“Finish that, then,” she said, with mock sternness. “Or I will eat it for ye.”
Erica took another bite to please her, and because she wanted it. The bannock was simple. Warm. Honest.
She thought, with surprise, that she could stand in this yard and eat what she liked without counting eyes. Bryden’s halls had watched and judged what she ate. This yard only looked. It was different, and for some reason, she had not expected that to matter.
Her mother stepped away to offer the last of the bannocks to a pair of men by the rope. They thanked her with genuine smiles, heads ducked, hands careful not to touch the tray with dirty fingers. She said something that made them smile wider and then moved on, already a part of the place in a way that made Erica’s chest ache. It felt like freedom dressed up as errands.
Erica turned the last bite in her hand and watched Leah scold the twins with a tap to the wrist that was more ceremony than warning. Bettie and Katie obeyed for three heartbeats, then began to whisper fresh schemes. Grandmamma pretended to look at the sky, but the corner of her mouth betrayed her.
Bootsteps sounded at Erica’s side. She did not have to look to know who it was. His presence settled first. The yard seemed to draw a breath and then let it out.
“Everything all right?” Alex asked.
Erica bit into her bannock to give herself a second. Honey stuck to her lip. She wiped it with her thumb and met his gaze. His eye held the same look she had come to expect, steady as a question, never probing.
She wanted to say,Aye, but I am thinkin’ of a braither with a bad joke and a faither who laughed at the wrong times, and a house that willnae be quiet in me head.
It seemed too much and would probably ruin the moment, so she kept it to herself.
“Aye,” she said. “Everything’s fine.”
Alex studied her for a beat that did not overstay itself. All he could feel were her hands on him. Her heavy breathing as she struggled to remain still against him.
Put it out of yer mind, Alex. Ye’re in public.
He looked past her to the steps, where Leah had set cups in a straight line and the twins were counting them as if numbers could be tamed by will.
“Good,” he said.
Erica let the word sink in. She took the last bite and felt the soft weight of it go down easily. She had told herself not to grow fond of simple things, because simple things left a mark when they were gone. The bannock had left one anyway.
She folded the bit of paper the baker had wrapped at the bottom and slipped it into her pocket, as if keeping proof that she had allowed herself sweetness.
Her mother’s tray came back light. She moved nearer and spoke low. “I am going to ask Leah how many of those we can bake here.”
Erica nodded. “Ask her how much honey they keep.”
“I will,” her mother said. “Ye looked well eating that, by the way. It suited ye.”
Erica rolled her eyes in a way that made her mother laugh again. The sound steadied both of them. But only for a moment.
Small feet skittered across stone, followed by a rush of breath and a shared giggle. Bettie and Katie rounded the end of the step and came straight for her, eyes bright, mouths already forming whatever plan had been born between them.
Alex watched the girls approach, a deceptively sweet look on their faces.
What new hell is this?
They stood side by side, hands clasped behind their backs, faces arranged like saints.
“Da,” Bettie began.
“Please,” Katie added, soft as butter. “Can we go to the market? We need to buy new ribbons.”
Alex folded his arms. “Nay.”
They took a breath together and tried again.
“Da,” Bettie said, eyes wide. “We have been so good.”
