“Though I expect Hampton was right after all,” the lord went on smoothly. “I do not like to be unkind and have made it a habit of foregoing taking advantage of naiveté.”
Naiveté? Is that what he thought of her? The last thing Lily Farnsworth would consider herself was naive to the ways of the world. She had not grown up in a sheltered hothouse. She had grown up with creditors at the doors and a footman failing spectacularly to pretend he was the butler in an effort to fend off those circling wolves. She still remembered the very early years when her mother’s face was pinched, her father was consumed with worry, and the dinners were scant on meat and filled with vegetables from their garden. She remembered a conversation overheard as her parents debated whether they could hold on to the estate and what they were to do if they could not.
Good Lord, even America had been spoken of. Her childhood had been one long night of uncertainty and fear.
Lily looked coldly at Lord Ashworth. “I see you remain confident you would end victorious, though I assure you that you would be wrong. Further, I see nothing amiss in a lady relieving a very mistaken gentleman of his pounds and pence.”
“I say,” Mr. Simmons said with enthusiasm, “this is rather famous. The young lady ventures to wager against the most notorious gentleman gambler in town.”
Lily glanced at Mr. Simmons. What did the fellow mean, the most notorious gambler in town?
“I make no claims at notoriety,” Lord Ashworth said. “The word conjures a flamboyance I do not aspire to. I merely seek to challenge anyone worthy of it.”
“You have very decided opinions of yourself, my lord,” Lily said in as curt a manner as she could muster.
Of all the words that had been exchanged between them, that particular salvo seemed to be the most affecting. There had been the slightest bloom of pink on the lord’s cheeks.
“To speak the truth is to speak a fact, not an opinion, Miss Farnsworth,” Lord Ashworth said abruptly.
“What’s the use in talking?” Mr. Simmons said. “What shall you bet? Ten pounds seems right for a drawing room. I will secure a pack of cards and then we shall see how the drama unfolds! Goodness, this is the most interesting thing that’s happened in months.”
Mr. Simmons had hopped up from his seat and was away before Lily could stop him. She had no idea how she would have stopped him, had she the time, though she would have dearly liked to try.
“You are free to renege,” Lord Ashworth said. “In fact, I urge you to do so. I will tell Mr. Simmons it is I who refuse to play, and I’ll throw some flattering folderol into it for good measure.”
Lily fumed. Never was there such a highhanded fellow. How dare he speak to her as if she were some flighty empty-head who must be rescued from an ill-considered scheme.
Lord Ashworth glanced behind him. He turned back to her and said, “You ought to make your decision, Mr. Simmons returns in unbecoming haste.”
Lily smiled. “Oh, I have made my decision, my lord,” Lily said sweetly. “You are to leave this house poorer than when you came into it.”
Mr. Simmons hadapparently alerted all and sundry to the unusual wager proposed between Miss Farnsworth and Lord Ashworth. Those who had not been informed had noticed the crowd convening around a table at the far end of the drawing room and soon made their way to the scene. Even Lily’s aunt had given up on the tea tray and joined the gathering.
Lily did her best to resist becoming unnerved by the attention, or to speculate if it would lead to talk on the morrow. Lady Blakeley appeared amused, but then it seemed to Lily that the lady was generally amused. Cassandra, on the other hand, looked exceedingly worried. Aunt Hemming seemed more perplexed than anything else. What struck Lily more, though, was Lord Ashworth. He was disdainful, if he was anything at all.
Mr. Simmons had removed the lowest cards from the pack. The lord had offered to deal, but Lily claimed the right. Everybody knew that the dealer began at a disadvantage and she had no intention of allowing anyone to suppose she was victorious as a result of having an advantage.
She was satisfied with her hand. It was not the most auspicious she had ever looked upon, but she was certain she knew how to play it. It had one particular advantage that would serve her well. She only discarded one. Lord Ashworth exchanged only one card as well, and looked at the next four. So, the lord thought himself skilled at memorizing which cards were where. He thought he held the advantage of memorizing them in order to make better guesses at what she held in her hand. Lily suppressed a smile. Nobody was more skilled at those strategies than herself.
The declarations would begin.
“Three,” Lord Ashworth said.
“How much?”
“Thirty,” Lord Ashworth answered.
“Good,” Lily said. Were she not playing cards, she would smile. As it was, she must hide her glee. The truth was his run wasno good, though she was not obligated to declare it. She had a triplet of aces and she would keep that information to herself until the time was right.
The declarations went on, Lord Ashworth unaware that Lily had sunk the triplet of aces. It was a tactic often talked of but rarely actually used. Most players were too faint of heart to delay taking points that were right in front of them. She was already in a solid enough position regarding her declarations and she wished Lord Ashworth to remain in the dark regarding the extent of her hand until it was time to lay down those cards. She had a mind to take most of the tricks, especially the last.
Making their way through point, sequence, and triplets or fours, the declarations concluded and the play could now begin. As they laid down card after card, it slowly became apparent to Lord Ashworth that he might have underestimated his opponent. For Lily, herself, it was as if she entered a dreamlike state. The cards played arranged themselves in one area of her mind, the cards in her hand in another. The variations that Lord Ashworth might hold, based on his declarations and what had been laid down, in still another corner. The individual cards laid down by Lord Ashworth hinted at his strategy and state of mind, suggesting what other cards might remain in his hand and how he would play them.
Hehadunderestimated her ability, though he did not yet know how much. Lily glanced down at her last three cards—they were her triplet of aces, and the lord did not know it.
It had been a daring gambit, one she had used before. Her opponents never seemed to consider the idea that a woman could keep her nerves steady enough to try a sink. Certainly, Lord Ashworth would never consider the idea. Now, it was about to pay off handsomely.
Lily did her best to ignore the whispers around her but could not help to overhear some of them.
