Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Alden realized he quite liked having Elinor as a wife. For the first time, it seemed as though everything in his life was falling into place. He now owned a thriving horse farm, would soon be collecting Elinor’s dowry, and was married to a woman who inspired him to be a better man.

A smile spread across his face as he glanced over at Elinor from the head of the table. “How are you faring this morning?”

Elinor reached for her glass. “I am well,” she replied. “I trust that you slept well.”

“I did, especially after you kissed me,” he said, a teasing note in his voice.

She choked on her drink. “Must you bring that up?” she asked, hastily setting the glass back down on the table.

“Why?” he asked.

“It is not very gentlemanly of you,” she chided lightly.

Leaning closer, he said in a low voice, “I am hoping for many more kisses in the future from my beautiful wife.”

A blush crept onto Elinor’s cheeks, and she dropped her gaze to the table, clearly flustered. “Can we talk about something else, please? ”

“All right,” he said, taking pity on his wife. “What would you care to discuss?”

Elinor’s eyes darted to the footmen standing by the door. “There is something important I need to tell you.”

Alden could sense Elinor’s discomfort, making him wonder what was so important. He turned to the footmen and ordered, “Leave us.”

Once they were alone, Alden gave her an expectant look. “What is wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” Elinor said, her smile weak and unconvincing. “I just believe we should be honest with one another.”

“I agree,” he said, leaning back in his chair.

Elinor clasped her hands in her lap, her knuckles white from the pressure. She took a deep breath and said, “Before you arrived, Lady Edith wrote to me and told me of the stipulations of you inheriting the horse farm. But what I didn’t tell you was that I would inherit the horse farm if you failed to marry by the Twelfth Night.”

Alden wondered how he could love this woman even more than he already did. “And yet you still agreed to help me?” he asked. “You truly are remarkable.”

Elinor bit her lower lip. “Actually, I did the opposite.”

He furrowed his brow in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“While I am acquainted with the three women I introduced you to, we are not dear friends and I knew that you wouldn’t be interested in them,” Elinor admitted.

Realization hit him, and he felt a mix of hurt and anger. “You tried to sabotage me.”

“I did,” she replied, her voice breaking.

He stared at her in disbelief. “And sending me to the cottage in the woods?”

Elinor winced. “I wanted you to pack your bags and go home. I thought you wouldn’t last the night, considering the state of the cottage. ”

Alden rose and walked over to the window. Elinor had lied to him. How was he supposed to reconcile with that fact? Finally, after a long moment, he turned to face her. “How could you just lie to me so easily?” he asked, his voice rising. “You led me to believe that you were helping me, but you were just trying to help yourself. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I wanted the horse farm,” Elinor replied honestly.

“And now?” Alden demanded

Rising, Elinor approached him, her eyes pleading. “Everything has changed. We are married?—”

He cut her off sharply. “Would you have married me if it wasn’t for your uncle forcing your hand?”

“That doesn’t matter?—”

“Answer the question,” he ordered, his tone brooking no argument.

Elinor hesitated. “I don’t know.”

Alden ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “How can I ever trust you?” he asked. “You tried to take everything from me.”

“I’m sorry…” she whispered, her voice breaking.

He scoffed. “You are sorry,” Alden said. “No, I am sorry. I can’t believe I trusted you so easily. And to think my great-aunt was such a poor judge of character.”

Elinor reared back. “I love your Great-aunt Edith.”

“Apparently, not enough to do as she asked,” Alden retorted.

“Your great-aunt did not ask me to help you,” Elinor countered.

Alden lifted his brow skeptically. “That is your defense?” he asked.

Elinor reached out and touched his sleeve. “Alden, I’m sorry. I was wrong?—”

He pulled his arm away, watching as her hand fell. “You were wrong, and so was I,” he said. “I thought we could have a real marriage between us, but I was just fooling myself. Everything was a lie.”

“I love you—” she started to say.

“No!” he exclaimed, the word echoing in the space between them. “Enough of your lies.”

Alden saw tears brimming in her eyes, cascading down her cheeks. Her pain was almost palpable, but he forced himself to stay firm.

“I am not lying,” Elinor responded. “I didn’t want to fall in love with you, but I did. You must believe me.”

“Believe you?” he huffed. “I can’t even look at you right now.”

Another tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. “Alden, please…”

He put up his hand, cutting her off. “You got what you wanted. You can have the horse farm and I will leave Scotland.”

Her eyes grew wide. “That is not what I want.”

“Well, I don’t quite care what you want right now,” Alden said coldly before storming out of the dining room.

Alden headed up to his bedchamber, throwing open the door and startling his valet. “What is wrong, sir?” Hastings asked.

“Pack my trunks,” he ordered. “We are leaving at once.”

Hastings remained rooted in his spot. “May I ask what happened?”

“No, you may not,” he snapped. “Just for once, do as you are told.”

