Jack of Clubs by Bárbara Metzger Page B

are permitted in the private rooms upstairs. The girls—the ladies—will be below, serving, so the place will be quiet and restful, and they sleep on the attic floor above anyway.”
    He tried to adjust his neckcloth, to give weight to the propriety of his offer. A disheveled gentleman did not bode well for discretion, he realized. “In fact, I can have Calloway bring your dinner tray there, yours and Miss Harriet’s, right now, before anyone is about. That way no one will see you at all. The guests never need to know of your existence, and the girls—the ladies—will not, either. There will be no talk, and no encounters that might embarrass you, I swear. You can have the best bedroom and…and a bath.” He knew he was grasping at straws and did not care. “I’ll carry the hot water myself. No, I won’t come anywhere near your rooms. I’ll send a maid, one of my soldier’s widows who is close-mouthed and sensible. Please stay?”
    A sweet little voice chimed in his ear: “Offer her double her wages.”
    Jack smiled at Harriet. Perhaps the urchin was not so bad, after all. “I will double what Miss Semple paid you for accompanying Harriet, if you stay the night.”
    Allie was torn. The extra money would be a blessing, but this was a gambling parlor, and worse. “What of Miss Poitier?”
    â€œWhat, I should pay her double—No, of course not. She will not be back, I promise. I’ll give her her congé tonight. She will never cross your path again.”
    â€œWhat’s a con jay?” Harriet asked. “Is it anything like a woodland jay, and is that where she got the green feather?”
    Allie ignored her, but the captain said, “I’ll triple your fee.”
    â€œOne night, other accommodations in the morning?”
    He nodded.
    â€œVery well.” Allie turned to Harriet, pretending not to hear Captain Endicott’s sigh of relief. “We are staying after all, both of us. So I win the bet. You owe me twenty thousand pounds.”
    The gentleman was about to raise his glass in a toast to their agreement, and his salvation. At her words, though, he said, “Aha!” again. “So you are a gambling woman after all, Miss Silver, despite your righteous indignation.”
    â€œNo, it’s just a game.”
    â€œFor twenty thousand pounds? That’s one hell of a game for someone who disapproves of wagering so much she’d rather sleep with the fleas at an inn than on clean sheets here.”
    â€œYou should not say ‘hell’ in front of a child.”
    â€œOr in front of a lady. My apologies. You see how much I have to learn about being a proper guardian? I need you, Miss Silver.” The smile he flashed her would have melted an iceberg, much less one old maid’s resolve.
    â€œIt is pretend money anyway, silly,” Harriet interrupted, lifting the captain’s fob watch out of his coat by its chain.
    He took back his prized timepiece, a present from his father. “Oh, then you are not an heiress? Too bad, I was counting on your fortune to pay my tailor’s bills,” he teased. “Perhaps I should send you to an inn after all, if you are going to be such an expensive proposition. Overpaid governesses, extra meals, more coal for your fireplaces. I suppose you are going to want new shoes eventually too.”
    Harriet looked at her scuffed and thin-soled slippers. “If you send us away will you give us a con jay too? I’d rather have your dog.”
    â€œThe dog stays. So do you.” He opened the door for Calloway, but told the older man, “Take the tray upstairs to the guest suite. The ladies are staying.”
    â€œHere?” The dishes rattled.
    â€œNo, at Kensington Palace. Miss Harriet Hildebrand appears to be my ward, at least until I speak with some solicitor on Monday morning. And Miss Silver is my own silver lining. Unless you would like to