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Chapter 22
Aaron waited patiently but filled with nerves as Matilda made her way down. He could not believe that he had found her. The site of Matilda through the window had taken his breath away to a point where he thought he might have almost fallen off the tree branch. Even though she had been upset, looking more hopeless than ever, she was still stunning, beautiful in every way. He had missed her stories, her enthusiasm, her outlook, her company.
To find her, he had travelled far and wide, doing his best to not lose his own hope on the matter. He knew that she could not have gone far. He also knew that Addison would have wanted to make the process of finding a suitor as seamless as possible. Therefore, sending Matilda to a town where there were more men than women made the most sense. It had taken Aaron some time to come to that conclusion, a lot of tiresome travel as well, but the idea had proved fruitful, and he was proud.
While waiting for her, he kept a watchful eye on his surroundings. Finding her, despite all the work he had put into it,still seemed too easy. His instinct said that something was going to go wrong. Maybe someone would pop out from the corner of a building and arrest him, or maybe Matilda would be stopped on the way down to see him. Aaron could not predict what was going to happen, but he stayed on guard to try and stay ahead of anything that would.
The longer it took for her to come down, the more nervous and antsy that he got. It was a mix of fear and excitement. To not have to hug her on a tree branch and to feel her once more was everything that he wanted. After so much time thinking that he would never see her again, it felt unreal to have her back.
And then, he could hear her footsteps on the other side of the door. They were surely hers as he knew her walk. With each step, his heart beat just a little bit faster. And then she emerged from the door with a smile brighter than the sun.
“Aaron…” Matilda said while entering into an embrace with him once more. She had smelled like flowers and fruit. Her warmth was something that he had thought about for the entire month. On every ride, he had her face in his head. Every night, his last thought was of Matilda, and she was his first thought upon waking. Finally, he had her again. And that was all that mattered—that very moment. The relief inside him was euphoric.
They both locked eyes after breaking off from one another, and it was like entering into a different world altogether. He wanted to kiss her as her lips were more inviting than a meal after days without food. But he could not kiss her. Not then and there. They needed to get moving before someone saw them.
“How did you find me, Aaron? I thought that I’d never see you again?”
Even though there were long nights where doubt filled him, he said, “I could not have gone the rest of my life never seeing you again, Matilda, because, in many ways, you are my life.”
It looked as though she wanted to cry and was doing her best not to. That was the perfect cue to start moving.
“Matilda,” He began, taking her hands in his. “As much as I wanted to stay in the moment and never let you go, we must move, or we risk getting caught.”
She had nodded, almost as if she were thinking the exact same thing. And so, he ushered her into his small gig, and they rode off.
Aaron had been in Bath many times before, so he knew the layout of the land. That meant that he knew just what routes to avoid so that no one became wise to him being with Matilda. The only issue would be someone noticing that she was no longer in the house. But no one would ever be able to prove that she was with him. So, their chances of things going smoothly were favourable.
“Can you hear me okay and everything?” Aaron asked.
“Yes, I can hear you perfectly fine.”
They rode out, and he took her through a more wooded area of town. The only sounds that could be heard were the whistling of trees and the crackle of the wheels as they rode. It was peaceful for Aaron after everything that had happened. It was also nice after all the searching he had done for her. Riding with her almost felt like old times, yet it was marred by the circumstances. Despite it all, he was still thoroughly happy.
Once they were far away enough, Aaron slowed the carriage down and let out a deep breath. “We are away from them all, I presume. We may speak freely now.”
“I have missed you greatly, Aaron. I was not aware of just how bad it would be without you. Life has been different and strange. The past month has felt like an eternity.”
Everything that Matilda had said, Aaron could not have agreed more with. It was as though she had read his mind out loud. “I have felt the same, Matilda. The last month was a storm of uncertainty that I never wish to live through again. Yet the future is still highly uncertain.”
“I know. But we are here together now. We always spoke about the value of the present moment. So, let’s enjoy this time as it may be the only time we have together.”
He did not want to think that like, but it was the reality. “How have you been? I presume your mother has been trying to match you with suitors?”
“Yes. She has. She has been doing it in such speed and abundance that one would think that she had a time limit to do so.”
Thinking about Matilda with another man made him feel jealous. Just the thought of it made him want to run away with her forever.
“I am sorry for that. I understand how that must make you feel.”
Of course, she would. She had suffered from the exact same feelings when she had spotted him with Addison. It was just another part of life that they could relate to one another on. And in a way, it took away his jealousy. “It is not ideal.” He replied. “But there are worse things. At least you are okay.”
“I am far better now that you are here.”
That warmed his heart. There were few times in life that he felt like he had made an impact on someone. And that was one of them.
“So, tell me,” Matilda went on. “However, did you find me?”
“I had travelled first to London. It was a long journey, one in which I wasn’t sure whether or not I was on the right path. With each mile, I travelled. I felt like I was getting further away from you and closer at the same time.”
