“Aye. That must be it,” he muttered to himself.
It had been a long time since he had let the wolf out tohunt. Too long, it seemed, since he had almost lost all control of his desires.
It was one thing to flirt, to tease; it was another to take the maidenhead of a lady. Especially since he had no real plans to marry her. He had just narrowly missed one war; he might not be so lucky the next time.
He wrenched his shirt off, throwing it to the side. The coolness of the air against his skin helped to clear his head, and he began to get ready for his day. He was frustrated, sleep-deprived, and no doubt those were a deadly combination. A clean set of clothes would help sort him out.
He strode towards his wardrobe and grabbed a fresh linen shirt, buttoning it with ease. The action made him think of Thalia again, of how she had openly stared at his chest with a desire he had never thought he would see on her face.
Shaking off the memory, he pulled out a brown waistcoat and buttoned it as well. Perhaps if he dressed as the laird he was, it would help to serve as a reminder that he needed to rise above his base desires. He wrapped his sword belt around his waist and walked out of his bedroom.
The halls were quiet. Thalia must have gone back to her room. He was thankful to have a moment to gather his thoughts. It would be best for both of them if he made sure they were never alone together again. Or else it would cause more trouble.
This betrothal was beginning to feel like a plague upon his life, but he made a promise to Thalia, and he was going to do his best to keep it.
He was glad not to see Laird MacFinn or Laird MacGibbon. It was polite for him to invite them to stay in his castle, but he didn’t trust either of them. He would need to discuss plans with Peter and Caden just to be safe. Now that he had a daughter, he needed to make sure that nothing nefarious was happening under his roof.
Daisy’s room seemed quiet. He kept her close to his quarters, and Rowena was right next door. But as Thalia had proved this morning, the girl would find any chance she could to run from him.
One good thing did come of their brief moment together. She had given him a better idea of how to talk to Daisy.
He knocked lightly on the door. “Daisy? Can I come in?”
The door opened, and two wide green eyes looked up at him. There was shame and a touch of fear, neither of which he wanted to see in her.
“Am I in trouble?” she squeaked.
“Nay, lassie. I just want to talk to ye.” He kept his voice as gentle as he could.
She nodded, opening the door wider so that he could come in. She ran back over to her bed, jumping in and pulling the blanket back up to her chin.
Finlay walked over, sitting on the edge of her bed so that he was close but far enough away to give her some space.
“Ye ken that what ye did yesterday was wrong,” he began.
She squirmed, throwing the blanket over her head.
“Daisy…” He sighed, pulling at the blanket until it slid down her head. “Why do ye always feel like ye have to run away or hide from me? Have I nae shown ye that ye can trust me?”
She hesitated, her hands fidgeting with the edge of the blanket. “Aye.”
“I’m nae mad,” Finlay said, resting his hand on her head. “And I’ll always be here for ye. Even when ye make mistakes, like sendin’ out a letter claimin’ I’m goin’ to marry Lady Thalia. Do ye understand?”
She looked up at him with teary eyes. “I just didnae want her to leave. I didnae mean to bring those lairds and cause trouble.”
“I ken that. And I hope that ye’ve learned a valuable lesson from all of this.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek as a stray tear fell.
“Aye, I have,” she sniffled.
“Good.” He ruffled her hair. “Now, do ye think ye could stop runnin’ away?”
She gasped. “She told ye!”
“Aye, Lady Thalia told me about ye almost runnin’ off this mornin’.” He shook his head. “It’s dangerous out there, and I worry that one day ye’re gonna run off and I willnae be able to protect ye.”
“Why?”
He tilted his head. “What do ye mean,why?”
