She continued to ask gentlemen one after the other how much they’d won last week. The numbers got larger and larger, with derisive laughter following each outrageous amount. Figures flew fast around the room with people arguing what exactly someone had won and who owed someone else something. It was dizzying, and he rapidly lost track of it all. Even if he’d had pen and paper, he couldn’t have kept track. Certainly not with his head swimming in ale.
Then Mrs. Dove-Lyon judged it finished. “Very well, Mr. Palmer, Miss Rees, how much did my customers win last week?”
That was not a mathematical problem. It was a memory problem, and he could already see the panic on Lilah’s face. Fortunately, Mr. Palmer was also sweating, his brows drawn into a fierce scowl.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Lilah whispered. He could see her hand shaking where she pressed the chalk to the board.
“Guess,” he whispered back, though he doubted she heard him. She was already writing down a number. Mr. Palmer, too.
After a dramatic pause, Mrs. Dove-Lyon turned to the Abacas Woman. “How much did they win?” she cried.
The click-clack of the abacas stopped, and everyone leaned in to hear the whispered answer. A moment later, the dealer turned to the gallery and bellowed.
“239 pounds 87 pence.”
“Oh no,” Lilah moaned. She’d written down 209 pounds, 85 pence.
“Mr. Palmer?”
Mr. Palmer wiped his brow and seemed unable to turn his chalkboard around. Fortunately, there were many hands forcing him, and eventually everyone saw what he’d written.
“256 pounds, 3 pence is incorrect!” Mrs. Dove-Lyon cried. “What do you have Miss Rees?”
Lilah’s hands shook as she turned around her chalkboard. “It appears we both got it wrong,” she said, relief in her voice.
“That’s true,” agreed Mrs. Dove-Lyon. “But it appears you got itmore wrongthan Mr. Palmer. That is most unfortunate for you, Miss Rees. Most unfortunate, indeed.”
“What?” she cried. “There aren’t degrees of wrong.”
“She’s right,” Aaron tried. “Wrong is wrong. Give them another problem.”
Their objections fell on deaf ears. Mr. Palmer was already celebrating, Mrs. Dove-Lyon was giving Lilah a sympathetic look, and everyone was cheering that the challenge was done. After all, it had taken up too much time. They wanted to get back to their own gambling.
“But that’s not fair,” Lilah pressed. “Wrong is wrong.”
“Wrongis something only nobs think,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said. “We know there’s degrees of everything.” She patted Lilah’s cheek. “Andfairis a word used by children.”
“No,” Lilah said, shaking her head. Tears were running down her cheeks, and there was nothing that Aaron could do to help. Nothing but squeeze her shoulder and wish that it were different. But he’d known this would happen from the beginning.
“It was a good plan,” he offered. “Mr. Palmer doesn’t know anything about geometry or algebra. If they’d asked those questions…” His voice trailed away. This wasn’t helping her at all. Her shoulders were shaking as she tried to suppress her sobs. And her gaze was on Mrs. Dove-Lyon as she bounced Lilah’s purse of pound notes in her hand.
“Five hundred pounds, Mr. Palmer.”
He reached up eagerly to grab it, but she held it away from him. “But first, I think I’ll take what is owed me for your drinks and food.” She pulled out a few notes and pocketed them quickly. “And—”
“He owed me forty quid,” came a voice from the side.
“I spotted him twenty-two quid.”
“’E owes me thirty quid for…”
On and on it went as creditors lined up. And while Mr. Palmer watched with an increasingly sick look on his face, Mrs. Dove-Lyon peeled off pound notes like she was handing out candy.
“I’ve just paid off all his debts,” Lilah said. “It took me years to save up that much.”
Aaron cursed under his breath. He had to get her out of here. She didn’t need to see this disaster unfold before her. He pulled Lilah to her feet, but the floor was crowded with everyone grabbing for a piece of Mr. Palmer’s windfall. There was no easy way out of the den, and he was now drunk enough to be unsteady on his feet. Especially as she was too distraught to stand easily.
“This way, gov,” said a low voice.