The Devil and the Gambler

Gavin stood inside of his club, The Dancing Lady, slowly perusing the crowd of gentleman gathered around the various poker tables roulette wheels and the bar that occupied the room. "What a sad lot" he thought, shaking his head. "All of them, eager and willing to open their pocket books for a few hours entertainment and a few drinks." He sighed, walked into his plush office, and sat down behind his desk. Pouring himself a snifter of brandy, Gavin looked out at the quiet London streets, "why, if I have all this, am I still not happy?" he thought to himself in bewilderment. "I can have any woman I want, I have loads of cash, I have the gentry knocking down my door, I’m in the prime of my years and yet, it all seems empty." He sighed again, a deep sigh, and told himself the feeling would pass, that it was only brought on by the coming holiday season, which always depressed him. He knew what it was he lacked. He had never had a woman who truly loved him for him, not just his money, or his social status but he himself, the man, who desperately yearned for a companion to share his life with.

He was thinking of his upbringing, of the dark streets, cold nights and a life without parents. His father had left his mother before he was born, and his mother had been killed in a fire when he was only four years old. She had died saving him. She had returned to the hole in the wall that they had presently occupied and saw the smoke billowing out of the windows and the flames licking hungrily at the rafters. She rushed in to find him, and had, unconscious on the floor. She found a rug, and threw a pitcher of water over it, offering some protection against the flames. It was not big enough to cover the both of them, so she had made the choice to sacrifice herself for her son. Gavin had never seen her again after that fateful night. He grew up on the streets, learning to gamble, lie, cheat and steal all necessary traits when living in the slums of London. He started out by working a crap table for a man for half a pound a month, but soon advanced to running his own tables and getting all the profits. He grew up quick and he grew up mean, a heart of ice as necessary as the other traits he had acquired for survival.

These memories making his face darken with a scowl, He downed his glass and was just about to pour himself another, when he heard a gentle rapping on the door. "Come in" he said in a sharper voice than he had intended. The door opened to reveal a beautiful woman all clothed in red with a black cloak tied loosely around her shoulders, with hair the color of midnight, and eyes that were so blue they looked like you could dive in and get lost in the sparkling pools forever. She spoke in a voice that was as seductive to him as a flame is to a moth.



"I am looking for Monsieur Gavin Bradford, do I have the pleasure of addresses he?" the woman said. From her accent Gavin knew she was French, and by the looks of her, a noble.

"You do. How did you get in here? This is a gentleman’s only club," he said, trying to control

his erratic heartbeat.

"We," I know, but I have my ways," she purred, as she walked towards him. Gavin loosened his cravat in an effort to alleviate the heat that had sprung out of nowhere and engulfed his entire body.

"Well, now that you’re in here, what do you want?"

"To give you all that you desire, and more." she replied, sitting on the edge of his desk, her proximity far to close for Gavin’s comfort.

"How could you possibly know what I desire?" he asked in a strained voice.

"Because, Monsieur, I know everything about you. I know of you’re your raising, or rather lack of it, your longings, your deepest secrets and, of your wish to find your one true love." she said, her eyes lighting up with what Gavin was sure must be real flames. "I know of such a woman, but, if I make sure you meet her, fall in love with her, and her with you, you must do something for me in return."

"How do I know your telling the truth?"

"Allow me to demonstrate Ma' Cheri" she said. She stood up with lithe grace, pointed her finger at the floor, and with a flash of red light, a spurt of flames and a cloud of red smoke, out of the ground a woman appeared.

Gavin bolted out of his chair with a jolt. "Is she real?" he asked in an awed voice. Staring at the gorgeous creature before him, he was hard pressed not rush to her and embrace her. She had hair the color of corn silk, eyes a mossy green, with flecks of gold, and a face that could make you swear you could hear angels singing her praises from heaven.

"She is real. What you see before you is only an illusion; the real woman will be in London by tomorrow morning."

"All right, madam, I don't know who you are, or where you have come from, but I do know that that is the girl for me, so I will do whatever it takes to marry her." Gavin said in a firm voice.

"Very well," The woman said, her ruby lips opening in a smile to reveal a row of pearly white teeth. "Here is the contract for you to sign." A contract appeared in her hand. Gavin reached his hand out to take it, and she pricked his finger with a long black pin. Gavin watched as a drop of blood fell from the wound and waited for it to hit the floor, but it did not. "There," she laughed as the drop of blood fell on to the contract. "Now our agreement is binding, your soul is mine for eternity."

"My soul?" Gavin gasped in horror. "I had no idea it was for my soul! I cannot do this, I cannot give up my soul, it is too much to ask."

