Chapter 13

13

A idan found himself in his father's study again just before dinner, but as he sat down wearily, he could not help but look back at his experience with Edina and feel a sense of deep well-being spread through him. He hoped it would carry him through what he knew was going to be quite an ordeal.

However, he was jerked back to reality again when his father said, "I have news for you, son."

His tone was ominous.

A lump of dread suddenly settled into the pit of his stomach.

"Yes, Father?" he asked inquiringly, trying not to look the way he felt.

This was the moment he was going to find out his fate.

The Laird steepled his hands in front of him and looked his son squarely in the eye.

"I have found you a bride," he said in a flat, no-argument tone. "A very suitable young woman, Fenella Anderson. She comes from a good, respectable family, brings a sizable dowry, and is reasonably good to look at. The wedding will take place in three months, which should give both of our families plenty of time to prepare. It will also give you time to court the young lady and get to know her. I know you have met socially many times, but that is not quite enough."

Aidan was seething with fury, but with a great effort of will he managed to assume a perfectly neutral expression.

"Father, I told you before that I am not marrying anyone unless she is my own choice." His voice was firm and certain. "You may have a wedding if you wish, but you will be having it without me. I refuse to marry any woman while my brother is absent. I want to make up my own mind about my wife. I am the one who will be living with her for the rest of my life, after all. What if we hate each other?"

"Your mother and I hardly knew each other on our wedding day," Laird Findlay pointed out, "and we have been happy together for twenty eight-years. Many other couples are the same."

"And many are not," Aidan growled.

"Anyway, I'm afraid there is no turning back now," his father said smugly. "The contract has already been signed."

"Really?" Aidan stood up, and so did Laird Findlay.

He was three inches taller than his father, and it had always given him a psychological advantage, as it did now, since his father cowered back slightly in his seat.

"Then you can unsign it, Father, or tear it up, because unless you drag me kicking and screaming to the church, I refuse to marry Fenella."

"I am afraid unsigning—whatever that means—the contract will do no good," the Laird said, his voice gritty as he looked at his son.

If Aidan thought he was going to intimidate his father, he had another think coming.

"Do you not need my signature?" he asked, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. "I am the bridegroom, after all."

He stared at his father, hoping to intimidate him, but it did not work.

"No." The Laird's penetrating blue gaze bored into his son. "You may sign the register after the wedding. You have made it clear exactly what you want to happen, Son, but I am telling you what will happen. You are marrying Fenella Anderson and that is the end of it. Now go—I have work to do."

Aidan turned and walked to the door, but as he opened it the Laird called, "And do not let me hear of you being seen with any other women."

Aidan turned back, raising his eyebrows questioningly. "Like whom?" he asked, even though he knew the answer already.

"You know who I mean," his father barked, "Edina McCarthy. She is not for you, and never will be. From now on, your mother and I will be arranging when you can meet Fenella so that you can court her properly. Now get out of my sight."

"You are being unjust, Father. All I did these years is obeying you, giving up everything I had—even my own name!"

Aidan did not stay longer to hear the Laird's reply.

The atmosphere in the dining room that night was thick with tension as everyone ate, since Laird Findlay and Lewis were so obviously having a disagreement. However, it masked the fact that there was something else hanging in the air between Edina and Lewis, who tried to avoid looking at each other as much as possible for fear of giving what was between them away.

After dinner, Edina retired to the library to choose a book to read for the evening, knowing that she needed something other than Aidan to occupy her mind. It was her favourite place in the whole castle, since it was so rarely used that she was almost always guaranteed solitude when she was there. The fire was rarely lit because so few people went into it, so it was always frigid in the big room. However, she had got into the habit of bringing a thick quilt and blanket to wrap herself in when she relaxed on the couch, and she snuggled into it now as she opened the romance she had selected.

The day had been so unusual, exciting and thrilling that she had difficulty sitting still for a while. Her mind was full of what she and Lewis had done that afternoon, and how wonderful it had been. She was a little sore, but she knew that it was because she had undergone a rite of passage that meant she was now a complete and fulfilled woman.

