Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
“No, you cannot play that,” Margo sighed, picking up the card that one of the young boys at the table had placed down. “That is not how the game works.”
The Hall hummed with evening life around them.
An old hound snored beneath a bench near the hearth, women mended clothes beside the fire, and the smell of oatcakes and peat smoke lingered warmly in the air.
Every so often, someone glanced toward the card table and chuckled as Margo accused yet another child of cheating.
“Ye dinnae explain the game well enough,” the child protested with a dramatic groan.
“Or you were not listening when I explained the rules,” Margo countered. “I believe that my explanation was more than adequate.”
The statement drew a round of laughter from the children.
Eleanor leaned into her, giggling into her side.
It was light, fun. Something that Margo wouldn’t have dared to expect when she first arrived.
Even the atmosphere of the Hall felt comfortable, the fires roaring in the hearth, the candles burning on the tables.
“Laird MacLeod!” one of the children said before the laughing had completely petered out. “Ye should come play. Lady MacLeod has taught us the most fun game.”
“I tried to teach you,” Margo groaned good-naturedly, leaning back a bit dramatically in her chair.
The children had been immediately enthralled with the game, seeming to listen to the rules with rapt attention. However, as soon as they had begun playing, it became obvious that they had not absorbed a single word of what she had said. Or, perhaps, they were cheating.
Margo’s eyes found Cameron’s. He carried several sheets of parchment in one hand and was watching them with an expression dangerously close to amusement. She was not sure what prompted her to speak, but her mouth was moving before her mind caught up.
“You should join us, Laird MacLeod,” she said, gesturing to the empty seat across from her. “I could certainly use some help here.”
“Please!”
“It would be so much fun!”
“I will win even if I’m playin’ against Laird MacLeod!”
The children were chattering excitedly. It was as if the entire Hall was buzzing with anticipation. Even Eleanor looked as if she wanted him to join.
“I suppose I can join ye for a round or two,” Cameron said, his answer surprising everyone.
As he walked over to the table and took his seat, everyone observed him with a strange sense of awe. Margo was the first to recover, collecting the cards from everyone’s hands. She shuffled them, ignoring the strange buzzing that had started just beneath her skin.
“The game is called thirty-one,” she said as she dealt the cards to everyone. “It’s easy. You simply need to assemble a hand that adds up to thirty-one.”
“I’m familiar with the game,” he said, a competitive, devious smile forming on his face. “I’m quite skilled.”
“I suppose we will see about that,” Margo countered as a maid set down a cup of tea next to her.
The game began. At first, it seemed that the children were on their best behavior, the rules suddenly clicking in their heads. But after Margo caught one of the girls drawing two cards instead of one, chaos descended upon the table.
“I know you took a card,” Margo accused, unable to keep herself from laughing, her finger pointed at the girl next to Eleanor.
“I dinnae!” the girl replied, though her own laughter was damning. “Ye are just upset because I’m goin’ to win.”
Across the table, Cameron scoffed and said, “Are ye sure?”
“What do ye mean?” Margo demanded swinging her head toward him.
Instead of answering with words, he spread his cards in front of them. Margo took them in, counting the values under her breath. And, after she had gotten thirty-one, she counted once more, not believing that he had already won.
“I do not believe it,” she breathed before putting her own cards on the table. “We haven’t even played that many rounds.”
“I’m kent for bein’ quite lucky in card games,” Cameron said with a smirk. He leaned forward, sweeping all of the cards toward him and began to shuffle. “I will deal the next hand.”
“You’re going to cheat,” Margo accused with a frown, though there wasn’t any heat in it. “You’re going to behave just like the children.”
“We’re nae cheatin’!” a little boy interjected.
“Aye, perhaps we’re just better at the game than ye,” a girl around Eleanor’s age suggested.
“Are ye accusin’ me clan of cheatin’, lass?” Cameron said as his deft hands distributed the cards.
“I’m not accusing the entire clan,” Margo said stubbornly, “but I am accusing the members of the clan that are sitting at this table with me.”
“Let’s play a few more hands, then,” Cameron replied, settling back in his chair. “Then, ye can decide if ye still think we’re cheatin’.”
She glared at him without much heat over the top of her hand. During the game, she alternated between watching everyone else like a hawk and doing the math, all while attempting to win. She refused to lose to a bunch of cheaters.
