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“I’m very sorry, your lordship,” the first woman said, doing her best to curtsy. “I didn’t know it was you, otherwise I would never have been so rude to you or your friend.”
“Please,” I said. “I’m not a lord. Just call me Traes.”
It didn’t matter what I said, they refused to go any less formal than Mr. Traes.
They ushered me toward the crops they were growing.
“Come see what we’ve grown!” they said. “Your soil is so dark and rich! It’s perfect for growing!”
I pulled back.
“If you want to show someone your crops, it should be my… friend,” I said, unable to think of another title for Bianca. I could think of plenty I wanted to call her but we weren’t at that stage in our relationship yet.
I wrapped my arm around Bianca’s shoulders and placed a hand on Cleb’s head.
“You said you grew up on a farm, Miss?” the woman said. “Then you’ll love what we’ve managed to grow on the good lord’s land…”
Bianca shared a look with me as she melted into the crowd of locals. She held Cleb’s hand and encouraged him to talk with the local children, who seemed very happy to share their toys.
She had a big impact on the locals, just as she had on my servants and Cleb. But nowhere did she have a bigger impact than on the heavy flutterings of my heart.
The locals wouldn’t let us pick the fruit and vegetables they were growing or help plant new produce—they thought it was below our station for some reason—but they did show us the “special techniques” they used to grow rapidly. Most of it was foreign to me but Bianca looked in her element.
I tried to imagine her on a farm somewhere and was surprised when I didn’t find it difficult. She wasn’t the girly type. I could imagine her slipping on her gear and trudging out into muddy fields.
The locals started a series of fires and placed cooking pots over them, and insisted we stay for a meal they cooked from scratch using their own freshly grown ingredients. They sent one boy back to their farm to collect some fresh meat. They couldn’t fail to miss the squeal Bianca emitted when they mentioned butchering one of the arjaths.
We stayed until the sun began to set and the stars came out. Cleb played with the other children. After eating, they fell asleep, curled up in the dozing arjaths’ soft fur.
“We should be getting back,” I said, getting to my feet. “We don’t want to leave too late.”
It was already too late. But our hosts divided the men in two, and half returned with the families, and the others escorted us through the woods. I was grateful for their kindness.
Once we reached the hard-packed earth of the path that wound through the last section of the forest, I knew my way. The men said goodbye and waved us off.
Cleb was already pooped. Bianca held him steady in the thick fur of her arjath as we walked the remaining distance home.
Home. It certainly felt that way with Bianca and Cleb living there with me.
I led Cleb’s arjath by the reins. The arjaths’ feet made soft clip-clopping noises that would have sent me to sleep if I wasn’t so focused on Bianca. She kept smiling and glancing at me. How couldn’t I feel good with someone like her looking at me that way?
“Thank you for letting the townspeople know who you were,” Bianca said. “I know it couldn’t have been easy for you to do that. Especially when you usually live like a hermit.”
I laughed softly.
“I saw how much you wanted to speak with them,” I said. “I just wanted you to be happy.”
“I am happy,” she said. “So, how was your day without work?”
She must have known how I would respond.
“Terrible,” I said. “I imagine the whole company has collapsed and now I’m destitute.”
“Would it matter if it had?” she said.
I thought about it. I put a lot of time and effort into building the company. If I lost it… I realized I would get to enjoy building it all over again.
“No,” I said, surprising myself.
