Even Bridget laughed this time.
“It must be Romeo and Juliet,” she said.
“Exactly,” Nicholas confirmed.
They looked at each other, both pleased, but they did not congratulate each other.
The rounds went on, going back and forth between the two teams.The early bird catches the worm, writing a letter, fencing, the King, France, dancing the minuet, Sherlock Holmes, and building a sandcastle,among many others, were acted out.
Bridget took the very last turn, and she groaned when she looked at the piece of paper. The Duke smiled when she caught his eye, and she could not help but smile back. He would not wait to see what she would have to act out.
As soon as Bridget started, everyone burst out laughing. She squatted a little and shook her rear, bobbing her head. Then, she started walking forward, looking left and right the entire time, bobbing her head.
The Duke had an idea, but he did not want to guess too quickly. He remained silent as everyone else laughed at the scene.
At one point, Bridget turned to face him directly, and she widened her eyes at him, begging him to say something so she would not have to go on with the literal charade.
“Ten seconds!” Margaret announced.
Bridget moved quickly, flapping her arms and pecking so low that her nose almost hit the ground.
“He’s not going to get it,” Michael said.
“Five seconds!” Margaret shouted gleefully.
“Is it a chicken trying to cross the road?” Nicholas asked.
“Yes!” Bridget shouted, standing up straight again.
She bounced toward the Duke, stopping herself when she realized she was about to be too friendly with him in public.
The Duke smiled some more, happy to have guessed correctly and even happier with how giddy it had made her.
Bridget returned to her chair and sat next to him. It might have been the happiest and most relaxed he had seen her since arriving on the estate.
“Let me tally up the final scores,” Margaret said. She looked down at the piece of paper on which she had been writing the scores. “Oh! Well, you seem to have beaten us by two points.”
She looked thoroughly disappointed.
“We must think very similarly,” the Duke suggested to Bridget.
“Not to worry, my dear,” Michael soothed. “We all had fun, didn’t we? And your sister and my brother got to spend some time getting to know each other. Our families are closer together, and there is no bigger win than that. And, it is all thanks to you.”
“Yes, you are right!” Margaret agreed, as if having an epiphany.
“We are closer together now,” the Duke said quietly to Bridget.
“Oh, please,” she scoffed.
“You can’t deny that we have some chemistry.”
“It took you a very long time to guess I was a chicken,” Bridget told him.
“It was very amusing to see you acting that out,” the Duke admitted. “You are very good at pantomime, I give you that.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. I will accept the compliment. You are not so bad yourself, and you did some good guessing.”
“So, it would seem we complement each other well.”
