She could not hold back a chuckle. Her fiancé was a menace.
Now it was his turn. He stepped forward, rolling and jumping onto the balls of his feet and stretching this way and that. While it was a way for him to warm up, she also knew he was doing it to annoy his competitors. She could see it in the way they studiously avoided looking at him.
McGregor rang the bell again, and Ruaridh stepped forward.
Violet found herself holding her breath.
He bent at the knee to take the caber, then rose smoothly like a dancer. At that moment, she appreciated the strength of his knees, the way he held the caber tightly. He held his legs wide apart, one in front of the other, then broke into a short run and launched the caber.
It flew in the air and flipped once, twice… and thrice before landing comfortably on the wider end.
The crowd broke into a roar.
“Papa!” Keira screamed in excitement, jumping up and down.
Violet could feel her cheeks aching from how hard she was smiling. Her father was clapping with a smile of admiration, and not a few McLeods came out to congratulate their Laird. McGregor had to ring the bell several times to get them to leave the arena, so the games could continue.
Once everyone was settled, the game continued, and with every throw, Violet held her breath in fear that they might do better than Ruaridh. But while many of them came close, no one was a match for him.
It was just as Keira had said; her father was the Highland caber toss champion, and he knew it, because he had spent the rest of the game speaking with McLeannen with no thought of watching the other players.
If that was not arrogance, Violet did not know what was.
Eventually, the head judge, a man from Clan McLeannen, stood to announce the results, declaring Ruaridh the winner. His clansmen immediately rushed to congratulate him, and Violet jumped with joy, hugging her father in excitement.
When she looked in his direction, Ruaridh was watching her despite the swarm of people around him. She mouthed, “Congratulations,”to him and blew him a kiss, which made a beaming smile curve his lips.
She looked around to make sure that nobody saw the exchange, but they were all too engrossed in celebrating the victory of their clan.
Except Keira saw her and was smiling triumphantly at her.
Violet could feel her face heat with embarrassment and wished that the ground would open and hide her from Keira’s knowing looks. Instead, she turned to her papa, who was still staring at McGregor as if he expected him to force him to carry the caber.
Taking pity on him, she bent to whisper, “It is a lie. No one would ask you to throw a caber.”
“But she said?—”
“She was joking with you,” Violet cut in with a smile.
Her father turned to stare at Keira with a shocked look. But the girl couldn’t care less; she was already moving towards the arena to congratulate her father.
“How could she—?” he spluttered.
“Ye are very easy to deceive, Papa,” Violet chuckled. “Now, I have to go and change. I am up next for the hammer throw.”
She left without waiting to see whether he acknowledged her statement.
Inside the castle, she changed into a pair of breeches and a blouse, and gathered her hair into a bun at the back of her neck before stepping back out. She found Ruaridh outside the door, looking as delicious as ever, his skin shimmering with perspiration.
“I thought you would be at the arena. I am sure they are looking for you.”
“They can speak with me later. It is time for the next game. Are ye ready?”
“As ready as I can be,” she said with a sigh, tugging at her sleeve nervously.
“Ye ken, ye can stop now if ye daenae want to play.”
“And make all your efforts go to waste? No, I would not do that.”
