She exhaled, shifting on the bed in a way that caused her hair to pull slightly in Violet’s grip.
“Ouch!” There was a slight edge to her voice as she turned to face the maid. “Ye’re pullin’ too hard.”
Violet froze in surprise.
Edith softened at once. She had not meant to sound so harsh. But it was hard to stay calm as she prepared to spend another day with Aaron, especially with everything that had happened between them.
“Forgive me,” she murmured, turning back to meet Violet’s gaze in the small, polished mirror in front of her. “I didnae mean to be so sharp.”
Violet gave a small smile. It was as if she understood, even though there was no way she could.
“Nay, me Lady,” she said. “I shall soften me hand.”
“Thank ye.” Edith returned an apologetic smile.
She closed her eyes, her shoulders easing slightly as Violet resumed combing through her hair. In less than a fortnight, she would finally be rid of Aaron and their sham of a betrothal. She only had to endure two more outings.
The room fell into a familiar silence, and she opened her eyes slowly, watching as Violet tucked her hair into loose braids that framed the back of her head like a crown.
“Ye have beautiful hair,” Violet said once she noticed her watching.
Edith felt the knot in her chest loosen slightly at the compliment. It always calmed her to have her hair tended.
“Thank ye, Violet,” she said quietly. “I daenae ken what I would do without ye here.”
A satisfied smile touched the maid’s lips. “’Tis because it is true. It has become even more beautiful since ye got engaged to the Laird.”
Edith released a breath, and her hand moved to the medallion resting against her chest. It was strange how she could share nothing of the truth with anyone in the castle.
That burden had been easier to carry before Aaron paid her. But now, it felt heavier in a way she could not ignore.
The chamber fell into another long silence until Violet finished with her hair. “Do ye like it?”
Edith rose from the bed, picking up the small mirror once her feet touched the stone floor. She walked toward the window, a small smile tugging at her lips as she caught a clearer reflection of herself in the morning light.
“Aye,” she said softly. “’Tis exactly as I dreamed.”
She walked back to the bed and set down the mirror carefully, drawing out the chair at her bedside.
“Sit.”
Violet hesitated, slightly confused. “Me Lady?—”
“Sit, Violet,” Edith repeated, patting the back of the chair. “I would like to return the kindness.”
Violet blinked, the realization dawning on her.
“Nay, me Lady,” she said, shaking her head. “Ye cannae… Ye shouldnae be braidin’ me hair. I am yer maid?—”
“Ye are the only one who still treats me normally,” Edith cut in lightly. “I braided yer hair in the weeks before me betrothal. Daenae start actin’ as though I have grown horns.”
That earned her a reluctant smile.
Edith remembered the first weeks after Scarlett left Hallow Castle. She had had meals in the servants’ hall more than once, settling into what she assumed would become a new normal for her. But the betrothal had happened, and it had changed how everyone acted around her, except Violet.
She had no intention of losing that.
“But it isnae proper,” Violet protested, though she was edging closer.
