The strapping twenty-two-year old man with a head full of dark-brown hair and laughing eyes stopped and bowed. “My lord. How gracious of you to receive me without benefit of a prior appointment.”
Zane acknowledged him with a smile and they both laughed. Standing on ceremony with his cousin after all the time spent together wouldn’t happen anytime soon. They’d been too at ease with each other during their travels. In the meantime, it was good to know someone in the family was all right with him still being Zane.
“It looks as if you are settling into your new role as earl quite well,” Robert offered.
“I’m adjusting, and glad you stopped by.” Zane leaned a hip against his desk and pointed toward a chair. “Sit down.”
“Thank you, but I wasn’t going to stay long. I know how busy you are. I overheard Father telling Mama that you had a lot to learn—well, yes, I will sit, but only for a minute.”
“Don’t get nervous, Robert. I know what your father is saying about me. Hector is not a shy man. Especially not with me.”
“No, he isn’t,” his cousin answered as he made himself comfortable in the upholstered chair. “In case youhaven’t heard, I wanted to let you know that wagers similar to the one at White’s concerning you and Mrs. Feld are being made in other clubs in London.”
“No,” Zane muttered with no small amount of interest. “I hadn’t heard that.”
Making a wager in the prestigious White’s was one thing—a gentleman’s right. He hadn’t expected the wager would become commonplace and Brina’s name would be bandied about other clubs and gaming houses in Town. He hadn’t thought through all the ramifications of his ploy before he’d acted on it. And Brina’s deed, with all her conditions for him, was bound to have had an impact on what was happening too.
Not that he blamed her for anything she’d done. He admired her for fighting back. He did take issue with how clever her tactics were.
“I’ve been introduced to her, but I can’t say I know her. She’s quite beautiful.”
She is stunning.
“Another reason I stopped by is that I was hoping you could spare me another one hundred pounds. There’s a game at the Brass Bull that Harper and I have been invited to join tonight. My pockets are too light right now to get into the first game.”
Robert’s words disturbed Zane. “You don’t need to be involved in high stakes games at your age or because of the amount of your allowance.”
“I’ve been assured the games won’t be steep initially, but of course, it really depends on the number who join. But Mr. Remick wants to make sure we can cover bets.”
“And Harper?”
“His pockets have always been plumper than mine. He’s an only child and his father has been generous. I think his uncle—Mrs. Feld’s father—helps him from time to time as well.”
That would follow what Brina said about her father asking her to keep an eye on Harper. “Is he a good player?”
“I’d say we are even.”
“Good,” Zane said and looked at his affable cousin. He liked the cheeky lad, but they were home now. Robert was Hector’s responsibility. “I gave you an extra hundred at the family dinner last week. You should still have more than enough to see you by until your allowance releases again.”
“I know.” He moved to the edge of his seat. “And I don’t want you to think I’m not grateful for your generosity. I am. All it takes is a few bad hands to get behind. You know that. Either luck is with you or she isn’t. It’s only a matter of time before my fortune turns bright again.”
Zane regarded Robert more carefully. One of the first rules of gaming that he tried to instill in his cousin was that sometimes fortune didn’t return. Some people were not meant to be gamesters. A hand or two of cards after a dinner party or on a rainy afternoon at one of his clubs was all the playing some gentlemen needed to do. He was thinking his cousin might be that type person.
When Robert arrived unannounced in Paris, Zane hadn’t expected or wanted to become the young man’s caretaker, but out of respect for Hector, he had taken him under his protection and started schooling him in the games. It appeared his cousin wanted to keep it that way, even though he was under his father’s roof again. Robert was studious at times, but more often than not, he was given to bouts of imprudent, impulsive gambling rather than taking it slow, steady, and judicious. At the time, it had suited Zane to tutor him and keep him out of trouble, which he found out included matrimony.
Zane had no other pressing priorities during his travels.
Now he had too many. He would never again have the carefree life he lived before he became the earl. And he was finding out that he no longer had the patience, time, or the inclination for such tutelage. Robert was going to have to understand and rely on Hector for fatherly advice and extra funds.
“I’ve tried to explain to you how important it is to get out of a game before you lose all you have,” Zane stated, trying not to sound as if he were giving a lecture. “You always save enough to play for another day. That’s how you learn to be good at gambling. Remember we talked about when your money runs low, you go.”
“I know.” Robert’s expression was sincere. “I remember everything you taught me. A gamester shouldn’t hesitate. He needs to know how and which card to play as soon as it hits his hands. I do try to gain skill and play your way every time, but so often, it seems what I have becomes less and less each night until it’s gone.”
“We went over this when we were in Vienna. You either get better at remembering the cards that have been played, how to use what you have, or you don’t play as often or as deep.”
“I do,” he said convincingly. “If you’ll let me have a hundred for tonight, I promise I’ll be more careful with it. I’m sure it was the excitement of being back in London with old friends. I wasn’t giving enough attention to the game.”
Zane considered Robert’s request. Unlike the night with all his family members asking for favors, this was something his cousin would have asked whether or not Zane was the earl. Money wasn’t something Zane had ever had to worry about. In addition to the allowance from the previous earl, Zane’s grandfather on hismother’s side had left him an inheritance that had served him well over the years, and he’d never abused income from it.
