Chapter 22
“I daenae understand!” Daisy whined, crossing her small arms over her chest.
Finlay sighed, setting his quill down on the desk. Daisy had been arguing with him all morning, and he could feel a headache coming on.
“I ken ye daenae,” he said, forcing his voice to remain gentle so he would not hurt her feelings. “But maybe ye’ll understand when ye’re older.”
She pouted. “I hate it when grown-ups say that. It just means ye daenae want to talk about it anymore.”
“Well, if ye ken that already, then why daenae ye do as I ask? I’m very busy, Daisy. I cannae just spend a day shopping when I have things to do,” Finlay pointed out.
She took a big breath, letting it out in a long, dramatic sigh as she folded her hands on his desk and rested her head atop them.
“But I want more sweets,” she whined. “And I didnae get to tell Thalia to bring back some before she left this mornin’.”
“Ye’ll be fine,” Finlay said.
He picked up his quill again to finish writing the letter he had been working on.
“I did go most of me life without them before.” She let out a long sigh again. “I suppose I could do it again.”
The quill froze in midair as Finlay considered her words. The young girl sure could put up a fuss when she wanted to, and she was learning fast how far she could push him until he would give in.
He shook his head. No, he would not let himself be controlled by a seven-year-old girl.
“I told ye nay, and that is final.” This time, he injected some firmness into his voice.
Daisy stood straight and crossed her arms over her chest again. She dipped her face and said in a voice barely above a whisper, “Are ye and Thalia fightin’ again? Is that why ye willnae go to town with her?”
Finlay looked up from the letter. A stab of concern hit his chest when he saw her lower lip wobble like she was trying not to cry.
“We arenae arguin’,” he tried, but she didn’t look convinced.
She sniffled. “Is it because of me?”
“Nay, nay.” He stood, rounded his desk, and kneeled down so he was at eye level with her. “It has nothing to do with ye. ‘Tis all me, I swear.”
She swiped her sleeve across her face. “It is?”
“Aye, I’m the one who keeps losin’ me temper around her.”
It wasn’t the full truth, but he hoped that it was enough to help Daisy understand that she was not at fault. He could not bear it if she tried to blame herself again.
“But… ye care about her, do ye nae?” she asked.
“Aye,” he admitted, curious to see where she was going with this.
“And havenae ye said that it’s best to own up to our mistakes and admit when we are wrong?” She blinked up at him innocently.
Finlay narrowed his eyes at her. “Aye.”
“Then if it really is yer fault, ye should go and apologize to her,” she concluded with a firm nod. “And bring me sweets.”
Finlay bit his cheek to keep from laughing at her boldness. She was not only using his own words against him, but she was also pushing for him to do something that would let her get everything she wanted as well.
She really was too smart for her own good, but he decided to give in. Just this once.
“Aye, all right. I’ll go.” He shook his head as he got back to his feet.
Daisy’s face split into a wide, mischievous grin. “Thank ye!”
She wrapped her arms around his waist as he ruffled her hair. Then, with her mission complete, she turned and skipped happily out of the study.
He finally let out the laugh he had been holding in once he knew she was out of earshot. She had been right, in her own way. He did care about Thalia, and he did often get frustrated with her for his own selfish reasons.
Ava had already informed him that she had not gone to Inverness as planned, but had instead chosen to go to a nearby village. Beauly was the closest, so he would stop there first. They would shop together, and he would try to make up for the way he had been behaving of late.
He could not deny the flutter of anticipation he felt at the thought of spending the day with her.
Talking with her, making her laugh, teasing her till she got flustered and angry.
He could tell her how Daisy had coerced him into joining the shopping excursion, and she would no doubt be delighted by the deceitful act.
He chuckled to himself and reorganized the papers on his desk so that they were ready for him to tackle again when he returned. When he was satisfied, he set off to fetch a horse from the stables.
Beauly Village came upon him hastily. He had let his horse run at full speed, and he had arrived in record time. Several of the villagers were walking about as they did their daily shopping and chores, and they all nodded respectfully as he came up the main street.
He had not visited the village for a few months, but he typically did not need to make the trip unless there was something urgent that needed his intervention.
At the nearby hitching post, he recognized one of his mares.
Well, at least I ken she’s here. It shouldnae take too long to find her in a village this size.
A shriek interrupted his thoughts, and he whirled towards the sound. A few shops away, he could see a man with a woman thrown over his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes. He ran towards them, his heart sinking when he recognized the voice.
“Please! Willnae anybody help me?” she screamed.
The hopelessness in her voice was enough to make him see red.
He stopped in front of the man, hand on his sword as he growled low, “I wouldnae do that if I were ye.”
The man sneered, his lips pulling back against his teeth. “It’s good that ye arenae me, then.”
Finlay drew his sword, the metal slicing through the air as the point came down to rest against the man’s jaw. “Let. Her. Go.”
“Make me.”
“Ye didnae have to ask.”
Without another word, Finlay slashed his sword across the man’s throat. His dark eyes widened in fear as he brought his hands up in a feeble attempt to stop the blood from spilling out.
Finlay dropped his sword to the ground, reaching for Thalia as the man fell to his knees. Thalia leaned back into him, turning around and hiding her face in his chest as the man gave one final gasp before falling dead.
Finlay stroked her hair gently. “Are ye hurt?” he asked as softly as he could.
