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Iris looked at her for a moment, not looking in the least bit convinced. She opened her mouth to speak when a beetle crawled across the path, drawing her attention.

Crisis averted.

They worked until the light went soft and gold. Laura sat on the low stone wall to catch her breath, and after a moment, Iris climbed up beside her, swinging her feet, her pinafore now beyond any hope of rescue.

“Your Grace, your back will thank you for stopping now rather than later. It is time for you both to wash up for dinner,” Mr. Whipp declared. “It was nice to share the day with you both.”

“It was most lovely to be of good use,” Laura said, meaning it.

“Good evening, Mr. Whipp!” Iris called out as the man gathered his things and set off toward the shed. Once he was out of earshot, she turned around. “Laura.”

“Yes, Iris?”

“Are you frightened of Uncle Nathaniel?”

The question was so unexpected that Laura answered honestly before she could think better of it. “No.”

“All right,” Iris said, twiddling her thumbs and kicking her legs.

“Should I be?” Laura pressed, unnerved by the question.

“Everyone thinks he’s scary.” Iris picked at a loose thread on her sleeve. “The maids whisper about it. And Papa’s friends used to say things before, about his temper. But he’s not scary. Not really. He reads to me every night he’s home, even when he’s tired, and he’s never shouted at me, not once, not even when I broke the good vase in the blue room and lied about it.”

“What happened when he found out you’d lied to him?”

“He said that lying was worse than the vase, and that I was to tell him the truth even when it was hard, because he’d rather have the truth and be sad than a lie and be comfortable.” Iris recited it well, like a well-learned lesson. “And then he hugged me anyway.”

Laura believed every word of it.

Her chest ached at the thought of Nathaniel alone in this cold castle, patiently teaching a small girl about honesty while the rest of the world called him a monster behind his back.

“My mama used to talk about him, you know,” Iris continued, quieter now. “Before…” she trailed off. “She said he was the best brother, even though he never smiled much, because he loved harder than anyone she knew. He just didn’t know how to show it right. I will always remember that.”

“I think that is wise,” Laura said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“She said that one day some lady was going to be very lucky, if he ever let her close enough to find out.”

Laura’s throat tightened. “She sounds like she loved him very much.”

“She did.” Iris nodded solemnly. “She’d like you, I think. You’re kind, and you don’t treat me like I’m made of glass. You got dirt on your dress and didn’t even mind!” She paused, and her small face, so bright a moment ago, shuttered all at once. “I wish she could meet you. I wish she wasn’t…” Her chin trembled.

Laura knew the feeling all too well.

The poor girl. I miss my mother, and I did not even know her. To lose a mother you knew…

She pulled the girl against her side, dirt and all, and held on. “I know,” she said softly into her hair. “I know, sweetheart. I understand more than you know.”

“Everybody leaves.” Iris sniffled against her sleeve, her small shoulders shaking. “Mama left. Papa left. Uncle Nathaniel goes away all the time, and I always worry.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere,” Laura assured her. “You’re stuck with me, Iris. I signed a marriage contract and everything.”

“You’re not married to me.” A wet, surprised laugh escaped the girl, half sob and half giggle. “And I don’t think that’s how cart acts work.”

“It’s exactly how contracts work. Ask anyone.” Laura giggled and pressed a small kiss to the top of her head, right where her hair still smelled faintly of soil and crushed primrose leaves. “Your mama sounds like she was wonderful. I’m sorry I never got to meet her. But I promise you, I’m not going anywhere. Not for a very long time. How does that sound?”

“Good. Do you think we could eat together more often?”

“Just the two of us?”