Page 21 of How to Woo a Highlander

Red beard tossed back a mug of ale and shook his head violently as though shaking off the intoxicating effects of the drink. The men beside him cheered and hollered for more drinks.

The second biggest man was fat and bald, with a nose so large it took up most of his face. She decided she would call him Long Nose. The other three men looked normal, however, so she simply called them minions one, two, and three.

As she approached their table, she noted out of the corners of her eyes that everyone was glancing at her as though they thought she was mad. A man eating his food in a corner even motioned to her to go away from them. It seemed she was right, and they were avoiding the men at the table. That did not stop her; she was too excited to back down.

The men were too engrossed in themselves to notice her, and so she cleared her throat and spoke first.

“Would ye gentlemen mind if I joined ye?” she said awkwardly, hoping that she got the accent right and that she sounded manly enough. The rowdy table went silent as all five men turned to her with eyes wide with surprise. It seemed they had not expected that anyone would be brave enough to speak to them. She could feel their eyes roaming over her as they looked her over. From their expressions, they were not impressed.

"Join us? A wee shite like ye? Yer voice has nae even cracked yet. Go home lad. This is a place for men!" Red Beard declared, causing a round of hooting and hollering as they mocked her. They went back to their game almost immediately, already dismissing her. She stepped closer nervously and put her hand on the table.

“Nay, wait, I want to play, I have money,” she said. The men turned to her again, falling silent for a second time. It felt like everyone in the inn held their breath in terror as all eyes were on her.

“Lad, that was a mercy we just did ye, but it seems that ye have cotton between yer ears. Get out of here before we change our minds,” Red Beard said again. From the way they all moved when he spoke, it seemed he was their leader. They all took imposing stances, clearly meaning to intimidate her.

“A wee lad like ye, how much dae ye have that ye think ye can play with us? Take yer money home to yer maither son, dinnae annoy us,” Long Nose added.

Undeterred, Jane produced her pouch and jingled it before them.

“I have a hundred silver coins. I am willin’ to bet it all at this table tonight,” she said. That certainly caught their attention as they all froze and stared at her with shock once again. As before, Red Beard was the first to break the silence. He threw back his head and guffawed.

“Oi, it looks like we underestimated this brat. Ye dinnae look to be rich, so ye must be a wee thief, eh?” He laughed, causing the other men to join him, with minions two and three slapping her arms in comradeship. She smiled to herself. She had succeeded.

“Well, if ye are so eager to lose what ye have just stolen, how can we stop ye? Dae ye nae agree, brothers?” Red Beard said, causing the table to burst into laughter again. Their eyes had all sharpened with greed, and they looked at her as if she were delectable prey.

I am playing now. At this point, I don’t think they would even let me go if I said I did not want to play anymore.

“Ye all are so sure that ye will win?” she asked coyly, watching their faces as they scoffed at her, getting even more prideful.

“Lad, there is nay game we willnae beat ye at,” Long Nose declared proudly, and all the men nodded.

“Aye, we have played games from all over the land. Ye are but a child, beg now, and we just might go easy on ye.” Minion one mocked. She grinned to herself. She loved it when they got boastful. It made it all the more exciting when she won.

"Well, since ye are so sure. Let me teach ye a new game," she smirked. The men agreed, their pride not allowing for anything else as they had already declared that they could win anything.

“What game is it?” Minion three asked. She smiled as she pulled a seat to join their table.

“Tis a simple dice game. Tis called Hazard. Have ye heard of it? Tis what the English play,” she explained. The men snorted to each other and guffawed at her.

“An English game? Och, ye think we would have trouble with a game those sissies play?” Long Nose mocked. They clinked their mugs together and drank as they laughed. Red Beard placed a heavy foot on the table.

“Show us the game, lad; we will play it with ye,” he said, leering at her coin pouch.

She taught them how to play just as Adam had taught her, making sure that they all understood the rules despite being slightly drunk. She wanted it to be clear when she was victorious.

Game after game, she continued to win, her expertise shining through as her eyes glittered with her excitement. The men around her, however, only grew more and more annoyed. It was evident that their pride was stinging. She could see everyone else in the inn eyeing their table with increasing panic as the men continued to play, refusing to accept defeat even as she took more and more of their money, playing with them one by one and winning each time. She had just won the last round, rendering Red beard’s pouch empty when he stood up in a rage and flipped the table over.

Having expected that, she was glad she had already put all her coins into her pouch, which was now heavy.

Here comes the trouble. If I run away quickly, I should be able to avoid violence as always.

“Lad ye have some guts makin’ a fool of us the way ye have now. Dae ye think we would let ye steal our money?!” Red Beard thundered.

She raised her brow. Whenever they lost, they always considered it as stealing. It seemed that ruffians were the same everywhere, be it England or the Highlands. She got to her feet lazily, pretending to be at ease even as she mentally mapped out her escape route.

“Stealin’? But I didnae steal from ye, good ser, we played a game, and I won fair and square,” she said innocently as they all came to stand by Red Beard, and everyone in the inn backed away even farther, facing their food and ale as though it were the most interesting thing they had ever seen. She snorted under her breath. They were going to look the other way if she got in trouble and pretend like they could not see.

She did not entirely blame them. She had come under the guise of a thieving young man who stepped into the lion’s den of his own accord. She never expected anyone to play the hero anyway. Whenever she played, she did so fully prepared to escape from trouble on her own.