“Then perhaps you ought to be heiress hunting as well,” Wick retorted.
“Papa will take care of it.” Parnell shrugged. “If not, I’ll deal with my obligations in the time-tested tradition of gentlemen. We’ll flee to the Continent, won’t we, Goggs?”
Goggs’ eyes darted nervously between his two cronies. “Er, whatever you say, Parnell.”
Shaking his head, Wick left the table, and Richard joined him.
“You handled that well,” Richard said.
His brother sighed. “Let’s go find the Turbetts and smooth things over.”
After that task was accomplished, Richard left Wick to search out Violet. Since the inclement weather had kept the guests inside, plentiful indoor entertainment was provided. There was a magic performance in the amphitheatre, some sort of experiment with an electrifying machine in the library, and a game of quoits in the atrium.
Richard found Violet chatting with the Blackwoods in the card room.
“Ah, Carlisle, now that you are here, we have enough for a game of whist,” Lady Blackwood declared. “Do say you’ll play.”
He concurred, and he, Violet, and the Blackwoods located an unoccupied table in the corner. Lady Blackwood declared that it would be the ladies versus the gentlemen, and Violet volunteered to be the dealer.
As she deftly shuffled the cards, she murmured to him, “Any luck this morning?”
He gave a faint shake of his head. “What about you? What were you up to?”
“I was showing Polly and Rosie the crossbow.” Her tawny eyes danced. “We practiced shooting at apples, and now both of them want crossbows, too.”
“Crossbows?” Lady Blackwood said. “That sounds dangerous.”
“It’s a miniature one. Made for fun more than doing harm,” Violet assured her. “Although it did pack enough of a wallop to knock an apple off the table.”
“Wherever did you come by such a thing?”
“It was a present. Carlisle made it for me,” Violet said proudly.
“Did he now?” Lady Blackwood gave him an amused look.
Blackwood, the bastard, chuckled. “How very, er, charming of you, Carlisle.”
Heat crawled up Richard’s jaw. “Are we playing whist or not?”
A grin tucked into Violet’s cheeks. There was a merry glint in her eyes as she distributed the cards over the green baize. The game commenced.
After three rounds in which he and Blackwood were summarily slaughtered, Richard began to suspect foul play. He watched Violet shuffle the cards with practiced dexterity, and his gaze narrowed.
“Shall I deal this round?” he said abruptly.
“Oh, I don’t mind being the dealer.”
Her tones were casual.Toocasual. He was starting to read the vixen’s tells. Of course, being a gentleman, he couldn’t accuse her of cheating outright, so he sat back and waited for her to deal.
Again, Violet expertly passed out the cards, each landing precisely before the player.
Richard lifted the edge of his first card. A two of clubs. Lowest of the suit.
To his left, Lady Blackwood made an odd, choking sound when she looked at her card.
“Is everything all right, my dear?” Blackwood’s gaze was also narrowed.
“Oh, it’s splendid.” The marchioness’ violet eyes shimmered. “Absolutely splendid.”
