The ♦9 card is known as the “Curse of Scotland”. It is not certain why it has this name but the two most popular explanations are
- It was the playing card used by Sir John Dalrymple, the Earl of Stair, to cryptically authorise the Glencoe Massacre. Certainly there is a resemblance between the ♦9 and his coat of arms.
- The Duke of Cumberland is supposed to have scribbled the order for “no quarter” to be given after the 1745 Battle of Culloden on a ♦9 playing card.
Whatever the reason it was a crucial card when Mr Sinclair Whitlands declared 6♥ as West after he and Miss Minnie van Driver had bid as follows:
| West | North | South | East |
| 1♥ | Pass | 3♥ | Pass |
| 3♠ | Pass | 4♣ | Pass |
| 5♥ | Pass | 6♥ | Pass |
| Pass | Pass | Pass |
After Minnie’s limit raise the next two bids were cue bids, and Sinclair’s 5♥ asked Minnie to bid 6♥ if her trump holding was good.
North led ♣Q and Sinclair contemplated a dummy that, for once in Minnie’s bridge life, resembled the hand she had described in her bidding. As was his wont Sinclair gravely complimented his partner. “Expertly bid, dear lady”. Minnie flushed becomingly, her heart palpitating like the heroine in a Victorian drama.
The whole hand was
| ♠T6 ♥T ♦K843 ♣QJT732 | ||
| ♠AK4 ♥K7532 ♦AJT6 ♣9 | ♠532 ♥AQ94 ♦972 ♣A86 | |
| ♠QJ987 ♥J86 ♦Q5 ♣K54 |
Sinclair won in dummy and immediately ran the all-important ♦9 to North’s ♦K. North continued with another club. Sinclair drew trumps in three rounds ending in dummy. Now he played another diamond intending to finesse but when South played ♦Q he was able to win with the ♦A, discard a losing spade on the fourth diamond and ruff a diamond in dummy.
Notice that this line would have failed if the ♦9 and ♦8 had been exchanged. But Sinclair knew he had been lucky and that the opponents had misdefended. If South covers the Curse of Scotland the fourth diamond cannot be established for a spade discard.
Bridge Romances 
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