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who he was. The mask prevented that, but she recognized him from the night before, and realized the threat he presented if he sat down to play against her.
    The table where she sat was filled with players, and even though the man opposite her vacated his seat while Nick watched, he didn’t take the man’s place. He stood out of the way and observed. He didn’t want to distract her. He only wanted to make certain she could handle herself. She’d been visibly shaken when he left her earlier. But she appeared as if she’d recovered.
    She appeared as confident as she had the night before, and had once again assumed the role of the Ice Lady .
    The hands were dealt and the players placed their bets. Lady Winnifred won the first two hands easily. And the third.
    She lost the fourth, but the player sitting to her right was dealt a face card and an ace. There was no strategy that could have changed that outcome.
    That’s when Nick noticed a change in the lady’s motions. In her alertness. In her attentiveness.
    Her movements seemed to slow, as if there were weights attached to her arms, to her hands, to her fingers. She hesitated before placing her bets, something she hadn’t done even once last night when playing against him. Her eyes stared sightlessly at the cards in her hands as if she couldn’t quite focus on them. And she lost the hand.
    Then she lost the next.
    A voice inside his head screamed for her to throw down her cards and walk away. She obviously wasn’t as alert as she needed to be. Obviously, something was distracting her, and Nick was sure he knew what that was. No doubt it had something to do with the conversation they’d had earlier. Or the lateness of the hour. Or perhaps the number of late nights she’d put in trying to win the money she needed to pay for her mother’s keep.
    He studied her more closely. She looked like she was nearing exhaustion. As if she could barely keep her eyes open.
    Nick wanted to step next to her and suggest that she quit. He wanted to tell her to fold and go home. But he knew telling her what to do would only ensure that she did the opposite.
    He looked at the few chips in front of her. If she played the next hand and she had to match a raised bid, she’d lose more than she had. She’d be forced to get more money to cover her losses—if she had the money. Or she’d have to go to her father—which Nick knew she wouldn’t do. Then she’d be left with no choice but to go to the third floor and be part of the auction.
    She didn’t quit. She played the next hand and lost. Then she won a hand which added to her chips, but she lost the next two.
    The pile of chips in front of her dwindled to almost nothing, and Nick felt the first wave of alarm.
    ‘Quit!’ a voice yelled from inside him. But she didn’t.
    Like most gamers, she played as if the next hand she was dealt would be a winning hand. Except Nick knew it wouldn’t. She wasn’t playing smart. She’d already made several noticeable mistakes. Mistakes only a novice player would make.
    ‘Quit!’ the voice yelled again, and Nick had to restrain himself from stepping up to her and physically removing her from the table.
    His heart raced in his chest. Terror at the helplessness he felt consumed him. He was watching the lady sprint toward destruction and wasn’t able to stop her.
    Nick took a step toward her. He had to stop her before it was too late. He wouldn’t allow another innocent female to suffer that humiliation.
    But as he imagined himself reaching out to halt her from playing the next hand, she placed her cards down in the center of the table, indicating that she was done for the night. That she no longer wished to play.
    The relief he felt was indescribable. But as he watched her rise from her chair and walk away from him, the emotion raging inside him changed from relief to anger. Then to fury.
    Didn’t she realize how close she’d come to losing everything? Everything, including her virtue?
    She