Page 34 of Married to the Icy Highlander
Small mirrors hung by bits of thread from the canopy. Scarves in bright, pretty colors, embroidered with different types of flowers or small animals, were draped all around them. The table itself was covered in a thick, purple fabric that seemed to shimmer in the lamplight.
The fortune teller was dressed differently than what Ceana was used to, wearing a shirt and trousers like a man, but somehow she had managed to pull the whole thing off in the most feminine fashion. She had kind, wise eyes but a stern mouth. While Ceana was certain that the woman was very good at her trade, the mystics and superstition didn’t appeal to her much.
“I apologize, me braither is very enthusiastic, but I dinnae want?—”
“Sit, lass,” the fortune teller commanded in a firm tone that left no room for argument.
Ceana did as she was told. Standing by the opening of the tent, Ersie pressed the back of her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing at the face that Ceana made.
Peter sat in the chair beside her, and Myrtle promptly jumped up into his lap and curled up into a tight ball. Ceana didn’t thinkshe had ever seen the cat look quite so content before. Usually, he was just near Peter, glaring at anybody and everybody who dared to look at her brother the wrong way.
“What will it be, M’Lady? Palm reading or cards?” the fortune teller asked, already shuffling a deck of tall cards in her hands.
Ceana glanced down at her palms. She had never understood how people could learn anything from looking at her skin and the wrinkles in it. Never mind that her hands were rougher than a proper lady’s hands might be, given that she had worked with them for so many years.
She didn’t understand how people could read things in tea leaves either, but that didn’t mean she didn’t believe it. It just all felt so impossible. But since she was slightly embarrassed about her hands, and the fortune teller was shuffling the cards anyway, she nodded to the cards.
The fortune teller nodded to the jar in response.
Peter reached into Ceana’s pocket, fished out her coin purse without even asking, and dropped a coin into the bowl with an ear-to-ear smile. Clearly, this was his favorite event of the festival this year. Ceana could hear the loud sounds of arm wrestling, dancing, jolly music, and food sizzling outside. It was wholly overwhelming, so perhaps this was for the best.
She shifted, settling comfortably in her chair. “What am I supposed to do next?”
“Nothing, M’Lady. The cards will tell ye,” the fortune teller said with a crooked smile.
She was beautiful in a way, as if she had lived a very full life and was full of stories. That was what Ceana’s father used to say about the elders in the village. Every wrinkle they had was just another story waiting to be told.
No, now was certainly not the time to think about her father. Not when it was going to make her miss him so much. The last thing her mother needed was another reason to feel sad. And if Ceana started thinking about her father too much, then she wasn’t going to be able to pull herself out of it.
“Now, close yer eyes and try to clear yer head. Think of a bright, white light fillin’ ye up from head to toe,” the fortune teller instructed softly.
Ceana complied. Her shoulders dropped, and she willed the tension to leave her spine. The cards were dealt, and Peter was practically vibrating in the seat next to her. The fortune teller whistled low, and Ceana blinked an eye open to see what it was that she had seen.
“If ye’re goin’ to peek, ye might as well look.” The fortune teller laughed, the sound surrounding them like warm honey.
“What does any of this mean?” Ceana asked, looking over the cards in front of her.
As pretty as they were, they meant almost nothing. The cards were all so intricate-looking, each with a different number and picture, all hand-painted. She couldn’t imagine the patience it took to create something so small yet so detailed.
“Well, this is a very promising fortune, indeed, M’Lady!” The fortune teller picked up the first card. “The King of Cups. It means that ye have married a very kind and passionate man.”
Ceana glanced over at Ersie, knowing that she would agree with her opinion that the Laird was a great many things, but kind was not one of them. Passionate… well, that was yet to be seen.
She shifted in her seat for an entirely different reason, not wishing to discourage the fortune teller.
“The Hierophant,” the fortune teller continued. “It means tradition, marriage, a supportive partnership.”
Peter gasped and clapped softly, distracting his sister.
“And finally, the Two of Cups. It means a deep, lasting love. Have ye just gotten married, M’Lady? Nay children yet?” the fortune teller asked, a knowing gleam in her eyes.
Ceana was tempted to huff and make a few very unladylike comments, but her brother was still here, and that would help nothing at all. It certainly was not a conversation that she wished to have in front of him. She might have had a strong hand inraising him, but those sorts of conversations would fall in her mother’s lap if she had any say in it.
“Aye, recently married. Nay bairn that I ken of.” Ceana smiled tightly.
Neil would have to touch her for that to happen, and he clearly had no interest in doing so until she played his little game. Also not very nice of him. Also not something that she wanted to talk about in front of her little brother.
“I see a strong love match here, ye ken?” the fortune teller continued, nodding to the cards. “Ye are a very lucky lady, indeed.”
