"Miss Witte" looked at Shade, then at the maid holding the cat. She had not noticed just now, but upon looking again, she realized that the maid had such a remarkable figure:
"Truly splendid, Sir Hamilton. I really never expected a card game like this to happen."
This could no longer be described as merely "splendid." The rules of the two Rhodes Cards had affected one another, allowing Shade, who should have certainly lost, to win after revealing his fourth card. Even the final matches of Great City Player had never been this exciting.
Shade also let out a long breath. Of course, he had no idea what his fourth card was; he was simply very confident in his own luck:
"Miss Witte, your card skills are excellent as well. That is probably what draws us to Rhodes Cards."
Though he spoke normally, his voice was nearly drowned out by the crowd's loud discussions.
Miss Witte, whose real name was Miss Pawo, stood and extended a hand toward Shade. Shade reached out as well and shook the gloved hand.
"You won. I hope we will have another chance to play Rhodes Cards together. Knight, congratulations. You truly deserve to be the champion of Great City Player 1853."
The Sorceress spoke, then left with her silver notebook, having no intention of continuing to converse with this group of men. Shade, the winner, was left standing beside the card table beneath the Grape Arbor, accepting everyone's congratulations, though his eyes remained fixed on the direction Miss Pawo had gone.
The Sorceress was heading toward Schluch Lake, which was also the direction the Witches claimed the Keeper of Secrets would soon appear from. Shade did not believe that a matter so important would find this six-ring Sorceress without companions.
After all, when she