“I have one other option.”
“Which is?”
“I was made an offer.”
“What kind of offer?”
“The unscrupulous kind,” Tommy said, waiting to sense his teammate’s reaction before he said anything more.
“One that you would never agree to… until it meant that you might be able to do this for your sister.”
“That’s right.”
Jonny blew out a breath as he pushed away from the table, leaning back, arms outstretched before him.
“What would it cost you?”
“My integrity and possibly all faith my teammates have in me.”
“It’s a bribe to throw a game, isn’t it?”
“Just one,” Tommy said, rubbing his hand over the scruff on his jaw. “Isn’t even one that would affect our Cup chances.”
“I don’t know, Tommy,” Jonny said, shaking his head. “For one, who’s to say that you can affect such an outcome? If anything, maybe you can pretend to throw it, but not actually make a difference? It’s a tough one, though. If Colin or Rhys ever found out you even considered it…”
“I know,” Tommy said with a sigh, running his hand through his hair. “Especially with everything that happened a couple of years ago with Mick. They forgave him, and we moved on from it. If I did this and was found out…”
“Then your chance of playing football might be done forever,” Jonny finished for him. “I can tell you this. I won’t say anything to anyone, but I also don’t recommend doing it. If you decide to, though… well, I have family myself and I understand. But football is not something to mess with.”
“Thanks, Jonny,” Tommy said. He had wished for more clarity, but as his teammate, of course, Jonny would have a vested interest in the game’s results. “I appreciate you.”
As they stood and clasped hands for a moment, Tommy decided he needed one more perspective — and knew just who to ask.
Minnie walked into Lily’s home at the corner of her father’s property, prepared to spend teatime with her friend, but was in for a shock when she saw who was sitting at the small table in the corner.
“Tommy,” she said in astonishment. “It is… surprising to see you.”
“I suppose the pleasure is all mine, then,” he said with a gleam in his eye.
“Mine too, of course,” she said quickly. “Where is Lily?”
“She agreed to give us a few minutes alone,” he said. “However, she warned me that she’s just out in the back garden, close enough that if you call for her, she will be here in an instant.”
“In case you decide to ravish me?”
“Something like that,” he said with a grin. “Would you be opposed if I tried?”
Minnie’s cheeks flushed. This type of flirtation wasn’t like her, but Tommy brought out a different side of her. “When we barely know one another, in my friend’s drawing room? Yes, most likely.”
“That’s not a no,” Tommy said with a wink.
“What would you like to discuss?” she asked, taking a seat across from him, careful to leave a great deal of room between them.
“Actually, I have a dilemma,” he said, sobering and lowering his voice. “I needed the opinion of someone outside of the football club, and you were the first person to come to mind.”
“I am flattered, although I am uncertain if I am the best person to help in such a regard,” she said, considering what she had just heard of her father’s fortunes.
“I am certain no one else would be better,” he said. He launched into an explanation of his plight, and by the time he was finished, Minnie’s mouth was hanging open.
