Chapter 15
Finlay saw Laird MacFinn and Laird MacGibbon coming from the direction of the gardens. His suspicion rose, especially since he knew that Thalia and Daisy were spending time out there today.
“Peter!” he bellowed.
His man-at-arms jogged over to him. “Aye, me Laird?”
Finlay handed him his sword. “I’m takin’ a break. Take over the trainin’ for me.”
“Aye, me Laird.” Peter nodded, before walking off to put the sword away.
Finlay strode towards the gardens. He caught Laird MacFinn’s eye, who turned away first. He gritted his teeth. It was a good thing that both were leaving his castle. He wasn’t sure how much more disrespect he could take.
Thalia and Daisy were standing next to a bush weighed down with deep purple flowers. Thalia bent over, closing her eyes as she inhaled their scent, and Daisy copied her.
The sight cooled his anger instantly. The one good thing in this whole ordeal was seeing Daisy opening up. He couldn’t even be bothered to be envious any longer. He was just so happy to see the two of them together.
“Thalia!”
She looked up as he approached. She smiled, but it did not escape his notice that she refused to fully look at him. He walked up so that he was close to them, but still put enough distance between them to make her more comfortable.
“I saw yer uncle and Laird MacGibbon comin’ from this way,” he started.
Thalia grimaced, and Daisy’s face went pale. It immediately put him on edge.
“Did they do somethin’ to ye?”
Rather than answer him, Thalia addressed Daisy, who had her hands filled with cut flowers. “Daisy, will ye take those to the kitchen? I’ll be there shortly.”
Daisy looked from Thalia to Finlay and back. “Are ye goin’ to argue again?”
“Nay!” Thalia and Finlay said at the same time.
Thalia blushed, and Finlay bit the inside of his cheek to suppress a chuckle.
Daisy, however, looked amused. “I’ll go if ye promise ye willnae argue again.”
“I promise,” Thalia answered.
“We willnae argue,” Finlay promised.
Daisy nodded in satisfaction. She walked back up to the castle, only looking back once.
“What did they say?” Finlay asked once she was far enough away.
Thalia ran her hand over the bush, letting her fingertips brush lightly over the petals. “Me uncle was cruel. I daenae think that Daisy heard it, but he said some terrible things about her. Mentioned that he didnae want his nieces to raise children that arenae theirs.”
Finlay let himself imagine storming back to the castle, grabbing Laird MacFinn by the collar, and forcing him to apologize to Daisy and Thalia, as well as Ava.
He crossed his arms across his chest, his rage barely contained. “He’s lucky he’s leavin’ today,” he growled.
Thalia sighed in relief. “I suppose ye and Caden had somethin’ to do with that? I really must thank ye. I’m glad I can have a break from them.”
“I didnae do that just for ye. It was for me, too,” Finlay pointed out, which made her chuckle.
Her eyes drifted back to him, settling on his bare chest. A pink flush colored her cheeks, but then she brought her gaze back up to his face.
It was the first time she had properly looked at him since he had arrived. Blue eyes stared up at him through long, dark lashes that fluttered prettily against her cheek.
If she were any other woman, Finlay would think that she was flirting with him. She wasn’t, which only made it worse, given how irresistible he found every part of her.
“Maybe we can settle into a better routine with them gone,” Thalia said, the end lilting up almost like a question. As if she were looking to him for confirmation.
The wind kicked up behind her, and brown tendrils whipped around her face. It pushed her scent to him, and it took everything in him not to lean closer and breathe her in. She smelled sweet, like the plants she surrounded herself with. Intoxicating and delicate.
He took a step back from her, trying to push those thoughts out of his head.
“What were ye and Daisy doin’ out here?” he asked, changing the subject.
“We are makin’ a tea for Rowena,” Thalia replied. “Daisy wants to become a healer.”
He smiled at that, pride filling him as he pictured it. “Aye, I bet with ye as her teacher, she will make a fine one.”
“Such a flatterer,” she teased, and the smile she gave him only stoked his desire further.
He wanted her as much as he had wanted her yesterday, maybe more. Because now he knew what he was missing.
He swallowed hard. He couldn’t have her. It wouldn’t be possible.
If he wanted to, he could have her. Thalia had made it clear that she was interested, and if he acted on his impulses, then she would be his and his alone. But he did not trust that he would be hers alone.
He did not believe that he was the sort of man who could truly give away his heart, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. Like his sister had been hurt.
“I had better get back to trainin’. Me men have a lot they still need to work on,” he said quickly.
Thalia’s face fell in disappointment, and it took all of his control to get the next words out.
“We’ll go to Inverness tomorrow to shop for a gown. Perhaps ye should be getting ready for it,” he suggested.
“Aye,” she replied in a quiet voice.
She wasn’t looking at him anymore. Her gaze had gone back to the flowers.
As it should.
That didn’t stop the disappointment that curled in his stomach.
“I’ll see ye tomorrow.”
With that, he turned and went back to the training grounds.
He stalked past the rest of his men, making straight for the weapons tables and picking up his sword again. He was angry, and frustrated at himself and the predicament he had placed himself in. It must have been evident on his face, because his men gave him a wide berth.
He charged at one of the straw dummies. He slashed at it, pouring all of his feelings into that one swing. The head flew off and rolled away towards the stables.
He panted with exertion, wiping his hand across his forehead to remove the sweat that had gathered there.
