“Is there anything I can do? I would be happy to assist you if you would be willing to share your concerns. Your estate is vast; it will take you an age to do it alone.”
“In truth, I had hoped you might offer such assistance. You have always had a good head for numbers, ever since Oxford.”
“Well, we can’t all be linguists like you, after all,” Edward said cheerfully, the weight of his gaze easing. “I am surprised you agreed. I rather thought you’d want to do it all alone.”
“Yes, I can imagine you might. But you’re right. It’s too big a task for just one man. I feel as though I have been dreaming of ledgers for months.”
“Give me some of it, at least. I can come by next week, and we can go through it together.”
“Discretion is essential. My mother knows nothing of it. I just hope to God I will uncover the reason soon, and all of this will be quite overblown.”
Colin opened his mouth to speak on the matter further when there was a great roar from the far side of the room.
He turned, noting the card tables along one side. It seemed a rather sedate game ofwhisthad taken a turn for the worse. Two men had been sitting opposite one another in the midst of a game, but they were now on their feet, an atmosphere of fury rising between them. The room around them fell silent in seconds.
Colin recognized one as Lord Percy Kilby, the Earl of Kenthurst. He was well-respected, handsome, and the epitomeof charm on most occasions, but now his face was aghast as the other man threw his cards at him in disgust.
“You are a cheat, my Lord! This is not to be born!” the playing cards fluttered to the dark green carpet about their feet as Colin and Edward both rose, watching the exchange with concern.
Lord Percy’s opponent, a man whose name Colin could not recollect, was certainly a lower-ranking lord and much younger than Percy’s five and thirty. He was puce with rage, breathing heavily, and as he angrily moved around the table to get at the other man, Colin and Edward stepped forward hurriedly, hoping to break up the fray.
“You must think me quite the fool, Kilby, if you believe you can flagrantly flaunt your tricks like this.”Caldwell,Colin thought suddenly,that’s the man’s name. He looks ready to call Kilby out.
“Tricks?” Percy said steadily. He was a pillar of calm in the face of the other man’s rage, and it was not doing Caldwell any favors. “I’ll thank you to keep a civil tongue in your head. If your faculties fail you at the card table, I suggest you direct your blame inwardly, not upon me.”
“You’ve had a run of luck that borders on the miraculous. Am I to believe you truly held four trumps three hands running?”
“You may believe as you like,” Percy replied. “I need not resort to such low play to best you. If you cannot pronounce your vowels, just say so.”
The space around them was suddenly filled with people. Men appeared from other rooms to see what the fuss was about, and suddenly, a crowd had formed, and many began to take sides.
Kilby was a long-standing member of the club and had many loyal supporters in the room. Caldwell also had a group formingbehind him, but many of them looked only a few years older than eighteen and half terrified with it.
Colin watched Caldwell carefully. It was the type of argument that could escalate quickly, and when honor was at stake, there was no telling what would come about. He recognized the signs immediately as Caldwell stepped forward, his chest puffing out, his eyes flashing.
“I will not pay because I do not fill the coffers of a cheat, my Lord!”
There were cries of “shame!” and “insolence!” from behind him. Meanwhile, Kilby straightened a cuff on his sleeve and fixed Caldwell with a cool stare.
“If you cannot pay, I am sure we can come to some agreement,” he said quietly, and Colin saw Caldwell’s countenance change. The fire in his eyes turned to hatred and suddenly, he lunged toward the other man, his fists clenched.
For reasons he could not entirely explain, Colin found himself leaping in between them in the next moment. His arms came up to push Caldwell back, and he took a glancing blow to the jaw for his trouble.
Soon, chaos reigned as Kilby’s supporters jostled with Caldwell’s, and there was a great deal of shouting and hollering, which Colin took no part in. All he was focused on was getting Caldwell away from the other man, and somewhere he could calm down in his own time.
Club staff poured into the room, burly men Colin had never seen before arriving in seconds and wrenching Caldwell away. Colin was shoved back none too gently when one of them thought he was the instigator, and he backed off as quickly as he could as the men all about them did the same, watching an incensed Caldwell be dragged from the room.
Once the excitement had waned and onlookers had seen their fill, Colin straightened his shirt cuffs and cravat, which hadcome undone in the fray. Turning, he found Lord Percy Kilby watching him beside the card table. Save for the cards littered about his feet he looked utterly unruffled by the experience, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
“I am most grateful to you, your Grace,” he said sincerely, bowing to Colin as he did so. “I had not anticipated that he would actually try to attack me. I have no notion of where he got the idea I was cheating. These cards were provided by the club, and I have been playing whist for twenty years. I assure you, my words were true. I have no need to cheat to beat him; It is scarcely of my concern if the gentleman cannot reckon the trumps to save his life.”
Colin heard Edward chuckle behind him and turned to find his friend unscathed and looking between the two of them with interest.
“You are welcome, my Lord,” Colin replied to Lord Kilby. “I have not seen behaviour like that for many years. Certainly not at Whites.”
“No indeed. You have my apologies for disturbing your evening. Are you injured?”
“No harm done,” Edward chipped in, looking at Colin with a wry smile. “Indeed, my blood is quite invigorated after such a scuffle. It has been far too long since I engaged in a bout. I daresay we ought to indulge in fisticuffs more frequently, Ludlow.” Colin offered a disapproving shake of his head, but Edward merely returned his grin, unperturbed by the situation. “Indeed, I must admit it has somewhat diminished my appetite. May I escort you home, old friend?”
