“Thank you, Geórgios. I’ll keep an eye on her.” Della had already warned all the dealers that she was only allowed to play at the penny table, and they had strict instructions to turn her away if she tried to place a wager anywhere else.
“And…Miss Williams is also here,” Geórgios added. “Should I let her in?” His expression betrayed some doubt.
“I’ll be right there,” she replied. Della turned to Mrs. Duff, with whom she’d been speaking before Geórgios called her. “Please tell us how you enjoy the music tonight. We’re trying something new.”
Geórgios was already busy with the next batch of ladies while Hannah stood off to one side, fiddling with her hands. Her face lit up when she saw Della approach. “Jane and Eli said that I could come and help you tonight so you wouldn’t be alone.”
Thank you, Jane!
Della was so flooded with relief, she swept Hannah into her arms and hugged her tight. “That’s wonderful. You have no idea how happy I am to see you. I’m so glad Jane changed her mind!”
She must have felt badly over how many evenings she’d missed lately, and this was her way of lightening the load.
“Er, yes. Me too.” Hannah squirmed in Della’s grasp, reminding her that she was probably making a spectacle of herself. Della released the younger girl and tried to assume a cool, collected air.
“Forgive me,” Della said. “I’m just so glad you’re here.”
“What can I do?”
Mrs. Muller’s name was on the tip of Della’s tongue, but then she thought better of it. Hannah was barely twenty, and Mrs. Muller was old enough to be her mother. It wouldn’t be kind to ask her to keep watch over the woman as if she were a naughty child. Besides, she wasn’t much of a risk with all the dealers on watch for her.
Nor could Della ask Hannah to take charge of circling the crowd and making sure all the women were enjoying their evening. She lacked the confidence for it, and she hadn’t been in London long enough to know half of these ladies and learn their little quirks. It would take more time than Della had available to explain everything. What could she do?
“Have you ever been in charge of instructing your housekeeper or your butler about the service of drinks and meals at home?”
“Mama handles all of that.” Hannah seemed to shrink a bit as she admitted this. “But I could learn!”
Oh dear. They’ve sent me a greenhorn.
If only Hannah had come two hours earlier, there might have been time to explain all the workings of the club. As it was, Della was conscious that every tick of the clock took more time from her own duties. She hadn’t been able to greet all the women who streamed in while she was chatting with Hannah, and she didn’t hear any music yet, which meant she should check on the musicians and make sure nothingelsewas wrong. Monitoring the service of refreshments was the easiest thing Hannah could do that would still lighten Della’s load. She would just have to learn as she went.
“Keep an eye on how much the ladies are drinking and whetheranyone appears to have overindulged, or whether anyone is hungry and hasn’t been offered enough food. Check on our cook and the wine cellar every so often to make sure we aren’t running low on anything and send our errand boy over to the greengrocer’s if we need it.” Was that too much for her? Della felt a bit guilty, but she would be here if Hannah needed any advice. “Oh! And your brother hired a new dealer, Mr. Cooper? No, Corbyn! That was it. He’s a bit rough around the edges. Could you keep an eye out that he doesn’t offend any of our members and fetch me straight away if there’s a problem? He’s the blond one with a scar on his chin. You can’t miss him.”
“Right.” If Hannah looked a bit intimidated by all of this, she was too stubborn to admit it. “You can count on me.”
“Thank you.” Della clasped her friend’s hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “Just fetch me if there’s any problem you don’t know how to solve. I’ll be right here the whole night.” Then she turned and hurried back to the musicians.
***
Everything seemed to happen so quickly that by the time Della next looked at the clock, hours had passed. The musicians were mostly a success, thank goodness, though they did run out of songs partway through and let a polka slip into their repertoire (which Lady Eleanor absolutely noticed). Della wasn’t sure that Hannah was keeping track of the champagne quite as well as she should, for she noticed Mrs. Duff steadying herself on the wall as she made her way to the powder room, but she did spot the girl observing Mr. Corbyn’s table, and their newest dealer didn’t seem to have made any of the ladies slap him yet, so that was a good sign. Della lost track of them when she had to separate two women who’d begun insulting each other over baccarat. One of them was Mrs. Duff, who had apparentlytransferred her grudge against Reva toanotheryoung lady who’d caught her husband’s attention.
I’m going to have to talk to Jane about revoking her membership if this keeps up, Della realized with a sinking feeling. But the woman was friends with Lady Eleanor, and it might cost them her patronage if they sparked a row. What were they to do?
And now she spotted Mrs. Muller at Parekh’s table (which wasnotthe penny table)! Della hurried over, but a discreet word with Parekh reassured her that the older woman was only watching a friend and hadn’t placed any wagers. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything is fine.Della tried to calm her pattering heart. It felt as though she were juggling more balls than she could catch.
She went to check in on Hannah as soon as there was a lull in the pace of the evening. It was getting late, and a few of the less dedicated players had begun to peel off from the crowd and head home to their beds.
“How are you doing?” Della tried to catch her breath as she took in Hannah’s appearance. The girl looked flushed and the wisps of hair around her temples were stuck to her face with perspiration, indicating she might have been run off her feet nearly as much as Della, but she seemed happy.Wait, is that a glass of champagne in her hand?“Have you been drinking?”
“Only a little!” Hannah said quickly. “I got so hot when I was in the kitchen checking on Cook.”
“It’s all right.” She didn’t look drunk, so Della was hardly about to lecture her. She must get enough of that at home. “I saw you at Mr. Corbyn’s table earlier. How is he with the guests?”
“I see what you mean when you said he was rough.” Hannah wrinkled her nose. “He swears like a sailor.”
Oh goodness. Eli would be upset if they had to fire the man on his first evening.
