Page 48 of Taken By the Dangerous Duke

“Oh, please don’t,” said Margaret. “I have become fond of the woman, and she really does help me.”

“She has an unusual interest in you,” said the duke. He looked around the table, gauging the expressions of the other two. Perhaps he was overreacting. “I don’t know. There is something about her. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s almost as if she needs to always be around you, to protect you or something.”

“I think it is sweet,” said Margaret. “And, she makes my life easier. Perhaps she can still help me when I….” Margaret looked around the table this time. “I told Elspeth about our arrangement. I’m sorry.”

“No,” don’t be sorry,” said Arthur. “It is not my place to tell you what to do, but we should be careful who we tell. You have already said that your… well, there are some unresolved issues with your family, and if they….”

“I know,” replied Margaret. “But, I trust Elspeth, even if I only met her for the first time tonight.”

“I won’t tell anyone anything,” said Elspeth quickly.

“Parker trusts you, so I do, too,” said Arthur.

A silence descended over the table.

“Well, I am glad I came for an evening of cards and fun tonight,” commented Parker. “Are we going to talk about how to end the war next, or perhaps decide what really happens when you die?”

Arthur chuckled and shook his head. “All right, all right. Cards you want, so cards you shall get, Parker. Margaret, I was going to suggest that we should go easy on this pair, but we need to teach them a lesson now.”

“Pride often comes before a fall,” noted Parker.

“But, not always,” remarked Arthur. “How about a little wager?”

“And, what do you have in mind?” asked Parker.

Margaret looked at Elspeth and they both shook their heads at each other, but could not help but smile too.

“I was planning on taking Margaret to Madame Tussaud’s next Wednesday, followed by some lunch, and then a visit to the theatre. If we win tonight, you have to join us, and you have to pay.”

“We would love to join you, and there will be no need to pay because we are going to win. However, I was planning on taking a walk with Elspeth next Wednesday along the River Ouse followed by an afternoon at the York Races, and now I am thinking that we might have some dinner too. How about you pay for that when we win?”

“Seems like the deal is skewed in our favor, seeing as we are obviously the better players,” said Arthur with a smile.

“It would seem that we have a deal,” said Parker, holding out his hand.

Arthur shook it.

“And, I suppose that we do not have a choice in all of this?” asked Margaret.

Arthur glanced at her. “I….”

“Don’t worry, I believe we accept the terms too, though if we are beaten by Parker and Elspeth, it is because you did not teach me very well.”

Parker shot a glance at Arthur and raised his eyebrow.

Arthur could only smile at Margaret as she challenged him. He tapped his cards on the table before spreading them out and looking at them. The other three did the same, a sense of determination shared among all four now.

Elspeth played the first card, and the games began. Arthur became convinced that Margaret had forgotten everything he had taught her, and had almost no idea through the entire game what cards she was holding. Yet, she still managed to make stunning plays, and between the two of them, they won by a handful of points.

Parker let out a long laugh as he and Elspeth were defeated. He never cared whether he won or lost at cards, and enjoyed both equally. But Arthur did care. Not for himself, but because Margaret had won her very first proper game. When the cards had all been played, he rose to meet her as she rose from the table to stretch her legs.

“You played amazingly well,” he said, kissing her on the lips “Confounding, but brilliant.” He kissed her again as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and it was only when he saw the way she was looking at him that he became aware of what he had done.

He almost looked back at Parker, but he did not dare. He was not sure if his friend had seen what he had done, but he was becoming worried that Parker knew him better than he knew himself. Perhaps Parker had been right—perhaps Arthur was developing real feelings toward his wife.

CHAPTER23

A Great Day Out

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