“Why should I tell you?” she asked tartly.
“Lady Davina.” I supplied. The lady herself wrinkled her nose at me. “Rosehill’s sister,” I added when presented with his blank stare.
A low curse escaped Michael. “How much did you lose?”
“She didn’t,” Augie cut in.
“She didn’t what?”
“Lose.”
“She won?” Michael asked, incredulity heavy in his voice and in his eyes.
“Of course I won,” she crowed.
“Well how the devil did you manage that? How do you even know how to play?”
“Gabriel taught me,” she snapped.
“Oh. So he taught you how to cheat,” Michael extrapolated.
“I didn’t cheat. He taught me to play properly.”
“Baldwin was watching the play tonight,” Augie interjected. “He didn’t notice anything untoward until Beaumont accused her. Once he saw her up close…”
“Who let her in?” Michael asked.
“Potter…”
Michael dragged a tired hand across his face. If there was a problem at Wayland’s, it was always Potter. But while he was abumbling, inattentive fool, he was a kind bumbling, inattentive fool. And Michael had a soft heart—no matter how much he protested the contrary.
“How are we going to cover this?” he asked. “Her reputation will be in tatters.”
“Oh, he didn’t accuse her of being a lady. Beaumont accusedhimof being a cheat,” Augie clarified.
Laughter escaped Michael and me at the same time. From afar, in the dim light of the hall, she could be mistaken for a gentleman. But now, in front of us, she was every bit a lady. It was in her carriage, her movements, her heart-shaped face and delicate rose complexion.
“Where is the daft fool?” Michael asked.
“Wearing a hole in my rug,” Augie said. “He’s refusing to pay her.”
“How much did he lose?”
“He didn’t lose. Iwon,” Lady Davina insisted.
“It’s a fair point,” I added.
“You, hush or go home,” Michael scolded. I hushed as I had no interest in returning home now. “How much?” he asked.
“Three,” Augie said.
“Three pounds?” I tipped my glass toward her in a toast.
“Threethousandpounds.”
The scotch caught in my throat, slid into my lung, and burned there until I coughed it up.
“No wonder he’s refusing to pay. He doesn’t have it,” Michael said. “Did he know who you were? Or that you were a lady?”
