Page 77 of The Laird's Masked Desire
“Two,” Ruaridh said.
Colin looked thoughtful. “One.”
Domhnall sighed. “Ye three are insufferable.”
“And correct,” Niall said.
At that exact moment something clattered loudly behind them. All four men turned sharply. A wooden bucket had tipped near the far wall, rolling slowly across the stones. The courtyard beyond it was empty.
Ruaridh stood immediately, watching the shadows along the wall.
“Who’s there?”
Silence answered. Domhnall rose more slowly, his eyes narrowing as he studied the space around the fallen bucket. A few guards crossed the distant courtyard, but none close enough to have caused the noise.
Colin walked toward the wall and glanced behind the stack of training shields, but there was nothing. He straightened.
“Probably the wind.”
“There is nay wind,” Ruaridh muttered.
Domhnall looked once more at the empty corner of the courtyard. The sensation of being overheard lingered for a moment longer. Then he shook it off.
“Back tae the match,” he said.
Ruaridh grinned again, already picking up the practice blade.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Morning sunlight warmed the lower courtyard in patches of gold. Margaret had not intended to linger there. She had gone only to walk, perhaps to clear her thoughts after a restless night and a morning spent attempting to appear entirely composed before the household staff.
Yet somehow, she had not managed to leave. The reason currently tugged at the hem of her sleeve.
“Come play with us, me lady!”
Margaret looked down.
The boy, who was no older than seven, stared up at her with determined patience. Around them, the lower courtyard bustled quietly with life. Laundry lines stretched between the stone walls, and several soldiers’ wives sat nearby mending clothes while watching their children run about the open space.
In the center of it all lay a small leather ball. Evidently, a game was already underway.
“I assure ye,” Margaret told him with a smile, “I have absolutely nay understanding of the rules.”
“That’s fine,” the boy replied at once.
“It is?”
“Aye.”
Another child ran past them, chasing the ball across the stones. Two girls tried to block him, both shrieking with laughter. Margaret turned slightly to Annabel, who stood nearby holding a basket of herbs they had collected earlier.
“Dae ye ken the rules?”
Annabel smiled in a way that suggested she knew exactly how this would end.
“It’s called ba’. The bairns simply pass the ball and try tae keep it away from the others.”
Margaret’s eyes widened in surprise. “That sounds suspiciously chaotic.”
