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At the sight of the gun, the man’s anger subsided quickly. “I-I bow to your superior card skills,” he replied, before swiftly exiting the pub.

“Does anyone else wish to call me a cheat?” Drago asked.

None of the men left at the table said a word, though they all suddenly had no desire to play another hand. Laughing as he pulled all the money on the table towards himself, Drago leaned over to Sully and barked, “Ask the landlord to fetch two more mugs of ale.”

The tall, thin, balding man rose to head towards the bar, leaving Wickham the chance to speak to his acquaintance in private. “I would wager that you have at least a thousand pounds in that pot,” Wickham said as he sat down next to Drago.

That villain eyed Wickham for a moment before recognizing him. “What I have is none of your concern, Wickham. What is more, I am surprised to see you. I heard you had sailed to the Americas months ago, along with your new wife.”

Wickham laughed. “I never intended to marry that chit. Furthermore, I managed to lose her months ago.”

“So, what are you up to now? Still using your charm and handsome mien to rob young ladies of their fortunes?”

“I wish that were so. Lately I have not been able to find a willing lady with any fortune to speak of.”

“Then how are you surviving?”

“If I watch my farthings, I have enough to get by for a long while; however, seeing how much you have in that pot raises my curiosity. How is it that you are able to gamble for such high stakes?”

“Sully and I have begun working for a fancy lord who is not above paying us well to make certain he gets what he wants.”

“Oh?” Wickham replied. “And what does he want?”

“Why should I tell you? I have the job well-in-hand, and you would only try to take my place if you knew.”

Wickham laughed. “You have not changed a bit. Distrustful to the end.”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

Wickham merely nodded in agreement. Seeing that he would get no more information from Drago, Wickham stood to leave, deciding to bide his time until he could pry information from Sully, who would likely brag about their good fortune if Wickham fed his ego.

As he turned from the table, however, he stopped. “Perhaps I will discover a way to make a few pounds if I wait here long enough.”

“Let me warn you, there are many willing to kill someone for a pittance nowadays,” Drago replied. “Jobs do not come easy.”

“Then I shall just have to pray that my luck changes,” Wickham replied with a wry smile. “By the way, will you be hosting another game today?”

“I only have time for one last game tonight. We have been charged with following a certain lady and reporting back to Lord—” Realising he had almost slipped, Drago said, “His-his lordship. According to him, the lady is on her way to Hertfordshire as we speak.”

The mention of Hertfordshire intrigued Wickham, though he did not let on.

“I may sit in on your last game, then,” he said, giving Drago a nod before going up the stairs to the room he had been occupying.

London

Darcy House

Richard knocked on the door to the study, opened it without waiting for a greeting and strolled towards his cousin’s desk. When he sat down in his usual chair, William noticed the weariness in his face and chose not to tease him about circumventing Mr. Barnes.

Instead, he said, “You look completely worn out. Did you sleep at all last night?”

“I did not,” Richard admitted. “I got a letter from General Lassiter last evening saying he was putting me in charge of investigating Lord Morgan’s death.”

“Does that surprise you?”

“No. But you know how I am. Once assigned a case, I begin making lists of all I will need to do, and I could not get my mind to settle after I retired. I got up several times to add to a list I left on the writing desk. It would have been better had his missive arrived this morning. That would have given me a full day to think on it before retiring.”

William waved a hand towards a tray at the end of his desk which held a pot of tea, several pieces of toast and two jars of jam. “Have you broken your fast? The toast is likely no longer warm, but the tea is still hot.”