They were supposed to be playing with three decks of cards. Anyone who noticed the four identical fours would immediately know that extra cards had somehow been added to the pack.
It was a hazard of this particular method of cheating, and the chances of its happening were roughly one in a hundred thousand.
If the anomaly were seen, it would be Micky, not Tonio, who was ruined.
So far no one had spotted it. Suits had no significance in this game, so the irregularity was not glaring. Micky picked up the cards swiftly, his heart beating hard. He was just thanking his stars that he had got away with it when Edward said: 'Hang on--there were four fours of clubs on the table.'
Micky cursed him for a blundering elephant. Edward was just thinking aloud. Of course he had no idea of Micky's scheme.
'Couldn't be,' said Viscount Montagne. 'We're playing with three decks of cards, so there are only three fours of clubs.'
'Exactly,' said Edward.
Micky puffed on his cigar. 'You're drunk, Pilaster. One of them was a four of spades.'
'Oh, sorry.'
Viscount Montagne said: 'At this time of night, who can tell the difference between spades and clubs?'
Once again Micky thought he had got away with it--and once again his elation was premature.
Tonio said belligerently: 'Let's look at the cards.'
Micky's heart seemed to stop. The cards from the last hand were placed on a pile which was shuffled and reused when the pack ran out. If the discards were turned over, the four identical fours would be seen, and Micky would be finished.
Desperately he said: 'I hope you're not questioning my word.'
This was a dramatic challenge to make in a gentlemen's club: it was not very many years since such words would have led to a duel. People at the neighboring tables began to watch what was happening. Everyone looked at Tonio for his response.
Micky was thinking fast. He had said that one of the fours had been a four of spades, not clubs. If he could produce the four of spades from the top of the discard pile he would have proved his point-- and with luck no one would look at the rest of the discards.
But first he had to find a four of spades. There were three. Some might be in the discard pile on the table, but the odds were that at least one was in the pack they had been playing with, which was in his hand.
It was his only chance.
While all eyes were on Tonio, he turned the pack so that the cards faced him. With infinitesimal movements of his thumb he exposed a corner of each card in turn. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on Tonio, but held the cards within his vision so that he could still read the letters and symbols in the corners.
Tonio said stubbornly: 'Let's look at the discards.'
The others turned to Micky. Steeling his nerve, he carried on fiddling with the pack, praying for a four of spades. In the midst of such drama no one remarked on what he was doing. The cards in contention were in the pile on the table, so it would seem to make no difference what he did with those in his hand. They would have to look quite hard to see that behind his hands he was sorting through the pack, but even if they did so they would not immediately realize he was up to no good.
But he could not stand on his dignity indefinitely. Sooner or later one of them would lose patience, abandon courtesy, and pick up the discards. To gain a few precious moments he said: 'If you can't lose like a man, perhaps you oughtn't to play.' He felt a slight sweat break out on his forehead. He wondered whether he had missed a four of spades in his haste.
Solly said mildly: 'It can't hurt to look, can it?'
Damn Solly, always so sickeningly reasonable, Micky thought desperately.
Then at last he found a four of spades.
He palmed it.
'Oh, very well,' he said with a feigned nonchalance that was the polar opposite of what he was feeling.
Everyone became very still and quiet.
Micky put down the pack he had been furtively sorting through, keeping the four of spades in his palm. He reached out and picked up the discard pile, dropping the four on top. He placed the pile in front of Solly and said: 'There will be a four of spades in there, I guarantee.'
Solly turned over the top card, and they all saw that it was the four of spades.
A hum of conversation broke out around the room as they all relaxed.
Micky was still terrified that someone might turn over more cards and see that there were four fours of clubs underneath.
Viscount Montagne said: 'I think that settles it, and speaking for myself, Miranda, I can only apologize if any doubt has been cast upon your word.'
'Good of you to say so,' Micky said.
They all looked at Tonio. He stood up, his face working. 'Damn the lot of you, then,' he said, and he walked out.
Micky swept up all the cards on the table. Now no one would ever know the truth.
His palms were wet with perspiration. He wiped them surreptitiously on his trousers. 'I'm sorry about my compatriot's behavior,' he said. 'If there's one thing I hate it's a fellow who can't play cards like a gentleman.'
Section 4
IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING Maisie and Hugh walked north through the raw new suburbs of Fulham and South Kensington. The night became hotter and the stars disappeared. They held hands, even though their palms were sweaty in the heat. Maisie felt bewildered but happy.
Something odd had happened tonight. She did not understand it but she liked it. In the past, when men had kissed her and touched her breasts, she had felt it was part of a transaction, something she gave in return for whatever she needed from them. Tonight had been different. She had wanted him to touch her-- and he had been too polite to do anything without being asked!
It had started while they were dancing. Until then she had not been aware that this was going to be radically different from any previous evening spent with an upper-class young man. Hugh was more charming than most, and he looked good in his white waistcoat and silk tie, but still he was just a nice boy. Then, on the dance floor, she had begun to think how pleasant it would be to kiss him. The feeling had got stronger as they walked around the gardens after the dancing and saw all the other courting couples. His hesitation had been engaging. Other men saw dinner and conversation as a tedious preliminary to the important business of the evening, and could hardly wait to get her in a dark place and start groping, but Hugh had been shy.
In other respects he was the opposite of shy. In the riot he had been completely fearless. After he was knocked to the ground his only concern had been to make sure the same thing did not
