Chapter 19
Thalia slept well until the sun was high in the sky. She would have slept much longer if her sister hadn’t burst into her room to awaken her.
The wooden door slammed against the wall, and she jumped up to a sitting position. Ava stood in the doorway, hands placed firmly on her hips as she walked in and kicked the door closed behind her.
“Good mornin’ to ye, too,” Thalia grumbled, rubbing her heavy eyes in a bid to bring herself into full consciousness.
“Ye were out late.” The words came out clipped, and Ava’s expression was dangerously calm as she said them. “Ye should have been back right after Daisy and Peter, yet ye didnae return until hours later.”
Thalia opened and closed her mouth rapidly. She did not have enough time to come up with a proper lie, and she did not want a repeat of what had transpired in front of Peter the night before. Warmth spread across her face as she revealed part of the truth.
“Finlay confronted me about our uncle. We… argued.” Her voice was quiet, and she wanted nothing more than to bury herself beneath the covers to keep Ava from pulling the whole truth out of her.
Last night had been one of the best nights of her life, despite the circumstances. She was already craving more of it.
Yet she knew she could not tell her sister about these things.
Ava had already been upset enough at the mere possibility of Finlay taking advantage of her, and she had taken great pains to keep the two of them apart over the years.
Thalia did not want her to know that she had been right to do so.
More importantly, she did not want Ava to know how much she had wanted Finlay, too.
“Did he yell at ye?” Ava seemed appalled by the idea. She scoffed, shaking her head as if she couldn’t understand. “After ye went out into the night to help him search for Daisy, that is how he decides to repay ye?”
“It wasnae just him,” Thalia pointed out, a defensiveness rising inside her. “It was me, too. And he was right. If I hadnae been here, Daisy wouldnae have gotten upset again, and perhaps she wouldnae have run away. I am partially to blame.”
“But ye’ve done so much to help with Daisy. He should be more grateful to ye,” Ava argued.
“And I’ve done just as much to cause more problems as well.” Sighing, Thalia picked at a loose thread on her quilted blanket. “It’s all right, though. We came to a… an agreement.”
Ava sat down on the bed with a huff. Her lips pressed into a hard line. “It’s goin’ to be a long year if ye cannae go more than a day without arguin’. If ye want me to talk to him again—”
“Nay!” Thalia jerked her head up and moved closer to her sister. “That is… nae necessary. Now that Uncle Archibald is gone, I think things will be calmer.”
“I hope so,” Ava said, placing one hand over Thalia’s.
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and Thalia called out in a curious voice, “Who is it?”
A muffled voice sounded through the door. “It’s Anna, me Lady. A servant arrived earlier from MacCabe Castle with yer things.”
Thalia leapt from the bed in nothing but her shift, before rushing to the door and pulling it open. Anna stood there with a smile, a small trunk sitting by her feet. Thalia grabbed one end, pulling it into her room and gesturing for Anna to join them. Anna followed, closing the door behind her.
The lid of the trunk opened on creaking hinges, and Thalia carefully examined its contents. Three dresses and four books on herbs, plants, and remedies lay inside. She let out a relieved sigh and began draping the dresses over her arm as she stood.
“Thank ye for bringing this to me, Anna. And thank ye again for lettin’ me borrow yer dress when I first arrived,” she told the maid.
“Of course, me Lady. Ye’ve been so kind, I’m more than happy to help.” Anna turned to Ava and pulled a note from her apron pocket. “This came with the servant as well, me Lady. It is addressed to you.”
Ava took the note, while Thalia walked over to the wardrobe with her dresses. She started hanging them up when Ava gave a long sigh.
“Is everythin’ all right?” she asked, turning back to her sister.
“Aye.” Ava nodded. “Caden writes to say that the children are well. Nathan is enjoyin’ spendin’ time with Uncle, who has promised to take him ridin’ in the forest.”
Thalia bit the inside of her cheek as she thought about Archibald’s insults from the other day. To say such things and then pretend that he hadn’t made her blood boil. She closed her wardrobe with a bit more force than necessary.
“Anna,” she addressed the maid. “Do ye think ye could help me put this dress on today?”
Anna nodded, moving to help her slip into the dress. She laced it up with quick, nimble fingers as Ava finished reading her note.
“Joanna is still nae sleepin’ through the night.” She shook her head. “Is that normal?”
“Most bairns have trouble sleepin’ the first year,” Thalia explained as Anna finished dressing her.
She smoothed the dress down, examining it in her mirror. It was a deep shade of blue, the same color as her eyes. There were brown stains on the bottom hem from wearing it too many times around the gardens, much like many of her other dresses.
For the first time, she began to feel a little self-conscious about it.
Or at least, she started to wonder if she should be more aware of her attire.
Finlay had said that he was attracted to her despite her disheveled appearance.
So, how would he regard her if she put more effort into looking pretty?
Would that be enough to convince him to visit her again? To kiss her and touch her again?
Warmth colored her cheeks, and she tried to push the feelings aside. She was being ridiculous. It was a fake betrothal, and it always would be. Finlay had made that painfully clear.
“Will ye be needin’ anythin’ else, me Lady?” Anna asked.
“Nay. Thank ye, Anna.”
Anna left swiftly, leaving Thalia and Ava behind as she closed the door.
