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witness to one unfolding right under his nose, though
he still remained uncertain as to its final objective. The
more he saw of Alexander de Montmorency and his
brother, the more curious he became as to just what
that goal might be. Consequently, when their partners
lost interest in whist and drifted away to enjoy the
riskier but less intellectually taxing rattle of the dice
box, he challenged Alex to a game of piquet.
By now quite aware that the hussar with the
watchful eyes was more than a little interested in her,
Alex was hesitant to take him on in a game that did
not provide the distraction of other players. However, it
would never do to reveal any sort of reaction at all so
she merely nodded as though whatever she did was of
supreme indifference to her.
Christopher called for another pack of cards while
Alex, seeing that for once his eyes were not fixed on
her, took advantage of the opportunity to switch her
full glass of port for Anthony s empty one sitting next
to it. Her brother looked down at her, grinned, and
after making a discreet show for her benefit of
mopping his brow, downed it in one gulp.
Once the waiter had brought the cards and another
bottle of port, the play began. Afraid that she had
appeared too alert and had thus revealed that she was
aware of Christopher s speculative observation, Alex
sank lower in her chair and allowed herself to make a
few very small blunders, but not so many as to put her
opponent on his guard, before she began playing in
earnest.
Eventually, ever so slowly, it became apparent to the
major that Alex was as formidable an adversary at
piquet as at whist. The youth s memory and skills at
calculating the cards that had been played or were in
65
his hand made the major feel as though he were sitting
with his own hand in full view. Every once in a while
he shot a curious glance at de Montmorency over his
cards but the young man continued to lounge in his
chair, his face devoid of any expression, seemingly
totally uninterested in the drama that was unfolding
on the table in front of him as the mound of vowels
piled up at his elbow. There was no doubt in the
major s mind that Alexander de Montmorency was a
cool customer, a very cool customer indeed.
He straightened in his chair, eyes alight with the
exhilaration of pitting his own intelligence against a
worthy adversary. It had been such a very long time
since he had truly matched wits with anyone and he
was enjoying it immensely, despite the fact that he
seemed to be coming off much the worse in the
encounter. Aha, he looked at his hand. Surely the
cards remaining made him invincible now. Quart, he
called out triumphantly.
Ah ... equal, Alex responded, trying to keep from
laughing at the dumbfounded look on Wrotham s face.
The major was an excellent card player who had a
better grasp of strategy than most, but he did not
possess her phenomenal memory and the sixth sense
for the cards that her father had assured her made her
virtually unbeatable. Alex, my girl, he would often
remark, it is the greatest shame I cannot take you to
White s. I have foresworn the place, but I would go
back once more just to see you take them all on. Well,
here she was, and not doing too badly either. Even
Tony had begun to relax and chat, secure in the
knowledge that his sister was more than a match for
most of the players here. Certainly Lord Wrotham had
looked to be no mean opponent and she had managed
to trounce him.
Exhausted by hours of concentration and forcing a
tense body into a languid pose, Alex yawned and
peered blankly around the room. Well, I am done for
this evening. Shall we toddle along?
Rising unsteadily, she grasped the back of her chair
and smiled blearily at Lord Wrotham. Fine game, sir,
very fine game. She swept up the vowels, crumpled
them together, and thrust them in her pocket, then
headed for the door with Tony and the major following
in her slightly erratic wake.
The cool night air felt delicious on Alex s cheeks.
66
The breeze smelled fresh after the stuffiness of White s
and the headache, which had started as a tightness in
her shoulders and moved up the back of her neck to
form a tight, throbbing band around her forehead,
vanished as if by magic. She took a deep, gulping
breath, straightened her shoulders, and heaved a sigh
of relief at having successfully survived another
evening.
Alex s relief was short-lived, however, as Wrotham,
catching up with the two of them, invited them back to
his hotel. For the night is yet young and I would
prefer to hear of someone else s encounter with the
French on the Peninsula than the latest on-dits at
Lady Hadlington s masquerade, and just at present
there is nothing to tempt me at either the theater or
the opera.
Well, I... we, Tony began awkwardly, rolling a
frantic eye at his sister.
Don t deny me, the major begged. I am like to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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