August 1652, the library in the Stuart Castle

“Shite!” Étaín’s new lady’s maid Elspeth cursed again, slamming her hand on the table as she laid the cards down.

Étaín bit her lip, trying not to laugh. She knew it was rather smug of her, but it always felt good to beat someone in cards. This was a pursuit she’d practiced for years. It gave her joy, focus, and something to look forward to.

“Why dae ye win all the time?” Elspeth asked her, grumbling as Étaín picked up the cards and shuffled them again.

“I told ye that I have practiced fer a long time. It is a hobby of mine.”

Beth narrowed her eyes at her. “A strange hobby fer a proper young lady.”

Étaín laughed. She had not laughed so heartily for some time. But Elspeth, young and vibrant and full of energy was just what she needed, especially now that her old lady’s maid Amelia would be returning home, nearly full to bursting with a baby in her belly. Elspeth had been Líadan’s lady’s maid before Líadan left, full of love and happiness for the future.

“Nay, nay, I willnae be drawn intae yer criticism,” Étaín said as she shuffled the cards, and she glanced up at Elspeth. “Another round?”

“Ha!” Elspeth said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. She shook her head. “I think I have learned me lesson. Ye have changed greatly in the past few years. I would never have expected ye tae take up such a hobby.”

“Ye are only angry because I keep winnin’,” Étaín said, and Elspeth laughed.

“Aye, ye have the right of it of course.”

“What dae ye think, Amelia?”

Her cheerful lady’s maid was rubbing her belly as she looked on at the two of them.

“I think that it is very entertainin’ tae watch Elspeth get intae such a stew.”

At Elspeth’s outraged gasp, the other two ladies chuckled heartily.

“Goodness, I have nae a friend in me midst!” Elspeth threw up her arms.

“So, ye ken what ye have tae dae,” Étaín reminded her, still shuffling the cards in her hands.

The action soothed her, and it drew her mind away from things she did not wish to think of.

Elspeth groaned. “But Cook is furious at me fer stealin’ cake the last time!”

“Rules are rules,” Amelia said. “And I am here full of a child and am in desperate need of cake.”

“And what of the mead?” Étaín reminded her. “Be sure tae get some of that as well.”

“Och, but ye will have tae distract that handsome braither of yers.”

Elspeth’s eyes flashed and Étaín rolled her eyes. “I wonder why he keeps all the good mead fer himself in his study? It is nae as if he doesnae allow me tae drink,” Étaín thought aloud.

Both she and Elspeth reluctantly got to their feet ready to go complete their tasks when Amelia made a little surprised sound in her throat, and they both turned to look at her. She had both hands pressing to her belly, and her eyes were wide.

Étaín was about to call for someone when Amelia waved to them. “Come now, come and feel the kick!” she cried, and the two young ladies rushed over to her to press their hands against her firm belly.

She and Elspeth locked eyes across Amelia’s stomach, feeling little thumps against their hands. “Incredible!” Elspeth said with a big smile.

“He feels as though he will be a very strong boy,” Étaín said.

“Och, it could be a strong lass too,” Amelia reminded her, bringing out a smile on her face.

“True enough.” The young ladies sat back down and Elspeth made a face.

“Étaín, I have an idea. Let us wait a bit, and we can play again. Then, I will distract Kaden, and ye will go and get the cake if ye lose.”

At the table, Étaín picked up the cards and shuffled them again, shrugging one shoulder. “If ye think ye have a chance at beatin’ me again,” she said.

She passed out the cards, and then she turned to Amelia, who was smiling lovingly down at her stomach. “Let me ask ye somethin’, Amelia,” she said suddenly surprising even herself that the question was about to come out of her mouth. “Ye love yer husband, but how did ye ken?”

“What dae ye mean?” Amelia asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Étaín tried not to blush too heavily. She finished passing out the cards, and then she picked hers up in her hand. She shrugged again.

“I mean how did ye ken that it was true love? That ye were really in love?”

Love had so often been on her mind in the past years, and yet she felt a fool for it being so. She had loved Bhaltair MacThomas for longer than she could remember. And five years ago, like a fool, she had confessed it to him at the riverside, when he was practically naked and she but a young girl. He had rejected her soundly and then disappeared. She’d never forgotten it, and yet those strange feelings remained.

“Och, there is nae a feelin’ like it,” Amelia said, getting a distant look in her eyes. There is such a feeling in yer stomach, and a flutter in yer heart, and ye can only think of that person. That was how I kenned. That I thought of him above all others. Ye shall have that feelin’ someday, lass.” Amelia winked, and Étaín looked down at her cards.

They began to play, but she could barely keep her mind on what was going on. She hardly noticed what cards she put down.

“I dinnae think so. I think I will marry a borin’ Highlander fer an alliance or some nonsense,” she said forlornly as she laid another card.

Bhaltair was far too good for her. He was handsome, strong, a skilled soldier, and every woman who had eyes wished for him to look at her. He had never even thought of her in any way other than his friend’s little sister.

He had made that clear enough five years ago.

She hadn’t told anyone since, and she’d held onto that embarrassing secret, wishing she could forget about it, wishing she could forget about him.

When she heard Elspeth scream, she jumped and turned to her, pulled out of her forlorn reverie.

“What is it?”

Elspeth was pointing at the cards on the table and laughing. “Ha! I kenned that I would win, and I have! Now, ye must be the one tae go and get the cake!”

Étaín stared down in shock at the cards. She’d practically forgotten they’d been playing, and so Elspeth had won while she’d been distracted. Amelia leaned forward and peered at the cards before turning to Étaín.

“What’s this?” She crossed her arms. “What were ye thinkin’ about that had ye so distracted, lass?”

Étaín colored, and she stammered when Elspeth cut in.

“What dae ye mean? I am perfectly capable of winnin’ without Étaín bein’ distracted!” Elspeth complained.

Étaín grinned. She looked between them, and she knew that she could not tell them. No, that secret she would take to her grave. It would never come out anyway, for Bhaltair had disappeared, left his best friend and all of them without telling them where he was.

When she said nothing, Elspeth lifted a brow. “I think I am owed a secret instead of cake. So then, what were ye thinkin’ about? Even if I dinnae need ye tae be distracted tae win…”

Chuckling, Étaín came up with something. “I was just thinkin’ about how I wish tae find a man like Amelia talks about, someone who makes me heart flutter.”

“Och, what a lovely thing tae think of,” Amelia said, but Elspeth didn’t look too convinced.

The problem was that she’d already found him. She knew a man who made her heart flutter, but what she’d never expected was for him to be the man she also despised the most.