“I’ll be out in the gardens today,” Thalia declared, turning back to her sister. “I need the fresh air, and the quiet will do me good after last night.”
“Aye, I think that’s a grand idea,” Ava agreed. “I’m goin’ to send out a reply to Caden, then would ye like me to join ye?”
Thalia shook her head. “Nay, I need the time to think. I’ll find ye if I need ye.”
She made the walk out to the gardens, surprised by how easy and familiar the journey had become in just a few short days. The servants bustled around the castle as they prepared for the festivities that would take place in just a handful of days.
The reminder of how soon it was made her heart kick in her chest. She felt she had lived an entire lifetime in the past week.
Between the failed handfasting, running away, finding solace with Finlay, and forming a reluctant alliance, it had been almost non-stop action with hardly any chance to catch her breath.
Her life had been relatively quiet up until now, yet she found that she didn’t much mind some of the excitement that had happened.
Her time with Finlay had been especially exciting.
The passion she had experienced last night was unlike anything she had ever felt before, and she still wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to give it up.
Something new had opened up inside her, a trail that she had barely begun to explore, and she wanted to see where it led.
Though it hardly seemed that Finlay wanted to explore this new trail with her. He was unrelentingly confusing, with the way he always contradicted himself or changed his mind. She wished he would just come right out and say what he wanted from her.
Perhaps something was holding him back, but she had a hard time believing that. He was strong, powerful, and confident. What could possibly have a hold on such a man that he would deny himself something he wanted?
Thalia shook her head as if she could banish the thoughts from her mind. He must not want her so badly, then. If he did, then surely he would fight for her, wouldn’t he? That was the kind of man he was.
She arrived at the gardens, breathing in the sweet scent of the flowers. Most of the scents blended together, yet there were a few she could pick out with ease. Lavender, especially, was a more distinct one that stood out above the others.
Finlay had told her she smelled like lavender last night, and he had told her how much he liked that smell on her.
She shook her head again as her body warmed at the memory of his touch.
Nay, ye need to put it out of yer mind. It will do ye nay good to dwell on it.
With that, Thalia resigned herself to focus solely on the tasks before her. She wanted to take an even closer look at the plants, examining them for signs of pests or disease to keep them healthy as long as possible. She rolled up her sleeves and began to work.
It did not take her long before she was completely engrossed with the plants around her.
The time passed quickly, yet she was vaguely aware.
She found a few plants showing signs of distress, and she made a note about them with a piece of paper and a pencil she had brought with her.
She hadn’t had a chance to talk with the servants who tended to the gardens yet, but she would ask around in the coming days.
“Thalia!”
She looked up from where she was still crouched down in the dirt and saw Daisy running up to her with a wide smile on her face.
“Daisy!” Rowena shouted behind her, walking slowly up the trail from where they must have spotted her.
Thalia stood and tucked her notes into her pocket just in time for Daisy to launch herself into her arms. Thalia barely managed to stay standing by placing a foot behind her as the girl’s body crashed into her.
Daisy smiled up at her from where she pressed into her skirts, and Thalia ruffled her hair affectionately.
“Ye seem to be in much better spirits,” she observed.
It was nice to see Daisy so happy after last night, but Thalia supposed that Finlay’s reassurances finally did the trick.
“I am! I saw ye from me window, and I wanted to come and thank ye for comin’ after me,” Daisy explained. She pulled away, staring down at her boots. “I willnae run away again. I promise this time!”
“I’m very glad to hear that, Daisy.” Thalia knelt so that they were at eye level. “And I apologize on behalf of me uncle. I would have said somethin’ sooner, but I thought ye hadnae heard him.”
Daisy looked up, scraping her boot across the ground as she absentmindedly kicked a rock. “I have very good hearing. I heard ye stick up for me, but I didnae want to cause any more problems. Especially since ye and Faither have been arguin’ so much.”
“Well, ye arenae the reason behind our arguments.” Thalia placed a hand on her shoulder. “Those are all to do with me and me family.”
Daisy scrunched up her face as if she were thinking very hard about something. “Is he worried about ye?”
“What?” Thalia blinked in confusion. “Why would ye think that?”
“Ye said before that sometimes when people are worried, it comes out like they’re angry.” Daisy tilted her head. “Maybe that’s why he always seems so angry with ye?”
To her surprise, Thalia let out a small laugh. “I did say that, did I nae? Ye are really smart, ye ken that?”
Daisy echoed the laugh. “Aye, I ken.”
Rowena finally caught up to them, narrowing her eyes at Daisy. “How many times do I have to ask ye to stop runnin’?”
“I’m sorry,” Daisy answered automatically.
The typical routine for them.
Thalia stood again, smoothing down her skirts. “How about we go back inside, and I can show Daisy some of the notes I took about the plants that need tendin’ to?”
Daisy gasped in excitement, her eyes wide as she clapped her hands together. “More lessons!”
“Aye.” Rowena nodded. “And maybe ye’ll be able to sit still again for a few hours.”
The three of them made their way back up to the entrance.
Thalia could not keep from glancing over at the training grounds. Several men were practicing, but none of them was Finlay. She frowned. She had not seen him all day, and she was starting to feel as if he were avoiding her.
Well, if that was the case, the two could play that game. She would avoid him, too, and when he decided that he wanted to see her, he would have to come and find her.