Thalia followed her, pulling the blankets up to her chin as she settled in.
“If I leave now, do ye promise nae to run again?” she asked.
Daisy nodded. “Aye, I promise.”
“Good.”
Thalia bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead, which earned her a bright smile.
“Get some more rest, and I’ll see ye at breakfast?” As she got up to leave, she heard Daisy squeak out another word. “What was that?”
Daisy cleared her throat. “Maybe… I’ll join ye in the breakfast room this time.”
Thalia smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.”
Daisy brightened at the praise, then rolled over to try and sleep for a couple more hours.
Thalia closed the door gently behind her and started the walk back to her own room.
A flicker of irritation sparked within her. This was the second time that she knew Daisy had tried to run away after listening in on Finlay’s conversations. He really ought to be more careful. Maybe if he would just talk to her and explain everything, she wouldn’t be so afraid of him anymore.
Thalia turned around and headed back down the hall. Finlay had asked for her help with Daisy, hadn’t he? And since the girl was tucked safely in her bed, now was the perfect time to speak without her eavesdropping. If only to make sure she did not take anything the wrong way again.
Finlay’s bedchamber stood at the far end of the hall. The wooden door was closed, but she could hear a scuffling behind it. He must be awake.
She gently knocked on the door. She didn’t want to wake her uncle or Laird MacGibbon, and she definitely didn’t want them to catch her outside Finlay’s rooms. She knocked again, a touch harder this time.
“Finlay,” she whispered. “Finlay, are you…”
The door opened. Finlay stood before her in an unbuttoned white linen shirt and a plaid still belted across his waist.
Thalia’s eyes roamed down the length of his bare, muscular chest before darting back to his face.
“… awake?” she finished, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat as she tried to remain composed.
“Thalia? What are ye doing outside me bedchamber?” The irritation was evident in his voice, and Thalia was beginning to regret her decision to have this conversation so early in the morning.
“Well, I…”
The click of a door opening sounded behind her, and without thinking, she pushed her way into Finlay’s room, closing the door behind her.
“And now ye’re in me room,” Finlay stated with mild amusement this time.
She shushed him, pressing her ear against the wood to gauge whether anyone was coming near them. After another moment of quiet, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Heat pressed against her back as Finlay came up behind her. His breath tickled her ear as he whispered, “Thalia, what on earth are ye doin’ now?”
She whirled around, finding herself caught between his body and the wooden door. She gulped.
“I came to talk to ye, but I thought I heard someone, and I panicked. I didnae want anyone to catch us like this.” The words came out rushed.
Finlay chuckled at her nerves. “Like what, exactly?” He leaned in further, and she caught the faint smell of whiskey on his breath.
“Have ye been drinkin’?” she asked with astonishment.
He sighed, pulling back from her as if the question had ruined all the fun. “It’s been a long night. A long couple of nights, in fact. Ye cannae blame me for needin’ somethin’ to take the edge off.”
He walked back to his bed, and Thalia took in the scene around her. The exhaustion in his body, the whiskey bottle and empty glass on the table, the bed that looked hardly touched. He must have been up all night.
