“Of course, your majesty,” Alice sighed. As the game at the Mad Hatter’s had gone on, she had grown used to the Queen’s bluster.
“Think not?” the Queen said. “Just one deal will prove it.”
The March Hare dealt and opened one spade, and Alice tried two hearts. The Dormouse, North, trusted Alice’s vulnerable overcall and bid game even though his king of spades looked worthless.
The Hatter eyed that card suspiciously but played low, assuming that Alice would have tried a finesse if she had the ace. For all the Hatter knew, East had the singleton ace.
The Queen of Hearts roared her approval, and Alice next cashed the ace of trumps and let the queen of clubs ride. The Hare won and led another spade to dummy, but Alice ran the clubs and got rid of two diamonds before the Hatter could ruff. Alice lost one diamond, a trump and a club.
“Leading me was best,” the Queen crowed. “If you lose a finesse in trumps, this Hatter (she glared at him so viciously that he took a bite out of his teacup) will surely find a diamond shift, and you’ll go down.”
And so it was.