LITMIR.BIZ

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      Adele bounded off the bed and paced. ‘I do not know how I can sleep. Do you think he will call? I hope he will call. But I’m afraid Grandmama does not like him. Do you think she will send him away if he calls?’

      Celia rose and hugged the girl. ‘She would not be so impolite.’ Celia would see to it.

      Adele clung to her. ‘But she wants me to marry Cousin Luther and I do not even know him!’

      ‘Leave your grandmother to me. She will not interfere in your wishes.’ She loosened her hold on Adele and made the girl look into her eyes. ‘But know that neither your grandmother nor I would let you marry a man who was unsuitable.’

      ‘Lord Neddington is very suitable!’ Adele cried.

      Celia hugged her again. ‘Indeed he seems to be, but you must not put your hopes beyond tomorrow. Merely hope he calls and, if he does, see if you still like him so well.’

      ‘I will like him tomorrow and the next day and the next,’ Adele cried. ‘But will he like me?’

      Celia kissed her on the cheek. ‘Any man would be a fool not to fall heels over ears in love with you. But you should go to sleep now so you will not have dark shadows under your eyes tomorrow.’

      Adele’s hands went to her cheeks. ‘Oh, my goodness, yes! I must look my very best.’ She kissed Celia and hugged her tightly. ‘Goodnight, Celia. I hope you sleep well.’

      ‘Sweet dreams,’ Celia murmured as Adele rushed out of the room.

      Celia breathed a relieved sigh and looked towards her dressing room door. ‘It is safe to come out, Younie.’

      Her maid appeared in the doorway. ‘That was a near go, wasn’t it?’

      ‘Indeed.’ Celia retrieved the mask from beneath her dressing table. ‘We’d best wait until we are certain she is sleeping.’

      Celia arrived at the Masquerade Club later than she’d ever done before. Would Rhysdale—Rhys—be angry at her for being late?

      She rushed inside, undeterred by the doorman, who seemed to recognise her even with the new gown and mask.

      Rhys stood in the hall, as if waiting for her. Her breath caught. He wore an impeccably tailored but conservative black coat and trousers. With his dark hair and glowering expression he looked as dangerous as a highwayman.

      ‘You are late,’ he said.

      ‘I had difficulty getting away.’ She handed her shawl to the footman and tried not to sound defensive.

      Rhys walked her out of the hall and she prepared to hear him ring a peal over her head as soon as they were out of earshot.

      But he said nothing. When they stepped up to the cashier’s desk, Rhys withdrew. The cashier was the same man who had served the tea in Rhys’s drawing room and the only other person connected to the gaming house who had seen her face. He obviously knew precisely who she was, even masked, because he counted out the exact number of counters Rhys had promised her.

      As she turned to make her way to the game room, she caught Rhys still standing in the doorway. She forced herself to lift her chin and meet his gaze head-on.

      His eyes shone with admiration, much like Neddington’s had done when looking upon Adele. ‘The new gown is effective.’

      Celia felt an unfamiliar rush of feminine pleasure and immediately forced herself to sober. She would not melt at mere compliments.

      Her smile was stiff as she clutched her reticule, the counters safe inside. He stepped back for her to pass, but he followed her into the game room.

      The room was crowded and she recognised many gentlemen who a couple of hours before had been dancing in Lady Cowdlin’s ballroom.

      Xavier Campion approached her with his disarming smile. She sensed something unpleasant beneath it.

      ‘Madam.’ He bowed. ‘Do you fancy a game of whist?’

      She glanced at Rhys, who frowned.

      ‘I came to play,’ she answered, unsure if she should accept Xavier’s invitation or not.

      ‘I will partner you if you wish,’ he said.

      She glanced back to Rhys, but his back was to her and he was conversing with a group of gentlemen.

      ‘Yes, Mr Campion. Do you have some opponents in mind?’

      He smiled again as he took her arm. ‘It is Xavier, remember. Let us go in search of some worthy opponents.’ His grip was firmer than was necessary. He leaned towards her and murmured in a tone that seemed falsely convivial. ‘I understand you are in Rhys’s employ. How did you manage that, I wonder?’

      She did not miss a beat. ‘He made me the offer and I accepted. How else might it have been accomplished?’

      ‘He is my friend,’ Xavier said through gritted teeth. ‘I will not have him trifled with.’

      Celia lifted her chin. ‘Rhysdale seems capable of selecting his own employees. Ought I to tell him you think otherwise?’ His concern was ridiculous. ‘Or perhaps he has asked you to protect him from me?’

      Xavier’s eyes flashed. ‘He does not need to ask. I protect all my friends. Do you tell tales on all of yours?’

      ‘I do not.’ Celia paused. ‘But, then, you are not my friend, are you?’ She shrugged from his grip. ‘I have changed my mind, Mr Campion. I believe I will try my luck at hazard.’

      She left him and did not look back.

      It made her feel wonderfully strong. A man had tried to intimidate her and she’d held her own against him.

      The hazard table was crowded with mostly men. Celia faltered a bit, then remembered Rhys said she was equally as alluring as his mysterious masked woman who had played here before.

      She’d just stood up to a man; perhaps she could also be a little bit alluring.

      ‘Pardon me.’ She made herself smile in what she hoped was a flirtatious manner. ‘Might a lady play?’

      The gentlemen parted. One was the man who had so disturbed Rhys the previous night. Her skin turned to gooseflesh. He, too, had been at Lady Cowdlin’s ball.

      What did such a gentlemen say to his wife to explain going out again after a ball? Did the wife pace with worry as Celia’s mother had done?

      ‘You are welcome to play, my dear.’ The gentleman flicked his eyes quickly over her person. ‘Have you played before?’

      Disgust roiled through her. She remembered Rhys’s warning.

      She dropped any flirtatious affectations. ‘I am accustomed to card games like whist and piquet and vingt-et-un. I’ve not tried a game of dice before.’ But tonight she had money she could afford to lose.

      The croupier at the hazard table was a pretty young woman with curly red hair. ‘Do you play, miss?’

      The gentleman rose on his heels in self-importance. ‘I will assist the lady, if she so desires.’ He scooped up the dice. ‘I will stake you for this first round.’ He put a pound counter on the table and placed the dice in her hand. ‘Call a number between five and nine.’

      ‘Nine,’ she called, the date her father died.

      ‘Nine,’ he repeated.

      Around the table there was a flurry of side-betting accompanying her call.

      ‘They are betting on your chances to win,’ he explained. ‘If you roll a nine, you will win. If you throw a two or a three, or an eleven or a twelve, you will lose. Now shake the dice in your hand and roll them on the table.’

      She shook the dice and threw them down. They landed in the middle of the green baize, one landing on three, the other, on five.’

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