Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Edith’s eyes widened, and for a moment, she simply stared at the woman standing in the doorway.
Scarlett looked exactly as she remembered and yet somehow different. Her smile was the same, light and mysterious, with a glint in her eyes. And yet there was something softer about it. About the way she held herself.
Her hair was pinned differently now, woven with ribbons Edith did not recognize. There was a gold chain around her neck—a befitting replacement for the silver medallion she had worn all her life—and a ring on her finger that had not been there before.
“Ye look as though ye’ve seen a ghost,” Scarlett drawled.
The words snapped Edith out of whatever daze she was in. She ran across the room, throwing her arms around her friend before she could think better of it.
“Och!”
The force of her hug nearly knocked them both backwards as Scarlett laughed in surprise.
“Ye came!” The words escaped Edith before she realized how much she meant them.
She drew back reluctantly, taking a second look at Scarlett’s face before drawing her into a hug tighter than the first.
“Of course I came,” Scarlett managed, her voice ringing with laughter despite the tightness of the hug. “I ran all the way here to see ye.”
Edith beamed.
She could not believe it. She felt as if she had not seen her friend in ages, though it had only been a couple of months.
They pulled back from the hug, holding hands as they stared at each other like long-lost lovers.
Scarlett’s eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Now tell me,” she said teasingly, “how did ye become engaged to the one man who swore he would never marry?”
Edith almost gasped, relieved and overwhelmed at once. For the longest time, she had longed to tell her best friend about everything that had happened in the castle, and now she had the chance.
She glanced at Violet, who was still standing awkwardly next to the bedside chair where she had left her, and gave her a small smile before turning back to Scarlett.
“Come,” she said, leading her best friend out of the room. “I will tell ye everything.”
Edith ran down the corridor hand-in-hand with Scarlett as the morning breeze carried their dresses behind them.
It was as though they were little girls again.
The world around them faded into nothing but bliss and the joy of their own company. They giggled as they made their way to the old library, where they spent most of their childhood together.
They pushed open the door, Edith holding one hand over her nose as she stepped into the room. It did not matter that it was dark and dusty; Scarlett stepped in behind her, their laughter muffled as they pushed open every window within their reach.
Soon, the dust settled.
“I cannae believe it,” Scarlett giggled, her eyes shining with nostalgia as she took in the nearly empty space.
“It isnae always this dusty.”
Scarlett looked at Edith. “Do ye often come here?” she asked, clearly in disbelief.
Edith nodded, leading the way. “Aye, but only when I miss ye.”
Scarlett gasped playfully, following behind her.
“I cannae believe it,” she teased. “I didnae miss ye in the slightest.” She looked around, trailing the tips of her gloved fingers along a shelf before her gaze settled on the table in the corner. “That…” she trailed off, her eyes widening. “That is where we used to read me braither’s books.”
Edith smiled. “Aye. I remember it like yesterday.”
Scarlett turned to face her, her eyes glinting with mischief. “Ye think he kens? That I used to steal his books?”
Edith pressed her lips together, and Scarlett’s eyes narrowed.
“Daenae ye dare,” she said as she walked slowly toward her.
Edith shook her head, trying and failing to hold back a laugh.
“Ye!”
She burst out laughing.
“Ye havenae told him, have ye?”
“Only partly!” Edith managed between giggles as she raised her hand in mock defense. “I only mentioned the books once.”
Scarlett shook her head, feigning disapproval even as her lips struggled to hold back a smile. “I cannae believe it, Edith,” she teased again. “I leave ye by yerself for a month, and ye manage to get engaged to me braither. Even tell him our secrets.”
Edith folded her arms. “Daenae make it sound like that,” she teased back. “Ye ken how convincing Aaron can be.”
Aaron had not convinced her to tell him about the books. She had told him of her own accord, but she would rather take it to her grave than admit that she opened up to him about something.
Scarlett nodded, agreeing with her. She walked toward the corner table, her eyes immediately catching the drawing materials and the piles of parchment by the edge.
“Edith Woods!” She quickened her steps to get a closer look. “Ye didnae tell me ye could draw!”
Edith’s face flushed slightly as she caught up to her.
She was nowhere near becoming an artist. She considered her charcoal skills subpar at best. Nothing worth mentioning in her letters to her best friend.
“Ye daenae want to see those,” she said as she stopped beside Scarlett, craning her neck to see the stack of parchment in her friend’s hands. “Me drawings are only practice pieces.”
Scarlett shook her head, clearly impressed by the sketches of herbs and flowers. “Pray tell,” she said, awe written all over her face. “What other talents have ye kept hidden from me?”
Edith pushed herself up onto the edge of the table so that she was now facing Scarlett. “None, me dear friend,” she said, folding her hands in her lap. “I have no talent besides me love for herbs.”
Scarlett smiled softly, shaking her head. “Daenae say that, Edith. I fancy these. They are better than the illustrations in most books.”
Edith’s face brightened. “Truly? I only began practicing after ye left,” she said. “Perhaps I can someday draw for healers in the Highlands.”
Scarlett laughed softly. “Kenning ye, ye will draw illustrations for yer own book instead.”
The words warmed Edith’s heart. She watched her friend, her own smile widening as she took in the excitement on Scarlett’s face when she identified some flowers in the drawings.
Soon, she had gone through an entire stack of parchments. She reached for the next, and Edith froze, suddenly remembering something she should not have forgotten in the first place.
“Nay!” she blurted, lunging forward to snatch the stack from Scarlett’s hand, but her friend was faster, holding it out of her reach.
Scarlett’s brows arched. “What is it?”
I cannae let her suspect a thing.
Edith swallowed, composing herself as best as she could.
