Devil in Spring

To Pandora’s satisfaction, she had acquired an exceptionally good hand with numerous trumps and high cards. She enjoyed herself immensely, taking risks whereas Gabriel was, predictably, more careful and conservative. As they talked, he entertained her with stories about his family’s gaming club. Pandora was especially amused by one about a card cheat, who had always ordered a plate of sandwiches during the game. It turned out that he had been slipping unwanted cards into his sandwiches. The scheme had been discovered when another player tried to eat a ham and potted cheese on rye, and ended up with a two of spades caught between his teeth.

Pandora had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing too loudly. “Gaming is illegal, isn’t it? Are there ever raids on your club?”

“Usually the respectable West End clubs are left alone. Especially Jenner’s, since half the legislators in England are members. However, we’ve taken precautions in the event that a raid occurs.”

“Such as?”

“Such as installing metal-plated doors that can be bolted shut until the evidence is disposed of. And there are escape tunnels for club members who can’t afford to be seen. Also, I regularly grease a few palms in the police force to ensure that we have adequate warning before a raid.”

“You bribe the police?” Pandora whispered in surprise, mindful of being overheard.

“It’s a common practice.”

The information wasn’t at all appropriate for a young lady’s ears, which of course made it all the more fascinating. It was a glimpse of a side of life that was utterly foreign to her.

“Thank you for being so frank with me,” she said spontaneously. “It’s nice to be treated like an adult.” With a quick, awkward laugh, she added, “Even if I don’t always behave like one.”

“Being imaginative and playful doesn’t make you any less of an adult,” Gabriel said gently. “It only makes you a more interesting one.”

No one had ever said anything like that to her before, praising her faults as if they were virtues. Did he mean it? Blushing and perplexed, Pandora lowered her gaze to her cards.

Gabriel paused. “While we’re on the subject of Jenner’s,” he said slowly, “there’s something I want to tell you. It’s nothing of import, but I feel I should mention it.” Faced with her quizzical silence, he explained, “I met your brother a few years ago.”

Thunderstruck by the revelation, Pandora could only stare at him. She tried to imagine Theo in the company of this man. They had been similar in the most obvious ways, both tall, wellborn, handsome, but they couldn’t have been more different beneath the surface.

“He visited the club with a friend,” Gabriel continued, “and decided to apply for membership. The manager referred him to me.” He paused, his expression unreadable. “I’m afraid we had to refuse him.”

“Because of his credit?” Pandora faltered. “Or was it his temperament?” At his long hesitation before replying, she said anxiously, “Both. Oh, dear. Theo didn’t take it well, did he? Was there an argument?”

“Something like that.”

Which meant that her volatile brother must have behaved very badly indeed.

Her face heated with shame. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Theo was always crossing swords with people he couldn’t intimidate. And you’re the kind of man he was always pretending to be.”

“I didn’t tell you to make you uncomfortable.” Gabriel used the pretext of reaching for a card to inconspicuously stroke the back of her hand. “God knows his behavior was no reflection on you.”

“I think he felt like a fraud inside,” she said pensively, “and that made him angry. He was an earl, but the estate was a shambles and in terrible debt, and he knew practically nothing about how to manage it.”

“Did he ever discuss it with you?”

Pandora smiled without humor. “No, Theo never discussed anything with me, or with Cassandra and Helen. My family wasn’t like yours at all. We were like . . .” She hesitated thoughtfully. “Well, there was something I once read . . .”

“Tell me,” Gabriel said softly.

“It was an astronomy book that said in most of the constellations, the stars don’t actually belong together. They only appear to. They look to us as if they’re close to each other, but some of them exist in another part of the galaxy altogether. That’s how my family was. We seemed to belong to the same group, but we were all very far apart. Except for me and Cassandra, of course.”

“What about Lady Helen?”

“She’s always been very loving and kind, but she lived in her own world. We’re much closer now, actually.” Pandora paused, staring at him fixedly and thinking she could try for hours to describe her family, and she still wouldn’t be able to convey the truth of it. The way her parents’ love for each other had been conducted like warfare. The glittering beauty of her untouchable mother, who would disappear to London for long stretches of time. Her father, with his unpredictable mixture of violence and indifference. Helen, who had appeared only rarely, like a visiting wraith, and Theo, with his occasional moments of careless kindness.

“Your life at Eversby Priory was very secluded,” Gabriel commented.

Pandora nodded absently. “I used to fantasize about being out in society. Having hundreds of friends, going everywhere, and seeing everything. But if you live in isolation long enough, it becomes part of you. And then when you try to change, it’s like looking into the sun. You can’t bear it for too long.”