Her revengeful Bastard

A bad bet

*Anna*

Then I spy Kyle at a corner table, looking vastly different from the stylish gentleman who had walked through the front door with me. His disheveled hair sticks up on the ends as though he has plowed his fingers through it repeatedly. His eyes are red and hold a desperation I have never seen before. He lifts his gaze from the table, catches sight of me, and relief washes over his features, giving him the appearance of a much younger man, the teasing, playful one I had come to love. Shoving back his chair, he stands and waves me over. I can’t deny the gladness that sweeps through me at his enthusiasm for having me near.

When I am close enough, he wraps his arm around my waist, drawing me against his side and whispers in my ear, “I need your pearls”.

“I beg your pardon ?”

“I have an incredible hand. I know no one can beat me, but the fool who is playing me has raised the stakes, well aware I no longer have the means to cover it. If I can’t match his wager, I’ll lose by default. Your pearls will ensure I don’t”. He explains.

I slap my hand to the necklace at my throat. “These belonged to my mother and her mother before her”.

“You are not going to lose the necklace. I just need it as a sign of good faith to cover my wager. You don’t even have to take it off. Please, Anna. It’s a small thing to ask, and the rewards will be beyond compare”. He begs.

I assume the rewards will be the money piled in the center of the table. There are five other men sitting around it, but only one is still holding cards.

“I have a plan”. He says. “I promise you will walk out of here wearing them”.

I hesitate. Even the best laid plans . . .

“If you love me . . .”. He says, his voice low.

I look at him. “You know I do”.

“Splendid”. He retakes his seat, meets the gaze of the man sitting opposite him, the one wearing an ill-fitting brown jacket and tapping his cards on the table. “Her pearls should cover it”.

The man opens his mouth, runs his tongue over his teeth, one of them very nearly all black. I fight not to shudder at the sight. “They real ?”

“Of course they are”. Kyle says. “What use would she have for fake ones ?”

The man lifts his burly shoulders until they nearly touch extremely large ears that remind me of an elephant. “All right, then. Since you called …”.

“Actually, now that it’s settled we’re even, I’m going to raise you … her hair comb. Pearls and diamonds”. Kyle says.

“Kyle …”. I begin.

He holds up a hand to silence my objection. “Not to worry. I have the situation well in hand”.

“What’s it worth ?” Brown coat asks.

“A hundred quid”. Kyle says.

Brown coat laughs, a mocking sound that grates on my nerves. I don’t know this game, and I don't quite understand what is happening. Will Kyle win if the man doesn’t pay that amount ? Is that his plan ? To reverse the tables and win by default ?

“All right, mate. In for a penny, in for a pound”. He picks up a handful of coins and tosses them negligently into the pile as though they are worth nothing. “Let’s see what ye got”.

I hold my breath even though I have no idea what a winning hand may look like. Kyle sets down three cards and announces. “Three aces”.

“Not bad”. Brown coat says.

He lays down the rest of his cards. “And two threes”.

Brown coat’s eyes widen and he grins. “Not bad at all”.

Does that mean Kyle has won ? His theatrics at displaying his cards makes me think he does indeed have a very good hand.

“I can see why you were willing to risk so much”. Brown coat says. “Unfortunately, for the lady, I’m holding …”. He flips his cards one at a time onto the table. “Four eights”.

Kyle doesn’t laugh or shout with joy. Instead he seems to shrink before me, his shoulders rounding.

“Kyle ?” I ask.

With a shaking hand, he reaches for his glass and tosses back the amber contents.

“Spud, take me winnings from the lady”. Brown coat says.

Spud is much thinner than his friend, and I wonder if his motley face has anything to do with his name. While he looks full of regret approaching me, I still don’t want him touching me.

“I’ll do it”. I announce, and, without hesitation, I reach back and unlatch my necklace. Carefully I pull the comb from my hair. With the reverence they deserve, I place them gently on the table.

Kyle twists his head up. “Have you anything else on you ?”

