Page 40 of A Two-Faced Laird
“Not at all,” her father answered. “They had a huge argument—two huge arguments in fact, but there is nothing he can do, since the marriage contracts have already been signed. My dear, keep this conversation to yourself. Don’t let the truth travel outside the castle. Our Laird’s reputation is fragile.”
“That was never my intention,” Edina said.
She was only concerned about the man, not his name, and now it seemed that the one she loved would never be hers.
“It’s only a name, after all.”
She did not care if that name came with a title; she had no interest in titles or riches. Many women would be glad to marry for those reasons, but she was not one of them.
She excused herself, and with trembling knees she walked to Aidan’s chamber. He was not there, so she asked one of the guards if he had seen him.
“I saw him climbin’ the stairs tae the battlements, Mistress,” the young man answered. “I noticed because he doesnae go up there very often.”
“Thank you,” Edina said, before climbing the stairs to the first tier of turrets.
He was not there, however, so she made her way to the second, but he was not there either.
There must be a misunderstanding,Edina thought, as she stood at the button of the staircase leading to the top tier of battlements.Aidan would not climb up here.
But stranger things had happened, she thought, as she mounted the stairs; a whole host of them, in fact. And now the strangest thing of all had happened. Aidan was standing with his back to the wall of the castle, six feet away from the crenellations of the battlements, looking outwards.
From his position, he could not see over the wall, but the fact that he was here at all was a miracle of courage. His body was visibly trembling, tense as a bowstring, and his jaw was clenched, but he showed no sign of moving.
“Aidan,” Edina said gently in a low voice.
He started at the sound of her voice.
“Edina, what are you doing here?”
“Looking for you,” she replied, moving towards him. “It is so brave of you to overcome your fears this way. I am very proud of you.”
She put her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder, hoping he would not notice her teary eyes.
“It is the start of a very long journey,” he told her. “But a wise man told me that to overcome my fears, I must face them. Those six feet to the outer wall are going to take a long time, but I think I can do it in time.”
“I know you can.” She smiled on his shoulder. “Come, let us go downstairs again. There is something I need to talk to you about.”
Aidan followedEdina down the stairs, his heart in his mouth. They ended up in Edina’s chamber, where she poured herself a glass of wine and gave one to him.
“One will not do you any harm,” she told him.
He took the glass reluctantly, but sipped the wine anyway, enjoying its fruity taste. He had resolved a long time ago that he would not make a habit of drinking during the day, but a small indulgence now and again could do no harm.
“What did you need to tell me?” he asked, looking down intently into the smoky violet eyes that had always enchanted him.
Then he noticed they were red and glossy.
“What happened to you, Edina? Were you crying?” He tried to keep his temper down, and comfort her.
“I know about your marriage,” she replied. “My father told me. I wanted to wish you well.”
She was lying, he hoped.
“Wish me well?” His voice was stiff with anger. “You claim to love me, yet you are wishing me well on my marriage?”
“And you claim to love me, yet you are marrying someone else!” Edina shouted.
“I have no choice!”
