"I will do it," she said, her gaze locking onto Aaron’s until he was the one who looked away. "I will marry Robert McLaren and carry the weight of his name. But I have a condition.”
His eyes narrowed. “A condition?”
“Aye.” She leaned forward with her hands flat on the table. “Edith stays here. She’ll be safe within these walls, housed and protected. If ye send me away, she’ll have nay one.”
Aaron’s brows pulled together, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. “Scarlett?—”
“Ye owe me that much,” she pressed, cutting him off. “I’ll give meself to yer alliance. All I ask is that Edith be allowed to remain at Hallow.”
Aaron’s jaw clenched. “She’s lowborn and a maid’s daughter. She has nae place living here once ye’re gone.”
Scarlett shot to her feet, with heat rising in her throat. “Do ye even hear yerself? Ye’re willing to trade me across the border like... like a goat at market, and yet ye sneer at Edith’s worth?”
His tone hardened. “Mind yer words.”
“Nay, I willnae mind them this time,” Scarlett snapped, her voice trembling but still loud. “Ye think because she’s lowborn she doesnae deserve safety? She’s been more of a sister to me than anyone. She deserves better than to be cast out like scraps once I’m gone.”
Aaron’s hand pressed flat against the table as he leaned forward as well. “This is nae about Edith. It’s about securing peace. Ye’ll do yer duty.”
Her throat burned, but she held his gaze. “And I will. I’ll be the dutiful sister, the pawn ye so clearly think I am, but I willnae leave Edith to fend for herself.”
Aaron’s eyes narrowed further. “Ye’d risk defying me for her?” “Aye,” Scarlett shot back. “Every time.”
A silence fell between them.
When he spoke again, his voice was low. “Then what? Ye’d take her with ye? Into Gundor Castle? Ye think McLaren will welcome a servant girl trailing after his bride?”
Scarlett’s lips trembled, but she forced her words to be steady. “If she cannae stay here, then aye, I’ll take her with me. I willnae leave her behind.”
Aaron’s face darkened. “Absolutely nae. Gundor is nae a place for her. And ye’ll not walk into another laird’s hall making demands on who ye bring.”
Scarlett’s breath shuddered. “Then what choice do I have, Aaron? Tell me. Because right now, all I hear is that ye’ve bartered me away with nay thought for who I am or what I care for. Ye treat me as though I were nothing more than livestock to be traded.”
The words burst from her lips before she could stop them, and they rang through the solar like a slap.
Aaron’s shoulders stiffened, but his eyes, those same green eyes she’d known since childhood, flickered with something unguarded: regret, maybe, or even pain.
He exhaled slowly, dragging a hand over his mouth. For a long while, he said nothing, and the silence carved at her nerves.
Finally, he lowered his hand and met her gaze. “If Edith stays, it will be under me terms. She’ll serve here, quietly, and she’ll remember her place, but she’ll be protected. Do ye understand me?”
Scarlett’s pulse thudded in her ears. She could hardly believe he’d bent at all.
“I understand,” she said.
Aaron’s eyes narrowed again though his words were deliberate. “Then listen well. Ye’ll marry McLaren without protest. There’ll be nay delays, nay refusals, nay scenes. Ye’ll go with him when he calls for ye, and ye’ll keep yer word. If ye fail in this, Edith goes back to the village. Do ye accept?”
Scarlett stood tall though her insides shook. “I accept.”
Aaron gave a single nod, as if stamping his seal upon her words. “Then it’s done.”
Scarlett sank back into her chair with her heart hammering against her ribs. Done. The word echoed in her mind like the closing of a heavy door. She had secured Edith’s safety, but the price was herself.
She folded her arms across her chest and looked at her brother. “I hope one day ye’ll see me as more than a bargain struck on a map.”
Aaron’s mouth tightened. He didn’t answer. He gathered his quill and bent again over his papers, as though the matter were settled beyond return.
Scarlett rose, her movements fluid and hauntingly calm. She refused to give him the satisfaction of a single tear. Not here, in the shadows of the home that was no longer hers, and certainly not over a fate already sealed like black wax on a death warrant.
