Eloisa James - Duchess by Night (26 page)

Monsters! Harriet exclaimed. Were you afraid?

Yes, but now Im more afraid of rats, Eugenia said. Her face brightened. But Papa is going to get me a puppythe kind of puppy who can kil a rat! And it can live with me here, in the west wing.

I wil speak to your father tomorrow morning. I promise you that, Eugenia. There are no monsters in this house. I wil ask him to let you run free occasional y. And pay me a visit.

Eugenia hopped to her feet and dropped into a curtsy.

If you would do that, Harry, I would be tremendously grateful.

Harriet bowed to her, but the simple kind, with no flourishes. And then she kissed her goodbye.

And final y she gave her a hug.

In Which Harriet Joins The Game. Finally.

H e caught up with her as she was walking down the corridor, away from Eugenias room.

Ive been looking everywhere for you, he said without preface. Come on, its time for the Game to begin.

Game? What game?

Primero. Its perfect for you.

Harriet trotted a little to keep up. Perfect how? I need to pack.

He just glanced over his shoulder and said, Ive been holding the Game almost every night for the last seven years. Youre the first woman ever invited.

Harriet ran a little faster.

She walked into a study on the second floor to find that there were two tables set upand Vil iers was seated at one of them.

What a pleasure, he murmured, as she sat down beside him. He looked at Strange and the corner of his mouth quirked into a smile. Sometimes you actual y show signs of common sense, Strange.

Harriet looked around. The room was hung with dark silk. Four or five men stood next to the fire. The room held no furniture other than two smal square tables and a number of comfortable chairs.

Its an honor to be invited to join Stranges Game, Vil iers said to her. We al refer to it with a capital G, in case youre wondering.

And its a point of honor to mention the Game to no one except a man who has participated, so I had to leave you in the dark.

And where does the honor come in? Harriet saw that the most interesting of the Cambridge professors was there, and the man who played the lead at the Hyde Park Theater. He had told her the other night that he hated Hamlet , and then explained al its stupidities so that Harriet felt she would never enjoy it again.

Its famous. Some nights there are four people, and sometimes eight. No one dares complain if they are excluded for a nightor forever. But Ive known people to stay at Fonthil for weeks, longing for just one shot at the Game.

Harriet looked around again. Povy was handing out smal glasses of ruby-colored liquor. There was a happy buzz in the room.

Do we play for money?

High stakes, Vil iers said. Very. Does that bother you?

Benjamin always said it was paltry to play for money rather than for love of the game.

Cards, Vil iers observed, are different from chess.

What sort of game is primero?

Oh, a game of power. Of bluffing and lying. He said nothing more. Look at this, he murmured a moment later. It seems that your arrival has occasioned some interest.

She looked up to find a wolfish man staring at her. Young Cope, is it? he barked.

She rose and bowed. Indeed, sir, you have the advantage of me.

Lord Skipwith.

Lord Skipwith, came Vil ierss measured tone, is the senior man in Parliament on the question of the Irish Resolutions. You do wel to meet him, lad.

Harriet bowed again. Skipwith eyed her from head to foot, seeming to pause, narrow-eyed, when it came to her legs. Harriet held her breath.

But Skipwith turned away with a snort, and Harriet sat back down.

Hes decided youre a mol y, Vil iers said.

What does that mean? I keep hearing the term.

A man who prefers to sleep with other men, rather than women. They are sometimes effeminate in their presentation. Skipwith is quite conservative in his thinking.

Harriet uncrossed her legs and stretched them out in front of her in a careless, manly fashion.

Vil iers eyed her. You might wish to belch, he suggested.

You seem to be enjoying yourself, Harriet retorted.

Thats the funny thing about coming near death, Vil iers said. I am finding life to be a great deal more tolerable.

You came to Fonthil to join the Game, didnt you? Harriet said. It had puzzled her why Vil iers had decided to come to Stranges house party. He seemed to have no interest in the various women being offered, nor had he showed any interest in scientific experiment or dramatic productions, the two forms of entertainment.

