Chapter Twenty-Three

I n that moment, Seth was torn between admiration for the woman Frances had become and missing the girl she had been and took full blame for the transition.

His mouth had grown dry when she intentionally leaned forward in a manner that forced her breasts higher and wondered how many times she had used such a ploy while gambling against other men. No wonder she successfully won hands.

However, as the game progressed, Seth could not help but note the cold determination in her eyes and chill in her voice. She was not the woman he had left five years ago, or the woman he had been coming to know these past weeks. That woman had been loving, a friend, kind—not the cold mercenary who sat across from him now.

Play continued and Frances won some hands but lost more and with each turn of a card, her funds dwindled further. They had gone through two-thirds of the deck, but the game would be over before they played all the cards.

Had she intended on winning and became bitter because it was likely she would lose everything to him?

He could intentionally lose just to prolong the game, but it went against everything within him to do so, therefore, it was time to bring the game to an end, assuming he would win.

On her deal, the bet he placed was the exact amount that Frances had left.

She raised an eyebrow then nodded before dealing the cards.

Seth held his breath as he looked at his two cards. It was the same as the first hand that had been dealt to him—a ten and an ace, or twenty-one. He flipped them over. Frances simply nodded and turned her own cards over. A ten and an eight then slid what remained of her funds to him.

In any other circumstance, Seth would be thrilled to have had such a successful night at the tables. Except, tonight he had won everything from Frances that she was willing to lose.

Blast!

He should never have played her. It had only put distance between them and he had hoped to soon propose. She would never want to see him again after tonight.

He should have thought this through and lost, intentionally if necessary, then she would have ended the night with twice as much as he began with.

“I am sorry,” he finally said.

“Why?”

“You lost.”

“I knew the risk,” she answered and seemed almost relaxed. Maybe she was glad for their contest to be over.

Seth reached for the remaining cards, but Frances stopped him by placing a hand over his.

“What?” he asked.

“One more wager?”

“You are out of money,” he reminded her.

Frances toyed with the emerald around her neck. Was she willing to risk it in a hand of cards? She said she never wagered more than she was willing to lose, and he assumed that included jewelry.

She then smiled and reached beneath the table and Seth could hear the rustling of her skirt, though he could not imagine what she was doing until she emerged and placed an emerald garter in the middle of the table. All he could do was stare at it, his mouth going dry, knowing that it had caressed her thigh, just as he would like to do.

“My emerald garter for yours.”

His eyes widened as he stared at the garter. “You wish me to wager my club against a piece of fabric?”

Frances leaned forward, arms crossed and braced on the table as she had done earlier, the creamy swell of her breasts once again on display and cradling the delicate emerald.

“Not just the garter, Seth, but me, for a night, to do with me what you wish.”

She couldn’t possibly mean… “Your virtue?” he choked.

“Is worthless as I will never wed, yet valuable enough to wager.”

His mouth went dry.

Did he dare risk his club for the chance to finally bed Frances?

It was a foolish bet, yet his luck had held tonight whereas she had not been as successful.

I never sit down at a table with more than I am willing to lose. Not even tonight, Seth. Certainly, Frances had not planned on wagering such before she arrived, had she?

Did he dare risk his club?

“It is your deal,” she reminded him.

Seth swallowed against the lump in his throat. He wanted her like he had never wanted any other woman, but he also hoped to marry her, which meant that he would eventually have her in his bed.

Except, he had not yet asked, and she also may decline when he did.

His gambling establishment wagered against what may be the only opportunity to have her.

He would not lose. Her luck would not change now, not after she had lost nearly everything. “I accept your wager.”

Seth dealt her a card, face down, then one for himself, and another for her, then him.

Frances lifted the corners to see what she held.

“Are you content?”

“Another please.”

Seth dealt her a third card, face up, an ace, which could be one or eleven.

“Are you content?” he asked again.

Instead of answering, Frances took her garter and placed it on top of her cards.

