Chapter 8
"Fresh bread."
"Cod, get yer cod."
Izzy smiled as she tried to figure out which side of the street she wanted to look at. With so much going on all around her, she wondered how she'd be able to take it all in. Smells she couldn't place swirled around her. Some were delectable, stirring her hunger, while others made her nose crinkle.
"What would ye like to see first?" Aaron asked, his voice coming from behind her.
Glancing over her shoulder, she couldn't help but flash him a brilliant smile of utter joy.
Not even the frost fairs on the River Thymes brought her this much pleasure.
There were just far too many things that were new for her to see.
"I don't know. What do you do when you come to the village?" Izzy asked as the sound of music caught her ear. The melody was light and tickled her toes, making her want to dance.
"That is nae what I asked ye," he answered as Izzy's ear tilted to the origin of the music.
"Can we find the music?" Izzy asked.
"Ye want to chase the pipes, do ye?" Aaron's eyebrow arched as his lips curled at the corner into a playful smirk.
"Should I know what that means?" Izzy asked. She kept her voice low as her gaze shot to the faces around her. Embarrassment kissed her cheeks as she turned her gaze on Aaron. His smirk stretched as he grabbed her by the shoulders and directed her to the narrow alley.
"Chasin' the pipes is a game that ye'll find the wee ones playin'. The young ones will be let loose around the alleys tryin' to find the music. It's a way to keep them occupied for a bit."
"And what happens if they find the piper?" Izzy asked as she caught movement in the corner of her eye. Her head whipped about as she spotted the jolly piper skipping through the alley.
"Whoever finds the piper gets the sweet," Aaron said. Izzy couldn't help but notice his eyes narrowing and his back stiffening. "But if ye want sweets, there's a place just around the corner. We can get plum cakes there if ye'd like?"
"Is everything all right? You look as if you've seen a ghost."
"All is well," he answered. "But I think we should skip the game this time. After all, if ye're to be me wife, ye'll be able to join in every year if ye wanted to. But we only have the day."
"And then?"
"Marriage," Aaron answered with assurance ringing through every syllable.
The fact that he seemed utterly unaffected by such a thing rattled her to her core.
How could he be so careless with his heart to just give it away to anybody?
The thought irked Izzy. They barely knew each other, let alone had any emotional attachments and the idea of being married come morning felt more like she was preparing for a funeral.
Izzy pulled in quick gulps of air, hoping that the dizziness would go away.
But nothing she did to calm her frantically beating heart was working.
She glanced at Aaron, who was looking confident.
But what sort of marriage could she possibly have with him, a Scot?
Had she not sworn she'd never end up like her parents trapped in a loveless marriage?
And yet, here she was, decreed by King James himself.
"I don't feel so well," Izzy said as she glanced around at all the delighted faces of the children as they fell behind the piper dancing and skipping to his tune.
"But what do ye say we get those cakes? Perhaps gettin' somethin' in ye to eat will help," Aaron corralled Izzy from the merriment of the children as the tune picked up the pace. A pinch of worry and concern flickered through Izzy like a lightning bug in the dead of night.
"All right, what is going on?" she exclaimed once Aaron had pushed her back out to the main road with the vendors and merchants. The second he was surrounded by the people, his demeanor shifted once again. Izzy folded her arms over her chest and glared at him as she planted her feet to the spot.
"The music was gratin' on me nerves is all," he answered. "When ye can remember yerself runnin' after the piper and failin' because ye just werenae fast enough, it stings."
There was a mischievousness about him. A gleam in his eye that unnerved her. She chewed her lower lip as she contemplated on whether she could trust him. There was a possibility that he was lying to her, but why he would lie about such an innocent thing confused her.
"Why do I not believe a word coming out of your mouth right now?"
"Let me guess, is it because I'm a Scot?" he fired back. "And here I thought we were past that."
"No, it has nothing to do with that," Izzy said as she stepped closer. Her gaze was direct as she tried to flex her brain power and read his mind to no avail. "There's something else."
"Are ye always this suspicious?" he asked as he recoiled from her and flashed her a look that made her question her actions.
"Do you always lie?" she asked as she heard a soft whimper coming from behind her.
The cry was subtle but loud enough to catch Izzy's ear.
She turned to face the alleyway they had just come out of.