“Daenae go through that stack,” she said carefully, but her tone only seemed to convince her friend otherwise.
Scarlett glanced at the parchment on top. “Why nae?”
“Because.” Edith’s voice was now several octaves higher than normal. “They arenae good.”
Scarlett’s lips curved, her eyes glinting with mischief. “I would like a look.”
“Nay, Scarlett. I promise ye.”
Edith reached for the parchments again, but Scarlett moved away, going through the stack as she avoided Edith’s hands.
“I will judge them for meself.”
She moved around the empty library until she finally stopped in her tracks. “Is this…?”
Edith stilled, hoping that it was because of anything other than the drawing she suspected might be in that pile.
“Edith…”
Goodness me.
Surely it was the image of Aaron’s kiss against the back of her hand, the same image she had subconsciously drawn the first time she caught herself thinking of him.
She dropped her face into her palms.
Why did it have to be that one?
Scarlett stared at the drawing for a long moment, and Edith wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole.
The sketch was simple. Aaron’s hand, her own, and the faint outline of his mouth pressed against her knuckles. And somehow, that made it worse.
Scarlett looked from the drawing to Edith and then back. “Och.”
“Scarlett…”
“Ye drew this.”
Edith groaned, moving closer as Scarlett slowly lowered herself onto a stool. The movement was slow and dramatic, as though her legs had abandoned her.
“Edith Woods.”
“Stop sayin’ me full name.”
“Ye drew me braither.”
Edith swallowed, lifting her chin. “How do ye ken it is him?”
“Because I grew up with him.”
She made a strangled sound, sitting on the stool next to Scarlett. This time, her legs had truly failed her.
“Scarlett, I…”
“Ye daenae have to explain yerself to me, Edith. I am nae mockin’ ye.” Scarlett’s voice was soft, the mischievous glint in her eyes completely replaced by something strangely somber.
“When I got to ken Robert,” she said quietly, “I drew him nearly daily.”
Edith blinked. “Truly?”
Scarlett nodded, her lips curling into a small smile.
“Aye. I couldnae get him out of me head.” She looked away briefly, as though she were embarrassed by the admission.
“He was in me thoughts all the time, and even when he was standing directly before me, I could scarcely stop meself from lookin’ at him. ”
Edith laughed softly.
She had not drawn Aaron for a reason anywhere near that. She had drawn him because he plagued her mind with his infuriating presence, and she could hardly stand it.
“Ye arenae sayin’ this to make me feel better, are ye?”
Scarlett shook her head. “Nay, Edith. I am serious.” She set down the parchment and looked at her. “Me heart belongs to Robert, as his belongs to me.”
Something in her voice made Edith’s chest warm.
“He listens when I speak. He remembers things I tell him. And somehow, he looks at me as though I am the most important thing in the room.” There was a glint in her eyes as she spoke, and her cheeks turned red, her smile deepening. “I am happy, Edith. Happier than I ever thought I would be.”
Edith smiled back. Her chest loosened slightly as her guilt lifted.
She had spent months wondering how Scarlett was faring in her new home and hoping to hear those exact words. And now that she knew that Scarlett’s marriage had worked out well, she couldn’t be more relieved.
“I am so happy for ye,” she said, her voice warm and sincere. “Ye found exactly what I always hoped ye would.”
Scarlett reached for her hand, squeezing it softly. “And what about ye?”
Edith’s smile faltered. “Me?”
Scarlett glanced down at the drawing resting on the table. “That doesnae look like an ordinary drawing, Edith. ’Tis neither a herb nor a flower.”
Heat rushed into Edith’s cheeks. “Scarlett…”
“I am only askin’.” Scarlett’s voice remained gentle. “Aaron kept his promise to let ye stay here, and now he is to marry ye.” She tilted her head slightly. “How do ye feel about it?”
Edith stared at her hands.
Where was she even supposed to begin? Should she start with the bargain and the arguments they’d had? Or should she start with the money and the kisses they had shared?
Her face warmed at the last thought, and Scarlett caught it at once.
“Och.”
Edith groaned. “Daenae start.”
“Ye fancy me braither?”
“I daenae!” Her voice was louder than it should be, her chest heating with embarrassment. “Scarlett, I…” She hesitated only for a moment before the truth finally spilled past her lips. “There is something ye daenae ken. Something I should tell ye.”
Scarlett shifted closer to her.
“Me betrothal to yer braither…” Edith paused, her eyes searching her friend’s face as she let the cat out of the bag. “It isnae real.”
Scarlett’s expression did not shift. She did not interrupt either. Instead, she simply listened as Edith explained the entire thing, from the arrangement to her lessons and her plan to leave with the money she’d been paid after one month.
Edith took her hand, sneezing softly once she had finished her confession. “Do ye hate me for it?”
Scarlett shook her head. “Nay. I could never hate ye.” Her voice was quiet now, laced with understanding and love. “If anything, it is a fair bargain.”
Edith swallowed hard.
“Ye will have land, a life of yer own, and ye will be the healer ye’ve always dreamed of becoming,” Scarlett continued. “How could I be anything but proud?”
Edith blinked, surprised. “Truly?”
“Aye.” Scarlett nodded. “Ye are braver than I ever was, Edith. I love me braither, but he is insufferable.”
He truly is.
Edith smiled faintly. She had been worried that Scarlett would not understand the decision she had made. But now that it was out of the way, her thoughts drifted to Aaron’s touch and his lips.
Scarlett caught it instantly.
“Ye are thinking of him, are ye nae?” she teased, leaning closer. “Perhaps he isnae as insufferable as I thought.”
Edith flushed, turning away.
“We are late,” she said quickly, walking away from the table and the drawings scattered across it. “Come.”