He can’t be serious. And yet he appears to be deadly so. “No. I believe it’s time we went home”.

He shakes his head. “Anna, all I need is one more chance. I was so close. All I need is one more hand”.

Is this the future he is planning for us ? What about the investors he has been so keen to meet ? This creature to whom I have handed over my pearls and comb cannot be a successful businessman. He has never been allowed in an Alphas office to discuss investments.

“It’s time for you to leave, my friend”. Kai says, as he wraps his hand around Kyle’s arm. Although the words may have come across as a suggestion, there is a steeliness in his tone that indicates they are a command. I wonder how long he has been standing there, if he has witnessed my humiliation. If so, he gives no indication, seems merely intent on the task at hand, getting Kyle to his feet.

Kyle doesn’t object, but he does stagger back once he is standing. “I lost to a bloody bricklayer. He probably can’t even read”.

There is a slurring to his words I haven’t noticed before. “You’re foxed”.

“No, but the room is spinning. What an odd thing to put in a hotel. A spinning room”. Kyle mumbles.

“Your betrothed is correct, my friend”. Kai says. “It’s time you go home”.

It becomes clear rather quickly, when Kyle rams into a table, that he can’t walk a straight line without assistance. Kai provides it once again.

“Lead the way”. He instructs me.

I nod. Much better to march forward than to follow behind, while Kyle stumbles, in spite of the support the hotel owner provided him. Avoiding eye contact with anyone, I charge straight ahead, grateful when I finally burst through into the hallway where there is less smoke and I can at last breathe again, and my eyes aren’t burning. I blink back the tears and they don’t return. I won’t think about what I lost. I will not.

If my parents’ deaths have taught me anything, it is that nothing is to be gained in mourning what can’t be changed, in railing against it. Anger, tears, and fists do not alter an outcome once it has happened.

When we reach the lobby, I spy Lea near the stairs where I had first seen Kai and spin around, obviously catching him by surprise because he nearly rams into me, in spite of his sagging burden. “If you’ll give me a moment, I wish to say goodbye to your sister”.

He nods. “I’ll take him outside, send someone to fetch your car”.

“Thank you”. I stroll toward the stairs.

Lea leaves the group of people to whom she is speaking and gazes toward the door. “Is Kyle all right ?”

“He has had a bit too much to drink”. I admit.

“I don’t understand why men do that. It’s such a silly thing”. She sighs.

I give her a small nod to say I agree. “Yes, well, we’re leaving now, and I just wanted to say that it was a pleasure to see you again”.

“I do hope you’ll come to my bookshop when it opens”. She says with a smile.

“I look forward to it. Good night, Lea”. I return her smile.

She offers me a small curtsy. “Safe journey home, Anna. And sleep well”.

I doubt I am going to do that. When I get outside, I am grateful to see the car is already there. Kai Tempest stands there empty handed. I assume he has already stuffed Kyle inside.

“Thank you for inviting us. You have an extraordinary hotel here, Mr. Tempest. We wish you great success with it and all your future endeavors”. I tell him.

“That sounds like a forever sort of goodbye, Lady Anna”. He looks at me, is that a hint of sadness ?

I give him a sad smile. “I think it unlikely our paths will cross much in the future”.

“One never knows what the future might hold”. He holds out his hand. I place mine in it. Such strength there, such warmth, such surety. He helps me into the car, and I settle on the seat next to Kyle, who is slumped against the opposite door.

“He’s going to have a devil of a headache in the morning”. Kai says.

“Good”. I huff.

He grins. “You have a vindictive nature, Anna”.

“Until this moment, I would not have thought so. I hope it’s only temporary, as it’s not a very pleasant thing to be”. I mumble.

“Sometimes life calls for unpleasantries. Good night”. He closes the door, clapping his hand on the roof, signalling to the driver and the car takes off.

I refrain from looking out the window, looking back to see if he is still watching me. For some unfathomable reason, I don’t want him to dismiss me and merely go on his merry way. But neither do I want him to know I am indeed vindictive. I kick Kyle in the shin.

