Chapter 13
Keira stared at Aaron as she rose to her feet, her mind reeling at what he’d just revealed. He could smell her! There was another rustling, and she turned towards the bushes near the old mill wheel.
“Anna!” Keira said. “Come here!” She watched as Anna emerged. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard you tell him,” Anna said, nodding in Aaron’s direction, “to meet you at the river, so I sneaked out after you left this morning.”
“You were spying on me?” Keira choked. “How much did you hear?”
“Enough!” Anna thrust her chin out, her stance openly defiant. A look of horror crossed Keira’s face.
“You cannot tell anyone.”
“She won’t,” Aaron said. He grinned at Anna. “If she does, I’ll have her for dinner.”
Anna gulped, turning pale as Keira turned to Aaron, shock written over her face.
“You wouldn’t,” she gasped.
“Oh yes, I’ll make it swift. She won’t feel a thing.” He smiled teasingly at Keira, before bending down and whispering softly in her ear. “I try to limit my human diet as much as possible, so your sister has nothing to fear from me.” He turned back to Anna, who was looking decidedly white, and she took a deep breath before bravely responding.
“I won’t say anything on one condition,” she said. Her voice was trembling, but she met Aaron’s gaze boldly. He lifted one eyebrow enquiringly. “When you take Keira away from here, take me with you.”
“Anna!”
Keira’s voice was heavy with admonishment, but Anna ignored her, her attention fixed on Aaron.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I need to get away from this village,” Anna said. “And away from Mother. What do you think will happen when Keira leaves with you? Mother will be certain to shackle me to any man who offers. And Edmund might turn his attention to me.”
Aaron nodded in agreement, but his expression was skeptical. “Do you think you could stop behaving like a spoiled child, and start behaving like a woman?”
“Yes.” Anna held his gaze as she continued. “I know I shouldn’t have been spying, but I was desperate.”
“Well, it’s up to Keira.”
Anna and Aaron both turned to look at Keira, but her mind was having difficulty in understanding the conversation.
“Anna,” she said at last. “Aaron’s not taking me anywhere.”
“Oh, I think he is,” was Anna’s smug response.
Aaron sighed. “Keira, Anna’s untimely arrival forestalled me, but there is something I would ask you.”
He glanced at Anna, then taking Keira’s hand, drew her around the corner of the old mill house. When they were out of Anna’s sight, Aaron grabbed Keira’s other hand then dropped down to one knee.
“My sweet Keira, I have loved you from the first time I saw you. Will you take this dragon as your husband?”
Keira stared at Aaron incredulously, before a radiant smile replaced the expression.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I’d be honored to be your wife, Aaron Drake.”
Aaron’s expression was exultant as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into a passionate embrace. His wings broke out behind him, unfurling and wrapping around them, hiding them from the world in their own private sanctuary.
Keira smiled to herself later that day as she ambled around the garden with a pair of shears, deadheading the bushes of bright summer blooms. High above her the form of a mighty beast was circling slowly in the air, creating a shadow on the ground as his powerful body passed in front of the sun. Keira pulled herself upright and scanned the sky, a hand held across her forehead to shade her eyes. She smiled when she saw the dragon gliding through the air, his face turned downward. From so far below Keira could not make out the dragon’s features, but she knew that Aaron’s sharp eyes could see her every expression and could read the joy written clearly over her face. Her smile deepened as she thought of her meeting with Aaron that morning. She still could not quite believe that Aaron wanted to marry her, a simple country girl! Aaron had wanted to go talk to her parents right away, but Keira suggested that they wait a few weeks.
“Why?” Aaron had demanded.
“Well, for one thing, it will cast doubt on your testimony,” she said. “Mother already thinks you’re lying, and this will only serve to strengthen that belief. I cannot bear the thought of people doubting your honor.”
“I really couldn’t care less what people think of me, Keira, and nor should you.” But when Aaron saw the look of concern on Keira’s face, he growled in frustration, pushing his hand through his tawny hair as he did so.
“Keira, I have waited a very long time to find you, and the idea of skulking around in order to spend time with you does not sit well with me. Do you really think a few more weeks will change your parents’ attitude towards me?”
“Maybe not,” she said, “but I do know that this news will not be favorably received today, especially by my mother. Does a few more weeks really matter when we have the rest of our lives?”
“Very well,” he reluctantly agreed. “I’ll give you two weeks, no more, and your parents will have one week to get used to the idea of having me for a son-in-law, because I’ll be waiting at the church door to marry you three weeks from today.”
The thought of Aaron being impatient to marry her made Keira laugh as joy bubbled up from deep inside her. Three weeks! That didn’t give her much time to finish her wedding chest. She hadn’t put much effort into it lately, dismayed as she had been with her potential suitors, but now she wished she’d spent more time filling the chest. And she certainly didn’t have a gown good enough to be married in. When she had mentioned this to Aaron, however, he’d laughed off her concerns.
“Keira, you don’t need to bring anything with you when we get married,” he said. “I am not a young groom leaving his parents’ home for the first time.”
“Yes, because you’re already ancient,” Keira teased. “And I thought Widower Brown was old!”
Aaron had laughed before continuing. “Storbrook has anything we need and more,” he said, “as do all my other homes. I already have all manner of linens and quilts. And I’ll ensure you have a wardrobe filled with gowns made from the finest silks and velvets the world can offer, in the brightest hues imaginable. All that is needed is you, my sweet. And as for a wedding gown, I don’t mind if you marry me in rags.”
Of course, Aaron might not mind her in rags, Keira thought sardonically, but she wasn’t about to get married in any old gown. She might not be able to afford silks and velvets, but her mother had already set aside some fine linen for a wedding gown, in a dark, traditional blue. Her mother would probably be suspicious, but Keira intended to start working on a gown that very evening.
The dragon continued to circle high in the sky as Keira pulled herself from her musings, and she glanced up once more, laughing as he dipped and dived. Hearing her laughter, the dragon swooped down towards her, his wings creating a huge shadow over Keira as she watched him. He swung back towards the clouds as flames poured from his open mouth. She smiled once more, then turned her back to him and stooped down to snip another dead bloom. The door to the cottage opened and she spun around, suddenly concerned that her mother had seen the dragon’s display, but it was only Anna.
“Show-off,” Anna mumbled, glancing at the dragon now high up in the air. A sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter floated down to them before the dragon turned towards the mountains and flew out of sight.
“I can’t believe you’re making me wait a whole month before allowing me to join you and Aaron,” she grumbled as she sat down on the ground near where Keira stood.
“The wait will do you good, Anna,” Keira replied, a little more sharply than she intended. Softening her tone, she added, “Besides, a month will pass by quickly.”
Keira and Aaron had agreed that Anna could come and live with
them after they were married, on the condition that not a single clue about Aaron’s true nature fell from her lips. Aaron hinted at dire repercussions if she broke her word, but Keira was confident that they could trust Anna, since it was in her own best interests to comply. She held the shears out to Anna, who stared at them for a moment before taking them from Keira’s hands and rising to her feet.
“You’re going to do all you can to teach me some responsibility before you leave, aren’t you, dear sister?” Anna asked wryly.
“A few lessons won’t go astray, Anna,” replied Keira with a grin. “You can use the next few weeks to prove to me that I haven’t made a mistake in agreeing that you can come live with us.”
Keira headed back to the house, leaving Anna in the warm sunshine with shears in hand.