Edina was so absorbed in the events of the day that she read the first page of the book three times over without taking any of it in. She was about to give up and retire to her room when the library door opened and in walked the object of her thoughts and fantasies.

His eyes widened with surprise when he saw her, then he broke into a beaming smile.

"I was thinking about you," he told her as he enveloped her in his embrace.

"And I was thinking of you, too," Edina admitted, returning his smile. "I tried to read, but I simply cannot concentrate. I keep thinking of?—"

"This afternoon?" he supplied, laughing softly. "Me too. Edina, it was wonderful."

Edina took Aidan's hand and sat him on the sofa where she had been sitting, then picked up the quilt to wrap it around them both. She had intended to lean her head on his shoulder, but he laid his head in her lap instead and looked up at her.

"I think you are much more comfortable than my bed," he told her, his eyes twinkling.

"Should I lay my head on your lap instead?" Edina asked mischievously. "It might be even better that way."

Aidan's eyes widened in mock horror.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," he answered, knowing what the result would be.

Edina laughed, not quite understanding what he meant. Her whole body was singing for him to be inside her again, to take her to the magical place he had taken her before. She wanted him to be her lover—not just now, but forever, and that was the moment she realised that she loved him.

She loved everything about him; not just his big, strong body, but his loyalty to his family and those around him. He and his mother were absolutely devoted to each other. Granted, she could see a strong connection between him and his father too, but Lady Eleanor was the one he treated with the most fondness.

As well as that, he was not afraid to be vulnerable, and the fact that he could admit his sadness because he missed his brother so much made him stronger in her eyes, not weaker.

Moreover, he was fiercely protective, and Edina knew that he would protect her from any danger that threatened her or anyone else that he held dear; it was the quality she loved most about him.

"Can you tell me a story?" he asked suddenly. "My mother used to tell me one before I went to sleep at night, and I used to look forward to it all day, but I was only about seven then. Understandably, she will not do it any more."

"What kind of stories did she tell you?" Edina asked, smiling. "Stories from a book or ones that she made up herself?"

"Both," he replied, "but the ones I liked best were the ones she invented. She is still very creative in that way, but she stopped telling me stories when you arrived to stay with us. She said I was too big for all that baby stuff."

He sounded sad.

"But you do not mind being a baby now?" Edina asked, laughing softly.

"Not right now," he replied, reaching up a hand to stroke her face. "Do you think I am a baby?"

His tone was innocent and suggestive at the same time, and Edina giggled.

"You certainly did not behave like one this afternoon!" she reminded him. "Now listen to this story. I read it in a book, so it is not my own, but I found it quite enchanting.

There was once a very rich young lady called Robina, who lived in a castle overlooking a village called Bleakburn. The villagers there were mostly kind and treated each other well, and they respected the Laird, Robina's father, who was a fair and just man.

However, one day a stranger came into their midst, and everything changed. He was a small, ugly man, with a bent nose that had a wart on the end of it. His clothes were dirty, his legs were bowed, so he had to walk with a stick, and he had cross eyes. He sat down in the street with a begging bowl and asked for some food and drink because he was hungry and thirsty, but no one would come near him because he was so ugly. Not one person would take pity on him.

He went into the woods and got some chestnuts and a few berries to eat, then found the body of a squirrel that he cooked and ate in the woods. He went down to the burn and washed himself, then he sneaked into a stable so that the heat of the horses' bodies would keep him warm, and went to sleep on a tattered blanket.

However, the next morning, the owner of the horses came into the stable and found the man. He shouted at him, then began to kick and beat him, and by and by a crowd came around to laugh and make fun of the poor man.

Robina had just come into the village and was about to ride past when her attention was attracted by the sound of the derisive laughter and screaming. She dismounted from her pony and followed the sound, to find that a number of the villagers had formed a crowd around the man. They were taunting him, spitting at him, calling him rude names, and some were even throwing stones.

‘Stop!' she cried, and plunged into the mob. They made way for her at once, since she was the Laird's daughter, and she bent down to see how the stranger was. The man was curled up in a ball, and she had to reassure him that she meant him no harm, and she would take him to safety.

