“Thank ye, thank ye, thank ye,” Daisy whispered breathlessly in her ear.
Thalia hugged the girl tightly, relishing in the affection. She tried not to wish for what she knew was impossible: that the betrothal could be real, and then she would never have to leave Daisy or Finlay. That was not what Finlay wanted, so she would have to keep herself from wanting it.
The next morning, Thalia set out to begin her lessons with Daisy. She had skipped breakfast—the previous day still left a bitter taste in her mouth—and she went down the front steps hand in hand with Daisy.
It was a bright, warm day, and the courtyard was teeming with servants as they went about their daily chores. The flash of a steel sword caught her eye, and she noticed that there were more men than usual practicing on the training grounds. At least a few dozen men, all in various stages of fighting. Some wielded swords, others were shooting arrows, and a few were even wrestling with each other.
A wide, tanned back drew her attention, and she flushed when she realized it was Finlay. He was dressed in only his plaid, the fabric hanging low on his waist. Even from that distance,Thalia could see the sweat glistening on his skin, highlighting his muscles. His chest rippled as he raised his sword at his opponent, and the two began clashing.
Theclangof steel against steel rang out across the courtyard, and she continued to openly stare as Finlay made quick work of his opponent. With only a few slashes, he was able to disarm him, knocking him to the ground and holding the sword to his neck. The man held up his hands in surrender, and Finlay withdrew and offered his hand to pull him back to his feet.
“Faither is a really good fighter, is he nae?” Daisy asked from beside her.
The question snapped Thalia out of her trance.
She turned back to the girl and cleared her throat. “Aye, he is.”
“I guess that’s why they made him the Laird,” Daisy remarked.
Thalia only nodded at her, her gaze sliding back to the training grounds. Her eyes found Finlay, only to realize that he was also watching her. She tightened her grip on Daisy’s hand and started walking again.
“Come along, Daisy. We should get to the gardens,” she said quickly, trying to stop her brain from having rebellious thoughts.
Daenae think about kissin’ him. Daenae think about touchin’ him. Daenae think about him at all.
The gardens helped to clear her mind. She breathed in the fragrance of the flowers, the sweetness helping her to think of her work and not shirtless lairds.
“All right, Daisy. Are ye ready for yer first real lesson in the art of healing?” Thalia asked.
Daisy nodded, her face scrunched up into a serious expression.
“I think it would be nice to do somethin’ for Rowena. What do ye think about that?” Thalia suggested.
“Aye! She’s done so much for me. It would be nice to give her somethin’ in return,” Daisy answered, bouncing on her heels in excitement.
Thalia couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she remembered how excited she had been to start learning more about healing.
“Well, remember how Rowena said she needs help to calm her nerves?”
“Aye.”
“There are a few plants here that we can use to make a nice tea for her,” Thalia explained. She knelt down, so she was at eye level with Daisy. “We talked about one of them. Do ye remember?”
Daisy opened her mouth, then closed it. She scratched her head, and her nose twitched in concentration.
Thalia waited patiently. She didn’t expect the girl to remember, but it would help to start having her try to recall things.
“Nay… I daenae ken,” Daisy finally answered, stomping her foot in frustration.
“That’s all right,” Thalia answered, rubbing the girl’s arms in comfort. “The last time we were here, I showed ye a plant called heather.”
Daisy’s eyes widened in recognition. “Ye did! That’s one of the plants we can use, right?”
“Aye, that’s right.” Thalia smiled encouragingly. “Do ye remember where it is?”
Daisy nodded enthusiastically, her hair bouncing around her face with the motion. Suddenly, her eyes landed on something behind Thalia, and she gasped softly, shrinking back.
Thalia turned, and her own heart sank to her stomach when she saw her uncle and Harrison walking towards them.
