"Because I lost," Freddie said sharply. "Not to you. I could handle it if you won on your own merits." Maybe not happily, but it wouldn't have been a crushing enough blow to cause him to quit chess. It would maybe just inspire him to come back and win the rematch.

"But you didn't. Instead, they struck at the one place they knew I had a weakness. Florence." It wasn't 'you' anymore. He'd had the evidence thrown out at him that Anatoly hadn't had any plans, much as he might hate to admit it. Molokov, on the other hand, had plenty of plans and one of them had been to steal Florence away.

Freddie wondered if he'd known that his plan would backfire so much.