Oh dear. She should be minding her own business—quite literally—not indulging in speculation about Lord Ashton’s sexual prowess. Besides, hadn’t he said he was married? She couldn’t tell if that part was real or only his attempt at dark humor. The circumstances of the revelation had been so strange.
Why can’t you ever focus?
“We’re running low on champagne. You might run over to thewine seller’s and buy a few more bottles.”
“Already? We’ve just restocked.”
“We’ve been busy,” Della replied. “It’s a good thing. Speaking of which, the games are overcrowded. There isn’t enough space for everyone who wants to play. Do you think you could manage to squeeze another card table over by the sideboard and get one of the waiters to sit as an extra dealer? Only pick something simple, like faro.”
“Champagne first, though?” Eli looked to her for confirmation.
“I suppose so?” Della wasn’t sure who she was asking. Jane, probably. But Jane was gone, and it was up to her to make these decisions now. “Yes,” she repeated, more firmly. The trick was to pretend she was sure of herself, so it looked like she knew what she was doing. “Champagne first. Ten bottles should keep us safe for tonight. Then the extra table once you’re back.”
She would have liked Eli’s help managing the floor, but he should go where he was most needed. Della sized up the crowd, trying to decide whereshewas most needed. Lady Eleanor Grosvenor was at baccarat. As one of their more influential members, she always required a degree of attention. But Della also spotted Miss Chatterjee and Mrs. Duff circling one another at the edges of a vingt-et-un table like sharks on the scent of blood. Everyone knew they’d had a falling-out which had something to do with Mr. Duff’s wandering eye. Oh, and there was Mrs. Muller, about to lose a heap of chips at whist! Della had promised to cut off her credit tonight. But she could hardly do itnow, with everyone watching. She would have to get her alone first, which would mean abandoning her other tasks.
There were simply too many things to attend to and not enough of her to do it all.
Mrs. Duff had just said something that made Miss Chatterjee’s brows draw together.Oh dear.They were the most urgent priority then, before someone came to blows and set their club’s reputationtumbling down to the level of a common public house. She would deal with the rest after.
Della drew a deep breath and strode into their midst. Between the two of them, Reva Chatterjee was the one she was closest to. They’d been good friends for years, though they hadn’t seen one another as often this season as they used to. Better to start with her than with Mrs. Duff. “Reva, how are you? We could use another player at the baccarat table. Won’t you let me accompany you there?”
“Good riddance,” Mrs. Duff muttered as they withdrew, not nearly softly enough to escape their hearing.
“Ugh.” Reva rolled her eyes, once her back was safely turned. “She’sthe one who came up tomytable.”
“What happened between you two, anyway? I thought you used to get on.”
“Wedid, until her awful husband started going on and on about what beautiful eyes I have at their rout last month. Now she’s convinced herself that I’m trying to steal his attention, when I don’t even like the man!” Reva’s nostrils flared in indignation. “If she keeps this up, she’ll ruin my reputation.”
“Don’t worry; everyone knows what he’s like,” Della reassured her. “I dined at their house once and he stared at my chest the whole night, even though my parents were right beside me. I think he’s that way with everyone.”
Reva made a face. “I hope so. Not that he should be a lecher, I mean, but I hope everyone knows it wasn’t me who led him on. We’re expecting Mr. Bhattacharya to propose soon, and I don’t want him hearing any rumors about me.”
“I’ll have a word with Mrs. Duff as soon as things quiet down,” Della promised. “And that’s wonderful news about Mr. Bhattacharya! Are you excited?”
Reva’s expression transformed to a bright smile, revealing a rowof white teeth. “He’s terribly handsome, and our families get along well. I think we’d make a good match.”
Della wanted to ask Reva more about her courtship, but they’d already arrived at the baccarat table. She needed to make sure Lady Eleanor was properly attended to or she would feel slighted, and then there was still Mrs. Muller to talk to, and now Mrs. Duff as well.
“I need to get back to work, but why don’t you stop in again tomorrow and we’ll catch up properly?” she suggested. “Come a bit earlier, before the crush is in full force.”
“I tried to call on you a few weeks ago,” Reva revealed, biting her lip, “but you weren’t at home and you never returned my call…” Her tone didn’t carry any accusation, only a measure of doubt. As if she weren’t quite sure if she’d been snubbed.
Oh dear.That’s right, she’d seen Reva’s card among the others and meant to do something about it, but that had been the same day that she’d first thought of her plan to get Bishop’s put inThe Discerning Gentleman’s Guide to London. She’d been so excited with the idea that she’d forgotten everything else.
“I’m sorry.” She squeezed Reva’s hands between her own. “I’ve just been so busy at the club since Jane’s confinement that I haven’t had time to keep up with my friends as I ought. But if you come back another night, you’re sure to catch me!”
Wait a minute, why should she stop there? Reva used to deal for them when they were shorthanded, back when the club was an informal group of ladies who played vingt-et-un in Della’s drawing room on Monday evenings. And Della was certainly shorthanded now.
“What if you helped out again, the way you used to in the old days?” It would be wonderful to have a friend by her side in the evenings again. Eli did his best, of course, but Della missed having another woman to talk to. “We’ve got hired dealers now, but we could always use another lady to play hostess, if you want to earn someextra pin money.”
“Er…thank you, Della.” Reva’s gaze slid away, toward the other players clustered around the baccarat table, who gave a whoop of victory as the next card was turned up. “It’s always great fun here, but…” She shrugged helplessly as she met Della’s eye once more. “I think I’m getting a bit old for this sort of thing. As I said, I wouldn’t want Mr. Bhattacharya to hear any rumors about me.”
“Oh.” Della slumped a little as her fantasy went up in smoke. It would have been so perfect! But she could hardly blame Reva for having other plans for her own life, so she forced a smile and said, “I understand. Let’s call on one another soon.”
Once she’d said her goodbyes, she went directly to Lady Eleanor’s side and was informed that her guest longed for nothing so much as a watercress sandwich, but the last one had been eaten by none other than Mrs. Muller (who had no doubt done iton purpose), which sent Della scrambling to the kitchen to persuade Cook to prepare another batch before Lady Eleanor expired from hunger.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Eli came back at some point to keep the champagne flowing, though Della scarcely saw him. She moved from table to table, smoothing away any troubles that might mar the thrill of the game. Jane’s cousin, Lady Cecily Kerr, showed up around one in the morning and immediately made a hash of her play at vingt-et-un, leaving Della to intervene before anyone mistook her natural inability to recall the rules for an attempt to cheat. Some people really couldn’t be trusted with a deck of cards.
