by Christi Caldwell, Eva Devon, Elizabeth Essex, Anthea Lawson
Her eyes glistened. “Thank you, sir. Thank you.”
Anthony inclined his head. Inn staff would not know him this far north, but he always shared a small token from his winnings. He couldn’t imagine a worse fate than having to be employed to scrape out a living—not only because gentlemen of his class did not work. Anthony had never cleaved to anyone else’s schedule or demands in his life. Gaming hells were much more suited to his style of living.
In fact, he won the next three rounds. A thrill shot through him. Lady Fortune’s presence had made him unconquerable indeed.
“I’m out.” Bost pushed his chair back and stood with a disgusted expression. “If I risk any more, I shan’t be able to afford to break my fast in the morning.”
“Make that two of us.” Whitfield glanced at Anthony as he rose to his feet. “I suppose the gossips also lied when they said all the gaming hells in London had closed their doors to you.”
“London?” Anthony leaned back in his throne with a careless grin. “Try England. Why do you think I came all the way to Scotland to deprive you of your last ha’penny?”
“Scoundrel.” Whitfield shook his head with a chuckle. “Good night, all.”
Bost adjusted his hat. “Next time I see you, Fairfax, I’m winning back my blunt.”
“You can try,” Anthony agreed with good cheer before handing the cards to Leviston. “One last round?”
“I’ll no doubt regret this,” Leviston grumbled as he shuffled the cards.
A movement caught Anthony’s eye. He straightened his spine as Lady Fortune rose from her shadowy corner and made her way toward their table.
“Now is there room for a lady?” she asked in a rich, sultry voice.
“Without question.” Anthony leaped up while she took her seat. She had no chance of winning, but he saw no reason not to welcome her to the table.
“Your funeral,” Leviston said to her under his breath. “Fairfax here is unbeatable.”
Anthony was in full agreement. Leviston could bid his last farthing adieu. Now that Lady Fortune was seated at their table, Anthony’s luck would be boundless. He was on the longest winning streak of his life.
“Fairfax, meet Miss Devon.” Leviston began to deal the cards. “Starting wager is twenty pounds, pet.”
She placed her bet on the table without changing expression.
Anthony couldn’t stop staring at her from the corner of his eye. He was normally quite gifted at sizing someone up in the briefest of moments—it was the key to reading tables, and knowing when to pass or when to triple his wager—but he couldn’t quite get a fix on Miss Devon.
It wasn’t just the high-necked modesty of her thick fichu being paired with extravagant rubies, or her concealed golden tendrils and pristine white gloves. Now that she was close enough for him to read her features, he still couldn’t do so. Her clear blue eyes were as calm as a winter lake and her pretty, unlined face betrayed nothing.
He was fascinated. Tempted to give up on cards altogether in favor of unraveling the far more intriguing mystery beneath the oversized bonnet.
But winning big was his only chance of repaying his debts.
Anthony took the next round, and the round after that. Leviston took the third, only for Anthony to win it back double the following hand with an ace on his first deal.
By the fifth round, Leviston’s grip on his cards was white-knuckled and he trembled with obvious anxiety.
Miss Devon murmured, “Breathe in through your nose…and out through your mouth. It is but one hand of cards amongst many. A moment in time. Feel your fingers relaxing. If you wish to stop, you may do so. It is only a game.”
To Anthony’s amazement, Leviston visibly relaxed as he listened to her soft, coaxing words. His knuckles returned to their normal color and his hands ceased trembling.
“You’re right,” Leviston said with a rueful smile. “How easily we forget that the turn of a card is meaningless overall.”
Meaningless? Anthony would have laughed if so much wasn’t riding on his continued lucky streak. For him, the turn of the cards meant the difference between eating or not. Between having a roof to sleep under or not. Between being able to look his loved ones in the eyes or consigning them to poverty.
Thank God, up ’til now, Lady Fortune had only worked her calming magic on Anthony, or he would not have won a penny. The sight of white knuckles and trembling fingers was his cue to wager big.
