Page 15 of My Highland Rogue
“Who are you?” Ellen asked.
Speech had returned to her, yet it was shroudedin rudeness. She wanted to call back the words the minute they were uttered, but the woman opposite her only smiled.
“We have started wrong, haven’t we? I’m Maggie Boyland. I know you were expecting the owner, but unfortunately he’s been called out of town. I manage the Mayfair Club, and I thought that I might be able to assist you in some way.”
Ellen reached for another biscuit, not because she wanted one, but she needed to do something other than stare at the woman. She had never heard of such a thing. A woman, managing the Mayfair Club. She didn’t quite know what to think. Of course, to manage such a successful establishment would require brains, charm, and a great many other attributes, some of which Ellen was certain she didn’t know or understand.
Would you have to be good at gambling yourself? Certainly you would need to know something about cards and card players, for that matter.
Ellen was subjected to a sweeping inspection.
What did Miss Boyland see when she looked at her? A woman past her prime, no doubt. Fashionably dressed, with enough jewels on her rings to give the impression of wealth, certainly. Someone who did not get out often, because she had been tongue-tied ever since the woman entered the room.
Of the two of them, Maggie was the more polite, not to mention eloquent.
Ellen had never felt as out of her element as she did now.
She finished the biscuit, placed the plate backon the tray, then used the napkin to blot her mouth once more.
“I have been exceedingly coarse,” she said. “Please let me convey my apologies. Perhaps we can attribute my boorishness to the errand itself. I am at a loss and I need your help, Miss Boyland.”
“How can I help you?”
“I’m a friend of the Adaire family. It’s because of that fact that I’m here now.”
Maggie reached for a currant biscuit and nibbled it delicately as she listened. The woman didn’t have a crumb on her.
“I understand that Harrison Adaire is a member here.”
Maggie did not confirm or deny that fact.
“He needs to come home,” Ellen said, letting her utter disgust for Harrison show. “His wife is about to have their first child, and he hasn’t come back to Scotland in months.”
“What do you expect us to do about that, Mrs. Thornton?”
She waved her hand in the air. “Something. Can’t you tell him that he’s no longer wanted? Can’t you refuse to allow him any more credit?”
Maggie looked momentarily startled before her face fell into perfect lines once again.
“Harrison has always been a lamentable card player,” Ellen said in explanation. “And a gambler, for that matter. If there was one horse destined to come in last, that is the one that Harrison would pick. He cannot wager to save his life, and the only thing that has proven to be an asset for him is the Adaire fortune. You can’t tell me thathis luck has changed. I don’t believe it. Luck is the province of fools and beggars.”
Maggie just stared at her.
Ellen continued. “I’ve been told that Harrison is doing everything in his power to diminish that fortune. I do not doubt that you consider him one of your best members, but I also suspect that he owes you quite a bit of money.”
Maggie looked straight at her, blinked twice, then smiled. Such a blinding expression that Ellen almost wanted to close her eyes. Or beg the woman to direct her charm to something else, a far wall, perhaps.
“You’re right. Harrison does owe us quite a bit of money. We have extended him credit, but there’s no worry that we won’t be paid.”
They should worry. Harrison didn’t have the sense God gave an ant.
“I am willing to pay his debts,” Ellen said. “On the condition that you send him home.”
Maggie looked momentarily surprised once more. “How do you suggest that we do that, Mrs. Thornton?”
“Refuse to let him gamble here for a month. If that doesn’t work, rescind his membership.”
“Why on earth would we do that? If we had twenty more Harrisons, we’d be the most successful club in all of England.”