As his valet went about packing up his clothes, Alden walked over to the window and stared out over the fields. He didn’t want a marriage of convenience with Elinor, but that is what it was shaping up to be. He would go his way and she would go hers. He had once told Elinor that he valued honesty above all else, and he meant it.

How could she have just lied to his face so easily, especially with everything that they had gone through? He had trusted her, but she had been plotting for him to fail this whole time.

The door was abruptly opened, and Mrs. Hardy stepped into the room with a stern look on her face. “We need to talk, young man.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” Alden said, turning to face her.

Mrs. Hardy gave his valet a pointed look. “Leave us.”

“He doesn’t answer to you—” Alden started, but his valet swiftly departed from the room, closing the door behind him.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Why is my niece crying in the dining room?” she demanded.

“This is none of your business,” he said.

“You made it my business when you upset my niece,” Mrs. Hardy said. “I suspect this has to do with her lying to you.”

Alden’s eyes narrowed. “You knew?”

She tossed her hands in the air, exasperated. “Of course I knew. I even encouraged her to do so.”

“Why would you do that?”

She approached him, coming to a stop a short distance away. “My niece is many things, but she is stubborn, almost to a fault. She had to keep busy in order to overlook what was right in front of her.”

“Which was?”

She pointed directly at him. “Falling in love with you.”

Alden looked heavenward. “Not this again,” he muttered. “How do I know she isn’t lying just to keep what she has?”

“What does she have to gain by lying now?” Mrs. Hardy asked.

“Regardless, I have made my decision,” Alden stated firmly. “I am leaving Scotland and Elinor will continue to run the horse farm. She wins. She got precisely what she wanted.”

Mrs. Hardy lowered her finger, her expression softening with compassion. “That is not what she wants, at least not anymore,” she insisted. “I know you are scared, but you must not let the lessons, the experiences of your past, harden your heart. You deserve a new beginning with Elinor.”

He looked at Mrs. Hardy incredulously. “How can I even trust Elinor again?” he asked.

“She could have kept this from you, but she decided to tell you the truth. What does that say about her?” Mrs. Hardy asked.

“My mother would lie to my father…” Alden began

Mrs. Hardy stepped closer to him, her voice gentle but firm. “Elinor is not your mother, and you are not your father. You two love one another.”

“I never said I loved Elinor,” Alden stated.

“You didn’t have to,” Mrs. Hardy said. “I can see it in your face, in your eyes, and hear it in your voice. You love Elinor.”

Alden turned away from Mrs. Hardy, finding himself conflicted. “So what if I do?” he asked. “Am I supposed to just forgive her and move on?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“It is not that simple,” Alden declared. He wanted to believe Elinor, but the wound was too fresh, the betrayal too deep. How could he just move past this?

Mrs. Hardy shook her head, her voice filled with emotion. “I have loved one man in my life, and I would do anything to spend one more day with him,” she said, her words cracking with emotion. “Love doesn’t come around very often. My question is: what do you intend to do about it?”

Alden watched as Mrs. Hardy spun around on her heel and walked over to the door. She placed her hand on the handle and stopped. “In your heart, you know what the right thing to do is,” she advised.

Once Mrs. Hardy departed from the room, his valet stepped back in with questions in his eyes. “Sir?” he asked.

Alden had a choice to make. He could do what he always did and leave, or he could stay and fight for what truly mattered- Elinor. The woman that he loved and would always love.

Botheration.

He couldn’t leave Elinor, not now. If he did, he knew he would always regret it. She had quickly become his everything, and no one else could surpass her in his heart, now and always.

Glancing at the open trunks, Alden asked, “Is love worth the risk?”

His valet gave him an understanding look. “Only if you’ve found the right woman.”

Alden closed his eyes, a wave of realization washing over him. “I have,” he replied. And that was the truth. No one would ever compare to Elinor. She was his, and he was hers.

“Then my advice is to hold on to her and don’t let her go,” Hastings counseled. “Life is much better when you have the woman you love by your side.”

Determined, Alden walked over to the door. “You might as well unpack. If I have my way, I won’t ever be leaving. But I did make a muck of things.”

Hastings smiled. “Go to her, sir.”

Elinor tightened the cloak around her as she stepped into the stables. She needed to be alone with her thoughts. How had everything gone so terribly wrong? It was all her fault, and she knew it. She should never have tried to deceive Alden. But if she hadn’t, would she have still been married to him?

As she walked down the aisle, Calen greeted her with a tip of his head while brushing down one of the horses in a stall. “Guid mornin’, my lady,” he greeted.

“Good morning,” she responded, stopping at the stall. “How is everything? ”

Calen paused with the brushing. “Everythin’s gaein’ weel. The horses have missed ye the past few days.”

“I’m afraid I have been rather preoccupied,” Elinor admitted.

“Would ye care tae dae some ridin’?”

Elinor shook her head. “I am just here to visit with the horses.”

“Then I willnae bother ye,” he said as he started to resume brushing down the horse.

She continued down the aisle until she saw Skye. The horse nickered when she saw her, and Elinor laughed. “Hello, Skye,” she greeted. “Would you care for an apple?”

