Chapter Three
H e had short blond hair, topped with sun-kissed strands that were long enough to fall seductively onto his forehead. Despite the dim light in the high-stakes games room, his eyes shone bright blue, with a green tint like the trees reflected in the Pregel River back home in Prussia on sunny days.
Robin shuffled the cards and Ada felt his stare burn into her skin. She knew their roles by now. He was the clerk assigned to watch her tonight so that she wouldn’t sink any of the money she was allotted as Dove-Lyon’s puffer. Didn’t they know better by now? She didn’t lose, except on purpose.
“Black,” the striking blond man said as he placed his stakes on the top square. There were two other punters, house players Ada knew by sight, but not by name. No threats to her control of the game from their end.
“ Noir .” Ada set the pound notes on black. She briefly met the blond stranger’s gaze. He gave a curt smile and her stomach flipped uncomfortably.
“ Votre jeu est-il fait? Is your game made?” Robin said and uncovered the card. “Vingt-cinq, trente et un, sept…” Twenty-five, thirty-one, seven, he counted in French, as was customary at this game.
And so, the rounds went on and on. At least four times. It was most unusual because Ada didn’t beat the stranger. Instead, the oddest thing happened. They had doublets every time, so Robin moved their stakes to the next level, then the next, and back but Ada didn’t get back any of the money she put in.
“La premiere prison, encore une fois.” The first prison rank, again. Robin gave her a look that meant it was her last round.
“Je m’en vais, merci .” I’m leaving. Ada rose and left the money on the table. Titan should have come to her side to escort her to the next. But she couldn’t see him, and the evening’s games were not going well, even though she’d hoped for some straightforward wins.
Ada slipped into the powder room. Her chest was constricting again in that uncomfortable and familiar way. She told herself to stay calm, not to let the fear overwhelm her, not to have one of her strange episodes that would take her breath away.
With a blink from the corner of her eye, Ada saw that Hermia followed.
“You’re losing house money, Ada. What is going on?” Hermia asked in a hushed voice when they were finally alone. Aunt Bessie would be furious.
“I don’t know. He wins every time, and I cannot trick him into conversation or distract him…” Ada’s breath caught and she exhaled and inhaled, hard. It felt like her throat was closing. Her lungs weren’t working. She gasped and tried to push herself to breathe regularly but the air didn’t come.
“Of course, you cannot. He’s The Cavalier!” Hermia seemed exasperated, but Ada could only blink at her as the wolverine explained, “You know, the strongest player we’ve had in a while. The house loses against him all the time.”
Deflated, Ada leaned against the wall.
“Didn’t you know?” Hermia’s mouth twisted in pity.
She shook her head, but Ada finally understood. How could she have missed it?
Losing house money would upset Aunt Bessie. She might cut her off and then Ada could never save enough to escape from the Silvers. The Cavalier was a professional player. Dangerous. And yet, Ada was stuck playing against him. She was a puffer after all. How could she win against the man who never lost?
Once Ada steadied her breath and swallowed the panic in her throat, she ventured out of the ladies’ lounge.
There he was, lurking in the corridor. Except that he didn’t seem predatory at all. He had kind eyes and a warm smile, and appealing, chiseled features like a prince in a fairy tale.
“Madam,” the stranger called and gave a polite bow. “My name is Cavalier. I thought I should at least introduce myself.”
“Because I ended your winning streak?” she said cheekily, bluffing. She faked confidence and hoped it would come for real.
“That remains to be seen. Have I ended yours?” A stalemate was not a win.
She shrugged. There wasn’t much else to say with her heart pounding so strongly, she felt it in her head. He was a most unusual gambler and didn’t fit the mold at all. Yet, Ada knew better than to judge her opponents by their smoldering looks. He’d thrown her off her winning streak and was infuriating. She always won and had diaries filled with her wins. If she didn’t value the completeness of her notes, he wouldn’t make it into her ledgers of wins—and now, her stalemates.