Now it was his turn. The first card he turned over was a ten and the second was a nine. She could only beat him if she had twenty or twenty-one and with an ace showing, it was unlikely.

He watched intently as she turned the first card over, a nine, giving Frances a ten or twenty depending on if she needed the ace to be one or eleven.

The corners of her mouth tipped as she slowly flipped the last card—an ace, giving her twenty-one, which beat his nineteen.

He had just lost his The Emerald Garter on the turn of a card.

His source of income was gone. Yes, he had money in the bank but the club had been his dream, his independence from his father. Now he had nothing.

Never wager more than you are willing to lose .

Those words would haunt him for the rest of his days.

She said nothing, and Seth was speechless as he reviewed each hand they played tonight, her losses and odd win. Her luck had been poor, but Seth had assumed she only remained out of pride, or truly did not mind the amount she had lost to him.

He now suspected that she had been playing an entirely different game with him.

“You let me win earlier and lost intentionally until all of your funds were depleted,” he accused, but not angry.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Luck in the beginning and foolish risks, but with each card played it was easier to calculate the odds of what would be turned by knowing what remained in the deck,” she answered.

“You memorized each card played?” Seth asked in disbelief.

“Yes.”

“When did you start doing so?”

“I always have,” she answered. “It is a gift, I suppose, but I have always remembered cards played and calculated odds, once I knew the rules of the game.”

It was not possible. “I won too often at the cottage for that to be true.”

Frances simply stared him in the eye, unflinching.

She was telling him the truth. No wonder she had done so well gambling at balls and entertainments. “Why let me win then? It would not have mattered.” It had been just the two of them in the cottage.

“Your pride,” she answered simply. “I enjoyed playing the games with you and did not want you to stop or become angry if you knew.”

“You lied,” he said flatly.

“I did not consider it such at the time.”

“It no longer matters.” He stood. “Thank you for the games, Miss Hawthorn. I will return to the club and prepare the documents so that you can claim ownership tomorrow.”

With that, Seth turned on his heel and marched from the room and out of the house, leaving his winnings behind. They did not matter now.

Nothing mattered.

He had lost everything and to the woman he loved. The woman who had betrayed him.

Frances’ stomach tightened as she watched Seth storm out of the room.

What had she done?

She thought there would be satisfaction in beating him but there was none.

“Why is Lord Seth upset and why did he leave his winnings behind?” Tessa asked as she came forward with her husband and Bethany.

“He lost the final bet,” Frances answered quietly.

“Oh, it was all or nothing and now the winnings are yours?” Bethany asked.

Frances picked up the garter. “My emerald garter for his.”

Bethany and Tessa frowned. It was His Grace who met her eyes. “As in his club?”

“Yes.”

“Why would he risk his club on a piece of material?” Bethany asked.

Tessa’s eyes widened, as did those of His Grace, as they came to suspect it had not been simply a garter.

Would she now lose her position?

Frances had expected to anyway, but had not anticipated the disappointment, an emptiness. Bethany and Tessa were her only real friends and when they learned her reasons…She might as well go upstairs and start packing for her move to Yorkshire.

It was not only losing her friends that created the gaping hole in the pit of her stomach, but what she had truly lost this evening.

Her reasons had not changed, but she questioned the extent to which she had gone to have her revenge.

“Bethany, could you make certain the front door is locked. All the servants have gone to bed,” Tessa requested.

Bethany yawned behind her hand. “I will, and I will also retire myself. You can explain why you wagered a garter tomorrow.”

Once she was gone Tessa studied her. “You did not wager just your garter, did you?”

Frances’ face heated and she had to look away. “No.”

“I cannot claim to approve, if it is what I assume. My only question is why?”

“Trust and revenge,” Frances responded.

Except, he had not earned her trust, nor could he trust her now.

“I still find it difficult to believe that Lord Seth would wager his club for…” His Grace would not, or couldn’t, voice what she had wagered.

“He had won most of the hands all night, and I lost,” she answered. “He believed that he would win the last one as well.”

