Davina clasped her hands together, suddenly both shy and excited. “Yes. I’d like tae revive it.”
Iain stepped forward. “What did ye have in mind, me lady?”
Davina smiled. “A great deal, I’m afraid.”
She listed her ideas: roses along the wall, lilies near the fountain, wild heather for color, herbs for the kitchens, and clearing pathways to restore the old layout. As she spoke, the gardeners’ faces shifted from polite curiosity to genuine enthusiasm.
“Aye, we can dae all that,” Gregor said, nodding firmly. “Though it’ll take time.”
“And work,” Iain added. “Much of it.”
Davina’s smile broadened. “I ken. But I’m willing tae work beside ye.”
Both men blinked, as though a highborn lady offering to dig in the earth was something out of a story.
Gregor bowed deeper this time. “Then we’re with ye, me lady.”
Ailis squeezed Davina’s arm. “There ye have it.”
Davina looked back toward the overgrown garden and felt something stir in her chest. She had come to Kincaid Castle a stranger, a wife by necessity and a woman unsure of her place.
But there, among the soil, stone and memory, she could already feel the roots of her new life beginning to take hold.
CHAPTER TEN
“Another request from Lady Kincaid, me laird.”
Baird didn’t look up from the parchment he was marking. “Another?” he echoed, feeling weary. “She’s already sent three this morn. What is it now?”
Kenny cleared his throat, sounding far too amused. “Tools, me laird. And seeds. And… ah?—”
Baird finally raised his head. “And what?”
Kenny held out the paper like it might bite him. “Plants.Manyplants. A list longer than me arm.”
Baird scowled and snatched the parchment. He read the list: heather, wild roses, foxglove, lavender, holly, ivy, and a dozen of herbs and flowering shrubs. Each of them was carefully noted in her hand. Davina had neat handwriting. It was just like her, graceful yet steady. And it was also ambitious.
“She wants tae replant the entire cursed garden,” Baird muttered.
Kenny shrugged. “Aye. Looks that way.”
Baird set the parchment down, leaning back in his chair. “Daes she nae ken there are more important matters? We’ve Sinclair raids on the borders. Food shortages. Winter coming sooner than any of us want.”
Kenny raised both brows. “Aye, but the lady’s requests dinnae touch the clan’s coffers overmuch. She’s been careful. I heard she asked for what she can grow herself and what can be found nearby.” His tone softened. “She’s nae wasteful.”
Baird’s jaw tightened. Heknew. He’d seen the way she worked in the kitchens, the way she asked questions about supplies. He had seen how sherespectedthe people. She wasn’t wasteful.Thatwasn’t the problem.
He picked up the parchment again, going over the list. A faint ache pressed behind his ribs when he reached the line that read climbing roses, red or pink. His mother had loved roses. She used to hum while pruning them.
“Should I refuse her request?” Kenny asked cautiously.
Baird hesitated, longer than he wanted to admit. “It’s the first time it’s been touched since me maither passed.”
Kenny nodded. “Aye. That’s true.”
Baird rubbed a hand over his jaw, staring at nothing. He could see the garden as it once was, so lush, warm and full of color. He could hear his mother’s laugh, light and rare and beautiful, echoing through the vines. He shut the memory down with a breath.
“Should I tell the lady tae halt her plans?” Kenny pressed. “At least fer the time being?”
