Chapter 18
"Would ye join me for dinner tonight?" Aaron asked as he watched Izzy waltz up the steps to the castle door. She paused at the top before turning to face him. Her face beamed as she arched a playful eyebrow.
"I don't know," she teased. "You might have to take up your request with my husband. He has a tendency to keep me hidden."
Aaron's chest tightened. How he wished he could swoop her up and pin her to his four-post bed. The thought of binding her ankles and wrists with golden fabric sent a chill of pleasure trailing from the nape of his neck to his cock.
If it weren't for Ryan standing at the door of the stables with his arms folded, Aaron would have seized the moment. A wave of frustration rippled under his skin.
"Is that so? Well, I could have him taken out altogether, if it would please ye."
"Heaven's no," Izzy said as she glanced at Ryan. Her cheeks flushed with a darker rouge as she adverted her bashful eyes. "And I don't think we should continue this with so many ears on us."
"Och, ye shouldnae mind me, me lady. I'm nothin' more than the Laird's shadow," Ryan explained.
Izzy rolled her eyes as she lingered at the top of the steps.
There was a question in her eye that nearly broke Aaron's resolve to head to the stables and tend to his horse.
It had been weeks since he spent any time with the beast, and his ride wasn't enough to stave off the energy his horse had.
"That's what bothers me," Izzy said as her head whipped to the window.
Her panic caused his body to tense. In a flash, Aaron's hand was on his hilt, ready to defend from any foe.
In the library window, Aaron spotted Chloe .
There was a shimmer of sadness lingering in her smile that broke Aaron's heart.
He wished there was something he could do to bring Chloe 's smile back.
It was almost as if Izzy's arrival had caused the household to shift, and Aaron didn't like it.
"Izzy," Aaron called as he wagged his finger at her. Excitement flickered through her eyes like lightning. She scrambled back down the steps all too eagerly.
"Yes?" she answered as she batted her eyes.
"Have ye noticed me sister?" Aaron asked as he tried not to make it so obvious that he was talking about Chloe .
"I've seen that she's a bit downtrodden. From what the servants have told me, she has been expecting a letter from someone named Thomas Mackeley and has not received it yet. I've been told this person is someone she fancies a lot."
Aaron's hands balled into tight fists at his side. The air whistled through his parched lips as he tried to take the news with a grain of salt. Since when was Chloe interested in anyone? And how was she introduced to Thomas? The fact that Aaron didn't know bothered him.
"I see. And I wonder when she was plannin' on tellin' me," Aaron grumbled under his breath as Izzy's fingers curled around his forearm. He looked at her hand on his arm. It was so small and fragile. He pulled in a long deep breath to steady his nerves before resting his hand on hers.
"Maybe she was scared to," Izzy suggested. "And seeing how you are reacting, I can understand why she did."
"She's too young to marry," Aaron mumbled through pursed lips.
"How old is she?"
"Mmmteen," Aaron answered, purposefully not giving a direct number. Izzy slipped her hand off him and folded her arms over her chest.
"She's how old?" she asked once again. "And speak clearly. We all know you have the voice of a mule."
Aaron let out a hearty chuckle. He'd been called many things, but to have his voice insulted was a new form of flattery.
"She's eighteen, all right? I'll nae say it again."
Izzy's eyes narrowed. "So, she could be lookin' to marry."
"Like I would let her."
"And that is the problem," Izzy said throwing her hands up. She shook her head as she started for the steps. "When are you going to see that your sister isn't a little girl anymore."
Aaron opened his mouth to reply but closed it the second he spotted flashes in Izzy's eyes.
It was as if she had been gifted the best idea in all the world.
A smile stretched her lips out as she clapped her hands together.
The clearer the idea formed in her mind, the bigger Aaron watched her eyes grow.
"I have an idea," she finally announced as she bounced on her heels. "It's perfect… But I'm going to need you to just play along."
"And what makes ye think I'm goin' to do that?"
"I told you that I'm on a mission now," Izzy said as she flashed a brilliant smile at Ryan. "And I've got the perfect idea. I'll tell you later, but for now, I've got to go."
Izzy threw her hand up to give him a wave before she rushed to the door and charged into the castle. Aaron's chest tightened. How he hated watching her leave. It was as if she took with her not only the warmth but the light as well.
"That seemed to have gone well," Ryan observed as he marched down the steps and took the reins from Aaron. Aaron bobbed his head and followed Ryan to the stables.
"Indeed, it did," Aaron said with a smirk. "Better than I could have planned."
"Are ye sayin' we might be lookin' for an heir?" Ryan asked.
