Chapter 13

His aunt and Octavius were already in the midst of a conversation with several friends, so Julien took himself off to the card room. If he had to spend several hours at a ball, this was the most painless place to do it.

Fifteen minutes later, he was settled at a table, playing commerce with four other gentlemen. One of them was Lord Belmont’s son, who fancied himself a dashing gambler but was too afraid of his father’s wrath to ever actually visit a gaming hell. Julien also recognized Morleigh Mayfield, Viscount Ferrand, and Lord Witley, none of whom he liked, but fortunately that wasn’t a requirement in a game like commerce. The play was deep and reckless, and Julien knew that it wouldn’t require much concentration on his part to win a fair bit of money—not that he needed it.