Scarlet Lady (21 page)

By eleven o’clock her feet hurt and her heart was heavy. Cat was wrong. If Montana had been interested in her, he would have come. She gave up watching the doors and turned to the guests. The gamblers had been unusually generous tonight. Katie was certain that the hospital fund would be large. That should have made her happy, but she could barely force herself to smile.

“Hey, Katie,” Cat’s familiar voice called out. “Come and show these people how to play poker.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Katie said, trying to back away. “It wouldn’t be fair—proper,” she amended.

“Sure it would,” the head of the hospital said. “Your assistant has been telling us how good you are. I’ll stake you to some chips. It’s for a good cause, isn’t it? We’ll even let you deal.”

That was when she felt his presence. Montana was here. She couldn’t see him, but her body suddenly felt alive. That brief moment of intense connection rattled her so that she dropped into the empty seat without being aware that she’d done so.

Helplessly, she looked to Cat. But Cat was looking
at someone moving through the crowd toward them, someone Katie couldn’t see.

“Mind if I play?” Montana stopped on the other side of the table.

“Not at all,” Cat said, coming to her feet. “You can have my chair.”

“No,” Katie protested weakly.

“Certainly,” the hospital director said. “Everybody’s money is welcome here.”

“Is that true?” Montana asked, his question directed at Katie. “Everyone is welcome?”

Money, Katie thought. That’s why we’re here. To raise money for the hospital. Without making an utter fool of herself, she had no choice but to play. And this time she wouldn’t lose.

“Of course. What’s your game, stranger?” she said, glad that her face was covered by a mask.

“Stud poker,” he said smoothly. “If that’s all right with the rest of you. I feel lucky.”

The others agreed.

Katie tried not to look at him, but with him being directly across from her, she couldn’t avoid it. If he’d been wicked in his riverboat-gambler attire, he was absolutely devastating in a tux. Tonight, he was a pirate, wearing a black satin mask with no adornment. Other than not revealing his name, he’d made no real attempt at concealing his identity. The chances were that most of the people here wouldn’t have known him anyway.

To Katie, he seemed intent on the card game, not allowing his attention to focus on her.

To Montana, focusing on his cards was the only way
he could sit across the table from Katie and not touch her. What she’d exhibited freely before, she concealed now, with a dress that covered her arms, her neck, every inch of her—until she turned her back. There was no back. It dipped so low that she couldn’t have been wearing anything beneath it.

If he’d thought the short skirt and nothing little straps had been sexy before, he’d been wrong. It took him two hands of poker to get his breathing under control.

They played four hands, the hospital head winning one, Montana winning one, and Katie taking the other two. On the fifth hand, the cards went to Montana as the dealer. He gave Katie a long searching look, reached inside his pocket, and pulled out a cellophane-wrapped deck, exactly like the one she’d brought on the
Scarlet Lady
.

“Let’s have a new deck,” he said, unwrapping the cards and allowing the covering to fall to the floor. “And I’d like to raise the stakes, Miss Carithers. If you’re interested.”

“What did you have in mind?” she managed to say.

“Why don’t we make it one final hand? Double or nothing.”

In her subconscious, she’d known it was coming. They’d been rushing toward this moment all night. And until she spoke, she hadn’t known how she’d answer. She had nothing to give up if she lost. She had to win.

“One hand, sir. Double or nothing.”

“Too rich for my pocketbook,” one of the players said.

“I think I’ll pass,” the hospital director said.

The game would be between her and Montana. A showdown at midnight, just as it had been the first time they’d met.

Montana shuffled the cards, then held them out for Katie to cut them. She shook her head.

He dealt himself a card, facedown, then one to Katie. He took a casual look at his card, smiled. Katie did the same. The next card was exposed. A ten of hearts for Montana, a nine of spades for Katie.

Montana slid a stack of chips to the center of the table. “Ah yes. I do feel lucky.”

Katie smiled, matched his bet, and added more chips. “That’s good. The hospital appreciates your confidence.”

The third card for Montana was a nine of clubs. “Possible straight for me.” He turned over Katie’s card, a ten of diamonds. “Well, now. Possible straight for the lady in red. But what is she holding?”

