High Stakes Chattel Read Free Page B

sideboard and poured them both a glass of wine, reminiscing of his early twenties, when he’d been the most sought after guest at every party and occasion. All the invitations and notoriety had gone to his head. He’d quite enjoyed it, in the beginning, a never-ending stream of people courting his favor.
    “It grew old after a while,” he told her as he handed her the glass of wine and took his seat across from her. “No matter where I went, Chat tel was all anyone wanted from me. I couldn’t go through a single day without having to play the game, or teach it to someone.”
    Samantha took a sip of the rich, red wine and looked at the handsome man before her. There was hardness about him and a strong will that told her to beware.
    “I understand why you decided to give it up,” she said, peering at him over the rim of her wine glass. “It’s not pleasant when people pigeonhole you as one thing and then refuse to see you as anything more.”
    He frowned as he began to set up the board. “You sound as though you’ve had some experience with that yourself.” He tried to remember the details of her letters. She’d been recently widowed, he recalled, and had an ailing mother. Her careless husband had left her penniless, and she needed the Chattel purse to save her family farm and retain her mother’s nurse.
    “People in Barrowby see me as a fortune-hunter. No one could understand why Henry chose to marry me, since I came from such a poor family.” The rush of color that stained her delicate features intrigued him.
    He gave her a teasing smile. “Well, I doubt the men in Barrowby are of that opinion. It’s obvious to me why he chose to marry you.” He looked her up and down; imagining her naked before him. “You’re very lovely.”
    She dropped her gaze, her face flushing even brighter. “Thank you.”
    He decided that if he deliberately kept trying to make her blush she might spontaneously explode, so he turned his attention back to the game. “Do you understand the basics of Chattel?”
    She nodded, staring at the board with complete focus. “The king has tasked two hunters, one from the north and one from the south, to kill the dragon, which is located here.” She picked up the carved jade dragon and placed him in the correct spot. “We each start with a purse but no weapons. As we roll the dice, we land on different squares. Depending on the square we land on, we may be entitled to buy a weapon, advance forward, take a penance card or pay the troll at the troll bridge.” She smiled up at him over the pun, but he did not return the smile, so she continued her explanation. “There is strategy to which weapon a hunter chooses to buy and which path they choose to take.”
    “Very good,” he murmured, handing her the dice. “ Since you are my guest, you may go first.”
    While she took the dice, he brushed her hand with his, marveling at her renewed blush. Despite the fact that she’d been widowed, wore men’s trousers, and was determined to make her fortune by sneaking her way into a Chattel game dressed as man, she seemed surprisingly innocent.
    As they began to play the game, attraction crackled in the air between them. She was surprisingly good. Her moves were cautious, yet obviously well thought out. As one hour stretched into two, he actually found that he was enjoying himself. It had literally been years since he’d played, and he supposed some of the bad memories, which had driven him to stop, had faded.
    He leaned forward in his chair, watching her moves with great interest, finding that he had to exert himself a bit to mak e sure she didn’t win. Amazed, he decided she might have a chance in the local tournament, if she could really pull off her male disguise, which he found highly unlikely. What man could possibly sit across from this enchanting creature for any extended period of time and imagine that she was anything less than a beautiful woman?
    The blushes alone would give her