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She didn’t lift her head. Instead, she played with the seam of my sleeve, avoiding my gaze. “You need an heir.”
“That isn’t why I married you.”
“You married me to free yourself from a curse.”
I stroked her cheek, but she didn’t lift her face. “Kate, look at me.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to see your regret.”
“I have no regrets.”
She kept talking as though I had said nothing. “I am sorry that I am weak and incapable of—”
I stopped her with a quick kiss. Then, before she could protest, I clarified, “No children until there is no longer a high risk of losing you.”
Her brows lowered. “Because bond grief could kill you?”
I groaned, throwing my head back slightly and taking a deep breath before gazing down into her concerned face again. “No, Kate! Because you are my wife, and I have no intention of ever marrying another.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Are you sure about that? I might be annoying.”
I laughed at that. “Never.” And then kissed her until Durvin interrupted us by knocking on the door to announce Illeron’s arrival.
Chapter Fourteen
Kate
I met with the gardeners the next morning. Master Bower arrived early with a flat cap, a glorious red beard, and a sour attitude. Taking a stand in the center of the patio I had chosen for our first meeting, he planted his feet, crossed his arms over his barrel chest, and glared at me from beneath his impressive eyebrows. His expression turned even grimmer when Sable’s cheerful bark broke the silence.
Elinor accompanied me because Opal had requested the morning off. I also brought along my new assistant, a willowy dryad named Theisi. Her silken, flowing mint-green hair, slender form, and luminously enormous eyes contrasted with my darker features and curvier figure, but she was efficient, organized, and an endless fount of information. She carried all the various garden plans that Emrys had received as well as note-taking tools.
Before all the gardening staff arrived, Kori and Sable appeared around the turn in the hedge. Sable’s inky coat glowed from her morning bath. I could tell from the twitching of his mustache that Master Bower wanted to say something, but I ignored him, giving my full attention to greeting my pup.
“How was she?” I asked Kori as they approached. Sable bounded up and hesitated indecisively at the hem of my skirt. She clearly wished to jump, but both Kori and I had been training her to resist. Finally, she spun around in a tight circle. “Sit,” I instructed.
She obeyed. Her tails lashed the grass as she watched me with wide eyes. Every inch of her body quivered with her eagerness for me to pet her.
“She listened well, although she enjoys water far too much. In her enthusiasm, she soaked me and half the room when I put her in the bath.” Kori smirked. “Be careful with this one. I suspect she is going to make a break for it the first time she gets close to a pond or river.”
Ignoring the growing audience as the second gardener, the undergardeners, and a boy or two approached, I kneeled down next to Sable. Patting my skirt, I motioned for her to approach. Suddenly, my lap was full of wriggling puppy. I rubbed her silken ears, scratched her belly, and dodged her long tongue with a laugh.
“Down, Sable, down,” I instructed while pushing her muzzle away from my face. She complied with surprising eagerness. Scampering away to Kori, her tails wagging, she greeted him again with an excited hop before turning back to run at me.
Standing again, I held out my hand. “Sit.”
She sat midgallop so that she skittered about on the gravel for a moment before coming to a halt. Bright-eyed and grinning with her tongue lolling out, she glanced around. Spotting the gathered assortment of employees, she yipped in excitement.
“Are we here to admire the mutt or discuss the garden plans?” grumbled Master Bower.
Purposefully taking my time to praise Sable before turning my attention to the gathered staff, I smiled mildly at the grumpy gnome. “I requested your presence to discuss your submitted plans for the garden.”
Theisi pulled forth the plans and handed them to me.
I held up the papers. “I read over the plans you submitted and noticed a trend. Why are all of you so set on removing the hedge maze?”
A chorus of voices responded.
“It is an eyesore!”
