Her uncle, in particular, was a large thorn that he was unable to remove from his thoughts.
“And wouldnae marryin’ her solve that problem?” The question was innocent enough, but Finlay’s face twisted into such a dark glare that Peter held up his hands in surrender. “All right, I willnae speak about it anymore.”
“Good night, Peter,” Finlay grunted, making his way to his room to attempt a full night’s sleep. He doubted he would get it.
CHAPTER 19
Thalia slept welluntil the sun was high in the sky. She would have slept much longer if her sister hadn’t burst into her room to awaken her.
The wooden door slammed against the wall, and she jumped up to a sitting position. Ava stood in the doorway, hands placed firmly on her hips as she walked in and kicked the door closed behind her.
“Good mornin’ to ye, too,” Thalia grumbled, rubbing her heavy eyes in a bid to bring herself into full consciousness.
“Ye were out late.” The words came out clipped, and Ava’s expression was dangerously calm as she said them. “Ye should have been back right after Daisy and Peter, yet ye didnae return until hours later.”
Thalia opened and closed her mouth rapidly. She did not have enough time to come up with a proper lie, and she did not want arepeat of what had transpired in front of Peter the night before. Warmth spread across her face as she revealed part of the truth.
“Finlay confronted me about our uncle. We… argued.” Her voice was quiet, and she wanted nothing more than to bury herself beneath the covers to keep Ava from pulling the whole truth out of her.
Last night had been one of the best nights of her life, despite the circumstances. She was already craving more of it.
Yet she knew she could not tell her sister about these things. Ava had already been upset enough at the mere possibility of Finlay taking advantage of her, and she had taken great pains to keep the two of them apart over the years. Thalia did not want her to know that she had been right to do so. More importantly, she did not want Ava to know how much she had wanted Finlay, too.
“Did he yell at ye?” Ava seemed appalled by the idea. She scoffed, shaking her head as if she couldn’t understand. “After ye went out into the night to help him search for Daisy, that is how he decides to repay ye?”
“It wasnae just him,” Thalia pointed out, a defensiveness rising inside her. “It was me, too. And he was right. If I hadnae been here, Daisy wouldnae have gotten upset again, and perhaps she wouldnae have run away. I am partially to blame.”
“But ye’ve done so much to help with Daisy. He should be more grateful to ye,” Ava argued.
“And I’ve done just as much to cause more problems as well.” Sighing, Thalia picked at a loose thread on her quilted blanket. “It’s all right, though. We came to a… an agreement.”
Ava sat down on the bed with a huff. Her lips pressed into a hard line. “It’s goin’ to be a long year if ye cannae go more than a day without arguin’. If ye want me to talk to him again?—”
“Nay!” Thalia jerked her head up and moved closer to her sister. “That is… nae necessary. Now that Uncle Archibald is gone, I think things will be calmer.”
“I hope so,” Ava said, placing one hand over Thalia’s.
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and Thalia called out in a curious voice, “Who is it?”
A muffled voice sounded through the door. “It’s Anna, me Lady. A servant arrived earlier from MacCabe Castle with yer things.”
Thalia leapt from the bed in nothing but her shift, before rushing to the door and pulling it open. Anna stood there with a smile, a small trunk sitting by her feet. Thalia grabbed one end, pulling it into her room and gesturing for Anna to join them. Anna followed, closing the door behind her.
The lid of the trunk opened on creaking hinges, and Thalia carefully examined its contents. Three dresses and four books on herbs, plants, and remedies lay inside. She let out a relieved sigh and began draping the dresses over her arm as she stood.
“Thank ye for bringing this to me, Anna. And thank ye again for lettin’ me borrow yer dress when I first arrived,” she told the maid.
“Of course, me Lady. Ye’ve been so kind, I’m more than happy to help.” Anna turned to Ava and pulled a note from her apron pocket. “This came with the servant as well, me Lady. It is addressed to you.”
Ava took the note, while Thalia walked over to the wardrobe with her dresses. She started hanging them up when Ava gave a long sigh.
“Is everythin’ all right?” she asked, turning back to her sister.
“Aye.” Ava nodded. “Caden writes to say that the children are well. Nathan is enjoyin’ spendin’ time with Uncle, who has promised to take him ridin’ in the forest.”
Thalia bit the inside of her cheek as she thought about Archibald’s insults from the other day. To say such things and then pretend that he hadn’t made her blood boil. She closed her wardrobe with a bit more force than necessary.
“Anna,” she addressed the maid. “Do ye think ye could help me put this dress on today?”
