My Wild Heart by Martha Keyes

Author:Martha Keyes
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2020-06-13T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

There was an intensity to Edith’s play that surprised Elias and drew him in, sparking his own competitive spirit and sharpening his senses.

It was just a game. He knew that. Yet he sensed that there was something else at play for Edith, and he couldn’t help responding in kind. He needed to win. He didn’t know precisely why, but he needed to.

Miss Perry had been right about the flour. The grains seemed to adhere more tightly to one another, making for cleaner cuts—and stiffer competition. Miss Perry was no less determined than the other two to come off conqueror, and her strategy was to slice the smallest possible section from the flour pile, while Elias and Edith were more daring in their cuts, anxious to prove their skill.

Miss Perry’s calculated and careful efforts were rewarded by the mound’s collapse on her third cut, drawing irrepressible laughter from Edith and Elias. She clasped her hands behind her back and took a deep breath before plunging her nose and chin into the toppled remains, fishing for the elusive marble in its depths. She emerged twice with nothing, finding her mark on the third dive. Face caked with flour, she held up her hands in victory.

The flour was packed down again and the mound resurrected. With each cut, Elias’s heart quickened pace, and he drew nearer and nearer as the mound became smaller and smaller. He watched unblinking as Edith held the knife above, shifting it around as she decided where to make the next cut. There was hardly an inch of flour left around the marble on every side, and Elias tensed as he saw her position the knife to slice away at what little remained.

The flour collapsed into a heap, and Elias cheered.

Edith whipped around. “You nudged me!”

He reared back, knowing a moment’s misgiving as he realized how near he had been to her.

“Did you not see it, Miss Perry?” Edith cried.

Miss Perry bared a mouth of clenched teeth, clearly unwilling to be cast as judge.

Edith gave Elias a little shove. “Only look how near to me he is and ask yourself how easy it would have been for him to bump my arm. He is no better than a cheat.”

Elias threw his head back. “Take no heed of her, Miss Perry. She is a poor loser, nothing more. Come, Edith. No more of these excuses. You must find the marble now—though it shall be much easier thanks to all of the flour I cut away for you.”

Edith glared at him, her chest heaving. He didn’t even attempt to suppress his grin—it would have been entirely futile.

She shook her head with eyes that promised vengeance, then turned back to her task. Lowering her face so that it hovered above the mound, she sent another spiteful sidelong glance at Elias before turning to the flour. A wavy strand of hair dropped near her mouth, and she brought up a hand. Without even thinking, Elias snatched her wrist.

Edith’s head whipped around in disbelief.

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