Thalia’s heart clenched. Her father’s death had been hard on everyone, especially her mother. She hadn’t understood it then. She had only seen it as her mother giving up, but a lot had happened since then. She could see now why her mother had shrunk in on herself. If something like that ever happened to Finlay, she might do the same.
“I daenae blame ye for anything,” she said, clasping her mother’s hands between her own. “I am just glad that ye are here with me now.”
Olivia smiled, tears glistening in her eyes. “I am glad I am here with ye, too.”
Thalia raised her hands and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles, like her mother used to do to her years ago.
Olivia sniffled, but her voice was steady as she said, “I will write to yer sisters. Me movement isnae as restricted as everyone else’s. I can get them to?—”
“Nay!” Thalia cut in. “That would only lead to a war. I willnae have people dying because of me. I am going to marry Laird MacGibbon, despite how horrid he is. It is the only way to keep everyone safe.”
“Me sweet girl,” Olivia sighed, pulling her into another hug. “I will write to them anyway. They shouldnae miss yer wedding. Ye will have all of us there to love and support ye.”
That felt like the breaking of a dam.
Thalia took a shaky breath as she fought back the tears that filled her eyes. When they pulled apart again, Olivia raised a hand to gently brush her thumb across her cheek. Thalia sniffled, giving her a teary smile.
“I did hear that ye were betrothed to another laird only a few days ago,” Olivia said, tilting her head with curiosity. “I hope that wasnae another situation like this one?”
Thalia shook her head fiercely. “Nay! Nay, Finlay was… willin’ to do me a favor, but I couldnae keep up the charade any longer.”
Her mother’s eyebrows drew together. “Charade?”
“He never wanted to marry me. He was only willin’ to pretend long enough so that Laird MacGibbon would lose interest.” Thalia shrugged, her eyes drifting to the floor. “I… I couldnae just be happy pretendin’ with him.”
“Oh.” Olivia let out a long breath. Her eyes were filled with understanding, and she took Thalia’s hand to lead her over to the bed. “Would ye like to tell me about what happened?”
Thalia nodded, feeling the childish urge to confess everything to her mother overtake all else. “It all started when I received a note that Uncle was sick…”
CHAPTER 29
Daisy sprintedacross the dirt path, her loose curls bouncing over her shoulders and down her back with every step. Finlay walked behind her at a much calmer pace. He was happy to see her out and enjoying herself, and he had needed the fresh air just as much as she had.
The last two weeks had passed like a dream. Or rather, a nightmare. His energy had been drained, his temper shorter. Then, at night, when he tried to get rest, he would find that sleep had eluded him.
He had tried to fill his days as much as possible, even going so far as to travel to the villages within his jurisdiction in the hope that someone needed his assistance, but everything was well. His people were happy and healthy, and even when he had returned to Beauly a couple of days ago, the villagers there had greeted him warmly and asked after Thalia.
Thalia. The look on her face when she had left was what he saw every night as he closed his eyes. The sadness that hung around her like a heavy shroud, the weary determination when she had told him her decision, all of it haunted him.
It would not be an easy thing to get over, but he would eventually. All he could really hope for was that Thalia was happy and safe with her family. That was the only thing that mattered.
Daisy stopped running only when she seemed to have found the plants she had been looking for. A bush that was almost as tall as her, with bright green leaves and small yellow flowers. She sank down to her knees, taking a piece of paper and a small pencil out of her pocket. She draped the paper across her lap and did her best to sketch the plant. Her tongue poked out of her cheek as she concentrated, producing a crude but recognizable sketch of the flowers.
“What kinds of plants are these?” Finlay asked her.
Ever since Thalia had left, Daisy had continued to read the books on plants and study what she could on her own. Finlay was starting to consider that it might be time to finally bring in that tutor. She seemed ready and willing to fully commit to learning, and she had become less scared by the idea of strangers.
“These are called rue,” Daisy answered, with the patience of someone far older. “They are used for a bunch of things. Like headaches, stomach aches, and they can even be used to counter poison!”
“I see.”
Finlay examined the flowers a bit more closely. There was a large green center, with five yellow petals that stretched out at an equal distance. He did find a lot of this information fascinating, and he marvelled at the way Daisy seemed to absorb it all so quickly.
“It’s also used for something calledmonthlies, but I daenae ken what that means.” She looked up at him with the perfect innocence of a child her age. “What aremonthlies?”
Finlay found himself incredibly unprepared for this conversation. He gave her a quick pat on the head, saying, “Ye’ll… learn about them when ye’re older.”
She sighed, unhappy but accepting of the answer.
