“I wasn’t talking about that. My game was piquet. Never played hazard at the Cocoa-Tree in my life. I used to play at Almack’s, and Brooks’s, of course.”
“Very high going at Brooks’s,” said Thane, with a reflective shake of the head.
Sarah, seeing that a discussion of the play at the various gaming clubs in London was in a fair way to being begun, intervened before Ludovic could say anything more. She reminded him severely that they had more important things to discuss than gaming, and added with a good deal of feeling that her efforts on his behalf had not only been fruitless, but quite possibly disastrous as well. “Your cousin,” she said, “has heard about Eustacie’s groom, and there is no doubt that he feels suspicious. Luckily, Sir Tristram had the presence of mind to tell him that the groom was—Whom did you say he was, Sir Tristram?”
“Jem Sunning,” replied Shield. “You remember him, Ludovic?”
“Yes, but I thought he went to America.”
“He did,” said Shield. “That was why I chose him. But I’m not sure that the Beau believed me. It is more imperative than ever that you should get to some place of safety. If you won’t go to Holland—”
“Well, I won’t,” said Ludovic flatly.
Sir Hugh came unexpectedly to his support. “Holland?” he said. “I shouldn’t go to Holland if I were you. I didn’t like it at all. Rome, now! That’s the place—though they have a demmed sight too many pictures there, too,” he added gloomily.
“I am going to stay here,” said Ludovic. “If the worst comes to the worst, there’s always the cellar.”
“Just what I was thinking myself!” said Thane approvingly. “I’ve a strong notion there’s more in that cellar than we’ve discovered. Why, I didn’t get hold of this Canary till yesterday!”