Page 34 of A Highland Duke to Claim Her Heart

Ewan glanced at her. “Well, she was having so much fun with the pie-eating contest, I thought I would not pull her away and make her go to bed.”

“That was very generous of you,” Cassandra whispered, and Ewan smiled.

“You told me to play with her more,” he said. “I think… I think that is what I was trying.”

Cassandra smiled. “Well, I think you succeeded. She will remember tonight for the rest of her life.”

“You really think so?”

“I do,” Cassandra said, looking away.

Ewan said nothing, but she could feel him watching her.

“She is very lucky to have you,” she murmured.

She felt something brush her hand and looked down to see his hand next to hers, almost touching. He did not take her hand, but for the rest of the walk under the moonlit sky, they stayed so close to one another that she could feel the heat of his skin against hers.

Chapter 13

“The drainage system is working better than we could have imagined.” Alaric grinned at Ewan from across the ditch that he was helping to build. Ewan leaned against his shovel, shading his eyes to better see his friend, who had just ridden up from the southern fields.

Alaric was still winded from the ride, but it didn’t seem to take any of the excitement out of him. “Roland said that this was the best drainage he has ever managed, that the crops actually look as if they will survive the wettest part of the season.”

“Did he really say that?” Ewan still could not quite believe his ears. To get this news so soon after installing the new system seemed beyond belief. He had been expecting at least several seasons to go by before they would be able to tell how effective it was. But from the grin on Alaric’s face, he got the sense that his friend was not exaggerating. He looked practically buoyant.

“He really said that,” Alaric said. “He would have come himself, but you know how he is. Does not like to give a compliment unless he absolutely has to.”

Ewan laughed. The old farmer Roland Pierce was one of his most taciturn farmers. Which also meant that if he was complimenting the drainage system, it was truly excellent.

“That was the system that used the stone pipes for run-off,” Ewan said, his mind already going to all the drawings and sketches that he had created when designing the system. He could see them now in his mind’s eye, could see the book that he had based them on, which had been a detailed study of the Roman aqueducts.

“You should be very proud, my old friend,” Alaric said. “You are devising a system that could revolutionize farming in the Highlands. And once you patent this and sell it to other farmers…”

Ewan shook his head. “I have no plans to patent it,” he said. “I do not want farmers to have to pay for a system that will improve their yields. I want them to have it for free. Improving the conditions of farmers in the region is reward enough for me.”

Alaric shook his head, but he looked pleased as well. “I can only imagine what Christopher would say if he was here,” he said, looking away across the fields. “He would not be pleased about that.”

“No, he would not,” Ewan said ruefully, and he allowed himself a moment to imagine the way his brother would rage if he knew Ewan was giving away his designs for free. Christopher had always been able to find ways to squeeze money out of any situation. He would insist upon Ewan patenting the drainage system, would probably already be hopping on a horse to rideto Edinburgh to see a solicitor. “But that is how we make the Highlands better.”

He thought, then, of his wife, of what she would say once he told her about the drainage system. Her project to improve the house after she moved in reminded him so much of his own to improve the farmlands, and as he imagined how excited she would be by his news, he felt a surge of energy move through him.

“I need a sketchbook,” he said. “Now.”

New ideas were coming to him, new improvements to try out in the next design.

“What if we increased the elevation of the drains?” he said, as Alaric handed him a sketchbook “And we could also add new lines, maybe increase the number of points where the water runs off. It will take more time and money, but if we move quickly, they could be ready in time for the winter.”

He was already beginning to draw when he looked up. Alaric was watching him with an amused expression, one eyebrow arched heavenward.

“What?” Ewan said, frowning at him. “Do you think it a bad idea?”

“It is not that,” Alaric said. “It is you. You are so animated.”

“Of course I am animated,” Ewan said. “My designs worked! This might be the first season that Roland’s farms do not completely drown during the rainy season. He might actually be able to plant new crops.”

“But it is not just that,” Alaric said, shaking his head. “I know you, and you are not usually this verbose.”

Ewan waited. He knew his friend had more to say. And indeed, Alaric took a step closer, the grin on his face growing wider.