Bash, as most everyone called him, sat in a small annex off the main room of his new gaming hell, the Den of Sins. A thick black curtain hung in front of him that he parted periodically to peer out at the crowd that had already filled their tables.
It was nearly midnight, after all.
The drinks had been flowing for hours as had the money. There was the occasional man who came into the club and won but the house ended up with most of the profits.
First and foremost because he hired smart men to run the games. But even more importantly, those game masters were not allowed to touch the drinks. They kept their minds sober and sharp.
It was usually all the house needed to win. One of his most talented floor members currently ran the table closest to the curtain. He was one of their best game masters but tonight…tonight he was losing. Badly.
Bash frowned, as he looked at the man cleaning their clocks. He had to give the fellow credit. He didn’t celebrate his winning hands, just quietly continued to play and collect a pile of money in front of him. Which had grown quite large. Damn the man.
Nor did the lady behind him, smile or talk overly much. Strikingly beautiful, the woman glanced at several of the players, all who smiled back forgetting their cards.
Was she a distraction? Was the house being swindled?
He returned his gaze to the gentleman at the table. He was the sort who would have made an attractive woman. Thin shoulders, delicate cheeks and chin, large eyes that were fringed with long dark lashes.
If it weren’t for the scruff on his face…
Bash’s eyes narrowed. Something wasn’t adding up.
“What are you staring at so intently, Your Grace?” Menace asked, coming to stand behind him.
Bash let out a growl. In the real world, he was the Duke of Devonhall and Menace was the Marquess of Milton. But in the Den of Sins, they kept their real identities a secret. “You know that here you either call me the Duke of Decadence or just Bash.”
Menace gave his rakish grin but then the grin stopped suddenly as he let out a long whistle. “Take a look at that beauty.”
Bash knew to whom Menace referred. The woman in the low cut gown with the dark hair and classic features that might set a man to flame. She’d certainly attracted the attention of every man at the table and beyond. But Bash hardly looked at her as his gaze settled back on her male companion. “I’m more interested in her escort.”
Menace narrowed his gaze. “I didn’t think you went in for that sort of thing. But he is rather…pretty.”
Bash snorted. “Not interested in that way. He is currently raking up all the profits at that table. We’re losing. Soundly.”
“An occasional winner is good.” Menace shrugged. “People know we’re not cheating them, then.”
“True.” Decadence pulled the curtain back a bit wider leaning forward as he continued to stare. “But what if they are cheating us?”
Menace didn’t speak for a moment, but he shifted behind Bash. “If they are cheating, can I be the one who confronts the woman? I
could pat her down for weapons or do some light interrogation. They could be…interesting.”
Bash held back a growl of irritation. This was serious.
Then he realized he was letting intense anger take over and he paused, drawing in a deep breath.
He’d built a reputation as a carefree rake. A man who lived for excess and didn’t have a care in the world.
But moments like these, he felt his father rearing his ugly countenance from deep inside Bash. The elder Duke of Devonhall was a man with an iron will and a hard temper. Whose need for perfection meant that he was never satisfied and often cruel in his disappointment.
Bash had vowed never to be like his father but he also didn’t wish to be cheated.
He rose from his chair. “What should we do?”
“Let’s get Infamy and Vanity and see what they think. Perhaps they have a way to test them or catch them in the act of cheating. We wouldn’t want to accuse them if they aren’t actually doing anything wrong.”
Bash nodded. It was a good plan. This was why a man had partners. He didn’t need to worry or get upset. His friends would come up with a plan to deal with their potential thieves.
He was relaxed but he wasn’t a fool. And any gambler trying to cheat him would understand not to take advantage of the Duke of Decadence.