"Nae yet," Aaron replied as he opened the stable doors for Ryan to guide the horse in. "But that's beside the point. Tell me ye have news for me."
Ryan dropped his shoulders as he tied the horse up. Aaron moved swiftly to the horse and unfastened the girth securing the saddle in place. As they stripped the horse of its gear, Ryan's silence unnerved him.
"Speak," Aaron grumbled.
"There's nothin' for me to report; that is what's so scary," Ryan huffed. "I thought we had a trail when I spoke with the servants, but it was a wild goose chase. It could have been anyone lacin' the whiskey."
"That's certainly nae the news I was hopin' to hear," Aaron said as he dragged the brush along the horse's body.
His heart felt heavy. If only the King wouldn't have forced the union, then Aaron wouldn't be responsible for an innocent.
Not that Izzy wasn't the most exquisite creature he had ever seen — she was.
She just shouldn't have been involved in the first place.
"What would ye have me do?" Ryan asked with determination. Aaron's lips tightened into a straight line as he mulled over his options.
"Place more men in the castle. I want Izzy protected, but I daenae want it to look like she's bein' followed or watched," Aaron decided.
"I'll double the men posted in the castle," Ryan replied. "And I'll see about puttin' a few extra eyes and blades on the wall."
"Nay," Aaron said, shaking his head. "Nae the wall. I get the impression me enemy isnae on the outside but in. And I want him smoked out like the rat he is. Keep the men on alert. Ensure they understand, they're to be like ghosts."
Ryan nodded and took off with his orders. Aaron finished tending to his horse, and only when he had it groomed and put back did he make his way to the castle. A heaviness settled on his chest as he looked to the dark, empty windows.
Where are ye? I ken yer in there somewhere. Ye may think ye can hide from me forever, but ye cannae. One of these days, I'll find ye and when I do, I'll see ye hanged till dead.
"Will ye watch where ye're walkin'," a husky voice grumbled as Aaron tripped over something.
"What in the…" Aaron gasped as he caught his balance. "Dougall? And what on earth brings ye out at this hour? Ye havenae been stealin' sips off the whiskey barrel again, have ye?"
"And what if I have? Sometimes a man needs a good, strong drink."
"Come on," Aaron said, half amused by the healer's drunkenness.
The last time Aaron had caught the man intoxicated was the night his parents perished.
The pang of doubt and uncertainty pricked at him as he helped the elder man back to the castle.
"I think ye need to rest. Maybe sleep off whatever ails ye. "
"The world ails me," Dougall bemoaned and threw his head back dramatically. "I cannae tell ye how shocked I am every mornin' when I wake to find the good Lord has nae yet taken me."
"He'll take ye when he is good and ready," Aaron said as he carried the healer to his chambers and helped him into bed. Looking over the man, Aaron made sure he was situation before leaving the man to grumble to the empty room.
"What was that all about?" Izzy asked. Aaron nearly jumped at the sound of her voice behind him.
"And just where did ye come from?" he asked.
"I'm looking for Chloe . I thought she would be in the library, but she's not there. Do you know where she might be?" Izzy asked as she batted her long lashes. Aaron gave a shrug as he scanned the hallway behind Izzy.
"Ye might have luck in the chicken coop. She often likes to go there to hide."
"Thank you," Izzy said and skipped along down the hall. Aaron's eyes stalked her as far as he could before she disappeared around the corner.
"One of these days, I will have me way with ye," Aaron mumbled under his breath as thoughts of her basking in the sunlight on the banks of the loch filled his thoughts.
His body trembled with longing. From the center of his being, Aaron felt a tug.
It was as if a cord bound his being to Izzy, and he wanted to follow wherever she may go.
"Laird McNeil," a servant called, snapping Aaron out of the illusion he had fallen into.
"What?" he grumbled, unable to keep the frustration out of his tone.
"Ye're wanted in the great hall. It seems the farmers have come for council," the servant explained.
Aaron's shoulders dropped. How could he have forgotten he was to oversee the rulings today?
The council had it marked for over a month.
And as much as Aaron wanted to blame Izzy for his absentmindedness, he couldn't. If anyone was to blame, it was him.
He had let her enchant him and ensnare his senses.
"Aye," Aaron said as he shifted from a longing man to the Laird. "Tell the council and farmers I'll be there momentarily."
The servant darted off for the great hall. Aaron stole one last glimpse down the hallway where Izzy had disappeared. He wished for just one more glimpse of her bright smile, and he could die a happy man, but he knew he couldn't wait there forever for her.
"By me sword," Aaron whispered to the empty hallway, "or me life, I will see that ye are safe, Isabella. I swear it."