Chapter 3
Finlay Hunt was ready to rip apart MacAinsley Castle.
His adopted daughter, Daisy, was nowhere to be found. All of his servants were scattered across the estate looking for her, and yet none of them had managed to find her. She had been missing for the better part of the day, and now that the sun was going down, he was beginning to fear the worst.
What if she had gotten lost in the woods? What if a group of bandits had stumbled upon her and taken her as a captive?
Finlay tried to push such thoughts from his mind. This wasn’t the first time Daisy had run away, and it surely wouldn’t be the last.
The sky had started to turn violet. Thick clouds followed the sun’s journey as it sank beneath the hills. At the very least, the storm that had raged through had passed, but it wouldn’t make the search for Daisy any easier now that they were losing the light.
He sighed, pulling at his horse’s reins and steering him back towards the castle. He would need to restock his supplies; grab lanterns, extra blankets, and clothes to keep the girl warm. He would also need to inform the cook to keep dinner hot for as long as possible.
“Hah!” He kicked the horse into a gallop, and they raced back home.
He ran through the different locations in his mind again.
The first time she had run away, he had found her within a few hours in the gardens.
However, she had grown more cunning, and Finlay had to expand the search radius more and more each time.
He wished he knew how to get her to trust him.
He had never been the most patient man, but Daisy was forcing him to expand his limits every day.
Despite the trouble she caused, he really did care for the little girl.
There were moments when she would start to bloom, and he got glimpses of the witty, brilliant child that she hid away.
He loved those moments, and there had been a few more in recent weeks that made him think they had been making progress.
Except she had run away again, and now all of that progress might be lost.
He rode past the forest, taking the same route as he did the day he had found her.
It had been an accident. He had been exploring his lands, riding through the dense forest to familiarize himself with the area, when he stumbled upon a hunting cabin he hadn’t known existed.
It was small, made of mostly wood with a woven straw roof.
He had been surprised when he had seen smoke curling up from the chimney.
He had entered the cabin, expecting to find bandits, or worse, but instead he had found an old woman and a young girl. The woman had thrown herself between him and Daisy, arms spread wide and chin firmly set.
“This is Laird MacAinsley’s daughter, and ye willnae harm her!” she had cried.
“I am the new Laird MacAinsley,” Finlay explained gently.
The woman gasped, and the child shrank further behind her. She was terribly skinny, and she shook like a tree in the wind.
Finlay had knelt down before her, giving her a reassuring smile. “I promise, I willnae harm ye.”
He shook the memory loose as he tried to focus back on the task at hand.
Once he was back inside the gate of his castle, he spotted his man-at-arms, Peter, speaking with a servant. He quickly dismounted his horse and approached them.
“Peter,” he called. “Any sign of her?”
“Nay, nae yet, me Laird,” Peter replied. “I was just comin’ to collect lanterns so me men and I expand our search.”
“Aye, me as well.” Finlay pinched the bridge of his nose.
The stress was beginning to get to him. If he didn’t find Daisy soon, he would go on a rampage to get her back.
Peter gave his shoulder a firm squeeze. “Daenae worry, we’ll find her. This is what? The second time in so many months? We’ve always found her safe and unharmed.”
“Aye, but it only takes one time for somethin’ to go wrong,” Finlay argued.
“Ye shouldnae worry so much about things that havenae happened,” Peter retorted. “All shall be well.”
“Me Laird!”
They both turned to see Rowena, Daisy’s nursemaid and the woman who had been with her in the cabin, lumbering down the stone steps towards them.
She was a kind elderly woman whom Finlay liked very much, yet he wished that she could keep a better eye on the young girl for all their sakes. There was a small bundle in her arms, and she held it out to Finlay once she drew close enough.
“I ken she didnae leave with much more than what she had on her, so once ye find her, she’ll be right cold, what with that storm and all,” she said.
“Thank ye, Rowena.” Finlay took the bundle gratefully.
Peter gasped, pointing towards something beyond the gate. “Me Laird, someone is ridin’ in!”
Finlay whirled, recognizing his missing horse instantly. The figure on top of the horse, however, was harder to make out. Their silhouette was so sharp against the setting sun that he could only tell it was a woman who was accompanying Daisy back home.
“One of the villagers must have found her,” Peter suggested.
But Finlay barely heard him. He was already running to meet them at the gate. “Daisy? Daisy!” he called, reaching them as they dismounted.
The woman set Daisy on her feet, only for her to scramble behind the woman’s mud-soaked skirts.
“Faither,” she greeted timidly.
