The Pillars Of The World

I’m not fond of them, so I leave most of them for the birds and the Small Folk to harvest. I have a beehive as well, and they share their honey with me.
    And I trade some baking and honey to Ahern for eggs and milk . . . and a bit of meat. It gets me by.”
    All of that, and more, was there for the asking in Tir Alainn, Dianna thought. The Fae didn’t wonder if there might be enough. There was always more than plenty.
    “It was kind of you to stop by during your ride,” Ari said. Her smile seemed a little forced, a touch impatient.
    So much for my assuming she would be delighted to entertain a gentry lady coming for a visit , Dianna thought.

    Courtesy forbids her from saying out loud, “Go away and let me do my work,” but her eyes say it all the same. In another minute, even courtesy won’t keep her standing at the wall. She’ll phrase it more politely, but she’ll tell me to go away. She will. I haven’t dealt with many humans. I’ve never wanted to. But they’ve crossed my path enough for me to know she’s different . Why is she different ?
    “I’ll help you plant the garden,” Dianna said impulsively.
    Ari’s mouth fell open. “You— You’re going to help me plant ? You’re going to dig in the dirt !”
    “Why not? You do it, and it doesn’t seem to have any ill effects.”
    “But . . . but . . . you’re a lady .”
    She already found the pretense of being a gentry lady sufficiently tiresome to welcome shedding it. “I may be a lady, but I’m also a woman.” She smiled, but she knew her eyes revealed a bit of the Huntress. “I’m not as weak as you seem to think I am.”
    “Oh, I don’t think you’re weak,” Ari said hurriedly. “It’s just—” She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “Well,” she said after a long pause, “the work will go faster with an extra pair of hands.”
    “That’s fine then. I’ll—” — find some way to get out of this fiend-made saddle without falling on my face or making a fool out of myself .
    Ari seemed to be considering the same problem. “How do ladies dismount when a gentleman isn’t around to help?”
    With no charm and little grace , Dianna thought sourly, suddenly understanding Ahern’s malicious amusement when he saddled the mare for her that morning. The other day she had simply scrambled out of the saddle in order to reach Ari before the girl fell. Today, dismounting didn’t seem as easy.
    “Maybe you could use the wall?” Ari said hesitantly. “Or the chopping block out back?”
    Dianna frowned at the wall. It was high enough for her to step onto it—as long as the mare cooperated.
    She brought the mare around so that the animal stood next to the wall. “Hold her head.”
    When Ari had a firm grip on the reins, Dianna carefully dismounted, stepping onto the wall. Half turned to keep one hand on the saddle for balance, she wobbled on the wall, wishing the round, uneven stones offered better footing. She shifted one foot, planted it firmly on the hem of her riding habit, lost her balance, and, with a small scream, fell across the mare’s back.
    The mare swung her hind quarters away from the wall, taking Dianna with her.
    “Oh, dear,” Ari said in a choked voice.
    Silently cursing Ahern, Dianna slid off the mare’s back, then glared at her companion. “Don’t you dare laugh.”
    “I wouldn’t, Mistress. Truly I wouldn’t.” Ari clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes dancing with suppressed laughter.
    “Not Mistress, just Dianna.” Brushing at her skirt, Dianna took the mare’s reins in her other hand. “
    Mistress is a lady who has to remain dignified and polite even under these circumstances. Dianna does not. Since I’m not feeling dignified or polite at the moment . . .”

    “Yes.” Ari cleared her throat. “I understand. Why don’t we take the mare around back and let her graze.
    ” She studied Dianna’s riding habit. “And we should find something for you to wear so that you don’t get your clothes dirty.”
    “Fine,” Dianna said, looking at her clothes. As if that mattered now. Then she whispered in the mare’s ear, “If you don’t behave, I’ll feed you to my shadow hounds.”
    After tying the mare outside the cow shed, Dianna followed Ari to a bedroom off the main living room.
    “Isn’t it unusual to have a bedroom in this part of a house?” Dianna asked, looking around. In a Clan house, none of the private suites were connected to the communal rooms. Perhaps human cottages