The sun hung high in the clear sky, pouring bright light over the fields and giving the crops and wildflowers the warmth they needed. Below that brilliant canopy the guests stood in a loose group behind the man as he set the shovel aside and began the first part of the lesson.
"The first step in tilling is removing the grass," he explained in the same icy, measured tone he had used all morning. He drove the hoe into the turf with a practiced motion and pulled back.
Shhhk.
He continued without looking up, the only sound the steady scrape of the blade and the soft tear of roots leaving the earth. After clearing a small path he finally stopped and turned to the group.
"Did you watch all that?" he asked, tone as icy as ever.
The guests nodded at once. They had watched every movement with careful attention.
