“I am sure, sir, but thank you for your concern.” She held the coins toward Mr. Jister.
He grabbed the gold, which was more than he usually made in a month of working his game, then hoisted the two egg-filled crates up to the table. “Be my guessin’ guest,” he invited, his gaze dipping to her breasts again.
“If I succeed at separating each raw egg from the boiled, will I win every prize you have?”
“Oh, sure, sure,” he said, grinning so broadly that the rat head above his ear moved. “Ever’ last one of ’em.”
Calmly, Theodosia removed her gloves and laid them over her lower arm. “Very well. Please pile all your eggs onto the ground, but keep the two crates on the table.”
Almost choking on pent-up laughter, he complied.
Theodosia turned to the crowd of gaping people. “There are four hundred eggs to separate, and I would appreciate it very much if some of you would assist me.”
“But we didn’t guess right when we played,” a woman cautioned.
Theodosia gave the woman a gracious smile. “None of us will make a wrong guess because guessing will have no part whatsoever in the choices we make. You see, there is a secret to this game, and I am delighted to be able to share it with you.”
Mr. Jister frowned. “Hold on a damned minute! You—”
“The raw eggs will not spin,” Theodosia quickly explained to the people, “but the boiled eggs will.” Quickly, she chose three eggs from the ground and, setting them upright on the table, she tried to spin them. Two rolled to their sides, and one spun like a top. “The first two eggs are raw, and the last is boiled.”
When she cracked them to prove her declaration, the crowd hummed with amazement.
“We shall put all the eggs to the test,” she continued. “Those that spin we shall place in the crate on the left, and those that fail to spin but roll to their sides will go in the crate on the right. Now, let us begin.”
“The game’s closed!” Wildly, Mr. Jister tried to put the eggs back into the crates.
Several men in the gathering hindered his efforts while the rest of the people surged forward to test the eggs. Minutes later, the two crates were again full.
Theodosia slipped her gloves back on. “Please break the eggs now, Mr. Jister, so we may see how well weguessed.”
When the men who held him released him, he jabbed a finger toward her. “You ain’t gonna get away with this, lady.”
“I already have, sir. You may break the eggs if you so desire, but I believe you and I both know they are separated correctly. And now you must keep your word and give me every prize on that rack.”
“I cain’t run my game without no prizes!”
“Then it appears as though I have brought you to ruin.”
The fat beneath his chin shook as molten fury spewed through him. He lunged toward her, his arms stretched out before him, his hands ready to wrap around her throat.
But he never even got near her.
A solid mass of muscle appeared suddenly before him.
Roman knocked the carnival man to the ground with one blow, then, his motions blurred, whipped out his Colt. “What the hell is going on here? Miss Worth?” He scanned the crowd until he spotted her heading around the table to stand in front of the rack of prizes.
She handed a bottle of perfume to the young boy who had tried to win it. Upon further thought, she removed her bonnet, pulled a silken ribbon from it, and tied a bow around the neck of the scent flask. “There now, lad. You have a gift for your mother.”
He smiled up at her when she curled her hand around his cheek, then hugged her legs before racing off to find his mother.
As Roman watched the scene, a sense of wonder came over him. How was it possible for two strangers to demonstrate such affection? It was the damnedest thing he’d ever seen.
“Lady, you ain’t got no right to be givin’ that perfume to the snot-nosed brat!” Mr. Jister shouted. “That was genuine French perfume made all the way in New York!”
“Miss Worth,” Roman said, “would you mind telling me why I just punched this man in the face?”
“I suppose you did it because you are my hired bodyguard,” she replied as she came out from behind the table. “He was about to inflict bodily harm upon me. As for why you chose to strike his face, you—”
