[At least Rhade isn't too late, and by the time he'd made it he's out of uniform and into some nice dress clothes (dark gray vest and breeches, a nice dress shirt and a black tie, and a bowler hat). And he makes the effort of actually slipping around back to knock there, rather than at the front door.]

[There is an obvious joke to be made there, but it will be resisted. Irving opens the door for Rhade.] Good to see none of the lovely young ladies made you forget your appointment.

I'm nothing if not a man of my word. [He grins again, all too happy to see him.] I actually purchased another deck of cards on the way back but I lost it. [Why did he tell him that? He didn't need to tell him that.] Not that I'm disappointed in yours. I'm perfectly content to play with yours. I ought to just hush and have you lead me to the table.

I'm flattered that you trust me not to have fixed it. [Without his Gallifreyan counterpart's extreme reservations about all physical contact, and in the context of 1800s social boundaries, but perhaps not without a certain awareness, Irving takes Gaheris by the arm to guide him to the table and seat him.] What kind of deck did you purchase? [That might well be hints of a collector's interests in varieties and complimentary sets.]

I figure it would just make the game more of a challenge for me if you did, sir. [And give him more of an excuse to play until he won in good company.] It was from a Mississippi river boat. I stopped aboard one on the way back. [He wants to put a hand over Irving's because it's been so long since he's seen him and he's so glad to have his company again. He manages not to.]

[He instead takes the seat.] I didn't have a chance to stop at many of the larger cities, so I never went to a real theatre like I intended to. [Burlesque houses will have to do for him.]

[Irving starts dealing, a mechanical and calming behaviour.] I'm sure that's fortunate for the larger cities. You did have some fun on your way back, didn't you?

Loath as I am to admit, I engaged in my fair share of gambling. Don't tell Brother Howie or I'll never hear the end of it. The river boat, a few races. A few fights. But I came back with more than I left with so for the moment I'll consider myself a responsible spender. Which game are we playing?

It is a particularly enjoyable sin. [Pulling up his hand.] Poker. The best test of whether or not I still know you after your time away.

I doubt the newly acquired scars have done much to impair my poker face, but we'll see whether I need to re-evaluate my tactics at the table. [He touches his cheek, and then goes to look at his hand.]

That isn't what would give me problems. You'll have changed, Mr. Rhade. Needs must, as it were. I'd like to know how. And poker's the most intimate game I know. [He leans back.] Ready to start?

[He raises his brows and shifts positions.] I suppose the progression of time can take it's toll beneath the surface more than what we perceive. [He moves his foot and bumps Brax's.

He realizes that it's not a chair leg, and just keeps his face straight as he drops a couple of coins onto the table. He can't move his foot without it seeming conspicuous. Or maybe that's just him. Fine, he'll leave his foot there. Maybe it is the chair leg. But it's softer than wood, he thinks. Don't move your foot to check.

He puts down two cards.] I'll take two.

[Yes, still an easy read. But then, playing against Rhade wasn't fair from Irving. He raises.] Just time, Mr. Rhade?

[He looks at his new cards and remains... mostly impassive.] Time is most properly measured in events, I suppose. I could say two years or three summers past, and no one would know the significance. [Foot is still there.] But if I said before they built the new school, or during the drought or after they put in the train to Kansas City [foot foot foot foot.], then time becomes substantial and feels like something that you're a part of, [maybe he should move it?] rather than an observer to. [No, that's a bad idea. Just up the pot a little.]

[He calls and deals the third show cards.] That is a fair way of thinking of it. Nothing measured has worth without meaning given to it, and those events are meaning. [Has Irving noticed the foot? He is not acting like he has.]

[Rhade's hand isn't as good this time, and he pulls off his hat and runs his hand through his hair. He leaves it to the side of him on the table while he waits for the next hand.] I had plenty of events happen, I suppose. [Brax has an amazing poker face. Maybe it is the chair and it just touched funny so he can't tell whether it's wood or not.] I went to war just as the Union was gaining ground at the end of the war and then had to stay through reclamation. [Okay, he'll move his foot. And... now there's the toe of a shoe beneath the toe of his. Oh hell, that was his foot.] I think the most significant change is that I'm a touch more shy of cannon fire than I used to be. [That was a dumb thing to say. He better not be as red as he thinks he is. He'll just... artfully pull his foot back. ...Wait, when did he get a royal flush?]

[There is indeed a toe of a shoe there. An unmoving one. So what is Rhade going to do about it?] It's always wise to be shy of danger. [Brax sizes him up for a moment, then folds.]

Of course you say as you fold. [Okay, the other foot isn't moving. Maybe he can just keep his right there for a bit. Which is odd, because there's no way Braxton can't know it's there.

Or maybe his foot's asleep.]

At least I'm not so shy of danger that I won't come and play cards with you. [It's kind of nice to be that close. He does move his foot, though. Only so that it's beside of Irving's instead of on it.

A touching foot shouldn't make someone so quietly happy.]

[He is resisting the rather urge to nudge his shoe against Gaheris's to tease him. This is his version of holding to the high ground.] You know the risks aren't too high in my games. [Does he mean cards? Perhaps. He collects cards and deals them another set.]

[He's pulling off a nice little shade of slight red across his cheeks to go with his slightly cocky look and not realizing it.] Not for me, I don't suppose. If someone were to rub you the wrong way I imagine you wouldn't be soft on them.

[...Wait.

He shouldn't think too much about what he just said. He could really use a cigar right now. Why didn't he bring his. Goddammit.]