Seth glanced at it and then back at Frances. He did not want to be where she was not. “I believe that I would rather observe for now.”
“Well, then, enjoy.” She smiled and then quit the room leaving Seth standing on one side, sipping his brandy, while Frances stood across from him observing the games and players.
Jonathan often did the same at The Emerald Garter when Seth was not present. He was able to keep tempers cool and discourage when he suspected bets were too high to be paid.
Without Jonathan, The Emerald Garter would not be nearly as successful, and this was not the first time that Seth had considered asking him to be a partner instead of an employee. He trusted Jonathan implicitly and it would allow Seth to have more evenings free as the two of them could split the time of when someone needed to be at the club. In fact, he could take the nights that Frances was busy here and Jonathan the other evenings.
It was something that he needed to give consideration.
As the night progressed, seats were vacated and quickly filled and Frances stepped in to temporarily take the place of a dealer when he needed to step away and all the while, Seth observed. Sometimes he wandered the room to watch, other times he simply stood by the wall, much like a wallflower as others enjoyed their evening.
The two things that he did not do was return to the room where animated discussions were occurring or drink a second brandy.
All he did was wait for Frances to be free.
Frances’ nerves were on edge as the evening progressed.
This was the night she had been waiting for, planned for, and whatever future she and Seth had, if any, would be decided before the sun rose tomorrow.
For a moment she wondered if she was making a mistake, then reminded herself again of all the reasons she had sought revenge to begin with from the moment he left her at the cottage and up to the present. She’d reviewed them last night at the ball, and again after she returned home, and it was all she thought about today. Right or wrong, she needed to see this through, even if it turned out that she was the one who would lose in the end, though unlikely.
As it grew later, or rather early after midnight, those who had sat at the tables began vacating their seats with no one waiting to fill them. By the time the hour reached two in the morning, the last game ended and their guests filtered out of the room as the dealers began to count the money lost to Athena’s Salon. Each table started with a certain amount of money each night and hopefully ended with much more, but she would not know until they each tallied their totals then brought everything to her to be stored in the safe. Other than the footmen who acted as dealers on the nights Athena’s Salon was open, and the two footmen clearing the beverage table, there was no one else in the room except Seth.
He had stood and observed all night. Sometimes it was the tables and players, other times it was her, especially when she was dealing. Luckily, nothing unusual happened and play was normal so he should not have noticed that her skill was better than she had ever let on when they had played long ago.
“You did not play tonight,” she said as she approached him.
“Perhaps next time,” he offered.
That would not do. She needed him to play tonight, before she lost her nerve.
“That is a shame for I was looking forward to playing against you.”
“It would not be the same,” he said. “Not like before.”
“Why is that?”
“You would always be the dealer at the table, which does give you an advantage, plus your choices are limited whereas, as a player, they are not.”
It was true, in some games she had no choice but to stay with the cards the dealer was dealt and was limited to what she could take. There was little risk involved.
“Did you enjoy your first evening at Athena’s Salon?” Tessa asked as she and Bethany entered the gaming room.
“He did not play but stood around.”
“Why is that?” Tessa asked.
“Because a dealer has an advantage and knew that I would beat him,” she challenged.
“That is not what I said,” Seth argued. “I said the dealer has the advantage, not that you would beat me.”
By goading him, Frances knew that would be his response, and it is what she had wanted.
“We could always play, just the two of us.”
“What game?” he asked.
“Vingt-et-Un.” It was something they had played often after he taught the game to her at the cottage. “A private game between just the two of us.”
