Chapter 7
Izzy stared up at the beams of her ceiling as the night shifted to day.
Her mind was buzzing with Aaron's proposal.
Was she brave enough to go with him? What if it was some sort of trap?
Her heart raced as her mind kept jumping from one decision to another.
By the time the rooster had crowed three times, Izzy was far too wound up.
"Meet me at dawn." Aaron's words played back over in her head as she glanced to the window.
The dark horizon was shifting and starting to fade to a soft purple.
It wouldn't take long before the sun would peak over the horizon and flood the fields and moors, the crags and cliffs with a surreal glow that no doubt came straight from heaven.
"Oh fine," Izzy huffed and tossed the blankets off her.
It wasn't like she was getting any sleep in the first place.
Dressing quickly, Izzy wondered what sort of day she'd have or if she should blow off Aaron all together and do something she wanted to do.
Yet, the prospect of having her situation remedied was far too much temptation for her to pass up.
As she skipped down the steps, her heart skipped right along with her.
She couldn't remember the last time she had been so nervous.
It was as if she were being judged by all the ton.
A small smirk played at the corner of her lips as her thoughts shifted to her old life back in England.
Was there anyone who missed her? Or had her name been erased from the lips of high society?
The thought was both liberating and disturbing.
The moan of the large oak doors stole the very warmth of her body. She froze and glanced over her shoulder, wondering who might have heard her leaving. When there was no one coming to stop her, an idea flickered into Izzy's mind.
If there was ever a time she could escape, now would be that moment.
But just as quickly as the thought jumped into her mind, it was squashed at the sight of Aaron around the corner of the castle, horse in tow.
The smile stretching across his face was warm and welcoming as a chill settled in her bones.
"Mornin'," he said as he stopped at the bottom of the stone steps. "I have to admit, for a minute there, I dinnae think ye'd show."
"For a minute there, I wasn't sure I would either. But are you certain you want to leave in that?" Izzy asked as her attention shifted to the blanket of fog covering any resemblance of a path. Aaron's smirk stretched as he extended his hand to her.
"What's wrong with the weather? 'Tis a perfectly fine day to be goin' for a ride. Actually, it's a bit warmer than it has been. Must be changin' thanks to ye."
Well, isn't he charming… No… he's not charming; he's a brute.
"Come on then, up ye go."
Izzy froze as fear tightened its grip around her heart. The horse had to be at least sixteen hands and was as black as soot with a long black mane and tail. Her mouth dropped at the grandeur of the beast. The horse stomped as she approached as if it could feel the nervousness rolling off her.
"Rupert willnae bolt," Aaron reassured. "This horse was given to me by me faither when I was fifteen. He's the best horse I've ever had; ye just got to be confident when ye approach him."
Confident. Right, like that's ever as easy as it sounds.
She swallowed hard and took Aaron's hand. He pressed his hand to the horse's neck as she grabbed the saddle and pulled herself up. Aaron helped hoist her up and over the saddle before securing her feet in the stirrups.
"Are ye settled?" he asked.
"Like this? Are you mad? This is no way for a lady to ride," Izzy said breathlessly as she noticed the fabric of her dress bunched at her waist. The chill of the air curled about her ankles, sending little bumps racing up her leg.
The thought of riding like this through the ton caused her chest to tighten. Horror gripped her as she glanced over at Aaron and realized he hadn't been talking to her, but the horse. The way he pet his horse made her think he was reassuring the beast all would be well.
"You're not expecting me to…" Izzy started just as Aaron climbed up into the empty space behind her.
"Handle Rupert? Nay, by the look of ye, he'd be carryin' ye all over the place."
"This is unheard of," Izzy continued her complaint. "A lady needs to ride—"
"With a firm grip on the beast," Aaron said. "Ye cannae expect to ride like ye did when ye were in England. Ye're nae there anymore."
"As if I need a reminder of such things," Izzy huffed as Aaron took up the slack from the reins.
Izzy's body tingled as she tried not to focus on the fact that Aaron's body shielded the bitterness of the morning air. The way his arms curled around her was like a blanket to her, ensuring she was well protected at least from the chill.
"Are you sure you don't want to get a carriage or something? I can't even see the road ahead."
