Hyacinth hesitated. The truth was, she wasn’t sure what Finn would do. He was one of the kindest gentlemen she knew, but he had his own painful past to contend with, and he could be severe when it came to certain things.
Things like secrets, and lies.
If he found out the Ramseys had kept something from him, he’d be furious. Worse, he’d be hurt. He’d feel betrayed. Hyacinth didn’t know whether he’d be angry enough to send the Ramseys away. He’d always longed for a family, and she couldn’t imagine Finn ever doing anything so cruel and unforgiving, but she didn’t know him well enough to be sure of him, and she wasn’t willing to risk the Ramsey’s future on it.
Lachlan’s future. He’s already lost so much—
“We can’t let you marry Lord Dixon, Hyacinth! The man’s a terrible scoundrel.”
“Heisa scoundrel, and worse, too. I’ve not the least intention of marrying him, I can assure you.” Hyacinth thought for a moment, then asked, “Isla, didn’t you tell me Lord Sydney’s lost a great deal of money to Lord Dixon at cards?”
“Yes. A small fortune. Apparently Lord Dixon is lucky, and clever about his wagers.”
Hyacinth hesitated. Once she told Isla her plan, she’d see it through to the end, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t frightened. She was. Just the thought of being alone with Lord Dixon made her stomach turn, and her flesh crawl with dread.
“It’s not cleverness, or luck.” Hyacinth reached into the pocket of her day dress and pulled out the piece of wax she’d liberated from Lord Dixon’s waistcoat. “He’s a cheat.”
Isla’s mouth dropped open. “How can you know that? And what is that, in your hand? It looks like—”
“It’s a bit of wax, pinched into a point at the end.”
Isla stared at the wax, her brow furrowed. “Where did it come from?”
“Lord Dixon had it secreted away in his waistcoat pocket. I had a bit of a tussle with him on Lord Pomeroy’s terrace, and quite by accident I plucked out the wax.” Hyacinth held it up so Isla could see it more clearly. “I can only think of one reason a gentleman would carry wax in his waistcoat pocket, and that’s to mark the cards.”
“Mark them? How?”
Hyacinth, who’d been prepared for this question, drew a pack of playing cards from her skirt pocket. “Like this.” She separated a card from the deck, flipped it over, and drew a single line across the blank white back of it.
Isla was shaking her head. “But you can’t see the mark. It’s invisible.”
“Not if the light is at the right angle. Come see.” Hyacinth rose from the settee and went to the window, Isla following her. “If the light catches it just so, the bit where I drew the line is duller than the rest of the card. See?” Hyacinth turned the card this way and that. “If you know what to look for, it’s not difficult to see it. When Lord Dixon enters the cardroom, he already has the wax hidden in his palm. As the play goes on, he subtly draws patterns of lines on the backs of the cards to indicate the number and suit. Then lays his wagers accordingly.”
Isla stared at her, dumbfounded. “For pity’s sake, Hyacinth. You’re not a card cheat yourself, are you?”
Hyacinth smiled at that. “No. But you’d be amazed at the odd bits of information one can pick up during six weeks in Brighton.”
“Indeed.” Isla held out her hand for the card, studied it for a moment, and then handed it back to Hyacinth. “It’s clever, isn’t it? But how do you plan to turn it to account? No one in London suspects Lord Dixon of being a cheat.”
“No, but they might if Lord Sydney, who’s lost such large sums to him, happened to discover a piece of wax in Lord Dixon’s waistcoat pocket. If such an unfortunate occurrence should happen, and Lord Dixon should be revealed a cheat, I doubt thetonwill care to listen to any of his stories about the Ramseys, do you? Indeed, he’d likely be obliged to leave London at once, or find himself at the wrong end of an irate gentleman’s pistol.”
“But how will Lord Sydney get a peek into Lord Dixon’s waistcoat? Lord Dixon would have to take it off first, and—” Isla’s hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes went wide. “No, Hyacinth.”
“There are any number of ways a lady can inspire a gentleman to remove his waistcoat.”
Isla buried her face in her hands with a groan. “Lachlan will go mad if he hears of this.”
“He won’t hear of it. Lady Entwhistle’s ball tonight is sure to be a crush, and I think we can manage the thing without being noticed. When Lord Dixon asks me to dance I’ll accept, but instead of a quadrille, I’ll invite him to join me in the library. When you see me leave the ballroom with him, you’ll follow with Lord Sydney, and when you come upon us, we’ll take care that Lord Sydney discovers the wax. He’ll know what it means at once, I daresay.”
“I don’t like this. It’s far too risky. Why not just tell Lord Sydney about it, and ask him to demand to see inside Lord Dixon’s pocket?”
“No, that won’t do. What if Lord Dixon doesn’t have any wax hidden in his waistcoat pocket tonight? We can’t have Lord Sydney imply Lord Dixon’s a cheat unless we can be certain of the outcome.”
“We can’t be certain of that no matter who goes diving into Lord Dixon’s pockets! You could risk yourself and your reputation, Hyacinth, only to find his pockets empty.”
“His pockets won’t be empty.” Hyacinth held up the bit of wax in her hand, and met Isla’s gaze without blinking. “This will be there.”
Isla gasped. “Hyacinth Somerset! Do you mean to say you’re going to put that in his pocket?”