“Ye doin’ all right, me Laird?” Peter asked from behind him.
Peter was the only one brave enough to approach him like this.
“Fine,” Finlay spat.
He turned, noticing that the rest of the men had ceased their training to also gauge what had made their Laird so angry.
“Did I say ye could stop?” he barked, and the men quickly returned to their training.
Peter let out a heavy breath. “Just try nae to behead all of the dummies, me Laird?”
Finlay gave a curt nod, but did not reply. He turned his sword towards the next dummy and slashed at it.
He spent the rest of the day on the training grounds and only moved inside once the sun had fully set. He spent the night in his study, going over taxes and requests from the villagers under his protection.
He did not go down to dinner and instead had a maid fetch him a plate. He could not face Thalia now, not when he was not certain he could be fully in control of himself.
As the candles grew smaller, Finlay finally decided he should get a good night’s rest. Or try to, at least.
He stretched as he stood, his long hours on the training grounds making his muscles tight and sore. It had felt good to let loose a little, but he did not want to make that a daily occurrence. His body would not be happy about that.
He cleared up his desk and blew out the candles. Darkness swallowed the room, but he knew it well enough to make it to the door without any issue.
As he walked to his room, he passed by Daisy’s. The door was ajar, and he poked his head in to check on her. There was a candle still flickering on her bedside table, but he couldn’t quite make out her sleeping form.
Thinking of his earlier conversation with Thalia, he entered with the intention of reminding Daisy that he loved her. But as he drew closer, he realized that she was not in her bed. Her bed was rumpled, as if she had been there at some point during the night, but then had left.
Finlay did not waste any time. He rushed out of the room, racing across the castle until he reached the servants’ quarters.
He pounded his fist on the wooden door, and he didn’t wait for anyone to answer before he moved on to the next one.
“Daisy’s gone!” he bellowed down the hall. “Daisy’s gone again! Up! Up! I need men!”
Groggy servants poked their heads out in confusion, then panic as they realized what was happening.
“Me Laird?” Peter asked as he exited his rooms, rubbing at his eyes. “She’s run off again?”
“Aye,” Finlay replied, calming down only a little as his men came out to begin the search. “Again. I thought we were past this. I thought…”
“We’ll find her,” Peter assured, his voice firm despite having only just woken up. “We always do.”
Finlay’s mind was racing with possibilities. He hadn’t seen Daisy since earlier that morning in the gardens. She had walked off to the kitchen, and Thalia had promised to join her. Was that the last time anyone had seen her? How many hours had she and Thalia spent together during the day?
Those answers could mean life or death. He had no idea how long she had been gone for, but if it had only been an hour or so, then it would be much easier to find her. However, if she had been missing since midday…
He didn’t let himself finish that thought.
“Peter, take yer men and prepare the horses. I’ll join ye soon,” he commanded.
“Aye, me Laird. It’ll be done.” Peter clapped his hands to get the attention of the other men. “All right, ye all ken the drill. Dress as quickly as ye can, and then meet me out by the stables. Now! Move!”
Finlay pushed his way through the chaos, rushing back up to the main bedrooms. He found Thalia’s and knocked on the door.
He would not barge into her room, no matter how urgent the need.
He did not trust himself to be alone with her in a bedroom again, and he could not take that kind of risk right now.
There was no answer, so he knocked again.
“Thalia! Thalia, this is important. Open the door!”
The door finally swung open to reveal a disoriented Thalia.
“Finlay? What are ye doing here so—”
“Daisy is gone.”
She straightened, all signs of sleepiness gone. “What do ye mean she’s gone? She ran away again?”
Finlay nodded. “Aye, ye are the last person who saw her. I need to ken how long ago that was.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “I… I showed her how to make the tea, and then we delivered it to Rowena. Daisy was happy about it, and then we spent a few more hours together as she practiced her writing…” She shook her head in frustration.
“I didnae see her at dinner. I ate with Ava, and Daisy said she wanted to eat with Rowena again.”
Finlay’s lips pressed into a hard line. Hours. He had been so wrapped up in trying to avoid Thalia that he had allowed his daughter to put herself into danger again.
“If this is yer uncle’s fault, he is a dead man,” he hissed. “I’ll be back soon. Send out a messenger if she shows up before I return.”
He turned to leave, only to be stopped by a hand grasping his arm.
“Wait. Take me with ye,” she demanded.
Finlay scoffed. “Nay.”
“I want to help.” She placed her hands on her hips, stubborn as ever.
“Ye’ll only get in the way,” he argued.
She jutted her chin defiantly. “I ken me way around the woods. I’m a healer, remember? Besides, I’ve already spent a few days in the forest here. She may nae have gotten very far.”
“I cannae have ye slowin’ us down,” Finlay insisted.
“I promise ye I willnae,” she assured him.
He searched her face carefully, finding only that stubbornness that he couldn’t help but admire.
Perhaps it would be best if she came with them. Hearing Thalia’s voice call out her name may help lure Daisy out of wherever she was hiding.
He gave a heavy sigh. “Fine. Ye had better get dressed quickly, then meet me by the stables in less than twenty minutes. Or else I’ll leave without ye.”
Thalia nodded and closed the door in his face.
Finlay headed out for the stables, trying to tell himself that it would all work out.
Daisy will be fine. She always is. We always find her.