She glanced at her uncle, who was deep in conversation with Caden. The two were whispering low enough that she could only assume it had something to do with the other clans. She just hoped that it wasn’t too dire.
She hugged her sister longer than was truly necessary, but Ava didn’t seem to mind.
“Please ken that ye’re always welcome here,” Ava whispered. “Nay matter what.”
“Thank ye, Ava.” Thalia smiled, even as her heart squeezed painfully in her chest.
They were only a few days’ carriage ride away from each other, but as Ava grew more comfortable in her role as Lady MacCabe, Thalia felt that they would see each other less and less as time went on. Living together for the past two years had been wonderful, but she had to move on.
“Thalia? Are ye ready?” Archibald called. He stood by the carriage, holding the door open as he waited for her to join him.
“Aye, almost.” Thalia turned to her nephew, who had been surprisingly patient as he waited for his goodbye hug.
“Will ye come back for winter, Aunt Thalia?” Nathan asked with wide eyes. “I want to go ice skatin’ again!”
“I’ll try,” she said as she wrapped him into her arms. The words weren’t a complete lie, but they still tasted bitter on her tongue.
She let the boy go and went to her baby niece, who wiggled in the nursemaid’s arms.
“Goodbye, me sweet.” She placed a kiss on the baby’s temple. “Daenae grow up too fast, do ye hear me?”
She sighed and peeled herself away to go to the carriage. Archibald held out his hand to help her in, and she took it to appease him. They would be trapped together in the carriage for a while. She did not want to start off the trip with a fight.
The carriage tilted with her weight, and straightened again as she entered the small compartment. She sat as close to the other end as she could, not trusting herself to keep her emotions in check if she got another glimpse of the family she was leaving behind.
Archibald climbed in right behind her and settled on the other side. He closed the door, raising his arm in farewell as the carriage lurched into motion.
They spent most of the first day in silence. Neither of them wanted to be the first to break it. Thalia flipped through the book she had brought for the trip, turning the pages one by one without really reading any of the words.
Archibald leaned his head back against his seat, keeping his eyes closed. She assumed he had been sleeping, but every time she shifted in her seat or cleared her throat, his eyes would snap open like he was worried she was going to make a run for it again.
She didn’t tell him not to bother. What was the point? He didn’t realize that she was already running away from Finlay, and she didn’t want to explain that to him. She doubted he would care.
As the sun sank below the horizon and she lost the last of the light, she gave up on pretending to read and curled up against the door. She didn’t expect to get any sleep, yet within minutes she was pulled under by waves of drowsiness.
Mercifully, she was blessed with a dreamless sleep.
CHAPTER 27
Thalia wasawoken by a jostle of the carriage, and her eyes snapped open. She sucked in a sharp breath through her nose, stretching up and out as much as the carriage allowed her.
Archibald was already awake, watching her with the same hawk eyes he had the day before.
“We will be stoppin’ for breakfast soon,” he said.
Those were the first words he had said to her since they left.
She nodded, turning her attention back to the window. The trees blurred along the main road as they rode. It was still summer, and all of the plants and the grass shone brightly in the warmth of the sun.
This should be her favorite time of year, yet she found herself wishing for the decay and emptiness that autumn and winterprovided. She wanted to feel like she herself could be wiped fresh and start anew with the arrival of spring.
“Thalia.”
She turned back to her uncle, who wore an unreadable expression. She had always been unable to read him ever since he took over as Laird MacFinn. The position had changed something within him, hardened him.
It was to be expected with the increase in responsibility and disruption to his life that had been thrust on him after the death of his brother, but Thalia’s sympathy only extended so far.
“How long do ye plan to keep up the silent treatment?” Archibald asked with some indignation. “Are ye going to continue acting like a spoiled brat until I send ye off to yer new husband?”
