson. She lives on the edge of a moor in Yorkshire, England, surrounded by ruined abbeys and haunted caves. Visit her Smashwords author page for more stories.