Page 12 of A Game of Scandal

“I’ve been shown the error of my ways.” Ash held up his hands in surrender. “Your sister-in-law has a singular mind.”

“Yes, she does,” Izzy snapped, and I was reminded of a mother hen, feathers ruffled.

“If Laing isn’t cheating, then he’s an incredibly skilled player. But to answer your question, Felicity” – Ash’s eyes flashed to mine and he said my name as if it tasted delicious – “I don’t believe that Laing has your brains … although he is cunning.”

“I can be cunning,” I said, stung. “You try having any kind of life when your older brother is a government spy with an overprotective streak that runs several miles wide.”

Izzy choked on thin air.

“So you know about…” Izzy trailed off.

“The two of you sneaking around like a couple of cat burglars?” I arched a brow. “It has come to my attention. Even if neither of you felt the need to share the information with me yourselves.”

“You know your brother loves you,” she croaked when she had regained a hold on herself. “And you know that he’s only cautious because of your history—”

“Yes, yes.” I cut her off. “I know. I don’t have to like it, though.”

“No,” Izzy said with some sympathy, and I saw a spark of understanding in her eyes. “No, you don’t. I can see that we’ve both made a lot of mistakes.”

“While this tender family moment is extremely moving,” Joe drawled, “perhaps we can focus on the matter at hand.”

“Yes, we’ve got something for you, Izzy. One of our girls heard that Laing is organizing a private high-stakes game of draw poker next week,” Ash put in.

Izzy was instantly alert. “Interesting. Does she know who else is invited?”

Ash shook his head, his fingers drumming against the top of his desk. “No, though I suspect there will be several sizeable marks for him to target.”

“You believe he’ll cheat people out of their money?” I asked.

“Yes,” Izzy said distantly. “He’s been working hard the past few months to garner a significant sum. The question is why. I won’t go into the details, but suffice to say, we’re learning that with Edward Laing, there’s every chance his intentions are dangerous.” Despite how deliberately vague Izzy was being, I felt a trickle of unease at that. “Our surveillance suggests an increase in activity and that whatever game he’s playing may be at a turning point. I’d give a lot to be at that private game he’s holding – he might let something slip.”

“It would be easy enough to get him to hold the game here,” Ash said.

Izzy nodded thoughtfully. “You think he’d want that?”

Ash shrugged. “I don’t see why not – we have private rooms where we often host high-stakes games. It lends a certain clout to the proceedings – I imagine Laing would snap our fingers off.”

Joe nodded. “I doubt Laing would suspect anything. We have eyes everywhere. We could get someone into the game, maybe. Turn it to our advantage. Stop Laing amassing this fortune he’s putting together.”

Izzy said, “And hopefully stop his scheme too … or at least slow him down. It’s a good idea. I’ll have to discuss this with…” Her eyes slid to me. “My associates.”

“It’s worth mentioning to them that we have a secret weapon,” Ash said.

Izzy raised her brows in question and his smile only grew as his gaze moved to lock with mine.

“Me?” I asked.

“Absolutely not!” Izzy exploded.

“What do you mean?” I asked curiously.

“Could you do what you did downstairs but with a different card game?” Ash asked. He produced a small gold coin from his pocket and began to roll it in an absent movement along the top of his knuckles. It was a strangely hypnotic gesture, and I watched those long, clever fingers rise and fall.

“Certainly the principles apply,” I said, gathering my thoughts. “For a game like draw poker the odds would alter based on several different factors – counting the cards and calculating the probability of each potential hand as the deck was dealt would be complicated. An interesting problem to tackle, actually… Games of chance will always be mathematical problems at heart. It would never be faultless, but I suppose that with work, one could dramatically improve one’s chances.”

“It’s not possible,” Joe said firmly.

Ash’s smile had a feral edge as he flipped the coin up into the air and caught it. “Felicity could do it.”