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Chapter 24
It was the ballroom at the Winchester estate all over again. The minute Evie entered the hells on Gabriel’s arm, every head in the room swiveled in their direction. Even harlots sitting on the gentlemen’s laps stopped their shameless activities and stared at the newly arrived couple.
There was no rule against females in the gaming hells. Hell, if that was the rule, no gentleman would ever step foot there. Ladies did find it scandalous, however. But for the wife of a devil like him, what was a little scandal?
Evie held her head high and pretended not to notice half-clad women bouncing on the half-sprung gentlemen’s laps.
She looked around the spacious, dark room and studied the walls painted with gruesome scenes from Dante’s Inferno with avid interest. Gabriel’s lips twitched in barely suppressed laughter. He’d made the right choice in marrying her. He didn’t know any other lady who would calmly observe the paintings of people being shackled and eaten alive while walking through the hall of the most scandalous gaming hell. She was perfection.
The floor was littered with their mutual acquaintances, who followed their progress, their mouths agape. Gabriel finally noticed a table with a couple of free seats and steered Evie in that direction.
“You don’t mind if we join you, do you?” Gabriel asked as he sat down.
The gentlemen behind the table blinked as they saw Evie but instantly broke into stupid grins.
“Not at all.” Bingham’s lecherous gaze toward Evie didn’t escape Gabriel, and he immediately stiffened. Evie’s smile turned strained, too. Gabriel made sure to graze Evie’s neck with his hand as he helped her into a seat. He then took her hand in his and placed a lingering kiss on her knuckles. The men around the table threw them speculative looks.
Gabriel leaned in close to Evie and whispered in her ear, “Show me your best game, darling.”
Evie looked at him beneath her lashes and winked.
Gabriel laughed loudly before addressing the table. “Let us play.”
A few hours later, the table had emptied as Evie thinned their pockets. She was a natural at this game. Of course, it helped that Gabriel had perfected the sleight of hand and always had the right card to help out hisluckywife.
Evie would throw reproving glances his way from time to time, but she didn’t seem to have qualms about fleecing the stuffy lords.
“That’s it. I don’t think I have anything else to lose.” Bingham threw up his hands in defeat.
Evie licked her lips and narrowed her eyes on him. Gabriel observed her closely. She had something up her sleeve.
“How about one last wager? I’ll let you win it all back,” she said with a pleasant smile.
“Did you not hear what I said? I don’t have as much as a penny.”
“You have an unentailed property. A tiny village by the name of Forton.”
“Why the interest in this worthless piece of land?”
“My husband and I journeyed through it on our way to elope. It is of sentimental value to us. If it’s as worthless to you as you say, I shall be doing you a favor by taking it off your hands.”
“If you bought it.”
Evie drummed her fingers on the table as she studied Lord Bingham. “How about this? I win, I take it. I lose, you take all the winnings tonight, and I shall buy your land from you. For any price.”
Greed shone in Bingham’s eyes as he settled back against the seat. “All right. One more game, God help me. But St. Clare doesn’t play. In fact, this will be just the two of us.”
Evie threw a quick glance toward Gabriel and smiled. At Gabriel’s nod, the dealer dealt each of them two cards. Bingham seemed far too happy with his hand, and Evie bit her lip in uncertainty. She turned toward Gabriel and raised her brows. He understood her silent question.What do I do?He blinked and nodded.Trust yourself, darling.
Evie nodded as if she understood their silent dialog and asked for another card.
At the dealer’s urging, Bingham showed his hand. He had two queens. Evie pursed her lips and slowly turned her cards, one by one. A jack, a six, and a five.
Gabriel jumped up from the chair in glee, tugged Evie up, and gave her a hard kiss on her mouth, not caring that anyone was watching, not giving a damn what anyone thought. When he raised his head, Evie laughed merrily.
“You cheat!” Bingham cried in a high-pitched voice. “You cheated! I saw you two looking at each other, giving some kind of a signal!”
“Are you accusing my wife of deceit? You better answer for your words, Bingham.”
