“Tracy…did you want to see me?”
“I don’t want to take you away from your…dinner.”
“She’s dessert,” Jeff said lightly. “What can I do for you?”
“Were you serious about Melnikov and Negulesco?”
“Absolutely. Why?”
“I think they both need a lesson in manners.”
“So do I. And we’ll make money while we teach them.”
“Good. What’s your plan?”
“You’re going to beat them at chess.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“I told you, I don’t play chess. I don’t know a pawn from a king. I—”
“Don’t worry,” Jeff promised her. “A couple of lessons from me, and you’ll slaughter them both.”
“Both?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? You’re going to play them simultaneously.”
Jeff was seated next to Boris Melnikov in the Double Down Piano Bar.
“The woman is a fantastic chess player,” Jeff confided to Melnikov. “She’s traveling incognito.”
The Russian grunted. “Women know nothing about chess. They cannot think.”
“This one does. She says she could beat you easily.”
Boris Melnikov laughed aloud. “Nobody beats me—easily or not.”
“She’s willing to bet you ten thousand dollars that she can play you and Pietr Negulesco at the same time and get a draw with at least one of you.”
Boris Melnikov choked on his drink. “What! That’s—that’s ridiculous! Play two of us at the same time? This—this female amateur?”
“That’s right. For ten thousand dollars each.”
“I should do it just to teach the stupid idiot a lesson.”
“If you win, the money will be deposited in any country you choose.”
A covetous expression flitted across the Russian’s face. “I’ve never even heard of this person. And to play the two of us! My God, she must be insane.”
“She has the twenty thousand dollars in cash.”
‘What nationality is she?”
‘American.”
‘Ah, that explains it. All rich Americans are crazy, especially their women.”
Jeff started to rise. “Well, I guess she’ll just have to play Pietr Negulesco alone.”
“Negulesco is going to play her?”
“Yes, didn’t I tell you? She wanted to play the two of you, but if you’re afraid…”
“Afraid! Boris Melnikov afraid?” His voice was a roar. “I will destroy her. When is this ridiculous match to take place?”
“She thought perhaps Friday night. The last night out.”
Boris Melnikov was thinking hard. “The best two out of three?”
“No. Only one game.”
“For ten thousand dollars?”
“That is correct.”
The Russian sighed. “I do not have that much cash with me.”
“No problem,” Jeff assured him. “All Miss Whitney really wants is the glory of playing the great Boris Melnikov. If you lose, you give her a personally autographed picture If you win, you get ten thousand dollars.”
“Who holds the stakes?” There was a sharp note of suspicion in his voice.
“The ship’s purser.”
“Very well,” Melnikov decided. “Friday night We will start at ten o’clock, promptly.”
“She’ll be so pleased,” Jeff assured him.
The following morning Jeff was talking to Pietr Negulesco in the gymnasium, where the two men were working out.
“She’s an American?” Pietr Negulesco said. “I should have known. All Americans are cuckoo.”
“She’s a great chess player.”
Pietr Negulesco made a gesture of contempt. “Great is not good enough. Best is what counts. And I am the best.”
“That’s why she’s so eager to play against you. If you lose, you give her an autographed picture. If you win, you get ten thousand dollars in cash…”
“Negulesco does not play amateurs.”
“…deposited in any country you like.”
“Out of the question.”
“Well, then, I guess she’ll have to play only Boris Melni-kov.”
“What? Are you saying Melnikov has agreed to play against this woman?”
“Of course. But she was hoping to play you both at once.”
“I’ve never heard of anything so—so—” Negulesco sputtered, at a loss for words. “The arrogance! Who is she that she thinks she can defeat the two top chess masters in the world? She must have escaped from some lunatic asylum.”
“She’s a little erratic,” Jeff confessed, “but her money is good. All cash.”
“You said ten thousand dollars for defeating her?”
“That’s right.”
“And Boris Melnikov gets the same amount?”
“If he defeats her.”
Pietr Negulesco grinned. “Oh, he will defeat her. And so will I.”