Then again, Fate alone dealt the hands. All the subtle cues in the world were useless without the capacity to win.
He glanced down at his final card. Indescribable joy spread through him. He should never have doubted Lady Fortune. Miss Devon could calm Leviston with as many reassuring words as she wished, because Anthony’s hand was unstoppable. A rush of excitement surged through him. These were truly the best cards he’d ever been dealt in his life. The best cards anyone had ever been dealt. All three of his cards had been the three highest trumps.
Leviston was about to go home in tears.
“All in.” Anthony dropped the entire contents of his purse next to his twenty pounds. “Forty per player if you stay in.”
“Curse you, Fairfax.” Color drained from Leviston’s face, but he kept a stiff upper lip and ponied up his blunt. “This is my last hand.”
Her porcelain face as smooth as a doll’s, Miss Devon placed her purse alongside her bet.
A twinge twisted Anthony’s stomach. He felt bad about taking money from a lady. Once he won, he would return her portion to her and take the rest straight back to London. The other toffs could afford to lose a few pence, Anthony reasoned, but he needed every penny he could get in order to stay out of prison. Two thousand pounds worth of pennies, in fact.
It had taken a year of ill luck—and increasingly riskier bets in his growing desperation—to amass such mindboggling debt. Because Anthony had always gambled everywhere and with everyone, months had passed before his peers began to realize he had no means to repay them. To say they were displeased would be an understatement.
His goal was much higher than repaying his debts, of course. He wanted a pot so full of gold he couldn’t lift it without a wheelbarrow. To not only win enough never to fear being poor again, but also to win enough so that those he cared about would never lack for anything. He wanted to be rich. Not just for a few months or a few years. Forever.
Leviston displayed his card with a sigh. He had no chance of winning, and likely knew it.
Anthony felt oddly proud when Lady Fortune turned over her final card to reveal an astonishingly solid hand. If the trump had been different, Miss Devon would have swept the table. Alas for her, luck was firmly on his side. This was his night. His streak was invincible. Finally, he could go back home.
He flipped his final card face up with a flourish.
“I suspected as much.” Leviston covered his face with his hat.
A streak of visceral, hopeless dismay flashed across Miss Devon’s face so quickly that Anthony almost missed it.
“We can play again,” he said. “You might earn your money back.”
“I’m out,” Leviston reminded him with a sigh of regret.
“Not you.” Anthony shot him a pointed look. “Miss Devon.”
Her eyelashes lowered. “I have no more money.”
“You can wager something else.” When her blue eyes widened with sudden outrage, he regretted his unfortunate phrasing. Anthony had meant to rescue her, not offend her. He added hastily, “A lock of hair, perhaps. I’ve just the locket to put it in.”
“Don’t do it,” Leviston advised under his breath. “This man is why half of the House of Lords have grown bald.”
Miss Devon’s lips twitched. “And yet, I am tempted. The same bet? So I might have all my money back if I win?”
“Of course,” Anthony assured her magnanimously. She wouldn’t win, but he would be certain to return her portion to her after he won. This way, she would feel like she’d had a fair shot.
“Very well.” She gave him a brave smile and his insides melted with pride. “I’m in.”
As the most impartial party at the table, Leviston agreed to deal again.
Fifteen years of daily gaming was the only reason Anthony’s body didn’t betray him with even a flicker of satisfaction upon seeing his first card. It wasn’t going to be the same hand he’d held last time—that was a once-in-a-blue-moon deal he’d dream about for weeks—but it was close enough to steal the breath from his lungs. His luck was damn near unbeatable.
“I’m afraid you won’t like my hand,” he said when it was time to display the next card.
Leviston nearly choked into his cravat. “How do you do it?”
“And I’m afraid you won’t like mine,” Miss Devon said as she turned over hers.
Anthony froze.
No. She couldn’t have trumped him.
It was impossible.
