Chapter 1
“Look at yer wee toes!” Thalia cooed, grabbing the delicate feet of the baby before her. “Why, I could just gobble them right up!”
She lowered her head, smacking her lips and pretending that she was chewing on the feet of the baby, who laughed delightedly at the amusing display.
The baby was lying on a light woolen blanket, very much enjoying the attention she was receiving from her mother and aunt.
“Oh, be careful, Joanna.” Ava giggled. “Yer aunt looks quite hungry. She might really mean it this time!”
The baby only laughed and gurgled in answer.
Thalia sat back on her heels, turning towards her sister with a sigh. “I cannae believe it’s already been three months since she was born.”
“Aye.” Ava nodded. “I daenae ken how the time goes by so fast. Before long, it’ll be her wedding day.”
“Daenae say that!” Thalia cried, placing her hands over Joanna’s ears in mock horror. “She’s goin’ to stay wee forever if I have anythin’ to say about it.”
Ava shook her head in amusement. “I daenae think even ye can stop the passage of time, Sister.”
“Just watch me,” Thalia replied with a grin as she scooped Joanna up into her arms. “What say ye, Joanna? Ye want to stay a bonnie bairn for all of yer days?”
Joanna merely stared up at her with the same wide green eyes as her mother. One tiny, chubby hand reached up to gently cup her aunt’s cheek.
Thalia sighed with contentment. She adored her niece. She loved her nephew, Nathan, too, but there was something about babies that brought out the best in people. They were so quick to laugh, so unburdened with the troubles that would come later in life.
She had meant it when she said she would keep Joanna like this forever if she could, if only to protect her from all of the harmful things that waited for her in this world.
Ava watched her sister curiously. “Have ye given any thought to havin’ a bairn yerself one day?”
Thalia huffed. “I’m nae in a rush to settle down with anyone. Besides, I have me work. I’d be just fine spendin’ the rest of me days healin’ others and makin’ them happy.”
“I ken ye would. I was only askin’, since ye’ve been such a blessin’ with Joanna. Sometimes it seems like ye’re wishin’ for one of yer own.”
A knock sounded at the door, and Thalia and Ava both looked up in surprise.
“Pardon the intrusion,” a young maid said. “But I have a letter here for Lady Thalia.”
“A letter? From whom?” Thalia passed her niece off to Ava as she stood up.
The maid shrugged. “I daenae ken. The messenger who dropped it off only said it was urgent.”
Thalia took the letter, breaking the seal and smoothing out the folds to read it better. Her eyes scanned its contents rapidly, before her hand flew to her mouth in shock.
“Nay,” she whispered. “Nay, nay nay.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Ava asked.
As if sensing something was amiss, Joanna began to sniffle and squirm in her mother’s arms.
“It’s Uncle,” Thalia explained. “He’s sick. I have to go. I have to help him!”
“Wait, Thalia, what’s going on?” Ava pressed.
Joanna’s cries grew louder, and Ava rocked her gently in an effort to calm her.
Thalia shook her head as she tried to calm her worried thoughts. “The letter says that he’s ill with a fever. He’s bedridden, and the healers there havenae been able to help him. They requested that I head to MacFinn Castle for assistance. I have to go, Ava!”
“Of course ye do,” Ava said without hesitation. She turned to the maid, who was still standing in the doorway. “Caitlin, go to the stables. Tell the boys to prepare a horse for me sister right away.”
The maid nodded and disappeared back the way she had come.
Thalia’s breath came fast, and her chest squeezed painfully as if all of the air had been punched out of it. “Ava, they said he’s very sick. What if… Because I wasnae there… What if he…?” She didn’t dare finish the question.
Ava placed Joanna back into her crib before turning back to her sister.
She ran her hand through Thalia’s hair in a calming motion.
“Enough of that. It’ll be all right. Ye’ll have our fastest horse, and ye’ll make it there in nay time at all.
Then ye’ll make him well again because ye’re the best healer there is. ”
Thalia nodded, her sister’s words somewhat easing her panic.
Ava was right. Their uncle was not their father. Thalia would make it in time, and everything would be well.
Thalia rode for three days straight, stopping only to allow the horse the proper time to rest before resuming the ride.
She ate as she rode, not even allowing herself to sleep for fear she would waste too much precious time.
Exhaustion weighed on her, but the thought of her uncle breathing his last in his bed was enough to keep her going.
At last, MacFinn Castle came into view. It seemed to rise up from the ground as she rode steadily up the hill towards it. The brick and spires stood as tall and firm as the day she had left two years ago.
The sight of her childhood home caused a bittersweet stab of nostalgia low in her chest.
She pushed the feeling away. There was no use getting emotional when she needed to focus on the task at hand.
As she grew closer, she could see a large gathering of people outside the castle.
Panic seized her as she thought the worst had happened, but upon closer inspection, she realized that the crowd was in the midst of a celebration.
There was music and dancing, with people cheering and drinking in merriment. It had been some time since Thalia had enjoyed a cèilidh, but she could still recognize one when she saw it.