"The bargain has already been made; the Mademoiselle will arrive here in the morning." the woman said, and then, she leaned down and kissed him. "Don't look so sad, Ma' Cheri, at least you will have your one true love." And then, in a puff of red smoke, she was gone.

Gavin sat at his desk, hardly able to comprehend what he had just done. "How could he have sold his soul to the devil? What had he done, oh what had he done?" he thought in despair. Gavin put his head in his hands, and wept, wept for his soul, wept for the woman with the golden curls, and wept for the many other men who had been seduced by the devil in red.

Gavin awoke the next morning to the gentle sunlight streaming through the curtain. He sat up groggily, his head sore from the brandy he had drank the night before to erase the memory of the woman in red, and his neck sore from sleeping at his desk all night.

"Perhaps, it had all been a dream?" he thought. "Perhaps it was a drink induced hallucination." He was in the process of convincing himself of this very thing when he looked down at the desk and saw a single red rose on the table with a black ribbon tired in a bow around the stem. He picked it up with a shaking hand, and knew that it had been no dream, but a real, terrible nightmare.

He looked down, and, with hands shaking and heart racing, poured himself a brandy. His hands were trembling so, that he almost spilled it before he got the drink to his lips, but finally was able to reach his mouth and down the snifter with one gulp. "The woman had told him the blond angel would be arriving this morning," he remembered. "I must stop her, I must." He quickly snatched his waistcoat off the chair, and was about to exit the room when again he heard the unmistakable sound of someone knocking on the door. "Yes?" He said weakly, fear tightening his chest and coiling in his belly.

"May I come in?" A melodious voice from the past called.

He knew at once who it must be, but it was impossible, for that was sweet Stephanie’s voice. Stephanie who had played with Gavin as a child, the kind, curly haired tomboy who had followed him around in awe. "But it's impossible that she could be the one who the woman in red had spoke of. No, It is an impossibility." he thought. "Pull yourself together man, she can't see you like this. Remember that you are an English gentleman, and English gentlemen do not distress others with their own difficulties. Come in." he said in a relatively calm voice. He stood up, and walked toward the door with the intention of opening it.

"Gavin! It is so good to see you!" Stephanie said in an excited voice as she met him halfway and threw her arms round his neck. "I have missed you so!"

Gavin was not listening to her at that point however, he was to busy being swept away by her intoxicating perfume and her soft blond hair pressed against his face. "Blond hair, green eyes, gorgeous face." he was jolted back to reality by this thought and he quickly pushed Stephanie away. She matched the figure he had seen the night before perfectly. "Oh god, no, God don't let it be Stephanie. Please!"

"Gavin, what is wrong, you seem upset." Stephanie said in a concerned voice.

"What?" Gavin asked, as a man awakening from a dream. "What? Oh, nothing is wrong. I'm just happy to see you "Curly." Gavin said, with a chuckle using the nickname he had given her as a child.

"Oh, stop! You know I hated it when you called me that, and I think you are perfectly horrid for bringing it up." she said, feigning a hurt expression.

Gavin looked down at her sweet face, and was overcome by a wave of guilt. He knew he had to make things right, he had to get that contract, even if he had to go right into the flaming belly of Hell to get it. "Stephanie, I hate to leave you, but there is an urgent matter I must attend to. But, let me make it up to you. May I take you to the theater tomorrow night?"

"I would be delighted!" Stephanie said.

They arranged for Gavin to pick Stephanie up in his hansome coach the following evening at seven to go to the theater. Gavin hoped that that would give him enough time to deal with the woman in red and get his soul back.

Gavin escorted Stephanie out of the club, and put her in a hansome, then hailed one for himself. He knew where to find the woman, he didn't know why he did, but something deep within him told him where to go. The cab stopped in front of a sleazy looking tavern, in the slums of London and he shuddered. The streets were exactly as he remembered, it was though he was entering his childhood again.

He paid the driver, and walked slowly toward the door, the sign above the door said, "The Bucket of Blood." and he shuddered again. He opened the door and was assaulted by the smell of spilled liquor, smoke, and sweat. The smell was entirely forgotten, however, when he saw the woman sitting at a table in the corner of the room, her long fingers shuffling a deck of cards. He walked towards her with trepidation, but also with determination.

"Well, I knew you would be along sooner or later Cheri." she said when he reached the table.

"Yes, I have come for the contract, I have come for my soul." Gavin said with steely-eyed resolve.

She laughed, her eyes mocking him. "Ah, but Monsieur, it is not that simple. You see, you have a say over what happens to you no longer, I alone will decide your future. This contract binds you to me for eternity, and I think I may have a use for you, and, if not I am sure I will think of something to do with you..." she said with a wicked glint in her eyes

Gavin trembled at what horrible things she held in store for him. "Perhaps, I can win it back?" Gavin said after some thought.

