Though Christina didn't realize it, the news that she was Lyon 's wife had changed every man's opinion. "Leave her be, Arthur, if you want to live. She's the mistress of Lyonwood."
"Your name is Arthur?" Christina asked.
The man she'd just questioned was too terrified to answer her.
"Arthur is an appealing name, sir. Do you know the story of Camelot? No?" she asked when the man continued to stare at her stupidly. "Your mama must have read the tale then and named you after King Arthur," she decided for him.
Arthur wasn't listening to her. His mind was far away, captured by the nightmare of what the Marquess of Lyonwood was going to do to him when he heard of this foul incident. "I didn't mean nothing by trying to snatch you. I'm good as dead," he whined. "I didn't know-"
"That I was a married lady?" Christina asked. She let out a sigh. "Well, I suppose you couldn't have known I wasn't available, but it was rude of you to try to snatch a lady without gaining her permission first," she instructed. "But you're not going to die because of your ill manners, Arthur," she added in a gentle voice.
She turned to address her audience. "Does anyone else want to try to snatch me?"
Every single man inside the tavern shouted his denial. And they kept shaking their heads in unison.
It was an amusing sight, but Christina hid her smile. She didn't want them to think she was laughing at them.
"Is your promise true?" she demanded, just to make certain it was safe to put her knife away.
Christina did smile then. She couldn't help herself. The men's vigorous nods were too amusing a sight.
"Arthur, go and wash your cuts now," Christina instructed over her shoulder as she walked over to the bar to wait for the attendant. "I shall send medicine to soothe the sting just as soon as I'm finished here. Does anyone happen to know where Mr. Bleak Bryan is?" she asked the silent men.
"Connor went to fetch him, miss," a man called out.
Christina smiled at the thin little man. She noticed then that he was holding cards in his hand. "Are you having a game of chance?" she called out, biding her time until Bryan arrived and trying at the same time to ease the tension in the room. "I'm sorry if I interrupted you, sir."
"No, no," the man replied. "I couldn't get no one to play."
"Why is that?"
"Nitty is too lucky, miss," another shouted out.
"Are you a patient man, Nitty?" Christina asked.
"Don't rightly know, your grace," Nitty answered.
Christina decided against explaining that she shouldn't be addressed as "your grace." The man looked very nervous to her.
"Shall we find out?" Christina asked. Her husky laughter warmed smiles onto the men's faces. "I would like to learn to play cards, sir, and if you have the time and the inclination, now would be fine with me. I must wait to speak to the owner…"
"I would be honored to teach you the ways," Nitty announced. His shoulders straightened. "Poppy, clear a space for the lady," he ordered. "Get her a clean seat, Preston. What game were you wanting to learn, miss?" he asked.
"What game do men like to play?"
"Well now, your husband's game is poker, miss, but of course you wouldn't be wanting to learn-"
"Oh, but I would," Christina announced.
"Here, miss," another shouted. "I'll stake you to a few coins when you've caught on."
"Coins?"
"To bet with," another eager man said.
Christina couldn't believe how helpful the men were. The man named Poppy made a dramatic flourish with his arm as he bowed. "Your chair awaits, my lady," he announced. "Spit's dry now. It's clean as can be."
After taking her seat at the round table, Christina nodded to Nitty. "Do you know my husband, then?" she asked as she watched him flip the cards together. "You said poker was his game," she added as explanation for her question.
"We all know of him, miss," Poppy announced over her shoulder.
"Oh, that is nice," Christina said. "Now then, Nitty. Explain this game to me. Thank you for your coins, sir, and you as well, and… oh, I don't believe I need this much money, gentlemen," she added when the coins mounted into a heap in front of her. "You are all so very generous. My husband is fortunate to have such good friends."
Christina's husband was thinking much the same thought as he finished giving his orders to five seedy-looking but very loyal men behind the tavern. Bryan stood by his side, wishing with all his heart he could take part in the charade.
"Damn it all, Lyon, I wish I could be there to see Rhone 's expression. Remember, lad," he told the man who was going to imitate Jack, "to stay in the background. Your eyes aren't as green as Rhone 's are. Someone might notice."
