Page 60 of Anice’s Bargain

“He won’t hurt you.” Anice rubbed a hand over Piquette’s head and the great dog tried to lick her face. She laughed and drew her head away.

“May I pet him?” the girl asked.

“Aye.” Anice waved the child over.

Without bothering to look up at her mother for approval, the girl raced over and patted Piquette on the head in rough bounces. Poor Piquette handled the assault with quiet endurance.

“What’s your name?” Anice took the girl’s hand gently and showed her how to properly pet the dog. Piquette’s tail swung back and forth with appreciation.

“Mairi.” The girl spoke without bothering to look up from the dog.

“See?” Anice rubbed her hand over Piquette’s ears. “He’s not at all frightening.”

Mairi smiled brightly.

Anice held the dibbling stick to her and knelt down so they were eye level. “Would you like to try?”

Mairi nodded shyly and took the stick.

“Jab it into the ground now.” Anice made a stabbing motion.

The girl did as she was bade.

“Perfect. Now put your finger in it to determine if it’s deep enough.” Anice demonstrated with her own pinky. Mairi followed suit.

“Is that deep enough?” Anice asked.

The girl nodded with a proud smile.

“It is,” Anice confirmed. “Now take these peas.”

“Four!”

“Aye, four.” Anice doled out the peas. “And put them in the ground.”

The girl did it with all the clan watching on. Her fingers, still dimpled with youth, patted down the earth to cover the planted seeds.

“I want to do it again.” She poked the earth, stuck her finger in the hole, nodded with authority and held out her hand for peas.

Anice handed her the remainder of the seeds in her hand. “Last one. The rest we must save for sowing, as these will be turned up when the land is ploughed.”

Mairi gave her a long, considering look, then knelt by the little hole she’d covered up previously and dug. With deft fingers, she plucked out not only her own four peas planted, but the ones Anice had sown.

She handed them to Anice with a solemn expression. “We should save these for harvest. Food shouldna be wasted.”

“That’s very prudent of you.” Anice closed her hand around the gift. It always softened her heart how children, who had gone without for so long, had to possess such a profound understanding of how important it was to conserve.

Mairi ignored the praise and instead tenderly pet Piquette once more. The dog took advantage and lapped at her face, much to Mairi’s giggling delight.

Anice got to her feet and addressed the clan. “The work can be done. The children can help, not only with the planting, but also when the shoots come up to keep birds and animals away.” She turned to James.

He watched her with a curious expression on his face, his brow furrowed. Suddenly she was self-conscious of the dirt dusting her knees from having knelt, and how it hardened into dry grit in the creases of her hands. She swept at an errant hair tickling her cheek in her discomfort, and immediately regretted the act, as it no doubt left dirt streaking her skin.

He had married a lady, and she was not acting like one.

“Aye, it can be done.” James strode forward and stood at Anice’s side. “And if ye need any help figuring it out, ye need only ask Mairi.”

The little girl straightened with pride and beamed out at her clan.

They all nodded to one another, agreeing the work did not appear complicated. Once it was determined the plowing would start the following day, the parceling out of land was completed, assigned by Engelbart who knew the lay of it better than most. Some plots had thatch homes still on them from the previous tenants, and others would need to be built.

Those whose dwellings had not yet been built returned to the keep to stay until they had their own shelter.

All the while, Anice cast anxious glances in James’s direction, curious at the way he’d looked at her, and hoped she had not compromised his authority by taking the lead.