"What could you possibly beat me at?" she scoffed.

"Whist. We will play cards for my soul. " he said with a hard glint in his eye.

"You wish to play whist against me?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yes, the wager is simple, we play 3 sets; the best two out of three wins. I wager my willing servitude for eternity against my soul." Gavin said, sitting down at the table across from her.

"Very well, I accept your wager. Let us begin." the devil said, shuffling the cards with a wicked smile. The devil dealt with surprising skill, and soon they were into the first hand.

It took all of Gavin's determination and skill to win the first two rubbers* and they were down to their third and final rubber of the first hand. Gavin had won, but only by a slim margin, and he would be hard pressed to continue this winning streak; and he knew it. By this time Gavin had stripped off his waistcoat and loosened his cravat, due to the extreme heat emanating from the hearth that was in next to their table.

*rubbers referring to a set of matches played in a hand of whist.

"Well, you have done better than I suspected." she said in a tight voice.

"Never underestimate the abilities of a determined Englishman." Gavin said, concentrating on his hand. Gavin Looked at the woman, and was felt the sinking weight of fear press down upon his shoulders. "What if he could not win? What if he failed?" he was suddenly was plagued by a sea of doubts.

As if sensing his agony, the woman said, "what do you think of little Stephanie, grown up into quite a lady hasn’t she?" she asked, needling him where it hurt.

"Do not dirty her name by using it!" Gavin said in a voice tight with barely restrained anger. "You had no right to bring Stephanie into this! She is only a child for God’s sake!"

"Did she look like a child when you saw her this morning?" the devil asked with contempt in her voice. "Also, do not forget Cheri’ that it was not I who said they could not live without her, you are in fact the one responsible for bringing "sweet" Stephanie into this."

"If I had had more time to think, if you had not pricked my finger and let me look at the contract I would never have agreed to any of this!" Gavin bellowed, able to contain his anger no longer.

"Do not to who it is you speak impudent cur!" the devil lashed out. "It is only by my grace that you are still alive, and you little Stephanie as well. And speaking of her, I could perhaps be willing to trade your soul for hers."

"I will not even consider it! Do not insult my intelligence by trying to trick me again!" Gavin said, in a voice as cold as ice and dripping with malice.

"Very well, so be it! But do not say that I am not generous." The devil said angrily. With that the two lapsed into an angry silence.

The air in the tavern was heavy and cloying, making it very difficult to maintain a clear head, and Gavin found it especially so under these conditions. He valiantly concentrated on his hand however. Diamonds were trumps, and unfortunately Gavin only had one diamond, a five, which could easily be beaten, this he knew. By the end of the third rubber Gavin had three points whereas the woman had seventeen, and he knew he could not win this hand. The end of the hand came, and they both laid down their cards, Gavin his five, and the devil with a Queen.

"Only one more hand to go, Cheri, are you sure you do not wish to call off this silly wager?" the woman asked in a seductive purr.

"I'm sure. Deal the cards Madame." Gavin said, tight lipped.

The hand she dealt Gavin was a dismal one, he had not one single trump, but he was determined to beat her at all costs. He started by getting rid of his lowest cards, as was customary, and used every trick of the trade he had ever learned to beat the devil. He played his hand well, and by the final card had amassed 15 points despite his slow beginning. The devil had 16 and she smiled smugly at him.

"Ready to be my slave forever pet?" she asked in a silky voice as she laid down the King of Diamonds.

"Not now, not ever." Gavin said with finality, and laid down the ace.

"What? How is this possible? You must have cheated," she said in a rage, her eyes spitting fire. She rose from the table, her face contorting with rage, and hurled a giant ball of fire straight towards Gavin’s head. He ducked his head just in time and the fire slammed into the wall with monumental force. She shrieked and hurled another, which he dodged again. Finally, she gave up, she knew that she could not get out of giving him the contract, they had made a deal, and she had lost. She handed him the contract, her face tight with horrific anger. Gavin smiled, collected his waistcoat, tipped his hat, and walked out the door of the tavern.

After leaving the tavern Gavin smiled and gave a sigh of relief, he had done it! He had beaten the devil. He smiled again and pulled the card out of his sleeve that he had hidden there. "You know," he thought to himself. "There are definitely perks to being a card cheat."

As he walked home Gavin whistled a happy tune, he knew that Stephanie was safe, that the devil would never bother them again, and that they were destined to be with each other. The next night they went to the theater as planned, and the next they went out to dinner together. Gavin wined her and dined her, and after several months, he got down on one knee and proposed. She, of course, was delighted and excepted his proposal without hesitation. So, they were married on a bright summer day in the middle of June, and lived out the rest of their lives in utter contentment.