"Yes. And increase the stakes gradually. I want him addicted beyond reason before we spring the trap."
Rosie grinned. "Consider it done."
"Also," I added, "send a message to Oliver. I want a full report on Marcus's activities. Every gambling session. Every debt he's accumulated. Every person he's borrowed money from."
Oliver had been a godsend.
He was a young man, barely older than myself, who had served my grandfather faithfully until the old man's death. When my grandfather passed, Cordelia had dismissed all his loyal servants, scattering them to the winds.
But Oliver had never forgotten his former master's kindness. When I had reached out to him through careful intermediaries, he had agreed to help without hesitation.
"Your grandfather was a good man," he had told me. "He treated