Tessa narrowed her eyes. “Did he know that you count cards and have an excellent memory?”

“He does now but didn’t realize it until he lost.”

“You manipulated Lord Seth into losing his club,” His Grace stated as if he needed clarification.

“Yes.”

“Why?” Tessa asked.

At that question tears flooded her eyes. “Because I am a foolish idiot.”

His Grace crossed to the table and retrieved her glass of brandy that had remained untouched all evening and pressed it into her hand.

“I do not condone what you did to my cousin,” Tessa began. “But I also feel that I know you well enough that you had a very good reason.”

“I thought I did at the time,” Frances admitted.

There was no longer simply a hole of emptiness but pain the likes of which she had not experienced since he had left her so long ago.

She had accused him of being a coward and afraid of love before he walked out on her and in a moment of clarity, Frances realized that her actions, her revenge, was for the same reason. Yes, she loved him, but she was so afraid to trust and love because she did not want to hurt again, that she may have just sabotaged any hope for happiness.

This is why she kept reconsidering if her actions were wise or not, but she pushed the reason aside because she had been too afraid to risk her heart and soul again.

“What did he do to you?” Tessa asked quietly.

Did she explain or simply leave?

“To my knowledge, you did not know Seth until a few weeks ago, and even he couldn’t have pushed you to revenge in such a short time.” Her eyes widened. “You are both from Laswell,” she stated as if just coming to that realization. “What did you do before you met him in London?”

More tears filled her eyes, but Frances was not certain she should tell anyone about the secret friendship that she had once shared with Seth. However, she ended up telling Tessa and His Grace everything, then begged them to keep her secret because if anyone learned, despite the innocence, she would surely be ruined.

Somehow in her telling, Tessa had walked Frances from the gaming room and into the drawing room and led her to a chair. Frances had not even remembered walking there and only came to realize where she was when she finally wiped away her tears and looked around.

“Do you still love him?” Tessa asked gently.

“Yes, but I do not want to,” Frances answered. “He likely hates me now, which is deserved after what I did.”

“What you did?” she argued. “He is lucky you only took his club.”

Frances blinked at Tessa’s anger. “How dare he turn his back on you after ten years of friendship, and love! To ignore you when you came to London as if you were strangers!”

“He claimed his reputation would hurt mine,” Frances found herself defending Seth.

“It was rather poor,” Tessa admitted. “It would have been recovered had he been there for you, by your side.”

“Perhaps,” Frances offered. “It does not matter. His gambling club was more important to him than me, which is why I took it away.”

She set her now empty glass on a side table and stood.

“Where are you going?” Tessa demanded.

“I must first call on him, then I will return here and pack my things.”

“Pack?” Tessa asked in alarm. “You are leaving?”

“I assumed that after what I did you would sack me.”

“That was before I knew your reasons and as much as I adore my cousin, Seth had it coming.”

Frances blinked at her.

“There are no other gentlemen who you wish to ruin, are there?” His Grace asked, to which Frances laughed for the first time since she sat down to play cards with Seth.

“No.”

“Then all is well and I expect you to continue in your duties.”

The relief that swept through her body with the knowledge she still had a position was a surprise. Frances had not wanted to return to Yorkshire. She had just assumed that she would have no other choice.

“You can also call on Seth tomorrow,” His Grace offered. “I will take you.”

“I will go now. I know that he is there.”

“Are you not tired?” Tessa asked.

“Yes, but I will be unable to sleep. I must see him.”

His Grace nodded. “We will see you to his home.”

“He is not there, but at The Emerald Garter. It is where he said he was going.”

After gathering his winnings, Frances put on her cloak and then entered the carriage, but it wasn’t until the carriage stopped before The Emerald Garter that her hands began to shake.

What if he sent her away? What if he hated her now?

Her heart hammered in her chest and Frances anticipated that it would shatter before her meeting with Seth was complete. Except, this time he would not be the cause, but her and her own foolishness.