Page 67 of Love Is A Draw
But she didn’t look away.
List barked a laugh. “Let her keep the chess set. She’ll need something to remember him by.”
“One moment, Baron,” Gail said evenly.
Victor’s breath hitched. Her tone—he’d never heard her sound like that. Like steel.
List sneered. “What do you want, Jew girl?”
The customs officer flinched. Victor saw it—the tightening of the officer’s mouth. The flicker of something almost human. Something buried.
Gail straightened her back. “You agreed that the Black Knight would take the title from the Earl.”
“I didn’t think it’d be a Jew,” List spat. “I entered the best from White’s.”
“But the agreement stands?” Her voice was cool as steel.
Victor found his voice. “She’s the Black Knight now. She earned what you and your wife never could. She deserves your respect.” He placed every word deliberately. Precisely. For the crowd. For the officer. For her.
List turned red. “It’s only a matter of time before she ruins it.”
Greg’s voice rose from near the customs desk. “She’s already accomplished more than any man on your roster.”
Gail turned to Victor. “Play me.”
He blinked. “Here?”
“One match. Your rules.” She pointed at the baron like a piece she’d already captured. “You said the Black Knight could only protect one.”
List’s face darkened. “And I meant it. One stays with her. Not both.”
“If he wins,” Gail said, looking at Victor, “he stays. Protected. If I win, you go. The Black Knight stays no matter what.”
List hesitated.
The customs officer raised a brow. “This I’d like to see. I’ll delay departure.”
A hush passed over the dock. The hiss of steam. The creak of rigging. A whisper from the crowd, “It’s her.”
“Fine,” List snapped. “One match. Let the Jews claw each other. But only one stays. One family. One future.”
Victor didn’t move. Couldn’t.
Until the customs officer murmured, “Play fast. The tide waits for no one.”
A crate was flipped. A board produced.
Gail’s fingers shook as she unlatched the set.
She sat.
Victor sat opposite her.
Their eyes met.
He could still walk away. He could still lose her. But not without a fight.
Chess had always been the language of their lives—why shouldn’t it decide everything?
