Mrs Elaine makes the sudden move, rook to take my bishop, my king left temporarily exposed. Her pearl necklace dangles down to the top of her chest, moving with each twist of her hand as she drags the piece gracefully across the board to put me in check.
‘Check, Mister Sanderson.’
Nodding, I look up at her, her brown eyes flickering with the fireplace heat behind me. Her draping brunette hair flirts with the middle of her arms as she shuffles slightly in the armchair and eyes me cautiously but hungrily.
‘You really are playing for high stakes aren’t you?’
‘What made you ever think I was playing for low stakes Mister Sanderson?’
I watch her back just as carefully, smiling, touché. She reciprocates with full ferocity, her eyes ablaze. She wasn’t here for just the chit chat, there was something else on her mind.
‘What are you playing for exactly Mrs Elaine?’ My brow furrows, the heat in the room growing as the sparks flick out onto the stone in front of the fire.