Page 18 of Gold Digger
“Uncle Ollie! The hair!”
Chapter 9
They always jog on
Lottie
“For fuck’s sake!” a deep voice boomed and I froze as the snug door slammed open.
I was holding the queen and about to make the move, putting my opponent into checkmate. The duke took a couple of agitated steps into the room and then came to an abrupt halt when he saw me. His eyes went from my face to my hand holding the chess piece, and despite his anger just a moment ago, he smiled.
“So,” he started. “Feel like finally admitting that you’re the one beating me at chess?” he asked.
I was about to plop the queen back down where she’d been, but this move I was about to make was perfect, and it would put me two games ahead. I bit my lip, placed her down facing the bishop, then straightened up to take a step back.
“Checkmate,” he muttered.
I backed away quickly as he approached, skittering behind the sofa. My movement seemed to reignite his irritation from before. His smile fell, and his brows drew together. He huffed as he threw himself into one of the armchairs next to the chessboard, sagging forward and rubbing his temples.
“I’ll just be getting on, sir,” I whispered, backing away further towards the door.
“Lottie?” he called just as I was reaching for the handle. “Could we just give all this deferential bullshit a rest for a bit? I’ve had a shitshow of a morning, and I’d really like to spend some time with someone who’s not a complete dick.”
I let out a surprised laugh. “How do you know I’m ‘not a complete d-word’? Maybe I’m a total d-word.”
“I just know. I get very minimal dickish vibes from you.”
I hesitated for a moment before letting my hand fall from the door.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Maybe I don’t have to shoot off straight away. But you should know Icanbe somewhat of a d-word… sometimes.”
“Can’t we all? My sisters would say it’s something I excel at.”
“Sisters?” I asked as I skirted him and took the chair opposite. “You have more than one?”
He frowned. “Yeah, of course.”
“Oh, well, the sister I’ve met seems like a good time.”
He tipped his head to the side. “But you met both of them. Vicky was at the club then they were both here last week.”
“Ohhhhh,” I said slowly. “The blonde? I thought…” I stopped myself before I could reveal my stupid assumptions, trying to ignore the small bubble of hope and happiness at the knowledge that the dukedidn’thave a girlfriend.
“You thought what?”
“Well, I thought she and you were?—”
“Oh shit. I assumed Vics would have explained who she was. Sorry, she’s not really that great at … er, well, she’s not reallythatsocial. Doesn’tgetmany situations. Vics is a genius in many ways, but human interactions often baffle her.”
“She seemed nice.” Without the white-hot jealousy, I realised that I did actually like Vicky. She was entirely without artifice and I could tell she definitely never lied.
His eyebrows went up. “Really?”
“I mean, she’s blunt, I guess. Quite literal.”
“That’s an understatement. Unfortunately, Vics can be a bit of a liability. I love my sister, but she doesn’t half piss people off.” He paused for a moment as he looked at me, then seemed to make a decision. “She has autistic spectrum disorder. Her mother, not my mum but my dad’s mistress, didn’t believe in it, so Vicky was only diagnosed as an adult. We don’t really tell people. I don’t want her vulnerable, and she wants to keep it to herself anyway. But it can create problems. Vics is so truthful it can be… tricky.”
“People can’t handle the truth,” I said.
