“She Can’t Understand Us,” They Laughed — Then the Duke’s Bride Silenced Them in Fluent Italian
Chapter 8
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Someone laughed nervously. The Duke did not. He stood up all at once, and his chair scraped back across the floor."Gallagher," he said. "My gloves."And he walked out of the card room without a bow to her, without a word, while the whole company watched him go.Gallagher followed him. But at the door, the old sergeant stopped and looked back at the companion, sitting alone at the table with a black queen beside her hand. He lifted two thick fingers to his forehead, the way a soldier salutes an officer he respects. Then he went out.The terrace was dark and bitterly cold. Snow had been falling since dusk, fine and dry, and it lay in a thin white skin on the stone balustrade. The Duke stood at the edge of it without his coat, breathing hard, as if he had been running.Gallagher came out behind him and put the greatcoat over his shoulders without being asked. "You'll freeze, sir.""Did you see her fourth move?""I saw a pawn given away for nothing. And then I saw it wasn't for nothing.""Only one man has ever opened against me like that," said the Duke. "Only one in all my life. He did it in the first game we ever played, and in every game after."Gallagher was quiet a moment. "The fellow by the post, sir?""Yes. The one you write to at night.""Yes.""Well," said Gallagher slowly. "Maybe the fellow by the post has a daughter. Or a pupil. Or it is chance. A pawn is a pawn. Any fool may push one."The Duke gripped the balustrade, and the snow crunched under his fingers. "She was lucky, Gallagher. My queen went too deep. I was careless, and she was lucky.""If you say so, sir.""I do say so.""Only I've seen you careless, sir. At Salamanca and after. You never lost your queen being careless. You lost it being tired, and angry, and wanting a thing over quick. And she knew you would. She was waiting for it."The Duke turned his head and looked at him, and Gallagher looked back, and neither of them said the rest.Supper was laid in the long dining room at midnight. The Duke came down late in a fresh coat, and every face at the table turned to see how he would carry it.Miss Farquhar had recovered herself. She sat at his left hand in a clean pair of slippers with a glass of champagne. Mrs. Strickland sat across from them.Thomasina was not at the table; companions did not eat supper with the guests. She stood by the sideboard where Mrs. Strickland could call her to fetch a shawl."Your Grace," said Miss Farquhar brightly, loud enough for the whole table. "You must tell us the truth. You let her win, did you not? Out of chivalry."The table waited. The Duke cut his cold beef. He did not look toward the sideboard."I did not let her win," he said. "She was lucky. I sent my queen too deep, and the board forgave her twice. It happens. It will not happen again."