Page 20 of Ruining a Highland Healer
Immediately, Daisy smiled at him, and her smile was enough to put him at ease. She had this effect on people.
"Very good, cousin," said Daisy, clearly pleased with him. "I kent ye would dae the right thing."
"Dae ye think this is the right thing?" Torrin asked. He was still uncertain of himself, still uncertain of the choice he had made. It was true that she would have suffered her entire life by Laird Keith’s side. But the fact that he had purchased her didn’t make him that much better.
"I think ye did the right thing considerin’ the circumstances," said Daisy with a small shrug. "An’ I think ye’re still daein’ the right thing by lettin’ her choose."
Torrin nodded softly, considering Daisy’s words. He took a sip of whisky, relishing in the burn of it as it slid down his throat.
"I will keep her company," Daisy said then, slamming her hands on the armrest with decisiveness. "I willnae tell her anythin’ about the auction, o’ course. She daesnae ken, daes she?"
Torrin shook his head. "Nay, she daesnae. Nae one o’ the lasses kent."
Nodding, Daisy said, "Then I shan’t say anythin’ on the matter. It is best she doesnae ken, dinnae ye think?"
"Aye," said Torrin. "Better fer her tae think it was… it was simply a regular decision regardin’ an alliance between our clans."
"So… ten days," said Daisy. "An’ then maybe ye’ll be a married man."
Torrin chuckled humorlessly, shaking his head. "I dinnae even wish tae think about it."
"Ach, Torrin, ye’re thirty-two years o’ age!" said Daisy, laughing softly. "Dinnae tell me ye’re afraid o’ bein’ wedded!"
"I’m nae afraid, Daisy," said Torrin with a roll of his eyes. "But ye must admit it isnae somethin’ I’ve done afore."
Daisy laughed, opening her hands wide as if to say Torrin had a point. "Let us hope this will be the first an’ last time ye dae it."
Despite his bad mood, Torrin couldn’t help but laugh as well. "If it happens," he pointed out.
"Well, I will see what she thinks when I speak with her," said Daisy.
"As temptin’ as that is, I prefer nae tae ken," said Torrin. "I think it’s best tae let her think about it without any outside influences."
"If ye so wish," said Daisy as she stood from the chair. "If ye need me, ye ken where ye’ll find me."
With that, she left the room, leaving Torrin alone with his thoughts and his glass of whisky. He tossed the rest of it back in a large swig before refilling it; he would need all the liquid courage he could get that night if he was to get through it.
What bothered him the most was the unknown—the fact that he would most likely not have an answer from Valora before the ten days had passed and there would always be that question mark at the back of his mind, that desire to know that would bother him until he did. But he didn’t want to rush her into making the wrong choice.
But what is the wrong choice here? What is better fer her tae choose?
A life with him, a man who would treat her with respect but whom she may never love, or returning back to her home, where her future was so uncertain?
CHAPTER TEN
There was a knock on the door, and Valora didn’t know whether or not she should open it.
She was still in Torrin’s chambers, now dried off and dressed, with ointment applied over her forehead where she had been injured but still feeling terribly vulnerable. This was a strange place filled with strange people, and more than ever she felt like she was the odd one out.
Everyone had treated her with kindness so far, though—even Torrin himself, who could have been unnecessarily cruel, just like Laird Keith had been. Torrin, who had even promised her ten days to consider their situation and decide whether or not she wanted to marry him.
Now she had more immediate problems—whether or not to open the door to someone else’s chambers.
She was being foolish, she decided. It could have been Torrin himself, asking for her permission to enter after catching her in the bathtub. Pushing herself off the cozy armchair that had become her nest in the time she had spent there, she walked over to the door and opened it, only to find a young woman standing there.
This woman looked like a noble, much like herself, and Valora’s first thought was that she might have been Torrin’s paramour, someone kept in the castle for his amusement.
It would be far from unheard of. Valora knew what happened behind closed doors in such places, and it would not surprise her.
