Davina knelt opposite him and began unpacking the basket. “Bread, cheese, apples, and something warm,” she counted. “Eat, or I shall take it as a personal insult.”
He accepted the plate she handed him. “Ye should ken better than tae threaten a Kincaid with insult.”
“And yet,” she said, smiling, “it seems effective.”
He took a bite. The food was simple and to his surprise, he realized how deeply he had needed it.
CHAPTER 32
She passed him an apple. “If ye had tae choose,” she said lightly, “between never wearing boots again or never sharpening a blade again, which would it be?”
Baird paused mid-bite. “I willnae answer that. It is a ridiculous question.”
“Aye,” she agreed. “That is the point.”
He shook his head and returned his attention to the food with a focus so intense she suspected he believed it might frighten her into silence. It did not.
She poured a small cup of cider. “Very well. Another, then. Which of yer hounds is the cleverest, and which only pretends?”
“That is unfair,” he muttered. “They are all clever.”
“Mhm,” Davina teased. “Ye hesitated.”
He shot her a look. “I am nae indulging this.”
She leaned back on her hands, entirely at ease. “Fine. I shall simply assume Bracken is the clever one, and Rowan only pretends.”
His spoon stilled. “Rowan daesnae pretend.”
“Oh?” she said innocently. “Then it is Bracken.”
He sighed. “Rowan.”
Her smile widened. “There. That was painless.”
“I answered naething of consequence.”
“Ye answered,” she corrected. “That is progress.”
They ate in companionable quiet for a few moments. Davina watched the tension in his shoulders ease, just enough to encourage her onward.
“Tell me,” she said, “if ye had nae been laird, what would ye have been?”
His jaw tightened. She saw the instinctive retreat, the closing of doors she had begun to recognize.
“That is nae a silly question,” he said.
“Nay,” she admitted. “But ye need nae answer properly. Make something up.”
He scoffed softly. “I am a terrible liar.”
“I ken,” she chuckled sweetly. “That is why it would be amusing.”
He glanced at her, then away. “Perhaps,” he said slowly, “a horse breeder. Or a soldier without land.”
She blinked. “That was almost thoughtful.”
“Dinnae encourage me.”
