Page 75 of The Wise Daughter
Her lips pinched together. “It’s easy to say that now that you know who he is. If I had come to you yesterday, explaining this strange business with the foal, do you really think you would have believed me?”
“Of course I would have.”
She looked straight ahead, her hands tightening around her reins.
“You don’t believe me?”
She pinched her lips together before answering. “Do you believe that man’s nonsense about arranging the business with Mr. Carver?”
Carver hadn’t said anything to Aaron about it, but that didn’t mean the men hadn’t worked out some sort of payment. Carver wouldn’t have known Gaines was a thief.
“Either way, you and I know he’s a thief. I’m going to hold him responsible for his crimes, but I won’t make any hasty decisions regarding the foal until I’ve heard Carver’s account.” When she huffed, his tempered swelled. “I know you are suspicious of Carver, but every time I speak with him, he has very reasonable explanations and shows a great deal of patience despite my doubts.”
“So, you do doubt him?”
“Only because you suggest it. All we’ve learned today is that the mare you sit on misses her foal.”
“And we found one of the men who beat you.”
“And for that he will pay.”
They brought their horses to a standstill. Aaron looked straight into those profoundly blue eyes of hers, bewitching even while blazing in the heat of her frustration.
“Once I’ve escorted you back to the castle, I shall return with more men to apprehend Mr. Gaines, but I must look into the business of the foal before deciding anything else.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake, Aaron, no more wasting time!” Nora seized his arm and yanked him toward her. “I won’t sit idly by, watching those around you harm you further.”
“And I refuse to sit by while you exclude me from schemes that put your life in danger. Do you realize how difficult it is to walk away from that thief without taking some sort of action against him? Well, it’s not nearly as difficult as imagining all the horrible things he could do to you if my strength was not enough to protect you.”
She blinked, her eyes wide. “Aaron, I… I never meant to exclude you.”
“But you did. You and Ruthers worked this out, didn’t you?” His skin prickled as the realizations spilled. “Even with your suspicions against Ruthers, you trusted him more than me.”
She shook her head. “That isn’t true. I only wanted to make progress. I only wanted to prove to you–”
“That you were right? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I already know how brilliant you are. I don’t need you putting yourself in harm’s way like this!”
Her eyes now glistened with tears, setting the determined spark inside them more fiercely aglow. She leaned as close as she could atop her horse, her voice a husky whisper. “My safety means nothing to me when yours is at stake. I’ll risk it every time.”
She looked off in the distance, her face suddenly aflame, and gave her reins a quick whip. In a blink, she was racing away, leaving a trail of clouded dirt behind her horse’s hooves, her riding habit billowing behind her.
“Nora–”
Aaron pointlessly reached out. He wanted to follow her, but he was too stunned, too frustrated with himself to give chase without first aligning his thoughts. Her last words whistled and spun around his head, their meaning elusive, until a warmth settled into his chest and quietly burned there with a new understanding.
She loved him. She must, else why say such a thing? But why run away? Was she embarrassed? Had he wounded her with his own frustrations?
His horse shuffled beneath him, restless to move again.
“Oh, Nora.” Aaron heaved a sigh. “I love you dearly.”
His horse’s ear swiveled, the only indication that anyone else was listening.
Nora didn’t remember how she arrived back at the castle. She couldn’t recall what paths she had ridden or the light sprinkling of rain that must have dampened her hair and clothes. She didn’t remember what she said to Ruthers who greeted her at the stables, wanting to know whether the foal was to be returned. When her father approached her inside with his head hanging, asking for a moment of her time, she couldn’t recall what excuse she gave before escaping to her bedchamber.
She didn’t know how long she had lost herself in sleep, but the window now showed a sky edging toward the night, a whole day wasted.
Her heart ached for so many reasons.