But, much too quickly, Cameron laid down his hand once more. Margo slammed her cards down on the table, stood up and leaned over to scrutinize his cards. As she looked, she said, “This simply cannot be possible!”
“I already told ye that I kent this game,” he said with a dismissive wave and a smirk on his handsome face. “I’m winnin’ because I ken what I am doin’. I imagine ye thought that ye’d wipe the floor with all of us since ye’ve the most experience.”
“No, that is not what I thought at all,” she replied with exaggerated outrage. “I simply thought that everyone would have a bit of integrity.”
“Ye’re askin’ for quite a lot, Lady MacLeod,” Cameron said calmly. “Now, let’s keep playin’. I’m sure that ye’ll win a hand or two if ye keep at it.”
“I will,” she said, determined, as she picked up her new hand.
Cameron held his tongue as he watched Margo’s little sister swipe two cards from the deck. She wasn’t the only one. Each of the children that Margo had accused of cheating had been doing so. He had, too, though none of them would admit to it.
“This is ridiculous!” Margo exclaimed after several more rounds of the game. She stood abruptly; her gaze fixed right on Cameron. “I know that you’re cheatin’! I’ve seen it! Show me where you’re keeping the cards, Laird MacLeod!”
With a chuckle, he shifted in his seat, pulling out all but one of the cards that he had been slowly collecting.
Margo gasped as he spread them on the table, and the children broke out in a collective flurry of laughter.
He sat back, folding his arms over his chest and took in the surprise on Margo’s face.
It took her nearly ten full seconds to recover from her initial shock. When she did, she pointed her finger at him and said, “You cannot do that!”
“Ach, but I just did,” he retorted with a mischievous smile when her voice stopped echoing through the Hall.
“That is not how the game works!” she said, falling back into her chair with an incredulous laugh.
“I daenae ken about that,” Cameron mused. “It seems to be workin’ well enough for me.”
Another round of laughter worked its way through the table. He sat there for another moment, intrigued at how frustrated Margo was over this simple game. While he would not call it endearing, her behavior had a quality he was fond of.
“I must thank ye all for the game,” he said as he rose from his seat, palming one of the cards slyly. “But I did have work to do before ye drew me in.”
“Are ye sure?” one of the boys asked, looking legitimately put out at the loss of his presence.
“Aye,” Cameron confirmed. “Perhaps I will join ye all again another time.”
Without giving them a chance to protest once more, he stepped away from the table, taking the reports he had been going over with him. He reached the corridor swiftly, slipping out of the Hall and making his way to his study. When he was several meters away, the doors swung open behind him.
“Cameron MacLeod!”
Turning around slowly, he saw Margo standing there with her hands on her hips. The frown was back, but this time it was slightly more serious. There was still a playful fire in her eyes, but he could tell she was bordering on the edge of exasperation.
“Are ye followin’ me now?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You stole from me,” she accused evenly.
“Did I, now?” he said curiously, his teasing thinly veiled.
“You did,” Margo confirmed, marching toward him. “I counted the cards.”
“Smart lass,” he said under his breath. Slowly, he pulled the card from his sleeve, turning it toward her with a smirk.
She gasped, letting her mouth fall open in disbelief. “There! I knew it!”
“Aye,” he said, looking down at the hearts on the corners.
“But why?” she said, taking another step toward him, her own eyes locked on the little piece of thick parchment.
Ach, her frustration shouldnae be so amusin’.
“So ye could win,” he said when he was satisfied with making her wait.
She blinked up at him, clearly not understanding what he could mean.
“The wee devils never had any intention of lettin’ ye win, nae even yer own sister.
” He studied the card, frowning as he processed his next words.
“I figured somebody ought to be on yer side. Now, go on. Win the game.”
He pressed the card into her palm, leaning in close as he wrapped her fingers around it.
The warmth of her skin was intoxicating, and just a little touch was a potent temptation.
His mouth by her ear, he whispered, “If ye’re goin’ to survive among Highlanders, lass, ye’ll need to learn when to follow the rules… and when to break them.”
Then, just as quickly as he had gotten close, he pulled away. Without giving her another glance, he continued on his way to his study. A few seconds later, her startled, shy laughter followed him down the corridor.