She called some of her guards to help her, then took him back to her castle, where she fed him and nursed him until he had recovered from his terrible experience. She found out that his name was Fergus, and that he came from far away on the Isle of Skye.

‘Would you like to work at the castle?' Robina asked, but Fergus shook his head.

‘No, Mistress,' he replied. ‘I am on my way to see my father, but I was robbed, ye see. I must be on my way.'

‘You have had very bad luck,' Robina said sadly.

‘Not any more,' Fergus said, smiling. ‘You see, Mistress, I am not quite what I seem.'

Then he rose from his bed, and Robina was startled to see that his legs had straightened, and he was much taller. When she looked at his face, she could see that his nose was straight, the wart was gone, and his eyes, which had been a muddy grey colour, were a bright, startling blue. He was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen.

She was speechless, and could do nothing but stare at him for a while, then he smiled at her.

‘Who are you?' she asked, mystified and somewhat frightened.

‘I am the Angel of Love,' he replied, smiling at her. ‘And I am here to tell you that because you have given charity to a poor stranger who needed it, you will be blessed with love for the rest of your life.'

And before Robina could say another word, the man had disappeared, but he had spoken the truth. Shortly after that, Robina met and married the love of her life, and they lived happily ever after,"

Edina looked down at Aidan, whose eyes had drifted closed. In sleep, he looked boyish and vulnerable, and she felt her heart melt with tenderness. She smiled and began to stroke his hair, loving its warmth and satiny feel, its colour and gloss, which always reminded her of ripe chestnuts.

Presently, his eyes opened and he smiled at her drowsily.

"Did you hear any of that story?" Edina asked.

"Not very much," he admitted. "I am a bit tired." He yawned and stretched, almost tumbling off Edina's lap.

"Time you were in bed," Edina suggested.

"I wish you could come with me," Aidan whispered.

He pulled her head down for another soft kiss, then sighed. The only woman he had ever wanted was staring him in the face, and yet his father had forbidden him to have anything to do with her. He reached up and stroked her cheek.

"You look worried," Edina observed, frowning. "Are you all right?"

He hesitated for a moment, then, because he could not keep it to himself any longer, he blurted out, "I love you, Edina, more than any other woman I have ever known."

Her eyes widened with disbelief, because it was the last thing she had expected to hear from him. Edina looked down into his soft brown eyes and smiled.

"I love you, too," she murmured, "but I do not know what we can do about it."

"Who would have thought that we could ever fall in love?" Aidan laughed and sat up, turning to face her. "I, the tormentor and you, the tease. Sometimes I hated you when we were growing up, but now I cannot imagine my life without you. You make me feel like myself again, Edina."

"Likewise," she replied, smiling. "But I think other plans might have been made for us. You know what our parents would say if they knew how we felt about each other, but we are still young, and we cannot predict the future. Who knows? There may be other loves for both of us."

Aidan felt a stab of panic go through him.

"Do you want that?" he asked fearfully.

"No, I most definitely do not," she replied, sighing, "but we must face reality. I am an advisor's daughter, and you are a Laird's son—no matter your name. Perhaps if my father was a squire or a gentleman farmer there might be a chance of us being together, but as things stand?—"

She shrugged. "We are helpless, Aidan. There is no chance for us."

"What about your story, Edina?" he asked. "There is always hope."

Edina gave a disbelieving laugh.

"My story was a fable. It was not true, you know that."

"Yes, but it had a meaning," he replied. "Whoever gives love is loved in return."

Edina shook her head.

"If only that were true," she said sadly. "That was fiction, but this is real life."

Aidan sat up and drew Edina into his arms. He wondered if he should tell her about Fenella Anderson and the marriage contract, but decided not to. There might still be some way out of his predicament, and if there was, he was determined to find it.

"What would you do if I had to marry another woman?" he asked suddenly.

Edina could not answer, even though she knew exactly what she would do, what she would have to do. She would run away and take her broken heart somewhere else to heal, since she would be unable to bear the thought of seeing him with someone else.

Aidan saw the sadness in Edina's eyes turn into glistening tears, and he kissed her tenderly. The look she gave him as she stood up and left was one he would never forget.