Lily had supposedthe idea that she had gambled for the money to afford a season would shock, but Mrs. Hemming only clapped her hands. “Gambling! Now that is something to think of. Of course, I should only consider taking you to whatever little parties I can wrangle an invitation to. Of course I should. After all, one never knows who one shall meet here and there, which causes an invitation elsewhere and so on. That is precisely the sort of thing I should do. On the other hand, is it likely that we should be engaged every evening of the week? That, I cannot say with any certainty, but I rather think not.”
Lily had tried her best to follow her aunt’s mode of expression, but she could not be sure what the lady was debating with herself.
“And then,” Amelia went on, “the place is so very respectable. Everybody says so. Nothing untoward could go on under the watchful eye of those matrons that mill about the place. The membership is everything one might wish for. Even those awful cakes advertise it as respectable—only last week, Lady Edith claimed they were drier even than Almack’s.”
Seeming to have come to a conclusion, Mrs. Hemming turned and faced her niece. “I suppose your father knows of your gambling?”
Lily nodded. “He was not enthusiastic about it, but I was able to convince him that coming to London was the best chance for all of us and the only way to get here was through a card table.”
Amelia nodded. “Yes, of course, George is levelheaded like that. If one can present an argument logically, he’s likely to be won over. He ever was practical as a boy.”
“Aunt,” Lily said, “do tell me what you think of. What place? What matrons? What dry cakes?”
Amelia set her cup down and said, “I think of my friend Lady Carradine. She is a charming woman who happens to preside over a charming club. There are musical evenings and sometimes the ladies form a reading circle. Those of us that stayed in town even knitted for the poor one Christmas season.”
“Oh,” Lily said, rather nonplussed. Her aunt’s mind seemed to be more wandering than usual.
Mrs. Hemming pointed to a handsome secretaire at the far end of the room. “See that? I purchased it with winnings, it is a Hepplewhite. Very fine.”
“Winnings?” Lily asked. “From the musical evenings or the reading club?”
“Oh, neither,” Mrs. Hemming said. “The musical evenings and reading circles are all well and good, but the real fun is the gambling. In truth, I cannot think that anybody has joined for any other reason.”
The last thing Lily had expected her aunt to do was own to gambling. She’d been under the impression that the lady’s funds were not unlimited.
“Ah, I see you wonder at it. Well, it is like this—years ago your father and I both inherited some money from a cousin. Unexpected funds, just as you were saying. It was three hundred pounds each and I am certain your father plowed his share back into the estate. As for myself, I thought, well I might spend it in drips on butter and flour and meat, or I might hold it back in a special fund. That’s what I’ve done, I’ve used it to gamble and once it’s gone, that’s the end of it. But wouldn’t you know, after all these years, it’s not gone. It was only slowly creeping up until Lady Carradine opened her club five years ago. Now, I currently have four hundred and eighty pounds. Goodness, half the furniture in this house has come from that little pile. Thebon tonall crow about their four percents, but I believe I’ve done rather better. If one were to add up all the furnishings.”
Lily sat back, both surprised and amused. She would not have guessed for the world that her aunt had a gambler’s spirit. “So, it is a gambling club that admits ladies?” she asked, having no inkling that such a thing existed.
Mrs. Hemming nodded. “Lady Carradine has been very clever in setting the whole thing up. Rather than it being a gambling establishment, it is a social club that also happens to have gambling. Though, only the type one might find at a ball—no dice games. The atmosphere could not be more genteel and, of course, you know how it is with theton—once Lady Edith gave her stamp of approval it became perfectly acceptable.”
Lily was fascinated and wondered if she had ever known her aunt as well as she had thought. Further, the idea that she, herself, might increase what she held, was interesting. It was very interesting. The bets would be higher in London. Surely, the bets must be higher in Lady Carradine’s club than they were at a ball. In Surrey, she could only get so far at a local ball or dinner. Nobody played for particularly high stakes. And then, she could notalwayswin, people would have begun to notice and comment on it. It had been a painstaking process of gathering pound after pound. She had not thought she would play in London at all. At a ball, she would dance. At a dinner, she would likely be asked to play the pianoforte. She had worked hard to come with everything she needed as she had never imagined there would be an opportunity to win more.
Lily had allocated to reimburse her aunt for the added expense of having her, for a few books, perhaps theater tickets, possibly a dinner, and some left to jangle in her purse as pin money. Her most significant expense had been a carriage, as her aunt did not keep one. It would set her back thirty pounds for the season. She had debated with herself on the practical merits of spending so much in that direction. Especially when a carriage could easily be hired when one needed one. She had finally decided to pay—a carriage rented in such a fashion would be well-maintained and look every bit the private conveyance. Were she to arrive to the sort of fashionable ball she aspired to in a hired carriage, it would be noticed. Her circumstances would advertise themselves loud and clear and no fine wardrobe would overcome it. It had been difficult to let go of so much money, but now her aunt spoke of gambling. Perhaps the pin money she still had might be increased?
“So you think,” Lily said, “that we might visit Lady Carradine?”
“I do not see why not,” Amelia said in a satisfied tone. “It is all very respectable, Lady Carradine sees to that. Mrs. Jameson is my regular whist partner there and brought her own daughter to the musical evening just last week. Lady Edith Fairfax is quite the regular. They are both well regarded.”
“But did Mrs. Jameson’s daughter play cards?” Lily asked, unsure of whether it would be permitted.
“Goodness, no,” Mrs. Hemming said. “It was a musical evening, you see. In any case, I do not think the girl would have much luck. As far as I could make out, she is as dumb as a post. A shame, but there you have it. Now you, my dear, are a deal more clever and as you said, already quite experienced at it.”
Lily felt a shiver run down her back. Though she dreamed of attending a fashionable ball, the idea of playing for stakes also appealed.
“Oh, heavens,” Amelia said, “I nearly forgot. There is a note for you from Cassandra, or Lady Hampton as I suppose she is called now. She’s sent me one too, she intends to call on us on the morrow.”
*
Hayes had notseen his friend Hampton since he’d left on his wedding trip. Now, he was to meet him at White’s. They had both agreed to meet in a private room, lest Hayes’s father or the other dukes of the pact were lurking about somewhere. Hampton had not the least cause to avoid his own father, having married suitably, but was sympathetic to his friend’s plight.
Now, he sat in a rather cramped and dark room, its only window facing an alley. It at least had the benefit of comfortable chairs, well-padded and covered in fine leather, and an ample-sized table of intricately carved maple. A servant had brought him a bottle of claret and two glasses. The man was just leaving as Hampton came through the door.
The friends greeted each other with enthusiasm.
“I see you have not paled in the face of marital bliss,” Hayes said, shaking his friend’s hand.
“God no,” Lord Hampton said. “Best thing I ever did.”
