Page 29 of The Duke on Her List
He reached out to another table, grabbed a chair, drew it over, and sat down next to Agnes.
“Deal me in,” he said.
CHAPTER 14
Stephen handed around the cards for the fresh hand.
Agnes picked hers up and surveyed what she had. It was a hand of only medium quality, according to the rules as she understood them, so this could go either way. It felt important, somehow, that she do well in this one. She understood that Gabriel had been right to worry, and that Stephen had asked her to keep playing because he thought she would be an easy mark.
I don’t mind if he takes every cent I have. That’s not a problem. I didn’t bring any money in with me that I can’t stand to lose. But I would like to prove Gabriel wrong, if I can! I’d like him to see that he was too concerned about me, and that I can take care of myself—even in an unusual situation like this one.
“The bet is to you, Jack,” Stephen told Agnes.
She nodded and pushed a coin into the center of the table without saying a word.
Play passed around the table. The others matched the bet she had started with. When the turn came to her again, she passed, waiting to see what someone else would do.
Stephen smirked. “Not a bad idea,” he said. “Playing cautiously. Defensively. That shows you’re learning. You’ve realized that you’re sitting here with people who have more skill and experience than yourself. I respect your willingness to do that.”
Agnes bristled. Shewasplaying conservatively, but not out of fear or any perception that Stephen was someone she couldn’t handle. She was trying to make a point to Gabriel that she didn’t require his help, that was all.
But now she changed her mind. She didn’t want to sit here and allow herself to lose the game when there was a chance she might actually win. She didn’t want to play it safe. She wanted to show these people that they were wrong to underestimate her, to think that she couldn’t stand up to their abilities.
She pushed in another coin.
Everyone stared at her, including Gabriel.
She felt his gaze viscerally. It had bothered her when Stephen had put a hand on her arm, but now she found herself almost wishing that Gabriel would. It was a strange, messy thing to want. It definitely wouldn’t benefit either one of them if such a thing were to happen. That wasn’t the kind of thing a cousin would do, and if anyone had begun to suspect that she was really a woman, their suspicions would only grow.
Still, the way he was staring at her…She couldn’t help feeling that she had impressed him with her actions. She sat up a little straighter. She wanted to impress him again.
He matched her bet, and the betting went around the table once more.
When it came to her again, he leaned close. “Jack,” he said, “be wise. Remember that this is only your second time playing this game.
He had emphasized the name,Jack. She had the feeling he wanted to remind her of who she truly was—and who she wasn’t.
But she didn’t care. She didn’t want to stand down just because she was a woman. That would be doing exactly what society expected of her, and it was counter to every reason she had made her list in the first place. The list was supposed to help her live her life the way she wanted to, not the way she was expected to.
She placed one more bet.
Beside her, she felt Gabriel’s body tense. He leaned closer to her, as if he wanted to shield her from something, and Agnes grew tense as well. A shiver passed through her. She hoped he wasn’t going to notice that.
It would be worth losing,she thought, and wondered where that thought had come from. Did she mean it? Was she really willingto lose the game just for the bizarre pleasure of sitting close to this man and experiencing his reactions to everything she did?
Yes. I am.
“Enough of this,” Stephen announced. “I call the bet.” He turned to Agnes. “How many cards do you want?”
Her hand wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t going to get her a win. Not as it was. “One,” she said.
He dealt her one card. She picked it up. A nine. She had gone over twenty-one. It was a bust.
Frustrated, she tossed her cards down on the table.
Stephen and the other men chuckled. “It’s like I told you,” Stephen said. “This table is really no place for a beginner.” He scooped her coins into his hands.
“That isn’t what you told he—him.” Gabriel rose to his feet.