“It will cost you to find out. Are you betting, sir?”

“Oh, yes.” He added another stack of chips to the table. “And you? Are you ready to concede?”

“Give up? Not on your life.” She added chips. “I think I’ll raise you another ten.”

Montana tried not to grin. This was working out just the way he’d planned. Except for that dress. Even though he could only see the front, he knew her back was bare. And he could feel her skin beneath his fingertips.

“I’ll match you.”

“Of course you will.” The crowd grew quieter, as if it knew there was more going on here than a game.

Montana dealt the fourth cards, a seven of diamonds to himself and the eight of hearts to Katie. Katie looked at the table. Ten, nine, and seven to Montana. Ten, nine, and eight to her. When had she ever seen two such similar hands before? Could Montana’s hole card possibly be an eight? She was beginning to have a funny feeling about what she was seeing.

He turned over his last card. She’d been wrong. The hole card wasn’t an eight, the card he just dealt himself was. Now he was showing seven, eight, nine, and ten. How could that be? He bet, shoving the rest of his chips into the pot.

“An unusual fall to the cards, don’t you think?” she observed. “I don’t suppose my last card would be a seven, would it?”

“I sincerely hope not, darling,” he said, “but one never knows.” He turned over her card and placed it on the table. The seven of clubs. “Well, well. If I weren’t dealing, I’d question these hands.”

Katie studied the cards and swallowed hard. Concealing her nerves would have been impossible without the mask. Once again she checked her hole card, just to make sure she hadn’t forgotten. This time she took a better look, sliding her finger tips across the top and sides as if she were trying to decide what to do.

Then she felt it, the tiny nick in the corner of the card. She’d been right. It was the same deck, the one he’d threatened her with, the one he’d said he locked away in his safe to use as evidence against her. He’d
come here prepared to cheat to win. What was he doing?

“I think I’ll just bet it all,” he said. “After all, it’s for a good cause.” He shoved the rest of his chips forward, reached into his coat, and pulled out a stack of bills, which he added to the pot. “I believe the bet is double or nothing?”

He must know that she couldn’t keep up with him. She didn’t have enough chips left to cover his cash. She was going to lose the director’s money to Montana. Even with the cut of it to the charity, she’d still lose her stake.

“Let’s see what we have here. Looks like there’s about five thousand dollars in the pot, wouldn’t you say? Double that would make it ten.”

Katie gulped. There was no way she could cover that. What to do? If she folded, the stake was gone. If she went with the bet and lost, she’d be back where she started, but she had nothing to cover her losses. Besides that, the deck was marked. Montana knew what she had. If he was going to cheat, she’d find her own way to match his bet.

“Can’t handle it, darling?” he asked.

“Not unless you’ll accept my personal IOU.”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“Would it matter?”

“Not as long as it covered your bet.”

She paused a long moment. “Will someone get me a piece of paper and a pen?”

Seconds later Katie had written something on the
paper, folded it, and slid it to the center of the table. “Will you trust me on this?”

“Of course. But let me make a suggestion,” he drawled, pulling the familiar cheroot from an inner pocket and clasping it between his teeth.

“I’m listening.”

“Instead of double or nothing, if you win, you get the pot for the hospital. I don’t have the cash with me to double it, but I’ll throw in the contents of this envelope to make up the rest, with one stipulation. The envelope goes to you personally. Will you trust me, Kate?”

Did she trust him? It was simple. “Yes. But if I lose, the hospital loses?”

“No. I wouldn’t do that. In either case, the money goes to charity. If you lose, I get you—forever.”

The suggestion was outrageous. Montana knew it and so did Katie. He was challenging her. Katie Carithers’s family name against that of a professional gambler. How much did she trust him? What was she willing to give? What did she want forever?

There was a collective gasp around the table. “Now wait a minute,” the director began. “I don’t think you need to do something like that, Katie.”

A warm flush spread over her. Montana had set the game up from the beginning so she’d lose. Why else would he bring a marked deck? And there was nothing she could do about it. What was even more astounding was, she didn’t want to.

