"And doyou happen to know when that might be?"
"There's nay tellin'with him. Suppose whenever it suits him. But then again, if ye've nae married yet, then ye'll have to here. So…" Chloe tapped her fingertip on her chin as she looked up. "Ye just might see him in the mornin'. Surely Aaron will want to wed ye as soon as possible."
"The ceremony isn'tthe part that bothers me. It's what comes after, and if he thinks for one minute that I'm going to cave to what he wants, he'll have a very rude awakening."
"Ye cannae deny the Laird.Ye could be thrown in the stocks for somethin' like that. Or maybe worse, dependin' on his mood. Look, I daenae ken what other people have told ye about me brother —"
"Nothing.I've heard nothing about your brother," Izzy interjected with a harsh lashing of frustration. She dropped her shoulders and released some of the stress mounting within her chest. Slowly, she turned to the window to look out into the darkness. There was nothing but darkness for as far as the eye could see. Izzy glanced over her shoulder, returning her attention to Chloe .
"Didhe tell you how he crashed the Baron's birthday party? And if that wasn't bad enough, he stormed right over to me and stated I was his by royal decree. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was for me? No ring or courting, not even a stroll around the lake for all to see that I was finally taken. I got none of it but an announcement that I was to be pawned off to the lowest bidder."
"That must be difficult,but ye've got to remember that ye're nae the only one affected by this decree. Ye think Aaron wanted to marry a sassenach? I can tell ye that was certainly never the case. But if there is one trait that reigns over all others for him, it's his loyalty. Ye get on his good side, and he'll never betray ye. He's an ally ye want on yer side, even if ye daenae ken what side that is at the moment."
Izzy bobbedher head as the drowsiness took over. She moved from the window to the bed and pulled the covers down. She glanced at Chloe , hoping she'd get the hint. It took a few moments before Chloe 's eyes widened with acknowledgment.
"Right,ye want to go to bed. I'll be goin' then. See ye first thing, bright and early. I'll see that ye get to the grand hall for breakfast. We only serve two meals here. Breakfast at seven, dinner is at six."
"That's easy enough to remember,"Izzy mumbled as she sorted the pillows. Just as she was about to slip into the bed, the door flew open. Izzy's eyes widened with the shock of seeing the Laird filling up the space of the doorway.
"What in the world?You can't just come storming into a room. What if I was changing? Or indecent?" Izzy asked as Chloe glanced at her brother a second before giving a shrug.
Aaron's snickergrated on Izzy's nerves as he gave her a once over. "I am bound to see ye naked eventually. We are to be married after all."
"You certainly are presumptuous,aren't you?" Izzy said as Chloe smiled and stepped to the doorway.
"I'm goin'to let ye two sort this out," she mumbled. There was a playful banter to her tone that made Izzy nervous. She didn't want her only buffer to leave the room — then there would be no telling what the Laird would do to her.
"Aye, best ye leave,"Aaron said as he eyed Izzy. "We have a few matters to discuss."
Chloe didn't saya word as she turned on her heel, making a beeline for the door. Izzy swallowed hard as her nerves sparked and fired as if she were trying to catch lightning.
"I'msure this is a matter that is best resolved in the morning," Izzy suggested as she tried not to let her gaze linger on the Laird for too long. After all, she didn't want to give him any further reason to be lingering in her room. He was a Scot — who, according to her mother, was one of the foulest creatures to ever walk the earth.
Izzynever really experienced such animosity from them. In fact, she couldn't recall any time a Scot had crossed her path. Living in thetondidn't exactly offer many encounters with them. All she had were stories from her mother to aid her prejudices and flare her imagination.
And as shelaid eyes on the man before her, Izzy found herself torn. He was far too handsome to be Scottish. If he didn't say a word, his thick accent wouldn't give him away. As it were, his native tongue was hard, his humor sporting, and Izzy wasn't sure what she was to think of him.
So far,all he had ever done was show her kindness which, by her reckoning, shouldn't have caused her to spew her ire at him. Still there was something about his cockiness that grated on her nerves.
"Aye,but I figured it's best to get these sort of things out in the open, so there's nay question about what needs to happen," he answered as his gaze drifted over her. Heat coursed from the tips of her toes to the top of her head as she studied the Laird.
Despite the scarthat made Aaron look like his face was made of glass, he was handsome in a rugged sort of way. He kept his hair neatly trimmed at chin length, and his bangs were enough to shroud the worst of his scars. The longer Izzy studied him, the more questions started popping up in her mind.
What could have happenedto him to cause such scars? Was it intentionally done to him? Or was it an accident?
The longer shethought about it, the more she wanted to blurt out her questions. But just as she opened her mouth, he flashed her a warning glare that made her mouth clamp shut.
"And what exactly pray tell are youtalking about?" Izzy asked instead as she noticed the Laird hadn't moved. He remained stationed in the doorway, as if he were the guardian, refusing anyone to enter or let them escape. A wicked grin curled at the corners of his lips as he tilted his head.
"The King's decree,"he answered. "I doubt ye had any time to read it for yerself and thought ye might want to ken what the terms of our arrangement will be."
He pulledthe parchment from his pocket and held it up for her to see. She waited by the bed, too timid to move. Arching an eyebrow, he kept his gaze locked on her as he moved to the small table by the bedside and put the parchment on it.
Her heart flutteredas she watched him. The fact that she had a man in her room that wasn't her husband… sent a chill of disobedience coursing through her. It was as if every sense had been turned on overdrive.
"I will look it over,"Izzy said, trying to keep her voice steady despite her frantically beating heart thundering in her ears. Every hair on her body stood up as Aaron's gaze bore into her as if he could undress her with his eyes.
"Ye should do that,and sooner rather than later, I'll add."
