Thalia stiffened. “So ye still plan to marry me off, then?”
“Ah, she speaks.” Archibald’s words dripped with sarcasm. He sniffed, shaking his head as if he wished he were anywhere else. “Ye act as if being married is a death sentence.”
“It may as well be,” she shot back.
“Ye’re such a stubborn, foolish child!” he bellowed.
The carriage slowed down until it came to a full stop. Thalia rocked a moment in her seat, but as soon as the movement stopped, she yanked open the door and climbed out into the meadow before them.
Pink and white wildflowers sprinkled across the emerald grass, and she waded through them. She wasn’t really interested in running away; she just wanted to put some distance between her and her uncle. If she had to hear one more word from him, she feared she would fully lose her temper.
“Thalia! Thalia, come back this instant!” His voice rose above the wind in a shout that she assumed anyone in the nearby vicinity could hear.
She did not answer him. She continued on, lifting her skirts enough to walk comfortably as the grass tickled her calves. When she felt she was far enough, she sat down in the dirt to show him she was not trying to run.
He followed after her anyway. She could hear his breaths and feel his footsteps as he approached. She did not look at him, keeping her eyes on the swaying flowers before her.
“Ye have tested me patience for the last time, Thalia,” Archibald grunted. “Now, when we arrive back at MacFinn Castle, I will see that ye are properly wed. Be that Laird MacGibbon or someone else, but trust that ye will be wed by this time next year.”
She whipped her head around, her heart sinking in her chest. “Why can I nae just be a healer? Is that such a difficult request for ye to grant?”
Archibald crossed his arms over his chest. He stared down at her with a fierce determination. “Ye can be a healeranda wife.”
“Nae always,” Thalia argued. “Nae if the husband ye choose for me decides that I cannae spend time in the gardens, nor visit the villagers who need someone to help them. Do ye nae see that? All I want to do is help people, but I cannae do that if I become someone’s property.”
“And ye think Finlay would have allowed ye this freedom?” he asked.
“Aye, I ken it.” Thalia lifted her chin.
She did know it. Even if their betrothal had been a ruse, if they had kept it up for the next year as they were meant to, she did not doubt that Finlay would have allowed her to go around and attend to anyone who needed her services.
“Laird MacGibbon would have offered ye the same,” Archibald declared.
That made her snicker.
“What is so funny?”
Thalia huffed. “Ye think someone who would have me followedandkidnapped would ever let his wife out of his sight for even a single second?”
There was a moment of silence as the words hung in the air.
Archibald gaped at her in shock, and then his expression hardened. He gripped her by the elbow, yanking her to her feet.
“He did what?!” he screeched.
Thalia flinched back from him, but his grip was tight. “Uncle,” she tried. “Uncle, ye’re hurtin’ me?—”
“When?!” he screamed.
“When what?” Thalia asked, her voice shaking.
“When did he try to have ye kidnapped?!”
“It… it was a few days ago,” she said.
Fear clenched around her heart. She had never seen her uncle so angry, even after she had run away to Finlay. His anger then had been nothing compared to the rage he was displaying now.
“I… I was out in the village, buyin’ fabric for a new dress, and one of his men came after me. He had been followin’ me, waitin’ until I was alone. If Finlay hadnae come when he did…”
