A Little Bit Scandalous Page 0,67
is nothing which I could do for you.”
He removed his great coat and came to sit across from her.
“That’s it.” She gestured toward his coat. “We play for clothes.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“When we lose, we must remove a piece of clothing,” she said. She took a sip of her drink and tried to control her breathing. “It could make things quite interesting.”
“Caroline, how could you suggest such a thing?”
She shrugged innocently. “Whatever do you mean?”
“You know perfectly well a game such as that would be scandalous.”
She arched an eyebrow. “More scandalous than a woman dressing as a boy to play cards in a gaming hell? Really, Roe, I feel you and I are far past the point of scandal.”
“Very well, then. It’s not acceptable either. Why would you suggest such a thing?”
She couldn’t very well tell him she was trying once again to seduce him. She had to dig deep for an excuse. “Perhaps I want the distraction. Tonight was more stressful than I thought it would be.”
She was surprised as she said the words that she wasn’t lying. There was a tremble in her voice that she hadn’t planned on.
“Caroline—”
“Of course playing at Rodale’s was exciting, but it was nerve wracking, too.” She looked up at Roe to see he was watching her carefully. “Please, I don’t want to go to my room and be alone straight away.”
He studied her for a moment in silence. But when he smiled roguishly she knew she’d won him over, even though he said, “I’m not certain that is a good idea.”
“Are you afraid, then? It’s understandable. I am quite good.” She gave him a sympathetic smile. “Probably wouldn’t look so good for me to be fully clothed and you to be sitting here completely disrobed.”
He laughed. “Is that how you think things will go? All right, I shall take your odds. One piece of clothing for every loss against the dealer. And we rotate the deck.”
“Fair enough,” she said with a nod. “You think you might want to reconsider that coat now?”
He smiled. “Nice try, but I’m fully intending to win here.”
“Suit yourself. I’m looking forward to embarrassing you.”
“We shall see what happens. Deal the cards, Caroline.” He took another slow sip of his drink.
At least the exchange so far had seemed to lighten his mood some. She wasn’t used to Roe being quite so serious. It was unlike him, as he tended to be jovial most of the time.
She dealt the first hand.
She lost, going over with her total of twenty-six.
Roe raised one eyebrow.
She took off her boots and tossed them behind her. This could be a most interesting evening.
“This might not bode well for you,” Roe said as he passed her the cards so she could deal.
“I’d wager it’s worth the risk.” She dealt the cards and tried to keep her breathing under control. One thing she hadn’t counted on in this scenario was being able to focus on the game as the clothes began to fall.
He glanced at his cards, but nothing on his face changed. He knew how to control his emotions, his reactions, to protect his hand. It was one of the first skills he taught her and she’d found the skill was useful in other areas of life as well, especially when dealing with people that one was not particularly fond of.
“You’ve always been good at that,” she said.
“What?”
“Schooling your features so that your opponent cannot tell if your hand is good or not.”
“You do the same. Your face is indiscernible as well.”
“I should probably thank you for teaching me that. It is a skill that has come in handy a time or two outside of the game,” she said.
His brows rose. “Indeed?”
“Wilbur Riggins.”
“The Riggins live in the cottage down from Chanceworth Hall,” Roe said.
“Precisely. Their son. He’s been sweet on me for years. Proposed on more than one occasion. Hiding my true feelings was a skill I was quite grateful for in those instances. I never wanted to offend him.”
Roe chuckled. “Glad I could be of assistance.” He took a card, then flipped his over. Nineteen. She smiled broadly as she turned her hand over.
“Twenty. I win. Your turn to take something off.”
He loosened the cravat at his throat, and slipped that off. “I hate those bloody things.”
“Why wear them then?”
“I am a gentleman. It is what we do. We wear cravats, and eat at our clubs, and spend our lives lazing about enjoying our money.”
It was Roe’s typical tone, his sardonic words that spoke