One cannot live by chess alone. Ah, there you are, Strange. And Lord Castlemaine. How splendid that you join us. Do you know Mr. Cope?

Harriet stood up and made a leg to Castlemaine. He was a youngish man with a close-clipped beard and a pair of spectacles.

Castlemaine is one of the top men at the Exchange, Vil iers said.

The Financial Exchange? Harriet asked.

Castlemaine had a slow, toothy grin. Indeed.

I suppose you are up to your neck in this business between the king and the pursers, Jem said, dropping into a seat.

Castlemaine pursed his lips. Im afraid there wil be certain charges made to the crown that His Majesty wil not be happy with.

In that case, His Majesty must provide the victuals.

Castlemaine glanced at Jem. Is that your word on the subject, Lord Strange?

Indeed, Jem said, rapidly passing out cards. Now, Cope, in the game of primero each man has two cards. You may look at yours.

Harriet looked. She had two queens, which struck her as a very nice hand.

We shal go about the table. Your choice is to pass, in which case you must discard and draw. Stake, by putting some money down, or bid, Vil iers said. I, for instance, wil bid one hundred pounds with a forty-seven.

Who has forty-seven? Harriet asked, confused.

No one, Jem put in. Vil iers wants you to think that he has it.

It took a few minutes to catch the rhythm of the game, but quickly thereafter Harriet realized that the bets were much larger than she had realized. For example, Castlemaine staked, and unless she was mistaken, what he put down was the right to provision the pursers. For al England.

Vil iers raised an eyebrow, but passed.

Jem bid a huge amount of money against the contract and it was Harriets turn again. She looked at her hand. She was starting to know Jems face. He didnt have al those points he was pretending to have. So she could win. Butbut provisioning the pursers? She knew nothing of pursers. On the other hand, it was clearly a lucrative contract. And perhaps they would play again.

She won.

You throw your heart into the game in a reckless fashion, Cope, said Castlemaine, looking slightly displeased.

Vil iers leaned forward. Cope is young but not foolhardy, Castlemaine, and there is play to go this evening. Perhaps more importantly, his estate could certainly manage the pursers, many times over. He is my relative.

And so it continued, with laughter and the occasional bawdy insult. From what Harriet could hear of the other table, the playand the betswere the same. Large. Powerful.

They took a break between hands and she leaned toward Jem. This Game

Central y important to the governing of England, he said. And so much more interesting than hanging about in Parliament and getting hoarse shouting at each other.

But what if someone wins who

Dont worry, he said. Il take that provisions contract off you next round. Castlemaine knows I mean to have it.

Is that legal? Harriet asked.

Jem looked surprised. Why in the bloody hel wouldnt it be? Of course it is.

Another hand. Harriet was starting to enjoy herself. Al the hours shed spent in Judge Truders court, reading the eyes of men who were accused of crimesand the eyes of those doing the accusingwere coming in very handy. She knew when Jem was lying. Within two hands, she knew Castlemaine wel enough to guess whether he had a good hand, and though Vil iers was tricky, she managed to beat him as wel .

But now Vil iers was looking tired. Im afraid Il have to cal it a night, gentlemen.

The provisions contract was stil in Harriets hands, and shed won four hundred pounds from Castlemaine as wel . Does the money actual y come from you? she asked frankly.

Discretionary funds from the Crown, Castlemaine said. The king would love to attend the Game himself, but that wouldnt be effective. Il post back immediately tomorrow morning and tel him the outcome. I admit that hel likely be surprised to hear that such a young gentleman has taken over the provisions contract, but given what Ive seen of your play, I have no doubt but that its in good hands.

Harriet thought with a little shudder about the kings reaction to hearing that the Duchess of Berrow now owned the contract.

Pray do not write him yet, she said. Why doesnt the king stage his own Game? she asked.

Difficult to beat a king resoundingly, Jem said. Especial y an irascible one.

I never knew there was a Game like this, Harriet said.

Theres always a Game, behind every government, Jem said. Sometimes it happens in the kings own bedchamber, and sometimes in an anteroom. And sometimes at Fonthil .

