“Finn, listen—” she tried, but he wouldn't let her get another word out.
“Nay. I will nae listen to yer crazy, foolhardy logic any longer. I will nae be responsible for causing Seamus any more turmoil. I will nae be the one who allowed his only kin left in this world to be killed in a forest trying to get home.”
His argument sparked an idea. It was devious and went against their friendship, but she didn't know what else to do. She had to convince him to let her go back home, and she was quickly running out of options.
“Then escort me back to my father.”
“Deliver ye into the hands of the man ye were desperate to escape? I dinnae think so.”
“Think about it, Finn. I am merely running from my fate like a child throwing a tantrum,” she lied. “Eventually, my father will get what he wants; he always does, it is simply a matter of when. If ye escort me home, then ye will be credited with stopping a war between the Murray and MacKenzie Clans. Ye would be keeping Seamus from having to fight a war on two fronts.”
She could see it in the way Finn's eyebrows lowered, and his mouth tightened that he was thinking about it. And the longer he thought about it, the more he was realizing that she was right. He had made no effort to hide just how much he wanted to make things right with Seamus and Flora. She knew that he still felt guilty about the way he had treated them, the way he had acted. She knew that by giving him the chance to help ease that guilt, he would take it. That knowledge formed a tight ball of steel in her gut, as it meant that the sooner he agreed to take her back to MacKenzie Castle, the sooner she would have to deal with theconsequences of her actions. Her father would be furious that she ran away, there would be no getting around that. He would likely try to arrange for her to be married as quickly as possible, if only to prevent her from running again.
She nearly told Finn that she had changed her mind, that she wanted to go back. He had made a good point that Seamus would likely do anything to keep her safe, even if it meant war. The words sat on the tip of her tongue, threatening to spill over. But she swallowed them down and forced herself to stay quiet while Finn made up his mind. She couldn't go back on her word now. She had to see this through. She had to show Seamus and Flora and Finn and the Murray Clan the same kind of selflessness they had shown her.
“All right,” Finn agreed at long last. “If ye are sure there is nae other way around this, then I will take ye back to yer father. I will ride with ye until we reach his door. And I will stay until ye are sure that ye are safe.”
Forcing her jaw to unstick, she mustered out a strained, “Thank ye.”
