Page 56 of The Laird’s Wrong Wife

“The dyke was crumblin’ already,” Callum argued. “I brought stones for the repair. She left them where I dropped them.”

Elspeth faced Ceana. “Will Lady MacKane judge the matter?”

Ceana looked at Oscar. She would not take authority he had yet to place in her hands.

“They have brought the matter to ye,” he reminded her.

Callum shifted his weight. “With respect, me Lady, ye have never seen the dyke.”

“Then tell me what I have yet to see.” The people nearest the tables turned toward her. “How many rows did ye plant, Morna?”

“Eight.”

“How many remain untouched?”

Morna hesitated. “Three. And part of a fourth.”

“Has yer cow broken anythin’ before?” Ceana asked Callum.

His gaze dropped. “She pushed through a weak fence in spring.”

“Who was to maintain that section?” she asked.

Elspeth confirmed that the dyke belonged to both households. Callum had supplied loose stone without labor, and Morna could not lift the larger pieces herself, so the gap remained.

Ceana’s mother had taught her to ask which foods were truly lost and what each household could give without going hungry.

“Callum will replace the greens his cow destroyed and give one day’s labor to rebuild the dyke,” Ceana decided. “Morna will accept the stones and send someone from her household on that same day. Ye will share the repair, as ye share the boundary. Neither of ye will claim payment for the rows left sound. A barrier must stand there until the stones are set.”

Callum pressed his lips together. Morna looked once toward the untouched rows, visible beyond the cottages. Neither had gotten what they wanted; it was perfectly clear from the way they both bowed.

Oscar waited until they stepped back. “Lady MacKane’s ruling stands. Lennan, see that they have a barrier before dark.”

Lennan called two men toward the sheds.

The villagers continued watching Ceana.

As Morna and Callum left, Oscar whispered in her ear, “I would have made Callum replace the entire plot.”

“His cow didnae destroy the entire plot, and full payment would still leave the dyke broken.”

He studied her. “Aye. Ye heard what they needed beneath what they demanded.” His gaze flicked to Elspeth. “Bring the next matter to her as well.”

Two young men had been throwing smooth stones toward a stick while the dispute was heard. Their argument now drew several children. One stone lay further away, though a track in the damp earth showed where it had rolled.

“What do ye think, me Lady?” Elspeth asked.

Ceana called Paisley over. “Show me where each stone first struck.”

Paisley examined the tracks with grave attention, then planted one heel in each hollow. The cleaner throw had first touched the ground beyond the other throw. Ceana awarded it the win.

“Mine traveled farther,” the loser protested.

“Oh well, next time it most certainly will.”

Even Callum smiled as the others laughed.

Across the green, Oscar watched Ceana with the sharp attention he had given her behind closed doors. Her breath caught before Elspeth reclaimed her attention.