They spoke of rain and seeds. Grandmamma, especially, talked about the fields that had yielded well across the river and fields that had failed along the north ridge.
Lady Bryden then asked if the barley was good this year, because the reverse was always the case back in Bryden. Grandmamma had nodded, tapping her spoon as if counting.
“Some years favor the low ground,” she said. “Some serve the slopes. We learn it and work with it.”
Lady Bryden’s mouth curved. “Much like men.”
“Much likelove,” Grandmamma said lightly, as if discussing the weather. “One season may crown it. Another may test it severely.”
Erica’s hands went still as she felt the words land where she did not want them. She swallowed and reached for her cup, as if tea might mask the heat in her face.
Was that what was happening between her and Alex?
Was their love being tested?
Could she even call it that?Love?
She didn’t have time to respond to the question in her head as the sound of footsteps came from the passageway.
She looked up, and sure enough, it was Alex.
She watched him walk to the chair at the far side and sat as if nothing had broken in him or her the night before. He greeted Grandmamma and Lady Bryden, then thanked a servant for the bread and said it was better than last week’s batch. He asked Calum, who had just entered behind him, if the east wall shift was over.
His tone was even all the while, and his face gave away nothing. It might as well have been any morning of any month.
For a brief minute, even Erica began to wonder if the fight between them had truly happened, or if it was a figment of her imagination. She cut her bread again, in smaller bites this time. The knife caught on a hard bit of crust. She set it down.
“Fine morning,” Alex said, glancing toward the high windows. “Good light for the yard.”
“Aye,” Grandmamma agreed. “The wind is kind.”
“Kind now,” Lady Bryden added. “It may turn later.”
Erica bit back a sound she did not trust.
How could he be so casual about this? He didn’t know just how mad he was driving her by refusing to comment on what had happened the previous day.
Really?Nae even a single word?
She lifted her head and found her voice steady. “Well, some seasons do more than turn,” she said. “Some strip what ye thought ye could keep.”
Grandmamma’s spoon paused, and Lady Bryden’s gaze slid to her hands.
Alex’s head turned a fraction. He did not take the bait at first.
“The season is what it is,” he said. “We mind our stores and plan for the unexpected.”
“Stores only help so far,” Erica said. She kept her tone polite and her eyes on her cup. “If a man says he will keep a roof sound, yet leaves a hole in it, the wind slips in anyway.”
The table fell quiet. Erica could hear a servant set down a dish and back away at once. Calum’s eyes shifted from her to Alex and back.
Alex lifted his teacup but did not drink. “If a roof is weak,” he said mildly, “a man supports it. A quick brace may save a house.”
“Maybe the brace shouldnae be offered if the man has nay plan to mend the beam,” Erica said. She looked at him then for the space of a breath. “It spares folks from thinking they are safe when they arenae.”
Silence grew even thicker.
Out of the corner of her eye, Erica could see Grandmamma’s mouth flatten in thought. She felt the heat climb her neck at that moment and hated herself for it. She set her napkin down and rose before the tightness in her chest could show on her face.
