Page 26 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
She blushed deeply, unable to meet his stare, and Edward decided this to be the perfect moment of escape. He bowed to her and excused himself, quickly consumed by the sea of colours that adorned the ballroom. Despite everything around him, his mind was still on Eliza.
He had never intended to pull her this close to him, but the proximity had allowed him to know that she smelled faintly floral, a mixture of flowers emanating from her skin.
The scent had been heady enough to make him lose focus, and she had used that very instance to run away from him. She tantalized his senses in the most sensuous ways, and Alexander could feel his attraction towards her growing with every passing day. She was doing things to him that he had no means to either understand or escape from.
However, he could not let the attraction he felt towards her overtake all of his senses. His feelings were not as important as Eliza’s condition, and he had already taken an oath to restore her to her former glory. Hence, nothing else could get in his way except what needed to be done to make sure Eliza had it all.
Everything that belonged to her was going to be hers again, and Alexander would make it happen.
I need to find Edgar.
He looked around the ballroom, hoping to catch sight of Lord Leicester, but the man was nowhere to be seen. It was important for Alexander to sit and have a conversation with the man, especially when he was tipsy, and find out as much as he could.
Alexander quickly realized how several older gentlemen were missing from the ballroom, which only meant they were playing cards.
He took directions from a waiter and made his way towards Edgar’s study, where cards and drinks had been set up.
Alexander stepped into the room with quiet confidence, his gaze sweeping over the group of men huddled around a rich oak table, being used for their decks of cards as they played poker.
He breathed in the air, thick with the scent of whisky and cigar smoke, and easily assumed a position on an empty, plush leather sofa, which looked as if it had been waiting for him.
The men, their masks off, stared at him silently, no one willing to challenge Alexander’s lion-like stride. Edgar, too, sat at the table, half slouched in his chair, his drunkenness apparent on his rapidly ageing face.
“My Lord,” Edgar finally greeted Alexander, and the table erupted into quiet chatter once again, the discomfort dispelled entirely.
“Mind if I join, gentlemen?”
“The stakes are rather high,” an older man with hawk eyes replied, “are you certain you can join?”
Alexander chuckled, motioning to the dealer to shuffle the deck as he placed a hefty number of chips on the table to silence all those around him.
Everyone stayed quiet as the dealer shuffled the deck with a quick flick of his wrists, the cards snapping as they slid across the table. Alexander was hardly worried about the game or the stakes, having enough money even to lose without any damage to him, but despite that, he was a skilled poker player.
He hardly ever lost. Unless he needed to.
Alexander let his cards remain untouched, simply reading the table as everyone looked at the hand they had been dealt. The other gentlemen maintained their poker faces, but Alexander had seen too much of this world to be fooled by them. He could win this game with his eyes closed, but he needed to lose.
Edgar was already drunk on victory, and Alexander needed to rouse him slightly before bringing him down. He needed to make a friend out of Edgar rather than an enemy, and he needed to make sure Edgar respected him enough to divulge what Alexander needed to know.
“All in,” one of the noble lords said, folding his cards.
Several others folded right after until Alexander viewed his cards. Edgar folded, easily winning the round, while Alexander stayed put. He kept going on in that manner, losing rather easily to Edgar, who was already on the way to believing that he had it all tonight.
He looked around the table, sensing everyone was becoming comfortable with him, no longer viewing him as a stranger who could turn out to be better than them all.
No sweeter time than this to attack.
“I am going all in.” Edgar smiled, putting all his winnings from the night and some other money into the game, and Alexander did the same wordlessly.
Edgar revealed his hand, and Alexander smirked as the suspense built around the table. He flipped his cards – a full house. Silence ensued all around him as everyone looked at him in surprise while Edgar eyed him closely. He pulled the chips towards him, not bothering to count, and tipped his head slightly towards the man who had organized the ball today.
“Are you cheating? How did you win the biggest hand after losing so many?” a noble lord asked Alexander, and he laughed.
“Just luck.”
With a nod at the gentlemen, Alexander stood up and made his way towards the bar, ordering a whisky.
He knew with quiet assurance that Edgar would follow after him, and that would be the perfect time to lay down his questions in front of the man. All Alexander needed was to goad Edgar enough for him to get ready to reveal anything and everything.