Aaron's hand was on her shoulder, trying to redirect her attention away from the shadows and sound. "What is that?"
"Nothin'," Aaron answered. "But we really should go."
"You don't hear that?" Izzy asked, refusing to forget about the cry. She stepped back into the alleyway. The soft cry echoed easier off the walls of the alleyway.
"Aye, and ye need nae pay any heed to it."
"But it's just a baby," she said as she continued her hunt for the child.
"Trust me on this, we need to turn around and leave it be."
"What if it needs help? What if it's lost?"
"I promise, the babe is nae lost, nor does it need ye. It's a ploy to get mugged. And if we daenae turn around now —"
"Oh, it's a bit too late for ye, now." A husky voice rumbled through the alley. The soft pleading of the child shifted to an eerie laugh. Fear gripped Izzy as she whipped about on her heel, ready to flee.
"Get behind me," Aaron demanded as he drew his dirk, ready to defend as three huge men blocked their path. Izzy's chest tightened. Her body tingled as little bumps raced along her neck and shoulders.
"Ye're outnumbered, lad. Just hand the lass over, and we can give her back in a few hours," the brute said causing his cohorts to chuckle darkly. The smirk on the man's face stretched into a devilish grin as a flash of malice flickered in his eyes.
"Well, I'm nay gamblin' man, but I think I like me odds. Ye want the lass, ye'll have to go through me."
"Daenae be a fool. Ye can walk away right. But one way or another, we're goin' to take the lass," the brute said as he started to speak in a harsh rough language Izzy couldn't understand. Aaron snapped back with the same rough tongue as he planted his feet, readying himself for the fight.
Aaron rolled his shoulders and steadied his breathing. He glared at the men before him as he tested his grip around the handle of his dirk. In the back of his mind, Aaron was hyper aware of Izzy behind him.
Her panic rolled off her like a storm crashing against the northern shores of Scotland.
He dared not take his eyes off his foes as the first nudged his head.
The man to the brute's left hoisted his sword up, and with a loud roar, he charged.
Aaron stood his ground, and with three swift blows, the attacker dropped.
Izzy's scream rattled him, but Aaron had no choice but to keep going. It was their lives at stake, and he refused to be distracted from the task at hand.
"Let me go," Izzy cried out. Aaron whipped around. His arm flew, slicing his dirk through the air. The blade missed the attacker's face by inches as Aaron watched Izzy thrown over another's shoulder.
"Ye're a dead man," Aaron growled. Rage ripped through him, giving him the stamina to plow through the two attackers with ease. As their bodies dropped to the dirt, Aaron spun about, his sights on his target.
Izzy toppled from the brute's shoulder, landing hard in the dirt.
Without missing a beat, she pummeled the brute, and her fists bounced off the attacker's shoulder as she did her English best beating the man with her fists.
Without hesitation, Aaron darted for her.
With each step he took, a plan formed in his mind for his attack.
He'd have to be careful with Izzy in the middle, but she wouldn't be harmed, not if he executed his plan perfectly.
The brute took a hard left, slamming his shoulder into the corner. Aaron took the opportunity and snatched the biggest rock his fingers could pick up. Pulling back his arm, he let the rock fly.
The man fell as Izzy screamed.
Aaron rushed to the slain foe, dropping to one knee to check on Izzy.
Despite being flustered and a bit alarmed, she hadn't been injured.
She looked up at Aaron, trying to brush back her mountain of hair that had come undone from the ordeal.
She looked like a wild child or even a gypsy and would have passed for one had it not been for her accent.
"Are ye all right?" he asked as he offered her his hand. The man under her moaned as she climbed off him. She looked adorable with the streaks of dirt along her cheek and nose. Her wild hair swirled with the wind as she tried to dust herself off.
"I think so. Did you…" she asked as her voice trailed off, cupping her hands to her mouth as she debated on looking at the injured man at her feet.
"He's nae dead, if that's what ye're thinkin'," Aaron answered as he brushed his thumb over her cheek.
She looked as if she'd been lost at sea.
There was a vacantness in her gaze that broke Aaron's heart to see.
Shock jabbed at him as he watched Izzy try to keep herself under control.
She mumbled under her breath as her hands trembled uncontrollably.
Her head bobbed as she pulled the tie from her hair to let it down.
