If there had been a way to return to the time, Elara was sure it would have the same result. No, perhaps, it would have a dim effect if she compared it to the present.
The man who was looking at her as her enemy just a second ago was standing in front of her now. He did not bring his men or his horse. A simple sword still hung to his waist but Elara was sure it was for her safety more than his fears.
He looked at her with a grim face but his eyes searched for the emotions she had shown him just a while ago. He looked lost. She smiled, a beautiful smile that was absent of any malice of hidden meaning making her blink.
"Shall we leave then?" the way she spoke. As if.. As if they were friends or strangers with no malice in the past. The easiness came to her naturally that he felt like a fool for not following it. The slow nod of his head made her smile. That smile was infectious.
They walked side by side through grasses still wet with morning dew. In the distance birds hidden in the green depths of the woods chirped at them as if welcoming them on their new journey.
"We have been planting a lot of fruit this year. There is a lime tree in the eastern part while the north is covered with apples. We have oats and barley too as grains and recently the gardener had taken a keen interest in taro roots with potatoes." she smiled softly. He had found that the march was handled by another woman till three months ago. She hardly had a role in running it. Yet she knew about the land so perfectly.
As if all three months she had devoted to this land. Would a woman busy in the pleasure of flesh have so much time? The thought diseases him.
When he had appeared to her, he knew so clearly that she was an enemy, a simple feeling. But with every passing second, he found himself lost in more complex emotions and thoughts.
His mind taunted him hard. Why did it matter whether she was a devoted marioness or a vain woman full of pleasure. She was his enemy.
"The weather is much better today.'' He found her eyes looking fairly and impartially toward the landscape while he… he did not notice a single thinh.
How easy it was for her while he was suffering in pain and dilemma.
"So it does." He tilted his face to the sky, then closed his eyes, basking in the light. If she could relax, then he could. There is no need to overanalyze the simple walk. Perhaps she wanted temporary peace.
If she did not harm him and his men, he would offer it to her.
If there were any guards following her without her knowledge, Elara wanted to get rid of them. But she had never thought that just by closing his eyes and enjoying the sun, Lenhard could look so… she was imprisoned by his look. His slightly tanned skin and his golden locks looked like it was made for the sun. her mouth went dry. She took a hard breath. He only looked at the sun and what was there to stare at. More than that, she was only acting so that his guards would be down.
"I hope it stays because if it rains, we will suffer a big loss." he raised a brow at that. Everyone knew that marquees depend more on his trade lines. But she talks about these lands as if her future depends on it.
She sensed the confusion from him. But it would be hard to explain to a man like him. Men who only think that everything is a means to an end. They did not care about the process, only the result. She had come to love this land.
They were the only source of pleasure in her life. She has bowed so many seeds with her own hands that she waited for them to grow like a mother waiting for a child to come.
"If you worry about rain, then you must try to make shelters and have poultry too. Recently the demand for milk is increasing and meat has always earned a good price in the market. You will love to see how they grow easily if you provide them with weeds to eat."
She opened her mouth to agree, then caught herself. This was not her decision to make. Philip would beat her to death if he came to know that she was making plans as if the land belonged to hers.
But he had never cared about the land himself either. All he did was to spend time with those men in the darkness. She had thought that he was having another affair but who would have thought that he was planning a reason and he had roped her brother in it.
"What made you care about the land and agriculture? Surely a man that belongs to the king's court and performs his bidding if o higher value than this mundane task.'' He raised a brow, offended that she was so quick to judge when he could ask the same question for a monique.
"I have my own lands. And since they belong to me, it is normal that I take care of them." always so protective when it comes to his things. Everything.. But her. He had abandoned her when she needed him. She looked away at that thought.
"I will see what I can do later. If I have a chance with you, issuing a threat to this land. I have no idea how long it will survive." she bit her lips. She had decided not to be cold to him. She had to earn his trust and taunting him was not a way to do it.
But he only laughed at her. She could not guess his thoughts.
"It is your husband who has put you in trouble, my lady. Not a man who had come to protect the land."