Daisy flushed, her eyes darting away. “Oh… well…”
Ava laughed. “Daenae worry, sweet girl. I’m only teasin’ ye.” She tapped the underside of Daisy’s chin, and the girl giggled at the attention.
Thalia’s eyes darted between them. Ava must know about Daisy’s lineage. Technically, Daisy and Nathan were half-siblings. Thalia did not see many similarities between the twochildren, but she wondered if Ava could. Sometimes mothers could see things that other people couldn’t.
Thalia looked down at the food on her plate. She missed her mother sometimes. It had been a long time since they had spoken, and even longer since they had anything meaningful to say to each other. Thalia hadn’t seen her at the handfasting ceremony, but she wouldn’t be surprised if her mother didn’t even know about it.
Rowena returned then, holding two plates of food. She handed one to Daisy. Ava stood, moving to sit next to Thalia on the bed, and Rowena sat in the chair closest to Daisy again.
“Are ye stayin’ for the cèilidh, Aunt Ava?” Daisy asked.
“Aye, I am. Someone has to help keep an eye on ye.” Ava teased, giving her a wink.
“I could use all the help I can get,” Rowena laughed.
“Me first cèilidh,” Daisy sighed dreamily. “Food, dancing, and music. I cannae wait!”
“Aye, it should be a great time,” Ava agreed.
“I suppose I should send out invitations.” Thalia tapped a finger on her chin in thought. “I havenae had the chance to tell Emma or our maither about the engagement.”
“Yer maither?” Daisy asked with wide eyes. “What is she like? Will I get to meet her?”
Thalia hesitated for a moment as she tried to piece together her response. Thankfully, Ava jumped in.
“Our maither is a sweet and kind woman. She taught Thalia all about plants when we were younger. I’m sure she would like ye very much.”
Daisy smiled at that.
Thalia took a bite of her food to hide her expression. She noticed that Ava did not explicitly say that their mother and Daisy would meet.
“What about yer faither?” Daisy asked. “Will he be comin’, too?”
Ava’s face fell, and Thalia stepped in. “Nay, our faither died several years ago.”
Daisy deflated. “What happened?”
“He got very sick, and he didnae get better,” Thalia answered as calmly as she could.
That memory still stuck with her, especially since none of the healers had been able to do anything to help him.
“I’m sorry,” Daisy mumbled.
Thalia nodded, her throat thickening with sorrow. “It’s why I decided to become a healer. So that nothin’ like that would ever happen to anyone else.”
“Oh, that’s lovely, me Lady,” Rowena commented, dabbing at her eyes.
Daisy set her plate down and stood up from her chair. “I want to be a healer, too. I want to help people just like ye.”
She looked at the adults as if daring any of them to defy her. It made Thalia’s chest swell with happiness. It was nice to be admired by someone she had grown to care for so much.
The joy was short-lived, as a brief stab of pain shot through her chest. She wouldn’t be here forever; this betrothal was only temporary, after all. After it was over, how often would she be able to come and see Daisy? She was sure Finlay would not purposely keep them apart, but it would be different having to travel the distance between MacCabe Castle and MacAinsley Castle just for a simple lesson on plants.
She pushed the thought out of her mind. She and Daisy were together now, and that was all that mattered.
“I’d be happy to start givin’ ye lessons. I daenae think ye’d have any trouble pickin’ it up,” she answered.
Daisy grinned and threw herself at Thalia, who barely had any warning before pushing her plate out of the way and wrapping the young girl in her arms.
