Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Aaron felt her presence before he saw her.
First, it was the scent of wild lavender that drifted toward him from behind. Next, it was the quiet sound of her footsteps as she walked up to him.
He did not know how he heard her, or how it was possible that he even knew what he had heard. But he knew that it was Edith before he turned around, and the mere consciousness of the fact caused his chest to tighten with a feeling closer to fear than irritation.
Edith slipped her hand effortlessly into the crook of his arm, and he stiffened at once.
“Good day, me Laird,” she said quietly from beside him. “I heard ye requested me presence.”
He had barely stepped away from Caelan and Robert. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Scarlett hugging her husband.
He looked down at Edith—at the top of her head as it barely reached his shoulder—and his jaw clenched at the sight.
She was not looking at him.
Her hair was a crown of auburn braids, pinned up and adorned with tiny flowers he didn’t recognize.
Where did she get those?
The white of the flowers was not her color, but it did not detract from the beauty of her hair.
’Tis nae me concern, anyway.
He blinked, almost convincing himself of the thought as he looked away from her. But in the same breath, he imagined her thick braids adorned with wild lavender and his fingers—
His fingers curled.
“Were ye about to leave?” Edith leaned closer to him, and her sweet scent drifted up to him again.
Hell.
“Nay,” he responded flatly. “I was waiting for ye.”
The words sounded wrong as soon as they left his mouth. But there was no taking them back now. Scarlett had heard.
He could have sworn he saw her eyes narrow. And for a moment, he wondered if Edith had told her the truth of their agreement.
Surely nae.
“Oh, Braither,” Scarlett drawled, stepping toward him. “I didnae imagine I would someday see ye like this.”
Aaron had hardly processed her words before she threw her arms around him, catching him off guard.
Damn me.
He sighed, returning the hug as his eyes pleaded with a smiling Caelan for help. “Scarlett.”
She only pulled back after she had had her fill, her smile wider than he had ever seen it.
She looked different. Not in a stark, glaring way, but in a subtle way. Her complexion was as fair as ever. She still carried herself gracefully. Yet there was a lightness to her that he could not place. A certain freedom to laugh more carelessly.
He softened at the sight.
“’Tis good to see ye.”
“Ye as well, Braither,” she said quietly, returning to her husband’s side. “I have missed ye so, and the news of yer betrothal has made me the happiest sister in the Highlands.”
Aaron’s lips curled into a small smile. His gaze fell on Robert as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind Scarlett’s ear.
The gesture was so effortless that Aaron found himself staring. They moved around each other as though they had done so all their lives, and Scarlett’s smile grew at every word Robert whispered to her.
Truly, they seem taken with each other.
Aaron’s heart stirred with a feeling he did not understand. He had never imagined himself the sort of man to display such affection. But watching the couple before him, he felt quite taken by it.
He reached for Edith, his hand finding hers as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Perhaps it will make our betrothal more believable.
But when she failed to look at him or even smile, he faltered slightly.
Caelan cleared his throat, breaking the silence that had begun to grow uncomfortable. “Lady McLaren,” he said. “’Tis a pleasure to have ye at the fair. Yer presence has been sorely missed by all.”
Scarlett turned her attention to him, finally leaving her husband’s embrace. “Thank ye, Caelan.” She smiled genuinely. “I have missed yer humor as well.”
Caelan nodded, satisfied. He took another sip of the whiskey he swore he could not drink, meeting Aaron’s gaze with a mischievous smile.
A silent understanding passed between them. He had broken the tension for Aaron’s sake, and he expected something in return.
Robert stepped toward Edith. “Pleasure to meet ye, Lady Edith,” he said, taking her hand gently. “Scarlett has told me all about ye.” He bent his head, planting a kiss on the back of her hand.
For the first time that morning, Edith smiled.
“Only good things, I hope,” she said sweetly.
Aaron’s eyes narrowed. He had not let go of her other hand. He held on to it, watching the interaction as disbelief tangled with a different feeling in his chest.
Robert was an ally and his sister’s husband. But if that kiss had lingered a second longer than it did, Aaron would have yanked him away with less thought than it took to draw breath.
“Are ye ready for the fair?” he asked abruptly, his tone sharp enough to draw Edith’s attention without startling her.
He did not expect a response. Besides their outing, he did not care for the fair in the slightest.
Still, Edith straightened, glancing at him for a brief moment.
“Aye,” she replied coolly. Then she turned back to Scarlett. “I think so.”
Think so? What does that mean?
Before he could press further, Scarlett made a delighted sound.
“Where are we going first?” she asked brightly. “I want to see everything. The stalls, the horses, the—”
“Ye will want to visit the market first,” Caelan interrupted smoothly. “Before it becomes crowded.”
Aaron frowned. He had not intended to start a conversation with anyone but Edith, but now everyone was speaking except her.
Scarlett turned to face her, grabbing her free hand. “When can we go?” she asked.
Aaron’s brows drew together. “We?”
“Aye. Edith and I.”
Aaron looked at Robert. “Should ye nae be showin’ yer husband around the castle?”
Robert laughed softly into his whiskey.
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Ye fine men have spent the last half hour standin’ about doing nothin’. Ye can show him around.”
Then, without a shred of guilt, she looped her arm through Edith’s and pulled her away from Aaron.
“The harvest festival will be upon us soon enough, and ye will have a fine binding then,” she added, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Then, ye can have her all to yerself.”
Aaron inclined his head. “Of course,” he said smoothly.
“Of course,” Edith echoed, her voice unwavering.
They had perfected it, this act of deceit. To anyone watching, they were perfectly aligned. But they were perfectly disjointed all the same.
Edith smiled at Scarlett, still not bothering to spare him a glance.
Surely, the lass is testing me.
Robert made a joke about having his entire life to keep Scarlett to himself, and they all laughed. All except Aaron.
Soon, the group was split into two: the men with their whiskey and the ladies with their smiles and practiced pleasantries. Scarlett and Edith moved around the Great Hall, the sound of their laughter carrying even amongst the cluster of women.
Aaron’s chest tightened. It would have been better if Edith had led him to believe that she had simply lost the ability to laugh or smile. But that was not the case, for she seemed jolly with men and women who stopped to speak to her.
He huffed and started on his third cup of whiskey.
Just then, his gaze fell on the last man he would ever want to see, and a muscle ticked in his jaw.
What business does the healer have here?
Edith spotted Martin almost immediately. She held Scarlett’s hand as she walked up to him. They exchanged pleasantries, which were quickly followed by what seemed to be a brief introduction.
Soon, both ladies were smiling at him.
Aaron’s anger flared at the sight. He shifted, considering marching forward to split them up. Just then, Caelan put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him before he made the wrong move.
He released a heavy breath through his nostrils, forcing his gaze away until Scarlett returned to their side.
“Back so soon?” Robert asked.
Aaron turned slowly to look, struggling to ignore the fire in his chest. Edith was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Edith?” he asked, his lips barely moving.
“She left with Martin,” Scarlett answered, smiling as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world. “Is it nae somethin’?” she added, turning once again to Robert. “Me friend will soon become a healer.”
“Do ye ken what for?” Aaron pressed.
“Nay.” She smiled, entirely unaware of the irritation spreading through him. “But is it nae wonderful? She has a physical examination coming up.”
Wonderful.
“She truly is remarkable,” Robert said.
Aaron looked toward the empty doorway. Edith had scarcely spoken ten words to him all morning, yet she had excused herself from the hall without so much as a word to him, to be with the healer.
“Aye,” he muttered, the whiskey suddenly tasting bitter in his mouth. “Wonderful.”