“Damnation !” He blurts, stirrs, straightens a tad and glares at me through one eye.

“You lost my mother’s pearls and comb”. I half growl.

He seems to try and roll his eyes. “I’ll purchase replacements”.

“They won’t be the same. I treasured them not because of what they were but where they came from. I have so little of her, hardly any memories at all”. I feel like crying.

“I’m sorry, Anna. I thought I would win. Instead I lost everything I had on me”. At least he looks like he feels bad.

I can’t help but ask. “How much ?”

“A thousand pounds”. He admits.

I stare disbelievingly at him. “What were you doing with that much money on you ?”

“I thought about going to the club afterward. The money is inconsequential”. He shakes his head slightly, but it seems to make him dizzy.

“I don’t think so”. I can’t believe he doesn’t care.

He closes his eyes. “I lost my pocket watch”.

“The one your father gave you when you turned eighteen ?” I can’t believe it.

“Don’t tell him”. He whines, and snuggles deeper into the corner.

A watch that has been passed down through at least three generations. “I don’t understand how you could gamble everything away”.

“Because you don’t know what it feels like”. He mumbles.

“To lose ?” I raise an eyebrow.

“To win”. Shoving himself away from his little hovel, he leans earnestly toward me. “You can’t imagine it. Your heart pounds so hard you can hear the blood rushing through your ears. There is an elation in your mind that makes it seem the entire universe is expanding. Your nerve endings tingle and become incredibly sensitive. Every sensation, every emotion is heightened. It’s like nothing else. It’s like being alive”.

Only I was feeling devastated, dead, handing over my pearls. “You must stop. You can’t continue doing this after we are married”.

Slowly he blinks, as though having a difficult time processing my words. I should probably wait until liquor isn’t sloshing through his veins, but the anger and disappointment are roiling through me now, and I am having a difficult time containing them.

“Are you forbidding me ?” He asks incredulously.

“Yes, I believe I am”. I says holding my head high.

He shakes his head, but looks like it hurts. “Wives do not forbid their husbands”.

“Husbands honor their wives’ requests if they want a happy marriage”. I shoot back.

“Not when they’re unreasonable”. He huffs.

I stare him down. “You lost your father’s watch. You lost a thousand quid. You lost my pearls, my comb … all in a single night. I will not have the money in my trust thrown away like that after we are married”.

“I’m not going to give up my life. I’m not going to become my father, always doting on my mother to the exclusion of all else, including his own son. You can’t expect it of me, and if you do, you’re going to be sadly disappointed”. He huffs.

“No, I don’t think I shall be disappointed, as I very much doubt I’m going to marry you if you’re not willing to stop this endless gambling”. The words come out unbidden, tightening my stomach into a knot, and yet I cannot deny the truth of them. I know beyond any doubt that I will not find happiness with this man … drunk, disheveled and demanding … who is currently sitting next to me.

“You’re being absurd”. He states . “Overreacting. I enjoy gambling. It’s harmless. It’s not as though I’m going to be beating you”.

The conversation is worsening quickly, upsetting me even more. Not once have I considered him capable of this unflattering behavior. “I never thought you would, but you hurt me tonight. And embarrassed me, as well as yourself. You made a spectacle of us both”.

“To a bunch of commoners whose opinions have no merit. They’re nothing … oh, dear God”. Bracing his hand beside me on the seat, he lowers his head.

“What ? What’s wrong ?” I ask.

His face goes greenish pale. “I’m going to throw up”.

“Stop ! Stop !” I shout as I bang on the divider to the driver.

The car comes to a halt. Kyle throws open the door and staggers out. I hear him retch, feeling rather ill myself. The man traveling with me is not one I can admire. I can’t even claim to like him or to enjoy his company.

I fear I may have become engaged to a man I don’t really know. Moreover, I fear the man I have witnessed l tonight is the true Kyle and that man I cannot marry.