"We should get back to the castle and have ye cleaned up," he suggested as he scooped his arm around her waist just as she began to sway.
"I just don't…" she mumbled as she eased into Aaron's body. "I don't understand."
"What's that now?" Aaron asked as he helped her through the alleyway and back to the main street.
"A world where a child is wrangled into a con. No child should ever have to be subjected to such things."
"Aye, but that is the times we are livin' in," Aaron said. He tried to keep the sarcasm and cynicism from his tone. "There are people here that are in need of things. Some resort to workin' harder, but others follow a less savory path."
"And you? Where would you fall on that line of yours?
" she asked. Aaron tried to assess her question.
Was she trying to goat him into an argument?
There wasn't any malice in her tone that would make him think so.
Yet, he had to keep his guard up around her.
He'd seen far too many men succumb to the wiles of a pretty face.
"I'd like to think I'm somewhere in the middle.
But am I goin' to lose sleep over people starvin'?
Nay. I cannae. There's only so much a laird can do for his people.
After that, it's on them. Now can ye walk?
If they come back around and see ye lookin' weak, they'll attack, and I fear they'll win this time. "
"Why?" Izzy asked as fear flickered through her eyes. Did she doubt he could keep her safe? After what he had just done to get her back from their vile grasp, she would question such a thing?
"I'm too focused on takin' care of ye," he answered. "It puts a target on us. Makes us look weak. If ye stand and put on a brave face, even in the face of death, then ye just might get that chance to run away."
"I take it you've been in many battles to have such knowledge."
"Fightin' is nae what is the important part. In the heat of the fray, that's where a man is forged and molded. Either that moment is goin' to shape ye, or ye'll shape it. And that goes for both the lads and the lasses. Survival is a learned skill. Ye'll learn to harness it quickly or die."
"I suppose a thank you is in order then. You came for me. You saved me. Again," Izzy observed. Her voice was light, almost as if it were the breeze itself skipping through the valley.
"Ye say that as if ye werenae expectin' it."
Izzy shook her head as Aaron led her to the blacksmith stables. He pushed through the doors and brought her up to the last stall.
"If I'm being truthful, I didn't think you would. I figured you'd be glad to see me gone. Then the King wouldn't have anything to say other than what a freak accident."
"I wish it were that simple, but knowin' me luck, the King will think I hired the men to get rid of ye, and then I'd be walkin' up to the gallows for treason. Nay, thank ye. If I'm bein' honest, I'd rather marry ye than go through that mess."
Izzy tried to flash a smile, but it looked weak and frail. "I suppose there is an adverse reaction to one losing their life. Still, I am grateful. Thank you."
Aaron couldn't help but let out a hearty chuckle. Izzy's dry, cynical humor was unexpected. Her eyes widened as he opened the stall to get his horse.
"Ye're welcome," he answered over his shoulder. "But I wish ye'd do as I say."
"Are you saying getting taken hostage was my fault?" she asked, her voice pitching with emotion.
"Aye," he sternly answered. "It is. To say otherwise, ye'd be foolin' yerself."
"I didn't ask to be picked up by that brute."
"And did I nae tell ye to leave the child be? If ye would have listened, we would still be enjoyin' the festival, maybe even enjoyin' some of that plum cake I was tellin' ye about."
Izzy opened her mouth to protest only to clamp it shut and drop her shoulders in defeat.
"I thought they were in trouble," Izzy tried to explain as Aaron watched her fight back the tears. Watching her eyes redden cracked the icy wall around his heart. He didn't want to make her cry, but she had to learn if she was going to survive in these parts.
"That's what they wanted ye to think. But I'm sure once ye have yer own bairn, ye'll be able to hear the difference in the cry," he said as he guided his horse out of the stable. As soon as they were out in the open, Aaron hoisted Izzy up into the saddle.
"You speak as if you have a child."
Aaron shook his head as his thoughts shifted to Chloe . He pulled in a long deep breath and pushed aside the memory before it could draw out his tears.
"Aye well, Chloe is me sister, but I helped raise her from day one," he answered as he climbed into the saddle behind Izzy.
Her body warmed his inner thighs and tempted him.
He looked up to the sky as if expecting his help to come from the heavens before reaching around to grab the reins.
"I ken it's nae the same, but I'm sure there's more than plenty similarities, and I never heard her cry so calmly. "