Baird’s brows lowered slightly. “Can it nae wait, Davina?”
“Nay.” She lifted her chin. “It cannae.”
A flicker of surprise crossed both men’s faces. Davina rarely used that commanding tone and Baird did not appear to like it. His jaw tightened, just faintly. But before he could answer, Kenny stepped back from the table.
“I’ll give ye the room,” he said simply.
Baird glanced at him, with irritation and restraint mixing in the furrow between his brows. “Kenny?—”
Kenny only shook his head lightly. “This seems… important.” His eyes flicked to Davina and softened in understanding. “Me laird.”
With a respectful nod to them both, he headed for the door, slipping past Davina with a quietme ladybefore pulling it closed behind him.
Silence dropped like a stone. Baird exhaled once and turned fully toward her. His eyes settled on her face.
“What is it, Davina?” he asked in a tone that was neither unkind, nor warm.
Davina clasped her hands before her to stop them from fidgeting.
“The gardeners told me this morning,” she began carefully, “that the request fer supplies I submitted… has nae been approved.”
He frowned at her words. Still, she took a step closer.
“And I would like tae ken why.”
Baird’s expression barely shifted, save for the faint tightening at the corner of his jaw. “I saw them,” he said. “I meant tae sign off, but I’ve had matters of greater urgency tae attend tae.”
Davina blinked. “Greater urgency?”
“Aye.” His tone cooled. “The borders. The thefts. The Council. A dozen things that cannae wait.”
He didn’t mention his brother’s death or finding out how he died, but she knew that this was also a part of it. She could understand things of greater importance. What she could not understand was him turning away from her for no apparent reason. After all it was just a signature.
“I ken that,” she agreed.
She hesitated as she watched the tension settle across his shoulders. That was the weight of duties he never voiced, only carried. Her eyes glanced at the writing table crowded with documents, maps and sealed letters, all demanding something from him. He was too burdened, but perhaps, she could ease that burden, if only a little.
“What if I help ye?”
His brows rose as though she had suggested climbing onto the battlements and shouting at the wind. “Help me?”
“Aye,” she nodded, stepping closer. “If ye have so many matters that press upon ye, then let me shoulder one or two beside ye. Ye need the time, and I need the garden. If I help, we can finish sooner, and then we can go tae the town together. The supplies are ready and waiting.”
He only stared at her for a long time. He seemed to be caught off guard.
“Davina,” he began wearily, “this is clan business. Some of it is nae?—”
“Then tell me what Icanhelp with,” she interrupted gently. “And I will. Then afterward, we can have the hours we need.”
He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and sighed, more quietly this time.
“There are correspondence piles that need sorting,” he admitted reluctantly. “Reports from the outlying farms, notices from the Council. Half of it is rubbish, and the other half is important, and I have nae had a moment tae separate them.”
She smiled, feeling relieved. “That I can dae.”
He blinked at her. “Ye’re certain?”
“Aye,” she confirmed. “Let me help, Baird, please.”