A cold sweat broke out on his skin as his stomach dropped…and dropped…and dropped. The room was spinning, spiraling him down into a void of nothingness and despair.
It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be.
“I win my purse back,” Miss Devon prompted with delight as the last of the cards was played. “And your wager. And his.”
Anthony stared at her. He wasn’t breathing, wasn’t blinking. His body wasn’t responding to anything his mind offered. How could it? All Anthony could think was no, no, no. And, this is the end. He needed every florin and crown in order to keep winning.
How could he possibly have lost it all?
“Y-you can get your pound back from the serving wench,” Leviston stammered, clearly suffering just as much shock as Anthony. “A barmaid can’t have expected to keep such a sum.”
“No,” Anthony said severely. “Once I handed over that sovereign, it became hers. The barmaid’s luck was in. Mine will have to come back around.”
Somehow.
He hoped.
Miss Devon motioned toward the pile of purses. “May I, then?”
Every muscle in Anthony’s body shook with fear and desperation. The night was young. There was plenty more money to be won. Just as soon as he got his winnings back. Or at least a few shillings. Something. Anything.
There had to be a way.
Charm, he reminded himself. When his empty wallet got him tossed out through doors, his charm was the one thing that could open new ones.
“Of course,” he replied easily, and pushed all three purses to her side of the table as if they contained nothing more valuable than handfuls of dirt. “Although I’m sure you’ll return the favor and allow me one last wager, will you not? Just enough to stay in the game.”
She hesitated, her fingertips mere inches from the stack of full purses. Anthony tried not to fall to his knees and beg.
No, she did not wish to return the favor. Who would? But luck was a powerful seductress, promising lies of invincibility too sweet to resist. Perhaps she would succumb to its sway.
“I’m afraid I don’t collect hair,” she hedged. “I wouldn’t want any of yours.”
Relief coursed through Anthony’s veins. He had her. Maybe. “Quite a boon, that, as I’m quite attached to my mane. Let us wager something far more valuable. If I lose, I’ll offer you my…purity.”
She burst out laughing. “I doubt you have any. You’re too handsome.”
He wiggled his eyebrows, careful not to show his desperation. “Then I shall be your slave for the evening. A servant of any sort you desire.”
“Isn’t that the same offer?” she asked teasingly.
He feigned exaggerated shock. “Never say the only servant the lady can imagine is one who offers his body. Very well. If I lose, I shall suffer through as best I can.”
“I’d rather you muck out the chimney.” Lady Fortune sent him an arch look as she picked the heavy purses up from the table.
But she didn’t say no.
Anthony held his breath as he awaited her decision. Anxiety flooded him. Miss Devon was the most unpredictable card he had ever been dealt. The wisest choice would be to leave the cards, pick up the money, and walk away. Luckily for him, gamblers weren’t known for making wise decisions.
The question was… What would Miss Devon choose?
Chapter 2
Miss Charlotte Devon hefted the three gaming purses in her hands and hesitated.
She wasn’t penniless. Not yet. And her father would be settling a sizable sum upon her, either as a dowry or as an independent living or as…as something. Of this, she was certain. The problem was finding him.
In the meantime, she oughtn’t to be gambling away small fortunes. The future was too uncertain. She probably ought not to have been gambling at all. But she could use the cushion. The other men’s earlier rebuff had been so infuriating that when Mr. Fairfax joined their table and sent her so many curious, friendly glances, the lure had been impossible to resist.
When was the last time a gentleman had sent her a friendly look, not a lewd or dismissive one? Come to think of it, when was the last time anyone had been friendly to her at all?
Ladies treated her with disdain, if they even acknowledged her presence. Gentlemen only sought a quick tup with someone they could easily discard. As far as Society was concerned, Miss Charlotte Devon wasn’t a person at all. She was nobody. Meaningless.
Was it any wonder this profligate’s roguish smiles and open face had drawn her like a moth to a flame?
It wasn’t merely attention from someone above her station. Everyone was above her station. Charlotte was long used to being treated like it.
