199. A Gamble with Hearts

In the Black Forest spa town of Baden-Baden for the profits to be had at the gaming tables, professional gambler and Englishman Quintus Tiverton is disturbed to hear the sound of an English girl being whipped savagely in a hotel room. ‘It is none of my business,’ he tells himself – but the sound of her weeping is inescapable and he goes to investigate. Instantly he is captivated by Selena Wade, the blue-eyed waif he encounters and, finding that she is being exploited cruelly by a ‘domestic agency’ proprietor who is listtle better than a ‘Madam’, resolves to save her. And so naive Selena finds herself posing as the gambler’s sister, as Tiverton tries to marry her off to someone suitably rich. Little does Quintus know that poor Selena’s heart is already taken – and she only has eyes for him! Still less does he realise that he too is falling in love.