She laughed and the sound echoed off the stone, impossible to ignore. Their eyes locked.
“Ye are trying tae distract me,” he noticed.
“Aye,” she replied readily. “Is it working?”
He considered. “Against me will.”
She beamed. “Excellent.”
He reached for more bread. “Ask another, then.”
Her heart lifted at the concession. “Gladly. If ye were forced tae attend a ball, which ye despise, who would ye prefer as yer partner: me in a gentlemanly suit or Kenny in a gown?”
He choked in a chuckle. “That is vile.”
“So ye have considered it.”
“Absolutely nae.”
She grinned. “Ye didnae answer.”
He glared, then sighed. “Ye.”
“Why?”
“Because,” he said dryly, “Kenny would enjoy it far too much.”
Her laughter spilled out unchecked, and this time he joined her in a sound that surprised them both. For a little while longer, the shipment did not exist.
After a while, she gathered the plates and set them aside, then hesitated, watching him. He looked calmer now, though the line between his brows had not entirely vanished. It never did, not when responsibility lived so close beneath his skin.
“Baird,” she said gently.
“Aye?”
“Lie down.”
He blinked. “I beg yer pardon?”
She rose and smoothed the blanket, patting the space beside her. “Dinnae argue. Just this once, dae as ye are told.”
His suspicion returned at once. “What mischief is this?”
“Nay mischief,” she promised. “Only rest.”
He studied her face as though weighing the truth of it, then slowly, he yielded. He stretched out on the blanket with careful stiffness, with his arms folded loosely across his chest and his boots still on as though he feared relaxation might ambush him somehow.
Davina retrieved the small harp from its stand near the window. She settled at his side, cradling the instrument.
“I’ve never heard ye play,” he admitted.
“Nay,” she smiled.
She began softly, moving her fingers with unhurried grace. The melody was simple and lilting, meant not to impress but tosoothe. Sunlight danced across the strings, while the sound filled the solar, as gentle as a breath.
Baird’s gaze drifted upward, his lashes lowering inch by inch. She watched his hands unclench and his shoulders sink into the blanket as though the stone beneath had turned suddenly kind.
“Davina,” he murmured, not opening his eyes.
