Page 11 of A Virgin for the Stone Highlander
The first bell rang, then the second. A few heads lifted, and conversations thinned around the edges as servants moved more quickly through the hall. By the third bell, the loud chatter had faded into scattered whispers, and much of the laughter had stopped.
Aaron remained still through every bell, watching the hall in silence. Then the seventh bell struck.
He rose slowly to his feet, his gaze sweeping over the now-quiet hall.
“Before we begin,” he said, his voice cutting clean through the air, “I want to make a toast.”
All eyes turned to him in anticipation, and he lifted his cup, turning his gaze toward the door.
“To me betrothed.”
He gave Caelan a slight nod, and the guards walked toward the great doors, ready to pull them open.
Aaron did not look away from the entrance. His jaw tightened. His breath stalled only for a moment as he watched closely, hesitating before giving the final order.
If Edith decided to challenge him before the entire hall tonight, she was about to learn why no one in the Highlands ever did.
She’d better nae have run.
CHAPTER FOUR
The words reached Edith through the thick oak doors, and she stopped so abruptly that Violet nearly collided with her back.
Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of Aaron’s voice, and for a moment, she forgot how to breathe. The corridor suddenly felt too narrow, as though the stone walls might close in on her at any moment.
“Are ye alright?” Violet asked, but the words barely made it past the thick fog of thoughts that had clouded her mind.
’Tis really happenin’.
“Edith!” Violet’s voice rose slightly. She placed a hand on her shoulder, jolting her back into the present. “Are ye alright?”
Edith managed a nod. She was too distracted to give a proper response, barely able to tear her gaze away from the great doors that stood between her and her future.
Any moment now, they would swing open, and she would become the Laird’s betrothed.
Run.
The thought came suddenly, landing sharply in the back of her mind.
She could already hear the heavy footsteps of the guards as they approached from the other side, the sound faint beneath the wild pounding of her heart. Her fingers curled tightly into the folds of her skirt.
She could still leave. Except for Violet, there was no one else in the dark corridor. The kitchens were not too far back, and the west passage that led to the outer yard would likely be unguarded at this hour.
The thought tempted her for one reckless moment. If she moved quickly enough, no one would be able to stop her.
But where would she go?
The Highlands were notoriously unforgiving to women. She could hardly remember the road to her mother’s village in theLowlands, but even if she did, they were less likely to accept her when she had nothing.
Winter would arrive within the month. Money did not fall from the skies, and kindness rarely lasted long for lowborn women with no family to protect them.
She had seen enough women wander into Hallow half-starved during the harsh seasons to know exactly what became of them. Some married cruel men to survive, and others simply disappeared without explanation.
She swallowed hard. If she really wanted to escape, she had to think fast.
She closed her eyes in an attempt to gather her thoughts, and Scarlett’s face flashed before her without warning.
The last time she stood outside these doors, her dearest friend had been the one to step into the Great Hall, sacrificing her freedom so that Edith could continue living freely at Hallow Castle.