“I’m Ada,” she said with aplomb. Better to face off than to hide.
“Just Ada?”
“Yes.”
“All right. Would you care to join me for a drink?”
“No.”
“Fair enough. Do you play any other games?”
Her cheeks twitched in a smile. “Yes.”
“But you are not making this easy on me?” He grinned like a little boy hiding a frog in his pocket, but this was no boy. He was tall and well-built, and his green-blue eyes pierced Ada’s charade.
“All right, what’s your game?” Flirting was not part of her privileges as a puffer. Ada cringed when the words slipped out, but she couldn’t resist the temptation. He was everything that she didn’t need—a gambler, a stranger, and sinfully handsome. Nonetheless, she needed to break out of the prison at the Silvers. The thought of being stuck there cut her breath off. When she left The Lyon’s Den tonight, she’d be trapped again between the promise of her faith and the horror of Charlotte. Even the short reprieve created by flirting and gaming with The Cavalier offered some relief.
“Whist, casino, poker, chess—”
“What would your mother say if she knew you were playing me here?” Her question came out cheekier than expected.
“Hmm…” He rubbed his chin and then grinned. There was a level of intelligent mischief about him that made her stomach drop to her knees. She needed to sit. “My mother would say that calculated wins could pay for the education if the child was clever enough.”
“Your mother would think that counting cards was clever?”
He gave a half-cocked smile and Ada backed away. The sheer force of his brilliant eyes nearly knocked her off her feet. She had to get a hold of herself if she was going to win against him tonight. “Do you cheat then?”
“I don’t need to,” he said, inclining his head and reaching for her hand.
“Very well.” Nobody admitted it, but almost everyone bluffed. It was like lying, an accepted practice until you were caught. She instinctively lifted her hand and as he received and he placed a kiss on her knuckles. A rush flooded her as if he’d set her ablaze with the simple contact of his mouth on her skin. Most unsettling, Ada thought. And yet welcome. She wanted to extend their encounter by all means. “So, your mother wouldn’t frown upon cheating in a game of cards?”
“She’d want me upon a level with the rest, which is usually not realistic if one doesn’t take all advantages.”
“But?”
His smile widened now, and his cheeks showed the most adorable dimples. “It is my habit, Miss Ada, to leave games that my personal code of honor dismisses as improper.”
“And what exactly makes you such an excellent judge of players?”
“My profession, of course. I cannot afford to play, drink, or do anything else in such excess that it would compromise my ability to be perfectly alert on short notice.” As if this were the most natural thing in the world, he casually shrugged, displaying a level of self-control that Ada had never witnessed before. “And caring for people means reading them, for they don’t always tell the truth.”
Ada wondered what he’d meant by care but didn’t dare ask the chivalrous Adonis before her. His intense gaze bore into her soul as if he knew her every bluff, her face flushed with a mix of fear and excitement, and her heart thudded uncontrollably. “H-how admirable,” Ada said, as she looked down at her hands. “I’m afraid that my habits of gambling would mean that I am ruined for someone with your code of honor.”
“On the contrary.” He leaned against a side table next to her and crossed his legs. Towering over her, his warm breath grazed her face and electrified every inch of her skin. Everything about him was clear and crisp, like his spring sky eyes. Despite all this clarity, he’d muddled up her chances to make some money this evening. Though she knew better, she couldn’t resist keeping her gaze fixed on him, mesmerized by his sculpted features and rugged charm.
Ada shook herself. She didn’t have time for handsome men. Not if she wanted to escape from the Silvers and plan for the future.
“I have to go,” she said then and turned away. She’d never been so unnerved by a man. Ada knew her bluffing skills were completely shattered; he’d be able to read her with no trouble. Even as she walked away—showing only confidence—she could feel his gaze following her, and she knew he could tell he’d affected her. She couldn’t get away fast enough, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to play against him again.
She’d gamble at cards, but never with her heart.