Page 25 of The Cruel Highlander's Healer
Something inside Conall stirred at her sarcasm. She was right, of course. Conall hadn’t taken the time to get to know her. As he’d reminded himself over the course of the last day, Eliza was there to do a job. She was there to save his people. He didn’t need to get to know her.
But now, he couldn’t help but want to rise to the challenge. Eyes flicking to the chess board.
“What would ye say to a wager?” Conall asked.
Eliza’s eyes narrowed, clearly not trusting him.
“What type of wager?”
Conall nodded his head toward the game board, and as Eliza’s gaze landed on it, he did not miss the way interest flashed across her fine features.
“We play a game,” he explained. “For every piece I claim, I get to ask ye a question. And ye get to do the same.”
Eliza’s posture straightened. She was quiet for a moment, no doubt turning his words over to see if there was some secret twist hidden in his words, some kind of trick.
Conall didn’t speak. He didn’t tell her that there wasn’t a trick or twist to be had. He had no interest in it. Despite his best judgement, the only thing that was on his mind in that moment was to get to know her.
We’ll work better together if we ken each other a bit, will we not?
“Alright,” Eliza said finally, the one word breaking through his thoughts. “I’ll take yer wager.”
A satisfied smirk spread across Conall’s face as he stood. He dragged the chair he’d been sitting in across the stone floor, the wooden legs scraping against it and the noise filling the space. Only stopping when it was directly across from Eliza.
Plopping back down, he stared at the board. The black chess pieces were lined up in front of him. Eliza was sitting before the white. She would go first.
Her soft brown eyes flickered over the board, slender hands hovering over varying pieces as she contemplated her first move. Finally, she selected the pawn on her far-right side, moving it forward.
Immediately, Conall acted, selecting his far-left pawn and advancing it toward hers. Around and around, they went. Until, three moves later, one of Conall’s pieces took hers.
Eliza’s mouth pressed into a thin line.
“What question will ye be askin’?” she muttered, clearly angry that he’d made the first significant move.
“How did ye come to live with the Witch of the Wood?”
Eliza’s cheeks flared with color. “Me parents were murdered.”
The words were stunted as she spoke them, as if each one took an extra amount of effort above what was normal. He could sympathize with that. Conall often felt the same when people asked about his father.
Maybe I’ll choose a different line of questionin’ next time.
They began playing again. In two moves, she’d claimed one of his pawns.
“Why did ye kidnap me?” she blurted, not even waiting for his piece to fully be moved off the board.
“Startin’ me off with an easy one?” he grunted, moving his pawn to the box on the side of the table. “I figured ye already ken the answer to this one. Nay one else would help me. Ye were me last hope and I thought ye would say nay. It is that simple.”
“Kidnappin’ is simple to ye?” She arched a brow.
Conall smirked. “Ye’ll have to claim another piece for me to answer that one.”
Eliza rolled her eyes but didn’t object, and they turned their attention back to the board. It turned out, she wouldn’t be able to ask her question next. Not when Conall was the next one to claim a piece.
He didn’t immediately ask his question. Instead, he opted to take a moment to contemplate what he wanted to know.
There were a thousand things that came rushing to him. But almost all of them had to do with Eliza’s past. And, while he felt that was important, he also hadn’t missed the way she’d bristled when talking about her parents.
I’ll have to tread lightly. Otherwise, she can always just leave if she doesnae want to answer somethin’.
