“Ye’re doin’ the best ye can. Ye need to give yerself a bit more grace.”
“But ye and Ava didnae have these problems with Nathan,” he huffed.
“Aye, but Nathan was just a wee lad. Barely more than a bairn. It made some things easier,” Caden explained.
Finlay nodded. “I suppose it makes sense that it would take more than a handful of months to get her to trust someone. I wouldnae trust anyone either if I were her.”
“But ye said she trusted Thalia?” Caden asked thoughtfully.
“Aye,” Finlay replied. “She did.”
Thalia was more than eager to be free from that interrogation. She was embarrassed and ashamed of her actions. Ava was right; she should not be hiding away in Finlay’s castle of all places. She should have just risked capture and gone straight to Ava’s. Except, if she had done that, she might never have met Daisy.
She walked up the stone steps, clutching her skirts tightly in her hands. She really was tired, at least that hadn’t been a complete lie, but she couldn’t stand the way everyone was talking around her anymore. She felt isolated, small, like a child who had gotten into trouble and was waiting for punishment from their parents.
How am I ever going to fix this? Is there even a way to fix it?
She was so lost in her thoughts that she very nearly ran straight into Daisy, who was sitting at the top of the stairs. She was clean now, too, dressed in a lovely green frock that complemented her eyes. Her wet hair hung in loose curls, clinging to her face and neck. She looked up at Thalia with wide eyes, as if she were afraid of getting yelled at.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Daisy. I didnae see ye there,” Thalia said swiftly.
Daisy relaxed a little, scooting to the left to move out of the way. “‘Tis all right,” she whispered.
Thalia hesitated, her weariness fading into concern as she thought back to her conversation with Finlay.
Being locked away in a cabin with only one soul for company would be hard for anyone, but it was definitely not the life for a young girl.
“May I sit with ye for a moment?” she asked.
Daisy looked up again and nodded.
Thalia settled beside her, smoothing her skirts down over her knees.
“‘Tis a nice view, I suppose,” she said, filling the silence. “Ye get a full view of the front door, and if ye lean over just a wee bit, ye can see anyone comin’ down that hallway, too.”
Daisy fiddled with her sleeves. “Ye can also hear conversations in the dining room if ye listen hard enough.”
“Ah, I suppose that’s pretty handy for eavesdroppin’,” Thalia remarked, nudging her gently with one shoulder.
Daisy blushed, giggling at the joke. “Aye, it is.”
“Ye ken, it’d be much easier to listen in if ye joined us at dinner.”
Daisy shook her head furiously. “Nay. I daenae ken if I can.”
“Why nae?”
“Because I have never…”
“Ye have never what, sweetie?”
Daisy flushed further, burying her face in her knees as she murmured, “It’s embarrassing…”
“Ye daenae have to be embarrassed, Daisy,” Thalia said reassuringly. “I willnae judge ye. Ye’ve seen me at me absolute worst today.”
Daisy lifted her head with a small smile. “Ye were pretty gross.”
“Aye, I was.”
