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Or she would not be here, half-dressed, at this moment.
She sat, almost sick with fear, while the hand was played, but all the others folded after the draw this time, leaving Denys with another two thousand dollars to add to his wi
He sent her a triumphant wink as he prepared for the next game.
‘Third time lucky, darling,’ he muttered.
Then make this the last, Joa
I’ve never felt like this before, she thought. When he’s been as confident as this, I’ve been right there with him. But maybe I’ve never been quite so disillusioned with my life before.
Yet in her heart she knew that wasn’t it. That ever since Persephone had arrived in the bay and her father had a
And nothing that had happened since had done anything to reassure her.
She had learned to show no emotion, so her face was still, her eyes shuttered and her hands clasped loosely again in her lap as she saw Denys had been dealt a pair of kings and a pair of nines, with a small club as his fifth card. He discarded the club, asking for one, and received in return from the dealer the king of diamonds.
Three of a kind and a pair, Joa
The two Frenchmen folded quickly, but Hansi Dorten and Chuck briskly pushed up the betting, with Vassos Gordanis and Denys matching each call and raise.
Joa
‘I’m out,’ Chuck said wryly in answer to the South African’s call and raise of five thousand.
‘Fold,’ Joa
Only to watch, helplessly, as her father pushed another pile of chips into the middle of the table and called.
‘I also know when to stop,’ Hansi Dorten said, tossing his hand on to the discard pile.
Vassos Gordanis counted out the requisite chips and added them to the pot. ‘Call,’ he said quietly. His hand moved again. ‘And raise another ten thousand.’
Joa
Small change to a millionaire. The world to us. Or it could have been.
Because Dad hasn’t enough left now for another call. Not at this kind of limit. He’s been squeezed out. And we’re wiped. We won’t even be able to cover the bill for the suite.
Vassos Gordanis leaned back in his chair. ‘What do you wish to do, kyrie?’ It was a courteous, almost bland question.
Denys squared his shoulders. ‘Naturally bet again, Mr Gordanis, if you are prepared to accept my IOU.’
The dark gaze looked past him with faint enquiry, and Joa
‘I think our good Levaux doubts that you would have the ability to pay this debt if, of course, it falls due.’ Vassos Gordanis reached pensively for another cheroot and lit it. ‘However, there is a good deal of money at stake, and I wish to be fair. So I will give you the opportunity to back your hand once more—but only once. Therefore, you may call, and you may also raise me to whatever limit you wish and I will match it. Double the raise. Treble it, if you please. It is of no consequence.’
Denys stared at him, frowning. ‘I don’t take you for a philanthropist, Mr Gordanis, and I am not a charity case.’
‘No,’ the other returned softly. ‘We are both gamblers, are we not? So, if you win, you take the money. All of it. There will be no dispute. I say it in front of witnesses.’
Joa
‘And if I lose?’ Her father’s voice was hoarse.
Vassos Gordanis shrugged. ‘Then the money will be mine, naturally,’ he returned levelly.
His eyes, brilliant as jet, and as cold, rested on Joa
‘But,’ he added musingly, ‘you would also owe me the amount you have wagered, and I would require that to be repaid.’
‘And how could I possibly do that?’ Denys flung at him.
‘Not in cash, certainly.’ He drew reflectively on his cheroot. ‘But—in kind. That would be a different matter.’
‘What the hell do you mean?’ Denys demanded aggressively.
‘I am wondering how much you are prepared to risk, Kyrios Vernon.’ He nodded at Joa
He leaned forward suddenly, and Joa
‘Because that is the pledge I require, my friend,’ Vassos Gordanis went on, looking now at her father. ‘In full and final settlement. If you play and lose, you give me the girl, and when she comes to me I take her for as long as I want her.’ He paused. ‘I also ask that you give me your word you will honour your debt as I have done, in front of witnesses,’ he added almost casually.
As if, Joa
She wanted to protest. To scream at them all that she would never—never—submit to such a shameful bargain. That there was no amount of money on earth that could persuade her, either. That she would rather skivvy in the hotel, washing dishes or cleaning rooms, until their accommodation was paid for. Or starve in the gutter if she could get no work.
And, most of all, she wanted to tell them that Denys was not some kind of sugar daddy, as they apparently assumed, nor her pretended uncle—but her own real father, who would protect her with his life if need be.
Yet the ensuing silence was like a hand placed over her mouth. Her lips parted to speak but no sound emerged.
She would have given anything to get to her feet and storm out of the room in disgust, but all her energy seemed to have drained away, leaving her feeling as if she’d been nailed to the chair, unable to move so much as a hand in her own defence.
And if I tried to leave, she thought suddenly, would it be allowed?
Denys was speaking coldly, ‘I presume, Mr Gordanis, that this is some crude and sordid joke.’
‘And I have to tell you, Kyrios Vernon, that I am not joking,’ Vassos Gordanis retorted. ‘The money is there for the taking, by one of us. If you wish to fight for it, you must wager the girl. It is quite simple.’ He shrugged again, his mouth twisting sardonically. ‘But of course you do not have to accept my offer. You may prefer to fold and go on your way. Or you can be as serious as I am myself by naming your own figure and gambling on the cards you hold. Unless you have lost faith in the hand you have been defending?’
‘No,’ Denys denied thickly. ‘I have not.’
Joa
Because surely that had to be her response, as in—No, this ca
Her father couldn’t be contemplating playing on. It wasn’t possible. He couldn’t be staking her immediate future—her happiness—her i
Even if he’d held a virtually unbeatable Royal Flush he shouldn’t consider it. Not if he loved her.