She watched patiently as the children placed the game upon the table and began setting everything up.
They squabbled for a bit about who got to be what color, and then eventually, the twins settled down to begin playing their game.
Emilie settled back into the sofa, watching the children as they went round and round. She smiled and cheered when one of them won.
More than once, Louis looked at her for approval before he made a move, and she gave him a nod or the shake of a head to indicate if he should move forward or not.
“That’s cheatin’ ye ken,” Aurora protested, turning to glare at Emilie.
“I would help ye too, if ye would ask for it,” Emilie answered evenly, shrugging one shoulder.
“I daenae need help,” Aurora protested, sticking her nose up into the air as she made her next move.
It was the wrong move, making her queen vulnerable in one fell swoop. Louis realized it immediately, moving his knight in to take the queen on his next turn.
Aurora glanced over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes at Emilie as if the loss of her queen was Emilie’s fault. Once again, Emilie just shrugged her shoulders.
“I would have told ye that was a bad move,” she said with a grin. “Ye would have kenned, if ye had asked.”
Aurora rolled her eyes and turned her focus back to the game. Louis ended up winning two moves later, much to Aurora’s chagrin.
Emilie hid her smile behind her hand, watching as the twins set up the board again. And much to Emilie’s surprise, when Aurora went to make her first move, she glanced over her shoulder, looking to Emilie for approval.
Emilie worked to keep her shock under control, giving Aurora a quick, helpful nod. And, just like that, whenever either twin had a question about the move they were trying to make, Emilie would give them guidance with nothing more than the slight movement of her head.
Aurora won the next match. And, when she celebrated, she threw her arms over her head and cheered, before bouncing up and rushing over to give Emilie a quick, grateful hug.
Mayhaps I willnae have to wait until the day I leave to win the lass over,Emilie thought, smiling to herself as she gave Aurora an encouraging and friendly pat on the back.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Icannae read another letter from this woman.
Archer groaned, setting the parchment down on the table in front of him. He placed his head in his hands, closing them against the flickering light of the candle that was working to fight off the shadows of dusk.
“Did we catch ye at a bad time?”
Immediately, Archer’s head darted up, glancing at the doorway of his study. Marcus and his very pregnant wife, Paisly, were standing in the doorway, both of them staring at him with obvious amusement.
“Ye always catch me at a bad time,” Archer grunted, but he waved them into his study anyway.
The pair shuffled in, Paisly’s waddle making her look a bit like a duck as she moved to accommodate her ever-growing stomach.He smiled as he watched her, and despite everything, Archer found himself happy for the love his best friend had found.
“So,” Paisly asked, plopping herself down into one of the high-backed chairs on the other side of Marcus’ desk. “What were ye groanin’ and moanin’ about when we came in?”
Marcus hovered over his wife, lingering with his arms at the ready until she was settled safely in her chair. Paisly tried to wave him off, but Marcus would not move.
It had been like that since the day that Marcus had met the woman. Archer had seen the change that had happened in the man he’d known his entire life. It had been instantaneous.
He had been able to see it in Marcus’ eyes the moment they first landed on Paisly.
For a long time, Archer had doubted that this type of love was truly real. Especially when he’d seen the way his parents had always interacted with one another.
But with Marcus and Paisly in front of him, it had been nearly impossible to keep the disdain.
“Me head hurts, is all,” Archer murmured, shaking his head at the pair of them as Marcus took his seat as well.
“And yer head hurtin’,” Marcus chimed, scooting the chair closer to Archer’s desk. “Would that have anythin’ to do with thepretty new wife that’s been annoyin’ the shite out of ye since ye exchanged yer vows?”