Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
The fair was alive with color and sound, laughter echoing through the open space as children ran freely between the stalls.
Edith breathed in, letting it all wash over her.
The smell of roasted chestnuts mixed with fresh bread filled the air. Bright fabrics spread across every cart, and musicians tuned their instruments before beginning to play.
It should have been everything she needed to forget about Aaron. But it was not.
Her gaze drifted to him, her chest tightening slightly at the sight of his tight jaw.
Surely, he isnae pleased with me.
She stood next to him. The purpose of their third outing was for as many people to see them together as possible, and she was going to uphold her end of the deal even if he didn’t.
She stiffened as their hands brushed, heat coursing through her body. She looked up at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. She shifted slightly.
It doesnae matter.
Perhaps if he had waited for an explanation before leaving the healer’s chamber, she would have given it to him.
But how could she explain herself to a man who had not truly claimed her? How could she understand his jealousy when he paid her for every moment they shared?
I owe him nothing.
Scarlett approached them, a small smile playing on her lips. She curtsied playfully to Aaron, her bubbly self barely getting a nod out of him.
“If ye please, me Laird, I would like to steal yer betrothed for a moment.”
Aaron did not bat an eyelid. “Aye,” he responded coldly.
Scarlett shrugged, linking her arm with Edith’s before leading her away from him. She headed first toward a ribbon cart, practically dragging Edith with her.
“He has been like that since the castle,” she murmured once they stopped in front of the cart. “Sulking as though someone stole yer horse.”
Edith blinked, a small smile touching her lips. “Aye?”
“Aye. Has somethin’ happened between ye two?”
“Nay,” she responded, perhaps a touch too quickly. “Why would ye think that?”
Scarlett paused. Her eyes narrowed in the way they always did when she was not convinced. But for some reason, she did not press the matter. She picked out ribbons, showing Edith her new clan colors with a smile on her face.
“’Tis beautiful,” Edith said sincerely as she held up the ribbons to her dress. “Marriage suits ye, me dear friend.”
Scarlett smiled. “Ye should wear this,” she said, handing her a new set of ribbons in Hallow colors.
Edith’s lips parted slightly. “Now?”
“Aye.”
Edith hesitated. “Scarlett…”
“Daenae refuse me, lass,” Scarlett pressed.
“But—”
“No buts,” she interrupted. “I ken what ye are about to say, and I understood ye clearly in the library. I still want ye to have them.”
Edith softened at that. She accepted the ribbons, allowing her friend to pin them to her skirt.
The cart owner complimented them, and they smiled, the two ladies twirling in their dresses as though they were little girls again.
“Now, I ken ye cannae wait to visit the herb stalls,” Scarlett said as they moved on, looking at the carts they passed by.
Edith laughed. “Ye ken me well.”
“Surely ye willnae buy herbs at the start of the fair,” Scarlett said, placing a hand on her hip as she came to a halt. “We shall have to carry them about all day.”
Edith pouted. “Ye refuse me?” she asked, holding a hand to her chest in a dramatic gesture. “Even after I have just passed the physical examination?”
“Och.”
“Now, I shall have to make ye buy me herbs.” She grabbed Scarlett’s hand. It was her turn to drag her friend to any cart of her choosing.
They stopped in front of a flower cart, and Scarlett’s eyes widened in surprise at the beautiful display.
“Gracious…” She turned to face Edith. “These are beautiful.”
A satisfied smile spread across Edith’s face. “They arenae just beautiful,” she said, slipping into her element. “Do ye ken that almost all of these can make very potent brews?”
Scarlett’s brows rose. “Truly?”
“Aye.”
Edith named every flower that her friend touched, explaining its benefits. Even the cart owner looked very impressed.
Soon, the flower cart became a small center of attraction. Young girls gathered to watch her talk, dragging their mothers along and coaxing them into buying flowers.
“Ye should have any flower ye want,” the cart owner said at last. “’Tis me gift to ye, ladies.”
Edith beamed. She picked a bouquet of wild lavender—her favorite plant—and Scarlett chose roses, their soft, graceful petals suiting her perfectly.
They walked through the fair some more, running into Violet before they found the men under the shade of a tree, surrounded by a group of children.
Where is Aaron?
Edith’s eyes sought him before she’d even realized it, but she did not allow herself to dwell on thoughts of him. Instead, she focused her attention on the entertainment in front of her.
Caelan, it turned out, had a particular talent for delighting children. Within moments of arriving at the green, he found himself surrounded by a small crowd of them, all clamoring for his attention with the fearless enthusiasm only children possessed.
He lifted one onto his shoulders, spun the wee lad until he shrieked with delight, then set him down to scoop up another.
Edith laughed at the commotion as the children scrambled to be next. Beside her, Violet watched with a soft, unguarded smile.
“He would make a good faither,” she murmured, more to herself than to anyone.
Edith glanced at her, something warm settling in her chest. “Aye,” she said thoughtfully. “That one… I can see ye with.”
Violet’s cheeks flushed. “Mr. O’Keif?”
“Aye.”
“He would never look at me twice,” Violet said, though there was something hopeful beneath the dismissal, something she could not quite hide.
Edith opened her mouth to argue, but she had already crushed the girl’s hopes once.
’Tis better if I daenae interfere.
At that moment, Aaron emerged from somewhere beyond the fields. His demeanor was different now, his expression considerably softer than it had been all morning.
He took a child from Caelan’s shoulders and, lifting him easily, spun him once before setting him down. He laughed with the children as they flocked to him, spinning them in circles.
Edith stared at him in surprise. She had never seen him as light and free.
He crouched slightly to speak to a boy, and something in her chest stirred as she watched the interaction.
He could make a good faither, too.
The thought crept on her before she could stop it, settling with a weight she did not know how to set down.
She had imagined it without meaning to—Aaron crouched in front of a child of his own, his expression softened by love.
She imagined a future built on something real rather than performance and secret arrangements, a life where laughter would simply be a part of who he was every day.
She imagined herself in it.
The thought terrified her more than anything had in weeks.
Nay.
She had no right to imagine such things. She had agreed to a month of deceit. To four outings, money, freedom, and a cottage in her mother’s village.
She had never once allowed herself to imagine permanence, because it was not a part of their bargain. It had never been offered, and she had never asked for it.
Ye are leavin’ after the harvest festival. Daenae forget that.
But the thought lingered, refusing to be dismissed even as she reminded herself of the truth.
She turned away from him, unable to bear the sight for a moment longer. Her chest tightened as she searched for Scarlett, who stood a short distance away, deep in conversation with a silk merchant.
“Scarlett,” she said, reaching her side and pulling her gently by the arm.
Scarlett blinked, surprised by the urgency in her tone. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” Edith said quickly, her voice tight. “I only wish to walk with ye for a moment. Just the two of us.”
Scarlett looked at her like she had a thousand questions to ask, excusing the merchant quickly before looping her arm through Edith’s.
“Of course,” she said, leading her toward a secluded area near the edge of the fair. “Are ye alright?” she asked, worry obvious in her voice.
Edith shook her head. “Nay. It is yer braither.”
Scarlett’s gaze flitted toward Aaron and back to Edith.
“Why does he nae wish to marry?”