Page 6

Jasmine

There was a tense atmosphere in the negotiation room that had nothing to do with the fact that one of our pig farmers just passed by with a wheelbarrow full of fresh fertiliser. It was a smell I was quite familiar with, but the people from Grower's Cove seemed a little taken aback. It looked like Aster's eyes might be watering.

That wasn't what was causing my nerves, though. Over the past few days, I'd been getting to know Ryburn, and some of the other members of the delegation, and that was making it harder to be all business, even though I knew I should be.

It didn't help that talking to Ryburn was only making me more attracted to him, not less. He was charming, and smart, and knew when to be honest and when to be kind. If he lived in Purple Oak, then he was the kind of man I'd want to go on a date with. But he didn't, so I couldn't, and it was best for both of us if I ignored what I was feeling. I'd never been good at casual.

I cleared my throat and tried to chase away the thoughts so I could focus on more important things. "So, we're agreeing to the proposed exchange," I said. "Ten pounds of tea every week in return for a week's worth of wool, leather, and flour."

Ryburn nodded. "Yes."

"I know we originally proposed that deliveries should be once a month, but perhaps we should revisit that," I said.

"I believe once every two weeks should be doable," he said. "So long as deliveries are as frequent on your side."

"Of course. We could each send a trade delegation once a month. The first will be from Purple Oak Oasis, and we'll send your goods, and our people will bring yours back with them. Then Grower's Cove will send the second with tea, and take goods from here back with them."

"I think that's agreeable," Ryburn said.

"Good." I took a deep breath and tried to still my beating heart while I approached the next part. "We also want to compensate extra for workers to be brought in for our tea garden." Despite wanting to appear strong, I looked over at Katie. She nodded her encouragement. No doubt Brew had been able to convince her of the importance of us getting our tea production working for us. If she needed persuading at all.

Ryburn met my gaze, distracting me for a moment with how dark his eyes were. There was a hint of nervousness lingering within them that snapped me out of it. "We've considered whether that's something we wish to trade for."

I resisted the urge to look away. "We can come to an arrangement for a fair price," I promised. "We could discuss more about what the labour would be worth in wool, leather, and flour."

Ryburn cleared his throat. "We'd actually like to trade labour for labour."

I glanced at Katie, confused where their sudden request came from, but she looked just as surprised. They wanted labour from us? This was the first I'd heard about it. Then again, I supposed they had no idea we'd wanted anyone for our tea garden either, so perhaps it was fair that they got to blindside us, even if I didn't like it. I hadn't seen this coming. I prided myself in being able to anticipate requests like this, but this was taking me off guard.

"What labour?" I asked, hoping it wasn't going to be anything too outrageous.

Ryburn moved his arm in a way that made it seem like he was uncomfortable. "We think getting your tea farm to maturity will take a lot of time and skilled workers, and it could take months. Probably years."

I nodded. "It's not a small project." My intention had always been for the alliance between our two settlements to last that long anyway, so I failed to see the issue.

"It isn't," he agreed. "Which is why we'd like to ask for a project of our own. We want labour and knowledge to build our own water mill."

Surprise hit me. "That is unexpected."

"Is it? Just like you want the control and security of your own tea farm, we want to be able to mill our own grain. We believe it's a fair exchange." He spoke quickly, as if he wasn't entirely sure about whether he was doing this right. I could relate. While I'd shadowed my mother in meetings like this before, this was the first one I was in charge of myself.

This was a new request that I wasn't prepared for. Or in a position to decide by myself because the mills belonged to the Millers and they would be the ones who would have to oversee building a new one. I didn't think they'd have a problem with it, but it wasn't my place to agree to something on their behalf.

"It will have to be discussed with the other families," I replied carefully, trying my best to keep my composure. This had never come up in conversations before, but maybe that was because they hadn't seen the impressive watermill yet.

Until Katie and I had shown them around Purple Oak. Had that been a massive mistake?

"We can discuss the labour for labour once we've had time to look at the proposal," Katie said, jumping in the moment she saw that I was a little flustered.

Ryburn nodded. "Of course. If we agree to the labour trades, then we could up the frequency of goods exchanged once a week, and the workers could go with them. Or if you think that isn't acceptable, we can set up a trading post between us."

It took me a moment to snap back into the conversation. "I think our initial plan can stand if we're exchanging once every two weeks. We can arrange different routes and times so we don't fall prey to bandits or anyone ill-minded."

Ryburn nodded. "I see your point. Trading in the middle of nowhere could be inviting trouble. That brings us back to the mill. We are very keen on that."

"I can understand that," I said. "We'll talk with the other families tonight and give you a decision tomorrow. But if we agree that it might be a possibility, then we will need to travel to Grower's Cove to assess the land suitability and how much labour it would take to build it." That was the same logic they'd used about the tea garden, and I doubted this was going to be any different. It would probably be one of the Millers that went, which was disappointing for me. I'd love to see a different settlement and how they ran things.

Ford didn't look up when he spoke. "Mother Nature isn't going to be happy about that."

"Who isn't going to be happy about what?" I asked curiously.

Ryburn answered. "Mother Nature. She's our spiritual leader. She isn't too keen on outsiders entering Grower's Cove."

That sounded a little suspicious, and not just because it was the first time any of them were mentioning her.

"We will have to insist on a visit. Not just to make assessments for the mill but also to make sure it is safe for when we send our people." I hesitated. "And we want to see your tea farm. Just so we know what results to expect from our own."

And to make sure they actually had their own tea plants and weren't selling us tea from someone else. While I didn't think that was possible, dryads had too much pride for that, it was still something to consider. The world wasn't all daisies and sunshine.

Ryburn looked a bit uncomfortable but nodded. "It makes sense that you want to visit. We can arrange that. You can travel with us when we depart."

That was soon, and we weren't entirely prepared for that, but it would give us time to figure out how to approach this new proposal. And if it was even feasible. While I knew very little about building and construction, building a mill from scratch was likely going to be a very costly project. It might not even be possible.

I would have to consult one of the Millers and hope they gave a positive answer, or this treaty might be over already.