Knotted Read Free

minimum of three events a month?”
    Skorin shrugged. “I haven’t spoken to her, so no. She gets to be here in the gardens and she will pay a price for it.”
    “That seems a little cold.”
    Skorin looked at his second in command. “This isn’t a job for people who can’t keep their personal and private lives separate, Devnin. You need to remember that.”
    Devnin sobered. “You need to remember that there is more to life than duty, Skorin.”
    Skorin stabbed at the com unit and shut it off. His mother had been furious when he announced his formal union via proxy, but it was done. The woman was on Irudan and that was the end of it. He hoped she enjoyed her career in the gardens.
     
    * * * *
     
    Rowen was almost humming with excitement as she walked into the greenhouse filled with alien plants. The Gezs led her to an enclosed space.
    Ilo said. “This is where we put the sick ones.”
    “Where do you want me to start?” Her hands curled and uncurled eagerly.
    Liahnarika smiled. “The plant down at the end is toxic, but the sap has restorative properties to some alkaline species. Can you work with it?”
    Rowen set her bag down and walked to the shining sapphire shrub with hinds of emerald. She stroked her hands over the surface, not quite touching the plant. The leaves rustled and Rowen caught onto the difficulty the plant was having. “The pot is too big.”
    Liahnarika stared. “What?”
    “For it to grow the way it is designed to, it needs a smaller pot. This is a mountain plant that likes tight roots. I can revive it for now, but it needs to be downsized into a pot with at least a ten-inch decrease in diameter. It doesn’t like much soil at all. The toxic nature comes from the struggle to rise through the stone.”
    Ilo was grinning. “I believe that you have passed the test. Restore the plant to health and the transplant will be scheduled for tomorrow, Gardener Rowen Nakkua.”
    Rowen touched the plant and it plumped out, resuming an even sapphire sheen. She rubbed her hands on her bodysuit. “I am not affected by plant-based toxins. Never have been.”
    Liahnarika looked grudgingly impressed. “We will show you to your quarters in the manor. First meal will be served at dawn, second at noon and third at dusk. You can always get your own meal from the dispensers.”
    They were walking back through the greenhouse and Rowen looked around longingly.
    “Where will I be working?”
    Ilo looked at her. “We will begin you here for a few weeks and then consideration to putting you out in the great gardens will be given. Many of the trees are old and they can suffer illness that needs to be addressed in days. If a situation of that nature occurs, you will be sent for immediately.”
    Rowen nodded. “Understood. Thank you both for your time.”
    Liahnarika smiled. “The Nakkua family are good friends and we are aware of your situation. You might not be thanking us when you have to attend the first formal function as Lady Nakkua.”
    Rowen chuckled. “No one here knows me, I am hardly likely to be invited anywhere.”
    Ilo rolled his eyes. “You do not understand Irudan society. You belong to the family, so when they accept, you have accepted. I am guessing that Skorin married you to satisfy his family’s urge to have him representing them. You will be his proxy whether you like it or not. He is a very clever man.”
    Rowen felt nerves rise where joy had just been. She had been conned, and if she ever met her husband, she was going to kick his ass.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    The first week was spent going to and from the greenhouse. Rowen met with other gardeners and discussed the needs of the plants as well as the seasons that they would be facing once they were back in their proper place in the gardens.
    Every time she realised that she was working in a plant hospital, she smiled. She spent her days grinning.
    She was encouraging a pallet of new arrivals to steady after a soil imbalance when she heard