Finlay turned to the woman, gratitude and appreciation hanging on the tip of his tongue, but then he paused. It took him a moment to recognize her. Dirt clung to her round face, and leaves stuck out of her wavy, frizzy brown hair, but he recognized that challenging look in her blue eyes.
“Finlay,” Thalia greeted. “Didnae ken ye were a faither now, but I guess I shouldnae be surprised.”
Her tone was light and teasing, but Finlay could see the exhaustion on her face. There was a story here, and he would get it from her. But first, he needed to attend to other matters.
He turned to Daisy, who shrank further under his gaze. “What have I told ye about runnin’ away?” he chided, crossing his arms sternly.
“That I shouldnae do it,” she whispered.
“And?”
“And that I’m safe here, but…” She sniffed. “Ye were mad at me.”
“Mad? Nay, Daisy, I’m nae mad at ye,” Finlay said. “Ye’ve had me worried sick, but I’m nae mad.”
She sniffled again. “Ye were mad! I heard ye! I heard ye sayin’ ye’d take me to the cabin!”
Finlay was taken aback. “What?”
“Ye told yer man-at-arms, ‘Maybe I should take her to the cabin.’” She lowered her voice in an attempt to mimic his. It was almost enough to make him laugh in relief.
He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his amusement in check, then knelt down so they were at eye level.
“I would never do that to ye, lassie,” he said. “When ye overheard me—and we’ll talk about yer eavesdroppin’ later—I was talkin’ about me horse. She’s grown bored of our easy rides, and I thought a trip to the dense forest might be good.”
Daisy blinked up at him. “Oh.”
“Oh? Is that all ye have to say for yerself?”
“I’m… sorry?”
He stood, ruffling her hair with affection. “‘Tis all right. Now, go wash so ye can have dinner.”
Daisy smiled, her face brightening, and then ran off to Rowena. The older woman enveloped her immediately, peppering her kisses across her face.
“Oh, ye wee troublemaker. Ye had us all so worried!” she cried, and the two went back up the steps into the castle.
Finlay turned back to Thalia to thank her properly, but the glare on her face stopped him.
“What happened to her maither?” she asked.
“Careful, lass,” he warned, but she kept going.
“Did ye abandon her? Left her at this ‘cabin’? Daenae think I daenae remember all those stories about ye. The Highland Wolf.”
Finlay scoffed. “What sort of man do ye think I am? Her maither is dead. Her faither, too. There’s a hunting cabin out deep in the woods, and I found her there. She’s the daughter of the previous Laird.”
Thalia’s glare faded, replaced quickly by shame. “I see. So ye took her in?”
“Is that so surprisin’?”
“Nay…” she trailed off. “I just never thought I’d see ye so responsible. Ye’d always seemed so…”
“So…?”
“… carefree,” she finished, though it seemed she had thought of saying another word. “I’d never thought I’d see ye tied down by a woman.”
“Still havenae. Daisy’s just a wee girl.”
Thalia rolled her eyes at the correction, and he smirked. It had been years since they’d last seen each other, but she was just as fun to tease now as she had been then. Just as pretty, too, even though she looked as if she’d been out in the forest for several days.
“How’d ye manage to find yerself at me castle anyway?” he asked. “Were ye visitin’ Ava when ye ended up here?”
She shook her head. “I didnae realize I was headin’ here. That is, until I saw ye come up to greet us.”
“Well, ye’re more than welcome to stay for dinner, and to get cleaned up. Ye look as if ye hadnae bathed in a while. I’ll send one of me servants to MacCabe Castle and let Ava ken ye’re here—”
“Nay!” she cried, her eyes wide.
The outburst took him aback. There was most definitely something strange going on here.
He raised his eyebrows in suspicion. “Ye daenae want Ava to ken ye’re here?”
“It’s just…” She flushed, and he could clearly see the panic on her face as she tried to find an excuse for her outburst. “We shouldnae bother Ava. She’s got that new bairn and all, and it’ll interrupt her dinner.”
“Right,” Finlay drawled, not buying the excuse at all. “What did ye do?”
Her cheeks reddened further. “Nothing ye wouldnae have done in me place!”
He crossed his arms, waiting for further explanation.
She sighed. “There was… an incident. I got tricked into attendin’ a wedding. Well, it was me own wedding. And I ran.”
Something tightened in Finlay’s chest. She had almost been tricked into marriage? His fingers dug into his arms to quell his irritation.
“All right, so ye ran. Ye daenae think yer sister would protect ye?” he asked.
She shuffled her feet, looking down as if she suddenly found the ground very interesting. “I’ve also…” She hesitated. “I’ve also risked a war after kicking me groom in the crotch.”