“For sending food down to the village.”
Lord Halverton pulled back a little. “And thank you,” he replied. “For playing your role.”
She smiled faintly, choosing her next words with care. “I appreciated your support.”
He looked at her, puzzled. “Support?”
“When Lord Montbrass suggested you should be exporting more,” she reminded him. “You disagreed.”
“Of course I did,” he said. “If I had not, they would have increased my quota. And it is obvious I cannot meet those quotas and keep the farmers alive.” He leant in to kiss her neck again.
Aoife hesitated. “I’m sure you’ve done the figures, but… I think it might be worth a second look.” Her breath hitched as he sucked at her pulse point. “There isn’t enough kept aside for the villagers to survive the winter.”
Halverton growled in frustration as he pulled away again.
“I have done the figures,” he said, his tone measured. “There is enough food for the workers. Those who earn their keep. If they are going hungry, that is their own fault for sharing. People who cannot pull their weight should not be eating what others have earned.”
Aoife stared at him. “And the children? What about them?”
“If their parents cannot afford to feed them, they should not have had them,” Halverton said. “It is not my responsibility, nor the empire’s, to keep them fat and content.”
Aoife’s breath quickened as she fought not to say what she was thinking. Halverton stood, offering her his hand. She took it and allowed him to help her up.
Her window of opportunity was closing. Mind racing, she struggled to think what she might say to get the conversation back on track. Her throat tightened, but she forced her voice steady when she spoke. “You also stood up to Lord Severcombe,” she said, her face mere inches from his. “About the public works roads.”
“Aoife,” he said, and the way he said her name, not just correctly but with passion, made her heart flutter. “Do you not think this is a conversation best saved for another time?”
She had to tread carefully, but this was the first time they’d talked about the famine since the day she’d arrived. What if this were her only chance?
“People are dying every day, my lord. I don’t think it can wait.”
“Very well,” Halverton stepped away from her, sinking into his chair, arms folded.
Aoife sat down tentatively. This was her chance. “You’re not like the other lords. They only see what’s right in front of their faces. You see the bigger picture. They see the public roads as a defence against idleness, but you see it as the waste it truly is.”
He studied her. “You are very observant.”
It was a good start.
“It is true, I have no patience for the public roads scheme. Wasting resources on pointless projects is idiocy. If they focused on reclaiming the land instead, they’d have more to show for it.”
A spark of hope. “Could we start a project like that here? Food and board in exchange for working on the land. On projects that have a purpose.”
Halverton picked up his glass; he took a sip, then swirled it, studying the burgundy liquid as he thought. “I shall consider it.” He said at last.
Aoife’s heart leapt. She was already running through the idea in her head, picking out the best areas of land that could be turned into farmland, wondering how many people he might be able to hire.
Until he went on.
“Of course we would not need to adapt more land for farming if your people did not refuse to adapt to modern farming practises. They are still using primitive methods that exhaust the soil and yield poor harvests.”
“That’s not true,” Aoife said before she could stop herself. Halverton scowled at her, and she quickly reined herself inbefore continuing. “My apologies. But Farmer Gowra’s family has worked that land for generations. They know it better than anyone.”
“Then he is doing a poor job,” Halverton said. “If he can barely feed himself.”
“He can feed himself,” she said sharply. “He could feed the whole village if you didn’t take it away.” She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth.
Halverton stared at her, expression hardening. “Exports are necessary for economic stability.”
