“Not Hazard?”
She tilted her head and offered a condescending smile. “Were you not the one who told me that there was no skill to dice but simply luck? The perspective from a gambling room is the same and they would rather rely on skills with cards.”
“Your skills?” he asked.
“Yes. I am very good.”
Seth had been the one to teach Frances the different games of chance during rainy afternoons at the cottage. If not for him, she would never have been successful at the card tables during balls, so she supposed that she should thank him and maybe she would one day.
He also had no idea how good she truly was because she had never let on that she naturally counted cards and could calculate the odds of what would be the next card turned, or what another player may be holding based on the cards that could be seen. It was a secret that she kept from him because she feared that if she beat him too often, he would stop playing with her.
After she came to London, Frances learned to watch other players and realized that most had unintentional reactions to good and bad hands. Sometimes a tic in the cheek, a lifted eyebrow, and drumming of fingers on the table and several other signs, and Frances became very good at reading people.
Well, except for Seth, unless they were playing a game of chance.
Chapter Ten
Seth knew that her family was poor, but he hadn’t realized the situation was so dire that Frances was forced to find employment.
He had wondered how she had been able to purchase a voucher for the masquerade ball and since she had to find employment, he knew for certain that she’d have not been able to do so. It was likely his cousin or Lady Bethany had purchased her entrance.
Yet, that wasn’t so much a concern as her new position and how she had come about it.
Had Frances turned into a bloody bluestocking?
No wonder she had not wed. Gentlemen tended to avoid bluestockings because they did not want to be married to anyone who may be more intelligent.
Had she really changed so much? Frances claimed that she had, but perhaps it was far more than he realized.
A dealer and managing tables! He could not imagine her doing such.
He recalled teaching her the various games of chance and she had been lucky to win a few games, but her skill had not matched his and Seth hoped that his cousin was not making a mistake by putting Frances in charge of the tables. The reason for having such a business was to bring in extra funds, but if the dealer did not play well, or did not watch for cheating, a gambling den could go under rather quickly.
“Do you play billiards?” she asked, and Seth was jerked out of his thoughts.
“Yes. Why?”
“When Lady Bethany and I were touring the Argyll Room, we entered a billiards room and I was surprised to see women playing as well as gentlemen.”
“It is not so common of an occurrence except perhaps for there.”
Frances nodded. “Would you teach me?”
Seth would teach Frances anything she wished to learn. “I will have Blythe invite you to dinner to protect your reputation and ask my cousin and her husband to join us. I will teach you then.”
“You have a table in your home?”
“Yes, many gentlemen do, I believe.”
“Do you play with Lady Blythe?” Frances asked.
Seth frowned. “No, she does not play. Mostly, I challenge myself when at home. When out at a gentlemen’s club there are friends that I play against.”
She smiled. “I look forward to learning.”
While he would look forward to having Frances to dinner and teaching her a new game, his mind remained on her new position at Athena’s Salon. “How does one purchase a subscription to Athena’s Salon?” Seth asked.
“You must speak with Her Grace or Lady Bethany. They must approve all gentlemen.”