Often at Fonthil , it seems, Harriet remarked.

He bowed, and went to speak to his other guests.

So she left.

H arriet couldnt sleep. Even though she didnt care to admit it to herself, she had thought Jem would come to her bed. She was leaving the next morningDidnt he want to make love again?

And yet how could she cal it making love?

She final y got herself to sleep by making a list of al the wonderful things she would do with Eugenia during her visit, from finding kittens (there were always kittens in the barn), to having tea with the Froibless little girls, to playing dress-up with al those Elizabethan gowns in the attic.

Harriet was having a wonderful dream, one of the best of her life. She was on her back, boneless, and Jem was kissing every inch of her. His mouth was open and his tongue was caressing her, soothing her until she craved more, until she was murmuring with

Until she woke up.

What are you doing here? she gasped. Her nightgown was up to her armpits. He was sprawled out next to her, stark naked.

How did you get into my room?

He stopped kissing her ribs just long enough to say, I walked in.

It was such a laconic, Jem-like thing to say that her heart thumped. His fingers were trailing up her ankle.

And now, Harriet said, with a little squeak

Im going to make love to you.

We have to talk. I need to talk to you about Eugenia.

No. We need to make love.

She pushed away his fingers and sat up. Its very kind of you, Jem, but I think I would feel more comfortable if you listened to what I said.

He groaned and his fingers fel from her thighs.

Eugenia needs the companionship of other little girls, she told him.

He pul ed a pil ow over his head.

I know you loathe the idea, she said sympathetical y. But you neednt send her away to school. If you would send her with me for visits now and then, I would invite children to my house. There are very nice girls just down the lane.

He said something but it was muffled by the pil ow. Years of marriage had taught Harriet a great deal about men, however, and she kept talking. If he real y had something to say, he would remove the pil ow.

Eugenia thinks you have her locked in her rooms, as if she were some sort of prisoner. One of the maids told her the house was ful of monsters.

The pil ow flew to the ground. His eyes were blank. But she couldnt shelter him; she couldnt.

Apparently she was frightened by the monsters, but now she says shes more frightened by rats.

Damn it! Jem growled, throwing himself off the bed. He walked across the room to the hearth, bent over, and picked up a log.

Harriet watched the lean powerful line of his body. She could visit me, she said. There are often kittens in the barn. The family down the road has three little girls. Il invite them over for tea. She can learn to ride a pony.

A tea party? I could

Harsh things needed to be said, Harriet felt. It was like lancing a wound. Proper little girls couldnt come to Fonthil , she said flatly. Let her visit me, Jem.

He slammed his palms down on the mantelpiece. Ive bungled it al , havent I? I should have sent her away.

I suppose you might have done that, Harriet said cautiously.

Sal y died the night she was born. I couldnt believe it. I didnt believe it for months. Sal y was so youngand Id never even thought about death. It never occurred to me, fool that I was! His voice was savage.

But if you had thought about it, what could you have done?

He swung around, eyes burning. Dont you know? Youre a widow.

No, she said quietly. Ive never found there was any way to prepare for death.

I could have said goodbye, he said, his lips a thin line. I would have said goodbye. I would have told her that I loved her. I would have he broke off.

A tear rol ed down Harriets cheek. Im sure she knew you loved her. She knew.

I doubt it. I never told her.

You dont need to be told those things, Harriet said. People rarely talk of love.

My father arranged the marriage, Jem said, his mouth twisting. I was too much of a hel ion, he said. A danger to al of England.

Real y? Harriet asked, jumping at the chance to lighten his tone. Al of England?

The facts of the matter are rather ironic, under the present circumstances, he said, smiling faintly. My father didnt mind when I was raising Cain at Oxford. He wouldnt have cared how many demi-reps I bedded. He told me repeatedly, since I was five years old, that a bordel o is mans version of paradise.

Oh.

My personal rebel ion, Jem said broodingly, is that I have never paid a woman for her attentions. And I never wil .