"Good thing I grew up here and ken this place like the back of me hand," he said. Sarcasm dripped off every word, and his hot breath tickled her ear as he spoke. There was no point in shifting away; Aaron was all around her, warming her.
"Have ye never relaxed a day in yer life? It's like the English daenae ken how to just enjoy the moment."
"I know how to enjoy the moment; the only problem is, I'm not fond of this moment," Izzy confessed as she glanced to the side. The height was staggering even with her sitting on the beast. Aaron's body trembled as he chuckled, rocking her along with him.
"Why the fear?"
"I'd like to survive the day, if it's all the same to you," she answered as confusion pricked at the edges of her mind. What sort of question was that? She tried to glance over her shoulder to glare at him, but her braid trailing over her shoulder took up too much of her view of him.
"Just the day?" he asked as he gave the horse some cue and it started walking toward the wall of fog and shadows.
"Or is this a goal that ye have every mornin' when ye get up?
And a follow up question to that, at night before ye say yer prayers, do think that since ye dinnae die, it was a successful day? "
"I don't understand," Izzy answered as she pondered his question. She couldn't figure out what was most absurd about it, perhaps the fact that he didn't understand the want to survive. His hearty laugh filled the grove causing the birds perched in the boughs of the trees to take to the sky.
"Where's the confusion?" Aaron asked as the fog cloaked the forest. Izzy's body tensed. Aaron's arms curled protectively around her as Rupert meandered along a road, Izzy couldn't see.
"Where's the road?"
"What does that have to do with me question?" he asked. Izzy's body tingled as his hot breath caressed her neck and ear as he spoke. Little bumps scattered over her skin, but they weren't caused by the nip in the air. She turned to glance over her shoulder at him, giving him a side eye.
"How are you not worried whether your horse is going to meander us right off a cliff?"
"There's nay cliffs around for miles. And we'd come to where we're goin' before then. So, again, why the fear? Even if he does, why the fear? We end up in heaven or, in yer case, England, and all will be well."
"As much as King James wants England to be heaven on earth, it never can be."
"Would ye look at that — we found somethin' we agree on," Aaron touted as the gray rolling fog around them slowly became more like a familiar friend than an ominous presence out to get her.
"Is it always like this in the morning here?" she asked as she fought the smile tugging on the corner of her lips.
"Ye mean the mist? Nay, only in the autumn and spring when the ground cannae make up its mind on whether it wants to be plowed. And lucky for ye, this will be the last we'll see till spring. Do ye nae have anythin' like this in England?"
Izzy's heart skipped. She didn't want to think about her home, not when she was surrounded by the magical realm that swallowed them whole.
She couldn't help but feel lighter in the fog — as if she had stepped into a place far from the toils of the natural world.
Somewhere in the distance, she could hear the low hoot of a barn owl resting in the canopy, yet she couldn't see anything but mist and cloud as it flowed around them.
"The mist will come in over the harbor, covering the city, but it's nothing like this."
"Aye, stone walls will take the charm out of anythin' natural. Honestly, I cannae see how anyone survives in such a place."
Izzy bobbed her head in agreement as she glanced around. The fog was lifting, and before she knew it, the sun's beams cut through the clouds like a knife. Songbirds filled the sky as the horse continued its slow steady pace over the rolling hills.
"I take it you would never live in England?"
"Do ye have any idea how much strength it took for me to cross the border into England to fetch ye? I put it off as long as I could. Had I ken then what I ken now, I wouldnae have waited so long. But what more can I do but live and learn?"
Izzy's eyes widened as a small village rose from the mist like some magical land. The fog and clouds along with the golden light of the dawn made the whole setting like a dream.
"Where are we?"
"We've nae left McNeil lands," Aaron answered with a slight chuckle.
"So, what are we doin' out here?" Izzy asked, her voice pitching with curiosity.
"Are ye always so impatient?" he teased.
"I'm not impatient, just excited."
"Aye, like a bairn, ye get yerself all worked up then before ye even get to the main event, ye've tuckered yerself out."
Confusion pummeled Izzy. She twisted in the saddle. The horse protested at the sudden shift of weight. With her balance off center, Izzy's panic shifted into fear as she started to slip. The moment was fleeting for as soon as she reached out, she felt Aaron's arm.