But Mr. Fairfax was different. She’d suspected as much from observing his interactions with his peers, yet he continuously delighted her. Her surprise when he’d treated the barmaid like a person, rather than a stick of furniture, had turned to astonishment when he’d given the woman an entire sovereign to do with as she would. Charlotte’s astonishment was eclipsed by shock when he’d lost his winnings and still let the barmaid keep the coin.
His friends had seen nothing wrong with asking for its return. After all, the recipient was a mere serving wench. To them, her sentiments and situation need not enter the equation.
But not to Mr. Fairfax. His gifts were permanent. His debts were his own.
Now he wanted a chance to rejoin the game. She shouldn’t give him one. Perfectly nice gentleman or not. Chimney slave or not. She had won their money fair and square.
But he had given her a chance when he should not. When no one else would have done. She watched him from beneath her lashes. He had not only allowed a woman to join his gaming table, but he’d allowed her to wager nothing more than a lock of hair to stay in the game. Not because it made sense to do so, or because he was beholden to anyone else’s wishes in any way, but because he was kind.
Her pulse skipped. No one else had ever cared before.
She sat a little straighter. He might be too handsome and charming for his own good, too reckless and overconfident with his wagers. But by all appearances, this happy, devil-may-care rogue was also a genuinely nice person. He’d given her an extra chance at his own expense because he’d wanted her to feel like she had been treated fairly.
She could do no less. A begrudging sigh escaped her lips. Blast.
“If you lose, you may escort me to my chamber,” she began, and frowned sternly when he gave his dark eyebrows an exaggerated wiggle. “And then you may return to your own chamber without so much as crossing the threshold of mine. Or donating any hair.”
His green eyes sparkled at her merrily. “Done.”
Mr. Leviston gathered up the cards and fumbled them into a shuffle. “In case you were unaware, you are both delightfully mad.”
Didn’t she know it. Charlotte tightened her lips.
She dumped the pile of purses back onto the table with a thud. “All in?”
“All in.” Mr. Fairfax smiled back at her, both dimples showing sweetly.
Charlotte picked up her first card.
> If Mr. Fairfax was watching her for a reaction, he would not discern one. Not solely because of Charlotte’s legendary self-control. But because she was in shock. Expressionless. Emotionless. Even she couldn’t believe the hand she’d been dealt.
This was surely the worst opening card anyone had ever held in the history of stupid wagers.
She touched her jewels. Her necklace and ear bobs were the sole possessions she could not lose at any cost. She normally wouldn’t even wear them in public, but Scotland was the one place where a bit of ostentation might help, rather than hurt her.
The other reason she wore them was to keep them safe. For the past few days she’d felt like someone was following her. She never saw the same person two days in a row, but she couldn’t shake the sense of being spied upon.
Today, there had been a man with a limp and a scuffed top hat who had stared at her with far more than casual interest. Perhaps he had seen the jewels and was waiting for her to leave them unattended.
A prickle went down her spine. She was positive that the contents of her valise had been rifled through at the last inn. Nothing had been taken—perhaps because the rubies were still on her person. But she couldn’t take the risk of losing them.
And now, without her purse, she couldn’t even afford to hire a maid or a hall boy to watch over her at night. Just until she was reunited with her father. In fact, protection was the real reason she’d agreed to let accompanying her safely to her chamber be Mr. Fairfax’s wager.
That, and she hadn’t expected him to win.
She swallowed. No sense drawing out the torture. She played all three cards, then lifted her chin.
Mr. Fairfax was ashen.
Slowly, as if touching his hand was more pain than could be withstood, he displayed his final card.
She’d won. Charlotte stared at the cards in disbelief. She’d won.
Mr. Leviston cackled. “I reckon it’s off to clean chimneys for you, Fairfax. Or whatever mischief the two of you decide to get up to.”
The nameless horror on Mr. Fairfax’s face vanished as if it had never existed. His visage resumed the same sunny cheer he had displayed earlier.