A cèilidh? While their Laird lay ill?
She slowed her horse to a trot and scanned the crowd for a familiar face. She found one under a curly mop of dark auburn hair.
“Kenna!” she cried, drawing the attention of the older woman.
“Lady Thalia!”
Thalia dismounted the horse in one smooth motion, rushing to greet her old nursemaid. They embraced quickly, but Thalia’s mind was only on one thing.
“Me uncle,” she said. “I’m nae too late, am I?”
“Nay!” Kenna replied. “Yer uncle’s just inside. He’s waitin’ for ye. But…” She paused, giving Thalia a good once-over. “Maybe ye should go and make yerself more presentable first?”
“There’s nay time for that,” Thalia said, unsure why her appearance should matter so much. The only thing that mattered was making sure her uncle’s health improved. “Can ye make sure that someone takes me horse to the stables? It’s been a long ride, and he needs proper care.”
“Leave him to me. Now, off ye go!” Kenna shooed her off.
Thalia raced up the stairs towards the main entrance. The doors were already thrown wide open, allowing the celebration to filter in and out.
She pushed past the guests as she made her way towards what appeared to be the center of the festivities. Standing there, in the middle of everyone, was her uncle, Archibald Dougal, the Laird Clan MacFinn.
He smiled as he saw her, holding out his arms in a gesture of welcome. “Thalia! Ye’re here! Now we can begin.”
Thalia stared at him. He was not only out of bed, but he also didn’t appear to be ill at all. The letter she had received said that he was deathly ill. Perhaps he had a miraculous recovery? That would explain the celebration at least, but it did not explain the men who stood with him.
“Uncle…? But…”
Slowly, she took in the priest who stood by his side. A kind, elderly man dressed in black robes and a white overlay. Another man stood on his other side, tall, lean, with bright red hair and grey eyes that looked at her as if she were a new pet.
She felt like a heavy stone had dropped into her stomach. She did not like the look of this. Not at all.
“I’m sorry for foolin’ ye, but it was the only way to get ye here so quick,” Archibald said. “Ye’ve been with yer sister for too long. She’s settled with her laird husband, and I hear the new bairn is strong and healthy. Thalia, it’s time for ye to think of yer own future. Yer own happiness.”
“I daenae understand.” Thalia shook her head. “What are ye sayin’?”
Archibald gestured to the man beside him. “Harrison MacKay, the Laird of Clan MacGibbon, has been kind enough to propose marriage to the last MacFinn lass. He’s offered a worthy sum, as well as the promise of peace between our clans.”
Thalia looked around the room at the guests, at the celebration that was happening around her. It had all been a trick, just to get her here. To this sham of a handfasting.
“Uncle,” she tried again. “I came here because I thought ye were dyin’.”
“Nay, I’m thrivin’!” he cried cheerfully. At her lack of enthusiasm, he paused. “What’s wrong? Do ye nae like me surprise, lassie?”
Thalia shook her head. “Nay, I daenae.”
He glared at her. “Would ye have preferred that I was dyin’? Is that it?”
“I would have preferred I had died,” she retorted before she could stop herself.
She looked at the priest, then at her supposed groom. She had to go, she had to leave. There was no way she would stay here and let herself be married off to someone she didn’t know.
“Apologies.” She lifted the hem of her skirts and ran.
The guests, frozen still by the turn the day had taken, merely watched as she tore past them. She had made it as far as the door before she was roughly yanked back by her collar.
“Where do ye think ye’re goin’, lassie?” Harrison hissed in her ear.
He turned her around, grabbing her chin roughly in one hand so that she was forced to look him right in his cold, grey eyes. Eyes that held nothing but cruelty. Thalia knew she had made the right decision to run.
“Ye think ye can just run off and embarrass me like that?” he continued. “Ye had better behave yerself, or else ye’ll face me wrath in our marriage bed.”
Shock coursed through her. She couldn’t believe her uncle thought that this man would ever be worthy of being her husband.
She tried to pull free, but Harrison’s grip only tightened on her. Desperate, she moved just enough to sink her teeth deep into the soft flesh between his index finger and thumb.
He yelped, dropping his hand and holding it tight to his chest. Thalia wasn’t quite satisfied, and acting purely on instinct, she lifted her boot and drove it straight up between his legs.
She didn’t give herself enough time to properly enjoy the way he crumpled to the ground before she was running again.
This time, no one dared stop her, and she made her way back to the stables easily.
Kenna was still there with Ava’s horse, conversing with one of the stable boys.
She bristled when she saw Thalia running towards them.
“Me Lady! What are ye doin’ back here?” she asked.
“I daenae have time to explain.” Thalia mounted the horse, rubbing its neck sympathetically. “I’m sorry, friend. I have to ask ye to run again.”
“Run? Me Lady, where are ye goin’?”
“Anywhere that isnae here!”
With that, Thalia kicked the horse into a gallop again.
The crowd jumped out of her way as she flew out of the castle gates. The wind whipped through her hair, and she felt like she could breathe again.