God? It seemed silly to pray for a cat. Wasn’t it? But her prayer for Mamm-wynn had been answered, and Oliver claimed he prayed for his plants. Surely a kitten was no worse, so she finished her silent request. Please keep Darling calm and help him adjust to coming here. I don’t want to lose him.

She lifted the lid of the wicker basket, and Darling scrambled out—directly into her arms. Grinning, she stood again, letting him put his front paws on her shoulder as usual and being rewarded with his loud purr.

“This section here is the local history,” Oliver was saying to Sheridan, motioning toward a shelf. He must have been in the garden already this morning—the cuff of his sleeve, though rolled up to his elbow, had a dusting of rich brown soil upon it that made her smile. And she’d caught a lovely whiff of green things on him when he’d been standing at her side.

Bram was at her side now, looking even grumpier than he usually did of a morning. “Stop.”

She lifted her brows. “Stop what?”

“Looking at him like that. I won’t have it.” He’d folded his arms forbiddingly across his chest—which may have looked a bit more intimidating if he weren’t still clutching a dainty, blue-sprigged teacup.

And if her heart weren’t still feeling bold and strong from the conversation she and Mabena had enjoyed on the sail from St. Mary’s. It had begun with Mabena officially resigning as her maid and then asking if she might keep staying with her as a friend, and from there . . . well, from there it had been like what she’d always dreamed of finding with a friend. Laughter over Casek and Oliver, worry over the mystery, a bit of moaning over the interruption to her nature-watching plans. And the gentle reminder from Mabena that Libby always had a choice. They came with consequences—but they were still her choices to make.

She could stay here, despite Bram’s disapproval and the risk of Mama’s disappointment and censure. It would come with a cost. But she could do it. She could take her summer, even if she ended up having to stay with the Moons. She could see Mamm-wynn back on her feet. She could enjoy the neighbors she already wished were her own.

She could spend the days with Oliver. Which was her brother’s primary objection, and she met it now with a sigh. “Brother dearest, you need a new pastime. May I recommend rowing or sailing? Plenty of opportunity for that around here, and I daresay it’ll be a far sight more entertaining than worrying over me.”