A laugh that echoed in his mind.
He looked at his palm, thinking of the way it felt to hold hers. Then, he closed his fist, digging his nails into his palm so that pain would drive away every other sensation. He turned in the opposite direction and walked away, ensuring that he would not pass Charlotte again.
He had been irritated enough for one morning.
Chapter Twelve
The allure of the gardens had been dampened somewhat by Nathaniel’s presence. Charlotte had not intended to be goaded into such a personal conversation with him, but he seemed so convinced of everything she wanted to show him that he was wrong.
Still, he was so arrogant, he probably ignored everything she said.
She gently awoke Agatha, and the two of them returned to the house. Agatha was surprised to see Brutus, but petted the dog happily. Brutus was glad of the affection and walked in between the two women. He peeled off when they reached the house, however, as he caught the scent of food being cooked in the kitchen.
Moments later, Agatha and Charlotte were greeted by Clara’s head peeking out of a doorway. She wore a mischievous smile and giggled.
“Can you teach me to play that game?” Clara asked.
“Of course,” Charlotte replied. They entered the side room.
“I’m going to visit Mary. I’d like to give her some words of wisdom,” Agatha said, leaving Charlotte and Clara alone.
Charlotte prepared the board and shuffled the cards while Clara inspected the pegs.
“Can we just start playing?” Clara asked.
“How can we start playing when you don’t know the rules?”
“I’ll learn them as I go.” Charlotte placed the deck of cards down. Clara reached out to pluck a card from the top of the deck, so Charlotte had to lay her palm on it.
“That will take longer. Just pay attention; otherwise, you’ll get confused.”
“But playing is fun!”
“I know it is, but it’s more fun when you know the rules. Then you can play properly.”
“Rules aren’t fun,” Clara pouted.
Charlotte sighed. “If you don’t want to learn the rules, then I’m afraid we can’t play at all.” She slid the cards closer to herself, as though she were going to pack them away. Clara’s face immediately twisted in panic.
“No, I’ll learn! I promise! How do you play?” She straightened her posture and blinked, adopting an innocent expression. She even drew her hands away from the cards until Charlotte felt confident to leave them uncovered.
But all this talk of rules did leave Charlotte with an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. It felt too close to the way that Nathaniel saw the world to be comfortable. She put this out of her mind, focusing instead on the game.
As Charlotte explained the rules, Clara’s gaze kept darting toward the card, but she kept her hands clasped together. They played a practice hand so that Clara could get used to things. She took a long time, for she had to remember her mathematics.
Charlotte did not spend as much time planning her hands as she did not want Clara to be disheartened. When the game began in earnest, Charlotte offered Clara help when she struggled. She also pointed out what Clara could have done differently, at least at first.
Clara’s attention drifted when Charlotte spoke about the different permutations of the hands.
“This isn’t as fun as it seemed,” Clara said.
Charlotte frowned. She thought back to when she had learned to play games with her father. What she remembered most wasn’t the rules explanations but rather the fun they had together.
“Very well, Clara, let us play. I won’t mention any rules again,” Charlotte said. Clara clapped her hands, and they continued playing. Charlotte bit her tongue whenever Clara made a minor mistake, and she did not try to educate Clara on how she might have played more optimally.
Clara enjoyed moving the pegs along the board best, and so she did this for herself and for Charlotte. There were times when Charlotte caught Clara attempting to move her own pegs forward more than she deserved.
“Clara,” Charlotte warned. Clara giggled and took her hands away, acting as though she hadn’t done anything untoward at all.
