Chapter 258 - Escaping

The friends played cards and the dealer, Sam, went above and beyond in taking care of them.  Delaney realized after about an hour that the man was giving subtle signals to the servers and when he did, at least one would come forward and pour more wine into their cups.  It was then that it dawned on her that she had no idea how much she had already had to drink.  Looking over at Miles and Constance laughing heartily she guessed they didn't know either.

For a moment she felt a jolt of panic.  She hadn't spent a night out at a club drinking like this since long before she was married.  It suddenly felt risky to do so.  She thought about her husband.  He was still her husband after all.  She was still a duchess.  What would Vincent think of her behavior?

Sadness eased into her heart then, pushing the fear aside.  She missed him.  She wished he was here with her.  She longed to kiss him and feel all the muscles of his chest solid beneath her hands.

Without thinking about what she was doing, Delaney reached out and took another long drink of her wine.  Almost as soon as her cup was back on the table there was a woman there filling it up again.  She giggled at that, finding it strangely funny.

She looked at her cards with hazy eyes and made a play she knew was the wrong choice a moment too late.  Luckily for her though Constance had also had too much to drink to notice.  Sam hadn't though so the house won.  Delaney found herself bent over laughing at that.  She and Constance owned the club.  They were the house.  So even if they lost they still won.

After she had managed to catch her breath from laughing, she managed to get her discovery across to Miles and Constance who both found it to be just as funny as she had.  Sam smiled at them, not really finding it all that funny but relieved his bosses were having a good time.

Delaney laughed and continued playing terribly at cards.  At one point she and Constance laughed over how disappointed Win would be if he were there to see them.  The old man had always tried to drill the rule into their heads that they shouldn't have much to drink while they were playing or they would lose all their money.  Up until that night, it had never been much of a problem.

Now, Delaney didn't care about how much she had to drink.  The more wine she had the more she laughed and the less her heart ached over missing her husband.  Soon her thoughts were so fuzzy she couldn't focus long enough to feel much of anything.  That in itself was a wonderful thing.

For the first time in so long, she didn't feel as if her whole body was going to simply shatter into pieces from sadness.  She was able to go more than a few minutes without thoughts and memories of Vincent dominating her mind.  A smile filled her face and she laughed until her lungs hurt.

It was late when Miles brought up being hungry again which made Constance and Delaney laugh.  The kitchen was technically closed for the night but Delaney and Constance owned the place and all three of the friends had enough money to bribe one of the cooks into returning and making them up something to eat.

Once they had filled their bellies with a thick, warm, stew, they all sat back in their chairs groaning and happy.  Delaney smiled as she looked across at her friends.  Having eaten, she felt the fuzzy feeling in her head starting to drift away.

The food she had eaten was soaking up the wine and curing its mind-numbing effects. 

Delaney didn't want to be forced back into reality though.  Not yet.

Getting to her feet she weaved back and forth as she moved towards Miles.

"Come on," she grabbed his hands and pulled, attempting to get him back up and out of his chair.

"Oh no Delaney," he groaned, not budging, "No please just let me sit.  I'm so full."

"That's why you need to get up," she argued, "Get up and come with me before you fall asleep there and bring our night to an end."

"Ah but I'm so tired though.  Aren't you tired?  Maybe we should head home..."

"No!" Delaney cut him off a bit too quickly.  She took a breath and tried to look calm.  "No we should... we should stay out a bit longer.  We're having fun.  Besides... Besides Miles soon you won't have any time for fun nights out like this.  You'll have a baby and be stuck at home."

"She's right about that," Constance sighed from her place on the other side of Miles, "Little Benjamin is my favorite thing in this whole world... but having a baby at home waiting for you does limit the amount of time you can spend out having fun or with friends."

"You see?" Delaney continued to pull on his hands, "Soon you will all have babies and be busy and I will be left alone.  I'm having so much fun please don't make us end it already."

Miles looked up at her then and she saw the guilt and pity in his eyes.  She looked away.  The wine had made her careless and she had made a comment that brought down the mood of the night.  She didn't look at Constance but she had no doubt the woman's expression would match the one her brother-in-law wore.

"Delaney," he sighed and opened his mouth to continue but she was quick to stop him before he could say whatever it was he was thinking.

"It's fine," she said, letting his hand go and pulling her hands back before he could grab them again, "I'm going to go have one more drink, and then we can leave."

She didn't wait and ignored him when he called after her and asked her to.  On unsteady legs, she wove her way through the tables of the main room until she got to the bar and asked for more wine.  The woman smiled and was quick to serve her.

Delaney finished almost half the drink at once.  At least if Miles was going to make her go home she would make sure she had had enough to drink that she would sleep soundly.  She prayed for just one night without the painful dreams of Vincent when they used to be happy together.  She finished the rest of the drink and turned to go.

When she turned around, she found Miles and Constance waiting right behind her.

"Alright, "Miles smiled, "We don't have to go home just yet."

Delaney grinned and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.  He chuckled and hugged her back before letting her go again.

"Another round or two?" Delaney asked Constance with a grin.

"Why I would love to," Constance smirked and linked her arm through Delaney's.

Together they headed back to the table they had been at earlier.  Sam was still dealing and looked happy when they sat down, joining the men already playing.  Right away he signaled to one of the servers and the three friends were brought a big bottle of wine which they very much enjoyed.

The women played several hands, even convincing Miles to join in once.  He abruptly lost quite a good sum of coins to them, even with as much as the women had been drinking.  They got their payback though when they lost all their winnings on the next hand to an old man they had been playing with.

Any time Delaney would have a thought come into her mind about Vincent or Edgewood or any of their happy memories she would feel the familiar pain in her heart again.  When this happened though she had now learned there was at least a temporary solution.  Reaching for her wine, she would take another drink or two until it washed the thoughts from her mind and left her head swimming again.

This worked out for her because even though the loss of Vincent was still fresh in her heart, the wine was good and strong and helped numb the ache she had been feeling.

Delaney continued to drink until she found her head was spinning and she had to work to focus on things around her.  She blinked, trying to steady herself.  Closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths, when she opened them again things were at least a little better.

Miles chuckled as he watched her.

"Alright, I think now it might be time to go home."

Delaney didn't argue.  He called for their carriage and helped her out the front of the club.  Luckily for her, it was nearly empty now and she could still walk well enough she didn't embarrass herself.

Miles left a generous sum of coins for Sam and the servers before he helped Delaney into the carriage and they headed off into the night.

Delaney closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall of the carriage as they drove.  Her stomach was upset and her head was spinning but she didn't care.  It had been a good night.

For at least a little while she had been able to escape her sadness and thoughts of the man she loved and lost.