" Bryan, you got to come back inside," the bartender nagged for the third time. "I'm telling you a fight is brewing. Didn't you hear the screams?"
"I only hear men having a good time, Connor. Whoever sparked the fight must have changed his mind. Now get back inside before I'm robbed blind."
Bryan scowled Connor inside, then stayed beside Lyon, listening to him advise the men.
A sudden roar of laughter caught his attention. Bryan nodded to Lyon and then strolled back inside the tavern to see what everyone was cheering about. He immediately noticed the crowd had gathered around the corner table, and he started forward just as several men shifted their positions. He was able to see the occupants of the table then. After a long disbelieving minute, Bryan turned tail and ran out the back door.
" Lyon, are you finished yet?"
"I was just leaving," Lyon answered. "Why? Do you have a problem?" he asked. The tone in Bryan 's voice had put him on his guard. His friend sounded like he was strangling.
"It isn't my problem, it's yours," Bryan answered.
When Lyon tried to walk inside, Bryan blocked the entrance with his arm. "Are you still a betting man, Lyon?"
Lyon let Bryan see his exasperation. "I am."
"Then I'll wager you're about to get the surprise of your life," Bryan said. He moved to the side, then crooked his thumb. "Your surprise is waiting inside."
Lyon didn't have time for foolishness. He hurried inside, believing Bryan wanted him to disarm a man or two.
The crowd of men blocked his view of the table. "There's no danger here," he told Bryan. "What's the attraction, I wonder," he added. "Does Nitty have a new victim for his card tricks?"
"Oh, it's a card game all right," Bryan drawled out. "Frankie, how's the game going?"
"The little miss just bested Nitty with a paltry pair of tens," someone called out from the crowd.
"Ain't my fault," Nitty bellowed goodnaturedly. "She's got a quick mind. Why, she took to the game the way crabs takes-"
"Watch your mouth, Nitty," another man shouted. "The Marquess of Lyonwood's woman is respectable, you stupid little sod. Talk clean in front of her."
The Marquess of Lyonwood's woman.
He couldn't have heard what he thought he'd just heard. No, it couldn't be…
Lyon turned to Bryan. His friend was slowly nodding. Lyon still had trouble believing. He walked over to the crowd. Some of the more anxious men moved out of his way.
The cheering abruptly stopped. Christina wasn't aware of the tension in the atmosphere, or the fact that her husband was standing directly behind Nitty, staring at her.
She was concentrating on her hand, her frown intense. Nitty, on the other hand, was afraid to look behind him. He could see the expressions on the faces of the men who stood behind Christina. None of them looked too happy. "I believe I'll fold, miss."
Christina didn't look up, but she drummed her fingertips on the tabletop and stared at the five cards she held in her other hand. "No, Nitty, you can't fold now. You told me I had to put up or fold." She pushed the pile of coins into the center, then glanced up to smile at her new friend. "I shall see you."
Nitty dropped his cards on the table. "Uh, miss, you didn't have to put all the coins in the pot. I've got you beat with my three kings, you see, but you can have the coins back. It's only a teaching game."
The men nodded. Some grumbled their approval while others cast fearful glances in Lyon 's direction.
Christina didn't dare look up from her hand. Nitty had warned her that the expressions on players' faces often revealed what they held in their hands. Since Nitty had already shown her his cards, she wasn't sure if that law still applied, but she wasn't about to take any chances… not with the wonderful cards she'd been dealt.
"Fair is fair, Nitty. Winner takes all. Didn't you say that?"
"I did, miss," Nitty stammered out.
Christina placed two sevens down on the table. She'd deliberately withheld the other three cards. "Gentlemen," she told the men hovering around her, "Prepare to collect your winnings."
"But miss, you've got to best my…"
Nitty stopped his explanation when Christina flipped over the other cards.
"Good God, she's got three aces," Nitty whispered. His voice was filled with relief. Lyon 's woman had won the hand.
Christina's husky laughter wasn't echoed by her audience. They all watched the Marquess of Lyonwood, awaiting his judgment. He didn't look too happy. If the powerful Marquess wasn't amused, then neither were they.