Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Edith hesitated for a moment.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the plain brown envelope in Aaron’s hand, reluctant to take it from him.
This could be a trap.
The envelope was addressed like a letter, but there was nothing to say it could not contain additional terms to their already tumultuous arrangement.
“What is it?” She looked up at Aaron, raising a brow.
His jaw clenched with impatience as he put the envelope in her hand, and only then did her eyes fall on the small note in the corner.
To me beloved, Edith.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Her pulse quickened with realization, her fingers tracing the seal on the envelope with fragile care.
“Scarlett…” she whispered, her irritation ebbing.
Her throat tightened. She had waited for this moment for weeks. Since writing to Scarlett, she had spent every waking moment wondering if her best friend was well and if she was ever going to write back.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she pulled the folded parchment out of the envelope.
Several times, she had tried to imagine Scarlett’s new life. Since her best friend had wedded a Laird in exchange for her stay at Hallow Castle, she had barely been able to keep from worrying about her. She had hoped that Scarlett was happy.
And now that the answer to her questions was in her hands, she could hardly bring herself to open it.
She lifted her eyes to Aaron’s. His expression was unreadable as he watched her.
“How did ye get this?” she asked, her voice tight with emotion.
“It arrived earlier.”
Edith swallowed, nodding as though that in itself were a piece of vital information.
The study suddenly felt too small. She breathed, feeling as though she needed more room. Somewhere far away from everyone and everything.
Her hand reached for the door instinctively, and then she paused, realizing a second too late that she could not just walk out while Aaron stood there watching.
She pressed her lips together, turning back to face him. “May I?”
“Aye,” Aaron responded before she had finished.
She pulled the door open and hurried out without shutting it behind her.
She did not have a destination in mind. She clutched the letter tightly in her hand, holding it as though her friend’s words might slip away if she did not read them soon.
She barely noticed anything or anyone as she hurried through the corridors. By the time she slowed to a stop, she found herself standing before the giant oak door that led outside.
She pushed the door open without a second thought, and the evening air greeted her at once, cool against her warm cheeks.
’Tis only right.
She crossed the courtyard, turned toward the back of the castle, and headed to the only place she knew she would not be disturbed—the old abandoned well where she and Scarlett used to hide as children.
It was harder to find her way under the dimming evening light.
That part of the estate had been untouched for years. The grass was tall, and the ground sloped gently downward. And yet Edith continued forward until she found the well, half-hidden beneath ivy and years of disuse.
Her heart swelled with nostalgia as she approached it slowly. The stones were worn smooth by weather and time, and wildflowers had crept up around the base.
She dusted the edge with her hand, sitting carefully and drawing in a deep breath before finally opening the letter.
A small smile spread across her face as Scarlett’s handwriting greeted her, gracious and elegant as though she had put a lot of thought into writing the letter.
The first line was almost as humorous as Scarlett could get.
Edith, you stubborn thing.
Edith pressed a hand lightly to her mouth as a laugh escaped her.
If you are reading this, then I have survived another week of being someone’s wife without losing my mind or setting anything important on fire. I consider that a success.
Edith snorted softly, warmth rising in her chest.
I do not intend to bore you with details of my life, but know that I am well and that Robert has been decent and kind.
A breath of relief escaped her as she held the letter closer, reading the words under the dim evening light.
Her brows drew slightly together at the lack of details, but once she moved on to the next line, her breath caught.
On to more important things—YOUR BETROTHAL.
The dramatic block letters told her at once that Scarlett had been shocked to learn of it.
The thought coaxed a giggle from her.
I surely hope my brother has been nothing but kind to you.
Edith scoffed.
Do not let him frighten you with all that Laird nonsense. I know very well how he can get, and I know you know too.
A breath of laughter escaped her before she could stop it. Before the arrangement, she had rarely seen eye to eye with Aaron, and Scarlett knew that and always defended him.
Write to me at once if he mistreats you. And do not fash. I shall give him a scolding once I arrive. Robert says I may travel in the coming weeks, and I intend to take him at his word.
Edith’s chest eased at that. She had been worried about going through the day all on her own, and now it felt nice to know that she would not have to.
Until then, try not to break each other. And if you do, make sure you win at it.
Yours always,
Scarlett.
Reaching the end of the letter felt wrong, as though it should never have to end.
Edith sat with the parchment in her hand for a long moment, reading it a second time, and then a third.
The evening had deepened around her. The sky above was a deep, grayish blue. The wildflowers at the base of the well had lost their color in the fading light, and the air had grown cooler against her skin.
Soon, she could hardly make out any word on the parchment.
She held it against her heart, smiling as though Scarlett might materialize to hug her if she were patient enough.
Try not to break each other.
She knew that her friend had intended those words as a joke. But in truth, Edith was no longer certain who was breaking whom.
She had entered this agreement thinking she had clear expectations. A month of performance and her freedom at the end of it—that was all she had planned for. But now, she found herself constantly getting lost in the midst of the push and pull that was her relationship with Aaron.
Why did he kiss me? Why did he get jealous? Why did he look at me in a way that caused me to forget what I was angry about?
There were so many questions that needed answers, and she had no one else to tell them to but her best friend. And in that moment, even though she had just heard from Scarlett, she missed her more than ever.
She drew in a deep breath, standing up and smoothing her skirt. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to make out the path back to the castle, and she walked slowly, being careful not to slip.
Finding her way back to the courtyard felt just like finding her way through her complicated relationship with Aaron. The comparison was too accurate to be funny, yet she laughed anyway, because the alternative was standing in the dark feeling sorry for herself, and she had more dignity than that.
She picked her way carefully through the tall grass, her eyes adjusting slowly to the dark.
Suddenly, a sound cracked sharply behind her, and she stopped.
What is that?
Her pulse spiked as she turned to look around, her eyes squinting slightly as she spotted a figure approaching her.
Perhaps it is a guard.
The courtyard was still a good distance ahead. No one would hear her if she screamed.
He doesnae walk like a guard.
Her chest tightened as she stepped back, even as the imposing figure closed in on her.
“It isnae that dark,” he said, and she recognized his voice at once. “Can ye nae see me?”
Aaron.
Her chest tightened despite the relief she felt.
“Ye scared me,” she said, a slight tremor in her voice.
Aaron stopped a few feet from her, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression unreadable in the dim light.