She shook her head.
“Can I see?”
With a shaky breath, she pulled back enough so he could examine her face and check her for injuries. She was clearly scared, but she did not look harmed, besides a rumpled dress. There were no cuts or bruises on her exposed skin.
“Can ye tell me what happened?” Finlay asked now that he was sure she was unharmed.
“He… he tried to kidnap me,” she stuttered. “He wanted to take me to Laird MacGibbon. To force me to marry him.”
“Me Laird, do ye need any assistance?” a group of three young men greeted him as they approached.
The one in the front was the one who had addressed him directly, so Finlay spoke to him first.
“I need ye to send this man’s body back to Laird MacGibbon. Let it be ken that his will isnae law here,” he growled.
“Aye, we can do that,” the first man said.
Finlay bent to pick up his sword and sheathe it. As the men knelt to pick up the body, he surveyed the other villagers who had paused to watch the encounter. He stood to his full height, towering over most of them, and he could see the fear in their eyes as he looked at each of them.
His anger had only been mildly satiated by slaying one villain, but he had not realized that so many people living on his lands had no honor.
“I have half a mind to send ye with this man,” he said, gesturing to the dead body. “Since many of ye thought it best to turn a blind eye to a woman in need.”
He paused, letting the words sink in for a moment before continuing.
“This is Lady Thalia. Me betrothed,” he announced.
Gasps rose in the air.
“Me Laird!” one of the three young men exclaimed. “Forgive us, we hadnae heard of yer engagement.”
“It doesnae matter if ye had heard of it or nae,” Finlay bellowed. “I ken that I have only been yer Laird for two years, but I expected me people to have decency and honor, which ye are clearly lackin’!”
They fell silent, shame written plainly all over their faces.
Thalia placed a hand on his arm, and he turned towards her. “I am unharmed,” she told him in a soft voice.
He gritted his teeth. “But if I hadnae been here—”
“But ye were.”
He expelled a long breath, forcing his anger to cool and reason to return. Swallowing, he turned his fierce gaze back on the villagers. “Remember me words next time. Nothin’ like this will ever happen again as long as I am Laird,” he warned.
“Aye, me Laird!”
“Aye!”
The villagers’ agreement echoed across the street.
Finlay nodded, satisfied for now, and then gently pulled Thalia away from the chaos by the elbow. She followed without much fuss, and he pulled her around a corner away from prying eyes.
“Ye are all right? Truly?” he asked.
She gave a weak nod, but he could see that she was still shaken. He did not blame her. He mentally kicked himself as he thought about what could have happened had Daisy not convinced him to come and join her. He could have lost her forever.
That thought made him wish he could kill the would-be kidnapper a second time.
“Did ye buy anything?” He looked her over. She had a small satchel with her, but nothing else on her person.
She shook her head. “Only some breakfast at the bakery. I hadnae bought any fabrics yet. I had only just entered the shop when he…”
At the terrified look on her face, Finlay wrapped his arms around her again. She melted into the embrace, sucking in a deep breath when her nose pressed against his chest.
“I am here now, and the man is dead. He cannae hurt ye again.”
The certainty in his voice seemed to calm her, but when she pulled back, there was still concern in her brilliant blue eyes.
“But his Laird isnae. Suppose he tries to kidnap me again? I was so foolish to come here alone.”
“Nay!” he insisted, cradling her cheek in one hand as his other arm wrapped tighter around her waist. “I should have been here, to begin with. I was meant to join ye, and I will join ye now. ‘Tis me damn fault for nae considering how much danger ye’re in. I swore to protect ye.”
“Ye did. And I am grateful to ye.” She gave him a smile, the first one he had received from her all day, and it made his heart ache.
She was so close, her plump lips within his reach again, and the thought of closing the distance between them began to echo relentlessly in his head. It would be so easy to pull her in, to coax those sweet little sighs she made anytime he slipped his tongue into her mouth—
“Finlay?”
He blinked, realizing with some embarrassment that she had asked him a question and he had not been listening.
“Aye, sorry, I was…” He took a step back, releasing her with some effort.
This was the exact reason he had not meant to join her today. He did not want to give in to temptation as he almost did now.
Thalia’s face fell slightly as he increased the distance between them, but she recovered in record time. “I was only askin’ about what made ye change yer mind about joinin’ me today.”
“Ah, well, that would be Daisy,” he admitted. “She was upset she didnae get to ask ye to bring her back sweets before ye left, so when she found out ye hadnae gone all the way to Inverness, she begged me to go after ye.”
Thalia shook her head with a chuckle. “Well, I suppose she would need more sweets, since someone ate them all last night.”
His lips curled up as he pointed out, “And I seem to remember someone else helpin’ to finish them.”
“I had one!” she protested, but her grin betrayed her amusement.
“Ye had at least two. I have a very good memory for these things,” he insisted with a grin of his own.
He was happy to see her back to her typical self after her scare, and if teasing her about sweets was the way to do it, he would continue teasing her as long as possible.
Thalia scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she pretended to think. “Then I guess I daenae have a choice. I must help ye make it up to Daisy and buy her more sweets.”
“Aye. ‘Tis the right thing to do,” he agreed.
“Shall we, then?” She gestured down the street, and he nodded.
“After ye, me Lady.”