Emily said.
Millie snorted. âItâs as clear to me as a clap of thunder that youâre taken with Travis. Are you blind, girl?â
Emily could feel herself turning red with embarrassment. âYouâre mistaken, Millie. I barely know him. Heâs just my guide to Golden Crest.â
Millie snorted again. Emily quickly tried to turn the topic back to the wager. She refused to look at Travis until she was certain he wasnât thinking about Millieâs remarks.
âI won fair and square,â she announced.
âYou broke the rules.â
She forced a laugh. âThere werenât any rules, remember? You made that choice, not me.â
âWhat was the wager?â John asked.
Travis paused to glare at Emily for kicking him again before he answered. He explained their argument and how he wanted to prove she was wrong.
âIt was a foolish wager,â Emily said. âBut I did win, and itâs all your own fault, Travis. You should have been more specific, like the moneylender in a story I read called The Merchant of Venice. Have you ever read it?â
âAs a matter of fact, I have.â
âI donât recall reading the story,â John said. âOf course, I donât know how to read yet, and that could be why I donât recollect it.â
âI donât recollect it either, John,â Millie said. âBut Iâm wanting to hear about it.â
âItâs a wonderful story,â Emily began. âA gentleman borrowed money and made an agreement to pay it back within a certain amount of time. He also agreed that if he wasnât able to repay, then he would give the moneylender a pound of his flesh.â
Johnâs eyes widened. âThat would kill a skinny man, wouldnât it?â
âIt would kill any man,â Travis told him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jack get up and move to a table in the center of the room. It was apparent he was trying to get closer so he could hear every word Emily said, and he was also trying not to draw any attention to himself. It took all Travis had not to laugh, but, honest to God, seeing the savage up on his tiptoes really was comical. His brothers werenât going to believe him when he told them about it.
âDonât leave my John hanging for the rest of the story,â Millie said in her usual abrupt tone. âIt seems mighty foolish for a man to make such a rash promise, doesnât it, John?â
âYes, Millie, it does seem foolish. Now, if the moneylender gave him time to put some weight on around his middle, well then, Iâm thinking that promise wasnât so rash after all. Did he give him time?â he asked.
Emily shook her head and tried not to laugh. âNo, John, he didnât give him time.â
âHe never should have made that promise,â Millie insisted with a shake of her head. âHe obviously wasnât from around these parts. Men out here would never do such a foolish thing.â
âHe was desperate,â Emily explained. âAnd he was certain he would have the money in time to repay. He didnât though.â
âI had a feeling thatâs what happened. Did he get cut up?â John asked.
âHe died, didnât he?â Millie asked at the very same time.
âNo, he didnât get cut up, and he didnât die,â she answered.
âHe welshed, didnât he? It just doesnât seem right to me,â John said. âA promise made is a promise thatâs got to be kept. A manâs word is sacred, after all. Isnât that right, Millie?â
âYes, John, a manâs word is all heâs got in these parts. How did he get out of his promise?â she asked Emily. âDid he go into hiding?â
âNo,â Emily answered, smiling over the Perkinsesâ enthusiastic response to the story.
Travis was also smiling. Although he had read the Shakespearean play at