‘Have you any plans to capture Robin Hood this afternoon?’ demanded the Sheriff.
‘What can you mean, my Lord?’ replied Sir Guy of Gisborne. ‘My men and I have attempted such a capture tirelessly for months. Years, even. Most of the forest is impenetrable and the outlaws move camp frequently.’
‘Attempting yet failing is a futile habit of yours,’ persisted the Sheriff. ‘The wolf’s head is a thorn in my side. You will instruct your men that Hood will be in the castle dungeons by the end of the month or I’ll cut their pay — and yours — in half.’
‘I shall assemble two dozen men and head for the forest this very afternoon,’ declared Gisborne. ‘If it is humanly possible, he will be captured.’
‘Leave it until tomorrow,’ said the Sheriff. ‘I have arranged some entertainment for this afternoon. You know Giselda Beauchamp?’
Gisborne’s mouth fell open. Miss Beauchamp was a blindingly attractive young lady of the court. When she entered the room, no man could take his eyes off her.
‘We can amuse ourselves with some social bridge,’ continued the Sheriff. ‘I have arranged a game against her and her mother.’
A few minutes before the appointed hour of two on the clock, Gisborne entered the Sheriff’s chambers. Already seated at the card table was the 19-year-old Giselda, her yellow dress of Arabian silk matched by her shining blonde hair.
Gisborne approached the table and took the seat opposite her. ‘Good day, my Lady,’ he said. It was hard to imagine a more enjoyable way to spend an afternoon than playing bridge opposite such a lovely creature.
‘You have the wrong chair!’ exclaimed the Sheriff, entering the chamber with Clerysse, the Countess Beauchamp of Longwylton. ‘You will partner the Countess.’
The game began — and this was an early board.
Dealer East. Love All
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guy of Gisborne | Giselda | Countess Beauchamp | The Sherif |
| 1❤️ | 1♠️ | ||
| Pass | 2♦️ | 3♣️ | 4♠️ |
| Pass | Pass | Dbl |
The Sheriff was aware that his leap to 4♠️ was somewhat of an overbid. Still, the prospect of Giselda’s eyes lighting up if he could land the contract was an enticing one.
Gisborne led the ♥️9, and down went the dummy.
‘Not much for you, my Lord,’ said Giselda, ‘but you play the cards so well.’
‘Indeed,’ replied the Sheriff, winning East’s ♥️J with the ace. When he played the ♣️K, the Countess won with the ace and continued with the ace and king of diamonds.
The Sheriff ruffed in hand and played the ♣️Q. He then ruffed a heart in dummy and discarded a heart on the ♣️J. A diamond ruff in his hand left five tricks still to be played.
Gisborne was now looking at his five trumps. Would the Sheriff fly into a rage if the 5–0 trump break put him one down?
The Sheriff had no intention of going down. He ruffed a heart with dummy’s ♠️10 over Gisborne’s ♠️8 and ruffed a diamond with the ♠️A. He then scored the ♠️K and ♠️Q separately with further ruffs, conceding the last trick.
‘Very well played, my Lord!’ exclaimed Giselda, her eyes ablaze.
‘Three side-suit tricks and seven more in the trump suit,’ declared the Sheriff. ‘It was easy enough once Gisborne failed to find a trump lead.’
‘With 19 points I had to double,’ declared the Countess. ‘I could not know my partner would make such a foolish lead.’
‘Of course, Mama,’ said Giselda. ‘It was a very good double, holding 19 points.’
The Countess levelled the scores with an easy 3NT, and the Sheriff then had a chance to land the first rubber:
Dealer South. Game All
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guy of Gisborne | Giselda | Countess Beauchamp | The Sherif |
| 1♠️ | |||
| Pass | 1NT | Pass | 4♠️ |
| All Pass |
Gisborne was pleased to have an obvious opening lead. Even the Sheriff, a notorious result merchant, would find it difficult to fault a lead from the A-K-Q. The Sheriff ruffed the second round of hearts and paused to consider his prospects. All would be well if diamonds divided 3-2. If not, he would have to lead towards the ♣️K for a tenth trick. In fact, wait a minute, perhaps he could double his chances in the club suit.
The Sheriff drew two rounds of trumps with the ace and jack and then reached for dummy’s ♣️4. The Countess looked suspiciously at the Sheriff. He does not take the trouble to lead towards the ♣️K? Had he caught a glimpse of her cards? She won the trick with the ♣️Q and returned another heart, ruffed by declarer.
The Sheriff drew the last trump and led the ♣️J, setting up dummy’s ♣️K. When diamonds subsequently proved to be 4-1, this caused him no problem. He was able to discard his diamond loser on the ♣️K.
‘I had only one diamond,’ declared the Countess. ‘What happens if that suit is led?’
Gisborne twitched in his chair. A diamond lead, would that have made any difference? Not that any sane player would choose such a lead with an A-K-Q combination in his hand.
‘You are right, as always, Clerysse,’ the Sheriff replied. ‘I cannot make the winning play in clubs then. When you win with the ♣️Q, you would cross to partner’s hand with a heart and receive a diamond ruff.’
‘What a pity I was not on lead,’ the Countess exclaimed. ‘I would lead a diamond immediately!’
Play proceeded and, try as he might, Gisborne had not yet found a chance to shine in the eyes of the entrancing Giselda. The third rubber stood at Game All when this deal arose:
Dealer East. Game All
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guy of Gisborne | Giselda | Countess Beauchamp | The Sherif |
| 1♦️ | 2♦️ | ||
| Pass | 3NT | Pass | 6❤️ |
| All Pass |
Gisborne led the ♦️8, covered by the king and the ace. The Sheriff ruffed with the ❤️9 and the Countess directed a fierce glance across the table. ‘Another foolish lead!’ she exclaimed. ‘Did you not hear my daughter’s 3NT bid?’
The Sheriff did not like his prospects. Only 12 points were missing, so it was clear that both black-suit kings lay over dummy’s queens. If one of East’s kings was doubleton, he could endplay her with ace and another in that suit. There was no future in running the trump suit first, because he would have to discard from the dummy before East.
The Sheriff played the ❤️A, drawing the ❤️5 and the ❤️4. Ah, the ❤️8 was still out! Perhaps the best chance was to take advantage of his expert ruff with the ❤️9 at trick 1.
When the Sheriff laid the ❤️7 on the table, Gisborne followed with the ❤️6 and the Countess won with the ❤️8. Any momentary pleasure at this quirk of fate was dispelled when she considered her next play.
She eventually shrugged her shoulders and returned the ♠️J. The Sheriff ran this triumphantly to the dummy’s ♠️Q and claimed the remainder, discarding three losers from his hand.
‘What an awful partner you found for me today!’ exclaimed the Countess. ‘Any other lead and the slam would be hopeless.’
Gisborne thought back over the play. What had happened in trumps? The Countess had been endplayed with the ❤️8? Could she not have ditched it on the first round, under declarer’s ❤️A?
‘It was a beautiful play, my Lord,’ declared Giselda. ‘No-one else in the shire would find a way to reach the dummy.’
The Sheriff imbibed her wonderful smile as if it were some rare wine. ‘Such play is easily learnt, my dear,’ he replied. ‘If your mother permits, I would be happy to give you a few lessons.’
Giselda glanced down at the afternoon’s scorecard. ‘Is that necessary, my Lord?’ she said. ‘We won all three rubbers. Perhaps it is Sir Guy who would benefit most from your instruction.’
