Page 27 of Never Besmirch a Wallflower: Dukes and Wallflowers

Everyone laughed.

Miss Drummond won three consecutive hands, leaving Helena with a growing, sickening feeling in her stomach.

She couldn’t lose, not tonight, not when she needed one hundred pounds by midnight.

Grateful for her turn as the dealer, she collected the cards, shuffled, and passed out two cards to each lady, pulling her cards from the bottom of the deck.

She dealt the hand quickly, believing no one had seen her slip the cards from the bottom. However, when she glanced at Miss Sinclair, a peculiar expression crossed the young woman’s face. Miss Sinclair said nothing. Instead, she placed a coin in the center of the table and requested one card, which was too high and caused her to lose the round.

Despite the dealer position moving to Miss Fernsby-Webb, Helena won the next hand and the one after that, and the iron vice constricting her chest released a fraction of an inch.

Her luck had turned.

However, by the time Helena’s second turn for dealer came around, a burgeoning suspicion seized her mind… Miss Sinclair was purposefully losing.

CHAPTER SIX

LEVI OVERTON, DUKE OF LENNOX

A door slammed; the thunderous sound followed by shattering glass.

Leaping over Warwick, Mansfield stationed himself near the kitchen doorway, then peeked into the corridor after a moment of hesitation. When he turned back, disappointment colored his features.

“I see nothing.”

“Something made that noise,” Levi said, extending his arm to help Warwick from the ground. “We should investigate.”

“You investigate,” Warwick replied, leaning heavily on Levi’s arm as he regained his footing. “I’ll wait here.”

Warwick’s harsh breathing worried Levi, but he held his tongue. Waiting until he felt Warwick could stand without assistance, he retrieved the cane and wordlessly passed it to his friend.

Mrs. Grove appeared beside them and gently but firmly directed Warwick to her chair. Once he was seated, she bustled across the kitchen, opened a cupboard door, and shoved her hand into the dark recesses, rummaging through the contents. Soft clicking sounds met her fingers.

“Ah!” She extracted something from the rear of the cupboard, spun around, and held out a glass decanter of amber liquid. “Whiskey. The proper medication for a supernatural encounter. Who would like a drink?”

Every man lifted his hand, including Mr. Northcutt, who’d risen to collect drinking glasses and was arranging them on a silver tray to carry over to the table in the center of the room. After depositing the tray, Mr. Northcutt removed two glasses, handed one to Warwick, and then drained the contents of the second in two gulps.

Mansfield retreated from the doorway, collected a half-filled tumbler, and lifted it to his lips but paused. The glass hovered halfway to his mouth, his inquisitive gaze seeking Beaufort.

“Are you certain you saw Mr. Philbert?”

“Yes!” Beaufort replied, his face rouging at the accusation of claiming a falsehood. “A dark head peered around the edge of the parlor door, then when he saw us playing cards, he vanished.”

“Vanished?” Mansfield asked, setting down his untouched drink. “While you were staring at him?”

Beaufort swirled the whiskey in his glass, his face scrunching into a frown. “Mr. Philbert pulled back into the hallway, then disappeared. I was at the door a moment after we saw him. There was no one in the corridor.”

“A spirit that opens doors?” Mansfield’s skepticism bled through the question.

“The door was ajar,” Beaufort replied, jutting out his chin. “Are you accusing Warwick and I of sharing a hallucination?”

“No accusation.” Mansfield lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “I’m merely confirming the facts.”

“And what have you determined?” Beaufort asked, his good humor waning.

Dropping into an empty chair, Mansfield grabbed his tumbler, saluted Beaufort, and took a long drink. “Someone needs to investigate that sound.”

Levi sighed. He was fairly certain the noise had come from the conservatory, specifically the glass-paneled door leading to the greenhouse. However, he couldn’t quite get himself to admit that since every person residing in the home was in the kitchen, something must have caused that sound.