Esther studied Ava’s face for a long moment, as if trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. Gradually, the tension started to leave her small body.
“I’m... I’m sorry I cried,” she whispered.
“Daenae apologize for yer feelings, sweetheart. If ye need to cry, ye can cry. I’ll be right here.” Ava pressed a kiss to Esther’s forehead. “Now, do ye want to try that letter again? And this time, we’ll do it together. I’ll guide yer hand, aye?”
Esther nodded, still sniffling but calmer now. Ava positioned herself behind her, wrapping her hand gently around Esther’s smaller one.
“Ready? Up... and curve. There! See? Perfect.”
“It’s still a wee bit crooked,” Esther observed, her voice steadier now.
“Aye, it is. And that’s perfectly fine. Let’s try another one.”
They practiced for another ten minutes, Ava guiding Esther’s hand through each letter. Gradually, Esther’s confidence returned, though Ava noticed she still tensed every time she made a mistake, still glanced up anxiously to check Ava’s reaction.
“I think that’s enough writin’ for today,” Ava said finally. “Yer hand must be gettin’ tired. Should we move on to numbers?”
Esther brightened immediately. “Aye! I like numbers.”
“I noticed.” Ava smiled, pulling out a small basket of smooth stones she’d collected from the garden. “All right, let’s start with somethin’ simple. If I have ten stones, and I give ye two, how many do I have left?”
Esther’s brow furrowed in concentration, but this time there was no fear in her expression. Just focus.
“Eight,” she said confidently.
“Exactly right! Ye’re so good at this.” Ava added more stones to the pile. “Now, what if I have seven stones, and I take away four...”
They worked through various problems, Esther’s enthusiasm growing with each correct answer.
This was where she truly shined; numbers made sense to her in a way that letters sometimes didn’t. They followed a logic, a predictability that seemed to comfort her.
By the time they finished, Esther was smiling again, the earlier tears forgotten.
“Can we go to the gardens again?” she asked hopefully. “I want to show ye somethin’ I found yesterday.”
“Of course we can. Just let me put these away, and?—”
A knock at the study door interrupted her. Caitlin poked her head in, her usual cheerful smile in place.
“Beggin’ yer pardon, Miss Harris, but the Laird is askin’ for ye. Says it’s important.”
Ava’s stomach did an uncomfortable flip. She hadn’t been alone with Noah since the library incident, had made sure to always have Esther with her at meals, and had found excuses to avoid his study when he’d sent for her before.
“Did he say what it was about?” Ava asked, hating how her voice wavered slightly.
“Nae, just that he needs to speak with ye.” Caitlin’s eyes sparkled with barely suppressed curiosity. “But he seemed quite... determined.”
Of course he did.
“All right.” Ava stood, smoothing down her skirts. “Esther, why daenae ye go play in yer room for a bit? I’ll come find ye when I’m done, and we can go to the gardens together. Aye?”
Esther nodded, though anxiety flickered across her face. “Ye... ye’re comin’ back?”
“Always,” Ava promised, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll always come back.”
“Ye’re certain it’s him?”
Noah stared at the map spread across his desk, at the spot Elliot had marked with a small X. The edge of MacGregor territory, where the land turned wild and rocky before bleeding into neutral ground.
