“So, we need two other people to play with us, and we can think of no better people,” Margaret said.
Bridget looked like she was about to say something, so Nicholas quickly stepped in to speak for her, taking her arm gently.
“Even though we were obvious second choices, we will be glad to play charades,” he said.
Bridget’s face tightened.
“We are here to make our siblings happy, are we not?” the Duke whispered.
Bridget finally plastered on a smile. “Yes, we will join. Perhaps sisters versus brothers?”
“Oh, I must be with Lord Michael,” Margaret gushed. “We will form a team, and you can partner up with His Grace.”
“Splendid!” Nichols exclaimed a little theatrically.
He was still holding Bridget’s arm, but she yanked it back.
Margaret clapped her hands together. “This will be wonderful. Now, we must all write down ideas. It could be a book title, a famous person, a quote, a composition, or just about anything else you can think of. One person from a team will have thirty seconds to act out the thing, and the other person in the team will guess it. Whichever team has the most correct guesses at the end of the game wins.”
“This will be a lot of fun,” Nicholas stated.
He received the same look from both his brother and Bridget. Margaret gave him a gleeful look.
“Okay, Lord Michael has some paper and graphite, and we can all tear the paper into strips and write our ideas on them. I will collect them all in a moment and put them in this hat to draw from.”
“Do you know a lot of risqué theater groups in London?” the Duke whispered to Bridget.
She shot him a look.
“Hmm, perhaps best to stick to the classics,” he muttered under his breath.
Once everyone had written half a dozen or so ideas, Margaret walked around and let everyone drop the folded pieces of paper into the hat. Nicholas wanted to laugh at the glee on her face, and when he looked at Bridget, he could see how much she had brightened around her sister and the happiness she exuded.
“Shall Lord Michael and I go first?” Margaret asked.
“That only seems fair, seeing as the both of you are the reason we are all here today,” the Duke replied.
Margaret held the hat out toward Michael, and he picked up a piece of paper and read it silently.
He then stood up and began acting out the idea. He mimed pulling back a bowstring and firing an arrow.
“An archer!” Margaret gasped.
Michael twirled his finger in the air. He then mimed some sort of pointed hat on his head with something sticking out of the top.”
“Oh, oh, Robin Hood!” Margaret shouted.
“Yes!” Michael exclaimed.
Margaret leaped up from her chair and moved toward her betrothed, but when she got close, she backed away. Neither of them seemed sure of how to celebrate winning a point.
Bridget looked at Nicholas, and they both shared some joy in seeing their siblings so happy.
“Your turn, Brother,” Michael said.
Nicholas stuck his hand in the hat and pulled out the next piece of paper.Romeo and Juliet.
He began his mime, and Bridget immediately stated that it was a play, which was correct. Next, he mimed drinking something and falling to the ground, much to the amusement of everyone, even Penelope and Rebecca. He quickly got up and mimed stabbing himself in the chest, falling to the ground again.
