Page 8 of A Virgin for the Stone Highlander
“Ye have lived in Hallow Castle for fifteen years,” he said, walking back to his desk. Her traitorous eyes refused to leave his muscled back. “The clan already kens ye. If we were to announce a betrothal, it willnae be surprising.”
He turned back to look at her, and she nodded, but only because she did not know how else to react.
Aaron seemed to take her nod for acceptance, or perhaps it did not matter to him what she thought at all.
“Aye,” he said, satisfied. “’Tis also the only way to keep ye here for longer, as ye wish.”
Edith blinked at him in disbelief, her anger rising. Her patience finally hit its limit.
“I never asked to stay at the cost of me freedom.” The words emerged sharper than she had intended, but she did not care.
She had been grateful when Scarlett arranged for her to remain at Hallow Castle after she left, but gratitude was one thing,and marriage was another. Even marriage to a man like Aaron Gallaway.
“Ye arenae thinking clearly,” Aaron said conclusively. “Perhaps it is yer anger that blinds ye to the advantages of me offer.”
Edith’s chin rose higher, her chest heaving behind her tight bodice.
“Iam nae thinking clearly?” she scoffed. “Ye ask such a thing of me and claim it is somehow for me own good?”
Aaron leaned against his desk. His palms pressed into its sharp edge, his broad shoulders visibly tensing. The look in his eyes was the same cold, stubborn one that had unsettled her since childhood.
Edith steadied her breathing, gathering her composure even as he watched her.
“Are ye done now?” he asked.
She nodded, swallowing the bile that had risen to the back of her throat.
“Good.” His eyes remained on her. “Ye are right. I daenae like ye,” he admitted bluntly. “But that doesnae mean ye cannae be of use to me.”
Of use… as though I am simply a tool.
“It also doesnae mean I cannae be useful to ye,” he continued, “even as yer Laird.”
Edith released a slow breath through her nose, her chest tightening further. It was all too much for her. The study felt too small, and she needed air and distance. Both from the weight of his presence and the words coming out of his mouth.
“Excuse me, me Laird,” she said stiffly, dipping her head despite herself. “I would like a moment to think.”
She turned toward the door without waiting for his response, but he caught her before she could reach it. His hand wrapped firmly around her wrist, pulling her back toward him.
Her heart skipped a beat. Her breath stuttered as she collided with his rock-hard chest.
“I only need one month,” he said, his chest rising and falling beneath the dark fabric of his tunic. “Four outings. That is all I need.”
Edith looked up at him properly then.
For the first time since she entered the study, Aaron looked troubled. His face was angled in a way that made his sharp features even more insufferable, but his eyes… his green eyesheld a hint of something she could not fathom. Something she did not wish to break, even as much as he vexed her.
Why will he nae marry and produce an heir? Does he have troubles?
Aaron continued to speak before she’d considered asking him.
“I will give ye whatever ye want in return,” he said, his grip loosening slightly around her wrist. “Ye may learn next to Martin as ye wish. I willnae interfere.” His gaze held hers. “Afterward, ye can have yer healer’s cottage in yer maither’s village. Land. Coin. Whatever future ye desire.”
Edith’s mouth dried. She considered his offer as carefully as she could.
Without Hallow Castle, she would have nowhere to live. She could neither burden Scarlett in her new marriage nor return to the Lowlands with nothing to her name. Aaron was her only hope.
Her chest tightened painfully at the truth of her situation.
