Queen of Diamonds by Bárbara Metzger Page B

at the gaming parlor?
    Not only was The Red and the Black not hiring, but it was no longer a casino.
    Queenie glanced back to see if the gentleman had heard her latest muttered imprecation. All she could see was the back of his coat, however, a garment she recognized instantly as of fine fabric and impeccable tailoring. His manners were excellent also, she noted, as he pretended to study the portrait on the wall.
    She turned back and in her French accent apologized again to…?I am sorry,
monsieur
, I missed your name in my haste.”
    The young man bowed slightly in return for her politeness, from where he still stood behind his desk. He adjusted his glasses, then consulted her card, having also missed her name in his mooncalf admiration for her looks. “Browne, Madame Lescartes, John George Browne, at your service. Soon to be headmaster of the Ambeaux Silver School for Females.”
    Now Hellen swore. “A blasted school? Why would anyone turn a successful gaming parlor into a dreary institution?”
    Mr. John George Browne forced his eyes from Queenie and addressed the younger woman. “The captain felt he could do more for unfortunate young females by educating them than by offering a temporary position on their way down the primrose path.”
    Since that was precisely the direction Hellen was headed, with or without this plaguey club or its prosy schoolteacher, she turned her back on him and took Queenie’s arm. “We might as well leave, then.”
    Queenie was not ready, wanting to hear more about the new venture and the earl’s younger brother. “That is quite noble of Captain Endicott.” And quite unlike his raffish reputation.
    In light of her interest, Mr. Browne’s face took on an earnest glow. This was, after all, now his own life’s work. “Actually, the captain’s wife was a schoolmistress before coming to London,” he confided, since such was public knowledge anyway. “She did not approve of the connection to a gambling establishment. Captain Endicott had acquired a ward, you see, the granddaughter to a lord. The Red and the Black was deemed no place to rear a wellborn miss.”
    Queenie agreed. A gentlemen’s wagering den was no place for a lady, or a decent female of any class. Her opinion of Captain Jack Endicott raised a notch. “So now the place shall become a school? But can that provide an income?”
    â€œOh, Miss Silver, that would be Mrs. Captain Endicott now, came into a bit of the ready. And the captain’s brother is a great believer in schooling for the underprivileged, so there is a handsome endowment. The institution is to be called the Ambeaux Silver School in recognition of Miss Silver’s father, a noted scholar, and for Captain Jack’s step-mother, the mother of the poor little girl who was lost.” His eyes strayed to the rear of the room, and the portrait.
    Which gave Queenie the opportunity to ask more questions. “How lovely to commemorate such memories, but have they given up hopes for finding the young lady, then?”
    â€œNot at all,” Mr. Browne replied. “That is why someone is here at all times, despite the club being shut for the past months and work on the renovations for the classrooms not yet begun. There is also a man on the earl’s payroll at Bow Street, ready to receive any clues. They thought they had a name for a likely lead, but the young woman never showed her face, despite the raised reward monies.”
    Hellen had taken to fidgeting with her bonnet strings, anxious to leave this unpromising place, but Queenie would not budge. “Tell me, Mr. Browne, are you in position to hire staff for the new school?”
    The young man puffed himself up with pride. “Indeed. The captain and his lady have entrusted me with interviewing candidates for the posts, as well as establishing curricula and class schedules.”
    â€œThose are great responsibilities. The