Reaching down, she retrieved an apple from the bucket and extended it towards Skye. The horse quickly gobbled it up, causing her to smile.

She tried to convince herself that she didn’t need Alden. She had her horses, the manor, and her aunt. She had everything she needed. But even she couldn’t fathom that lie. She wanted Alden. No, she needed Alden. He had changed her, and for the better. She didn’t quite feel so lonely anymore now that he was in her life. And she had ruined that.

The worst part was that she didn’t regret telling him the truth. She didn’t want to start out their marriage with lies. She wanted honesty between them. However, she didn’t think he would truly leave her. Perhaps he didn’t care for her enough to stay and fight for her.

Elinor’s eyes filled with tears and she blinked them back. It would do no good if she cried. It was her fault. She just needed to move on and learn to live without Alden.

Alden’s voice came from the doorway. “Elinor,” he said gently.

She closed her eyes. What now? Was he here to yell at her some more?

“Elinor,” he repeated as he walked closer, his boots grinding on the straw lining the floor of the stables .

She turned to face him and hastily wiped at the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. “Alden,” she responded.

Alden cast his eyes at the stall where Calen was.

Calen cleared his throat. “Pardon me, sir,” he said. “I was just aboot tae take a break, as are the other grooms.”

Neither of them spoke as the grooms departed from the stables, leaving them alone. Elinor eyed Alden curiously, wondering what he was doing here. She thought he was leaving. But she was glad that he was here… with her.

Alden remained rooted in his spot, his expression unreadable. “You lied to me.”

Elinor nodded. “I did, and I am terribly sorry.”

“You tried to steal my inheritance,” Alden said.

With a slight wince, she admitted, “Yes, I did, and I was wrong to do so. I know that now.” Was he just here to torture her?

Alden took a step towards her, his eyes not wavering from hers. “Thank you for saying so, but it changes nothing between us.”

Her heart dropped. “I understand,” she said, placing her hand on Skye’s neck to steady herself. “I thought you were leaving.”

“I was, but I had a riveting conversation with your aunt,” he informed her. “She encouraged me to stay. She told me that you loved me.”

Elinor sighed deeply. “I do, and that will never change.” There. That was the truth. She knew in her heart that she would always love him.

“Then we have a problem,” Alden said, his tone softening.

She dropped her hand from Skye, confusion etching her features. “We do?”

Alden nodded. “I say that nothing has changed between us, because it is true,” he said. “I have fallen in love with you. Desperately so.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “You love me?” she asked .

In a few purposeful strides, he closed the distance between them. “I wanted to leave, but I couldn’t. I love you, Elinor.”

“But I thought you said that love complicates marriages?”

“It does, but I am willing to take that chance. With you,” he said, his voice filled with resolve. “Assuming you feel the same.”

Elinor stared up at him in disbelief, her heart pounding. “Does this mean you forgive me for lying to you?”

“It does, assuming we will always be honest with one another from here on out,” Alden replied.

“I can agree to that.”

Alden stepped closer, causing her to tilt her head to look up at him. “Then I propose we change our agreement,” he said. “I want a real marriage, one where I can kiss you whenever I want.”

Elinor felt excitement build up inside of her. “I want that, as well.”

“Then there is only one thing we need to do,” Alden responded, leaning in towards her. “We must kiss on it.”

“I am not opposed to that?—”

She had barely uttered her words when Alden’s lips met hers. His kiss was both gentle and fierce, a blend of vulnerability and strength. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close, and she surrendered to his touch. How she loved this man. He made her feel safe, loved, and as their lips touched, she tasted forever.

Alden broke the kiss but remained close, his warm breath on her skin. “You don’t know how long I have waited to kiss you like that.”

“Why stop now?” she asked with a coy smile.

He chuckled. “I think the grooms need to get back to work.”

“You are probably right,” Elinor said. “Thank you for staying with me. ”

Alden returned her smile. “I don’t think I was capable of leaving you.”

“I love you,” she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion.

“I know, and I love you with my whole heart,” Alden said. “Although, I will now have the unfortunate task of introducing you to my family.”

Elinor bobbed her head. “I would like to meet them.”

“No, trust me, you don’t,” he teased. “They will no doubt love you, just as I do, but I do not seek out their approval. I made my choice, and I know it is the right one.”

“I was so scared that I lost you forever,” she admitted softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Alden brought his hand up and cupped her right cheek. “I was angry, but I was also scared. I am not scared anymore.”

Elinor felt tears pricking in the back of her eyes. “I am not scared either.”

“Good, because we have a lifetime together,” Alden said, taking a step back and dropping his hand. “And our new beginning starts now.”

As Alden reached for her hand, a bright smile spread across her face. She was happy- far happier than she had ever been. She had a marriage that she had always dreamed of. One that would be filled with love.

This may have started as a ruse, but it ended with a prize that she hadn’t anticipated: Alden. For he was far better than any horse farm.