Rowan reached beyond Ambrel to pull Terlu inside. “Come eat breakfast with us, and we can gossip all about my antisocial brother.” She was halfway through dressing, with a loose sleep dress on top and work pants underneath. Her black-and-gold braids were unpinned and curled around her face like vines before they wrap around a trellis. Ambrel was already fully dressed, in a wide skirt with many pockets beneath a heavy leather apron. Her hair was pinned up under a scarf. A curl had unfurled next to her cheek. As Rowan passed by, she lovingly tucked Ambrel’s curl back under the scarf before asking Terlu, “Are you sleeping with him? Is that why you’re so willing to overlook my brother’s faults?”
Terlu felt herself flush bright red. She wasnotgoing to answer any questions about her relationship with Yarrow.
Ambrel swatted Rowan’s arm. “Be nice. It’s completely inappropriate for you to badger her about Yarrow. She can’t control whether he wants to talk with us or not.”
Rowan protested. “I’m just making conversation.”
“She misses the florist shop,” Ambrel said to Terlu. “That’s why she’s being difficult.”
“I’m sorry you had to leave it,” Terlu said.
“It burned. There wasn’t anything left to leave.” Rowan sighed heavily. “Sorry. You’ve been kind to welcome us. And sorry about”—she waved her hand vaguely—“harping on Yarrow. He is the way he is.”
“It’s your home,” Terlu said. “Of course you’re welcome here.” In truth,shewas the new arrival. She didn’t think she had any kind of say over whether they came back to their home or not.
Rowan shook her head. “Itwasour home, and I think it can be again. But you… You belong here, I can tell. You love it here.”
Terlu wondered if she’d seen her outside, thinking that very thought as she looked out across the sea.It’s so true that even a woman I just met can see it.She wondered if it was as obvious how she felt about Yarrow. She’d never been good at hiding her emotions; she felt them across every inch of her skin. Blushing, she set the basket with the remaining honey cakes on the worktable and turned to view the workroom.
In the wake of Yarrow’s relatives’ arrival, the workroom had been transformed—drying laundry hung on strings that crisscrossed the room. The table was covered in stacks of recently cleaned dishes, as well as a pile of lettuce heads. She thought of Yarrow, going to check on the lettuce harvest. It looked as if one of his relatives had already been there. She wondered how he was going to feel about that. A mound of mushrooms was in a basket in the sink, waiting to be washed. Blankets and quilts and pillows were everywhere—every inch of the workroom had been used for sleeping.
Seeing her observing all of this, Rowan said, “Mmm, we kind of invaded. Sorry about that.”
“We’ll be moving into the cottages soon,” Ambrel said. “I’m about to head out to work on the chimneys.”
“Ambrel used to do metalwork in the city,” Rowan said. “She knows a lot about chimneys and forges. Everyone agrees Ambrel is useful. And smart. And beautiful.” She nuzzled her wife’s shoulder.
“Most of my work in Alyssium was ornamental,” Ambrel said to Terlu, “but I can fix hinges and nails and other practical work. In fact, it’s often the most satisfying kind of work. I will eventually get a forge set up for all of that, but first step is to fix the chimneys.”
“Sounds like you’re planning to make this home,” Terlu said.
“I’d been looking to leave Alyssium even before the violence began, so this isn’t a hardship for me,” Ambrel said. “Coming here was more difficult for some of the others who were more attached to citylife, but we’ll all adjust. And if we can make this a viable place to live…”
Rowan hushed her. “That’s a later idea.”
“What’s a later idea?” Terlu asked as she scooted aside a stack of folded laundry in order to surreptitiously study the spines of the journals stacked nearby. If they didn’t leave, she’d try to take a few back to Yarrow’s cottage to examine.
Ambrel shot her wife a look and answered, “We weren’t the only ones to lose homes. If this place works out, there are some friends we’d want to invite to come start lives here.”
“Only if the island can support it,” Rowan said quickly, both to Ambrel and to Terlu, “and it’s not guaranteed that it can, especially with the greenhouses dying. We won’t ask too much of Belde.” She shed her sleep dress and pulled on a tunic-like top. “Contrary to what my ornery brother thinks, wedocare about this place.”
Terlu wondered how Yarrow would feel about more people coming to live on the island. It would be good if it became a true community. Wouldn’t it? There was still the issue of her illegal spellcasting. Fixing the greenhouses was going to require a lot more magic. And the more strangers who came, the less safe she’d be. She didn’t know what to hope for.
Lightly, she said, “Guess we’ll have to see what happens.”
“Do you want us to distribute the rest of the honey cakes?” Ambrel offered.
“That would be wonderful. Thanks.” Her eyes slid to the notebooks. If they left, maybe she’d have a chance to peek at a few…
Rowan wrapped a ribbon around her braids. “If you’re looking for something fun to read, that’s not it.” She nodded at the journals.
“Oh, I’m just… Yarrow wanted me to pick up a few things, while I was here. Notes. His notes. On the plants. He… forgot them.” Terlu tried not to wince at how unconvincing she sounded. She wasn’t used to lying about books. Or lying about anything, really.
Ambrel tugged on Rowan’s arm. “Let the woman be. She has things to do, and so do we.”
Do they know?Terlu wondered.About my spellcasting?It was possible they’d guessed after seeing the sentient plants. Still, no one had said anything to her yet.
“You’re welcome to join us for dinner,” Ambrel said. “Vix is fishing so we should hopefully have an actual meal to offer.”
