Page 31 of Whiskers and Wiles

“A man must have invented this game,” Kat said casually as she fanned out her cards and sorted them. “Only he would devise a rule that allows him to change the rules for an arbitrary reason.”

MacLeod laughed loud enough to shake the chandelier. “Indeed, Lady Katherine. And how fortunate that a man should create a rule to expedite getting oneself out of trouble when nothing else will appear to work.”

Kat smiled at the Scotsman and played a club when it was her turn. “And I suppose it was Lord Waldorf that invited you all to the game this evening? Perhaps so that he could rearrange the rules to suit himself and take all of your money in the process?”

Waldorf pretended to smile, but his expression was much closer to a grimace. What in heaven’s name was the woman on about?

“Lord Pollock invited us, as it happens,” Blackthorne said, then played a ten of hearts to change the suit.

Kat hummed, playing a heart, then glancing across the table at Pollock. “Yes, I can see how they are of the same suit, after all.”

Waldorf glanced up from his cards, narrowing his eyes at Kat. She could not be thinking of exposing them, could she?How would she? He doubted she knew the first thing about the Badger Society.

Then again, had he not been saying all along that Kat was as keen an intellect and as clever a spy as he was?

A new, darker dread began to pool in his stomach. “Perhaps we should keep the conversation to pleasanter topics,” he said, smiling at her across the game.

“Ah, yes, pleasanter topics,” Kat said, playing another heart when the game circled back to her. “Such as engagements and marriages and the like.”

Waldorf stared hard at her, no idea what she was on about.

“It is the season when matches are made,” Gruffudd said with a smile, as if he were humoring Kat. He was stuck in the game once again and sighed as he was forced to draw several cards.

“And the season when rumors abound,” Kat went on, narrowing her eyes at Waldorf. She paused for a moment, then said, “Do you know, it occurs to me that capturing a woman in marriage is an ideal way to silence anything else she might want to say, or to undermine any other efforts she might find herself involved in.”

“Lady Katherine,” Waldorf said quickly, hoping to put out whatever fire he felt was about to blaze. “It has just occurred to me that you have not paid the ante for this game. As I am certain ladies of your fine reputation do not bring their reticules to balls such as this?—”

“I’ll pay for her to play,” MacLeod said with a broad smile. He took a bill from his pile and slapped it onto the table in front of her. “Anything to come to the aid and defense of a lady,” he added with a wink.

Kat smiled at the man in a way that made Waldorf wonder if she understood that he’d just insulted her.

In fact, he was certain she had not. It seemed increasingly apparent that the only thing Kat was currently aware of was her anger toward him, though Waldorf still had no idea what that was about.

“Are we going to quibble about matchmaking or are we going to play on?” Blackthorne asked impatiently, fiddling with his cards. Though the entire game was mostly up to chance, the man had a light in his eyes that said he believed he could win the current round, which would win him the pot.

“We are going to play, of course,” Kat said, discarding another card from her hand, then grinning brittlely at Waldorf. “Is that not the point of the evening? To play on, hoping to defeat every opponent and thwart the causes that mean so much to them?”

“Kat,” Waldorf said her name in warning. She most definitely did not know what she was on about, he was certain.

“Perhaps we should adjourn this game and play some other time,” Pollock said, glancing desperately to Waldorf, as if searching for help of some sort.

“Oh, no,” Kat said, more bite to her words. “You have no need to end your current pursuits for me. Why, I can imagine that you went through a great deal of trouble to assemble these particular gentlemen this evening. You are all ministers in the Joint Parliament, are you not?” she asked, meeting the eyes of the others at the table.

“We are, my lady,” MacLeod said, wiggling his eyebrows as if attempting to flirt with her.

“I see,” Kat said, setting down her cards when play came around to her again. “And what grand issue of the new parliamentary season are these gentlemen attempting to influence you about?” she asked.

“I beg your pardon?” Goodall asked, blinking.

“Have you not yet figured out that you’ve been invited to play cards with a table full of spies, sir?” Kat asked with feigned innocence. “Have you not asked yourselves why such an eclectic group of men would be gathered together to play this silly game?” She gestured to the table. “Or why grown men who should know better have chosen to wear their whiskers in such an absurd manner? It is so they can identify each other without revealing their full identities, of course,” she added, eyes sparkling with wickedness.

“Kat, don’t,” Waldorf warned her.

He might as well have been warning the wind not to blow down a marquee. Pollock pulled back from the table, looking aghast at Waldorf. Blackthorne looked as though Kat had accused him of being a fool in public. Goodall’s mouth hung open as if he were just understanding what she’d revealed. Gruffudd still seemed to be puzzling over the card game, but glanced up from his hand and looked around, as if attempting to catch up.

It was MacLeod’s suddenly dark expression that worried Waldorf the most, however. MacLeod glanced from Waldorf to Pollock, his eyes widening and his face slowly turning red.

“I see it now,” MacLeod said. “I had never thought to ask before, though you’re all look like fools. I thought it was simply some southern fashion. But I see now that it is the fashion for you southerners to make the rest of us look like fools, not yourselves.”

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