“It’s for charity, isn’t it? I think that’s an acceptable idea, sir. I’d just like to make one small change in the bid, if I may.”

“Of course. What would you change?”

“If I win, instead of the contents of the envelope, the lady in red gets you—forever.”

Montana let out a devilish laugh. “My lady in red, if you win, you get both. Let’s see what you have.”

She turned over her hole card, revealing the jack of spades.

Montana looked at her for a long minute. Everyone around the table held their breath. Katie waited, pulse pounding, her heart in her throat. Finally, Montana slid his cards together and looked across the table.

“You win,” he said.

The table went into an uproar. Onlookers slapping Katie on the back, the director beaming from ear to ear, Cat fighting back a look of disbelief.

“I’ll just take care of our collateral,” Montana said, claiming the envelope and the paper and replacing them inside his coat pocket. “According to your conditions, I belong to you.” He held out his hand. “Will you dance with me?”

“Yes,” she agreed. Anything to get away from the eyes of all those who were hearing about their bet. Moments later they were beyond the gambling areas. Montana slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

“I’ve wanted to do this ever since I watched you dance with René,” he said, holding her close.

“Montana, what did all that mean, back there?” Katie asked, realizing as she did that the question was foolish.

“We gambled. You won.”

“But what are you doing now?”

“I’m dancing with my lady.” And he was finding out that he was right about the dress. There was nothing underneath.

Katie knew she ought to be asking more questions, but she couldn’t seem to think what she wanted to know. The moonlight, shining through the trees, cast lacy spears of light across the grounds.

The music was romantic. The man holding her was wickedly handsome and her feet felt as if they had wings. Katie gave a little moan.

“What’s wrong, darling?”

“Nothing. It’s just that in all the years we’ve had the ball here, I’ve never danced the last dance. And this is the last dance, isn’t it? Last dance at Carithers’ Chance.”

“You never know,” Montana said, planting a kiss behind her ear. “You just never know.”

At that moment the music stopped, the drummer gave an attention-getting roll, and the crowd grew quiet. The hospital director, with Cat at his side, took the microphone.

First he gave out the awards for the most spectacular masks. Then he asked for another drumroll, followed with: “And I’d like to announce that the preliminary figures appear to be at least a third more than last year’s total. But what is even more exciting is a special donation to the hospital in the name of the Stewart family of Charleston, South Carolina, by their son. Will Mr. Stewart please come forward.”

Everybody looked around, puzzled expressions on their faces.

Katie turned toward Montana. “The Stewart family of Charleston, South Carolina?”

“Well,” he explained as he took her hand and started toward the podium, “like you said, family is important. If I’m going to marry a Carithers, I’d better do something to make peace with mine.”

Her feet and legs responded, though she would never have made it had it not been for Montana’s strong arm around her.

Amid ear-shattering applause, Montana and Katie took their places on the platform. “You’re asking me to marry you?” Katie asked, her voice carrying through the sound system.

“Of course, darling. If you’ll have me. What do you think forever means?”

“Are you Mr. Stewart?” the hospital administrator asked incredulously. “Of the Charleston Stewarts?”

Katie stepped forward, bringing Montana with her. “Yes. I mean, no. The man who made the donation is Mr. Rhett Butler Montana, the man I’m going to marry.”

She pulled off her mask and turned toward him. This was the biggest gamble of her life. There was no tomorrow. “Are you sure, Montana?”

“Why, Miss Katherine,” he said, ripping his mask from his face, “you won me fair and square. You know Montana always makes good on his bets.”

Then, before half the old blood of Louisiana and a good portion of the new, he kissed her.

Only when he finally let her go did he hear the small
voice whispering in his ear. “You scoundrel, I know the truth.”

“The truth, Kate? Whatever do you mean?”

“Those cards were marked. You cheated.”

“Sure I did. Are you going to tell?”

“Not in a million years.”

It was later, much later that night, when Rhett slid out of bed and emptied his jacket pocket. He handed Katie the envelope and a small box. “I love you, Katie. This is my wedding gift to you.”