Page 53 of An Accidental Meeting
This was precisely why Darcy had never moved beyond an acquaintance with Mr. Hurst. The man was all about his appetites: eating, drinking, and gambling. Darcy never begrudged a man a few vices, so long as they damaged no one but himself, but when it came to Bingley, Mr. Hurst almost never paid the debts of honour Bingley was owed. Bingley, because the Hursts housed Miss Bingley, as well as himself on occasion, had never felt free to collect. Darcy had never heard Bingley insist on payment either, until now. He selected his cue and turned back to the table.
“Your turn, Darcy,” Bingley said.
He looked at the table and selected his shot.
They played twenty-one points, and then, because Mr. Hurst had lost so badly, they played a second so that he had the opportunity to “get right.” Bingley won both games, as Darcy allowed his mind to drift to Miss Bennet and the D’Arcy items currently inside his safe.
“I will pay you when we arrive in Scarborough and I can visit the bank, Bingley,” Mr. Hurst promised. “Unless you want to play one more game?”
“I will check on my uncle,” Darcy declared. “I would like to see how he fares against Mr. Gardiner.”
“By the by, Darcy,” Mr. Hurst asked. “What was in that box your coachman carried to your study this morning? Looked interesting, but I did not recognize it from your trunks on the carriage.
Darcy froze. He had not believed Mr. Hurst was ever up so early.
“That is none of your business, Hurst,” Bingley said, picking up the cue his brother-by-marriage had left on the table and putting it up properly.
“Seeds,” Darcy said at the same time.
“Pretty important seeds,” Mr. Hurst grumbled.
“As you say,” Darcy replied. “Bingley, Mr. Hurst.”
“We will join you in a moment,” Bingley said.
As Darcy removed from the room, he heard Bingley say, “Hurst, you will cease behaving like a child. I have enough of that from my sisters.”
Mr. Hurst was much like Darcy’s aunt Lady Catherine, for he loved all things that spoke of luxury and refused to admit his behaviour was in any way wanting. However, Bingley putting the man in his place was something new. Bingley seemed to be taking his position in his family circle more seriously since Darcy’s confession the day before.
When Darcy found the men playing chess in the library, Gardiner had most of Uncle Hugh’s pieces but had not yet put him into check or checkmate.
“Where did you learn this style of attack?” Uncle Hugh was asking as he watched his bishop fall.
“From an Englishman who spent some years of his youth in Russia,” Gardiner explained. “I was fascinated by his stratagems, and he taught me over the course of a year when we were both apprentices. Not much else to do in the hour or so before sleep.”
Uncle Hugh nodded. “I have never seen anything like it.” He moved a knight, which Gardiner promptly took. “Damnation!”
Gardiner glanced up and saw Darcy. “Is it time to dress for dinner?” he asked, checking his watch.
“Not yet,” Darcy said. “Bingley beat us all soundly as I knew he would, so I thought I would join the two of you and be beaten in chess as well. Round out my afternoon.”
Uncle Hugh chuckled. “I would say that you are too modest, my boy, but . . .” He moved, and Gardiner shook his head.
“Check.”
Uncle Hugh studied the board, then moved his king. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to move without being taken.
“Checkmate.”
“I have played five games with this man, and he has won every one of them in record time.” Uncle Hugh stood and motioned Darcy to the chair. “Your turn.”
Mr. Gardiner laughed. “Your uncle is exaggerating. He is quite a wily strategist. He spent the first three games watching all my gambits and in the last two gave me quite a battle.”
“You are very kind, and I am glad for it,” Uncle Hugh said. “Gives me a bit of my tattered dignity back as I leave the field.”
“Do you weary of chess, Gardiner?” Darcy inquired. “Or would you be willing to continue with another opponent?”
Gardiner waved to the board. “I do not often have the opportunity and am glad to have it now. My two most skilled opponents unfortunately live a three-to-four-hour carriage ride away, and Bennet dislikes London intensely, so I must travel to him.”
