It was nice to see Daisy so happy after last night, but Thalia supposed that Finlay’s reassurances finally did the trick.
“I am! I saw ye from me window, and I wanted to come and thank ye for comin’ after me,” Daisy explained. She pulled away, staring down at her boots. “I willnae run away again. I promise this time!”
“I’m very glad to hear that, Daisy.” Thalia knelt so that they were at eye level. “And I apologize on behalf of me uncle. I would have said somethin’ sooner, but I thought ye hadnae heard him.”
Daisy looked up, scraping her boot across the ground as she absentmindedly kicked a rock. “I have very good hearing. I heard ye stick up for me, but I didnae want to cause any more problems. Especially since ye and Faither have been arguin’ so much.”
“Well, ye arenae the reason behind our arguments.” Thalia placed a hand on her shoulder. “Those are all to do with me and me family.”
Daisy scrunched up her face as if she were thinking very hard about something. “Is he worried about ye?”
“What?” Thalia blinked in confusion. “Why would ye think that?”
“Ye said before that sometimes when people are worried, it comes out like they’re angry.” Daisy tilted her head. “Maybe that’s why he always seems so angry with ye?”
To her surprise, Thalia let out a small laugh. “I did say that, did I nae? Ye are really smart, ye ken that?”
Daisy echoed the laugh. “Aye, I ken.”
Rowena finally caught up to them, narrowing her eyes at Daisy. “How many times do I have to ask ye to stop runnin’?”
“I’m sorry,” Daisy answered automatically.
The typical routine for them.
Thalia stood again, smoothing down her skirts. “How about we go back inside, and I can show Daisy some of the notes I took about the plants that need tendin’ to?”
Daisy gasped in excitement, her eyes wide as she clapped her hands together. “More lessons!”
“Aye.” Rowena nodded. “And maybe ye’ll be able to sit still again for a few hours.”
The three of them made their way back up to the entrance.
Thalia could not keep from glancing over at the training grounds. Several men were practicing, but none of them was Finlay. She frowned. She had not seen him all day, and she was starting to feel as if he were avoiding her.
Well, if that was the case, the two could play that game. She would avoid him, too, and when he decided that he wanted to see her,hewould have to come and find her.
CHAPTER 20
Thalia tossedand turned in her bed that night, unable to sleep at all. Her thoughts were plagued with images of Finlay again, and she could not banish him from her mind. The quilted blanket scratched against her skin as she thought about his hands on her. The way his lips had felt, the way his hot breath had brushed her?—
She sat up, threw the blanket off her, and climbed out of bed. Her body was hot with a need she still didn’t quite understand, but she knew that lying in bed another moment would drive her mad.
The floorboards were cool beneath her feet, and she padded over to the wardrobe to grab something to cover herself with. It was the middle of the night, and she did not want to get fully dressed just to take a walk around the castle, but she also did not want to be caught in only her shift by a servant either. She pulled out a cloak and wrapped it around her body before leaving her room.
She had not seen Finlay the whole of yesterday, and she was trying not to be too upset about it. Perhaps he wasn’t really avoiding her. Perhaps he was simply too busy with the upcoming cèilidh. However, he hadn’t attended any of their meals, and that alone was suspicious enough, since Daisy had started joining them.
He was still such a puzzle to her, and she could not deny that she wanted to solve him.
Was it normal for the Highland Wolf to nearly bed a woman and then abandon her without any further explanation? Perhaps it was. She was, after all, just one woman in a long line of women he had conquered. Ava had told her more than enough over the last few years.
There had been a time when Ava herself had almost married Finlay, though he had backed out in favor of his brother. Apparently, he had not felt that he could be a good husband to her, and she had been acutely aware of that. He had continued his wolfish behavior over the years with who knows how many women.
Thalia’s jaw clenched as she imagined the other women he had been with. She was vastly inexperienced compared to him. Were the other women he’d been with more experienced? Would he rather go back to them? Was that why he didn’t want to marry her, and he would rather continue enjoying his life as a laird with all of the numerous faceless women who were now plaguing her thoughts?
She scoffed loudly, the sound echoing in the empty halls as she paced along them. These thoughts were pointless, and she was not doing herself any favors by entertaining them.
She made her way to the springhouse outside, hoping that there was still some leftover milk from earlier that day. A warm glass of milk always helped to calm her mind, and she hoped it would do the trick now.
