Page 27 of The Highlander Steals a Virgin
They both hurried off into the darkness without another word, not even from Myles which was surprising. Only then did he remember that he had left Daisy in the private dining hall alone.
His chest squeezed as he turned, guilt settling in fast. He all but ran back to the hall, the fire still crackling low inside, but the chairs were empty, and the food had been cleared. Daisy’s nurses had taken her to bed.
Cursing under his breath, he raked his hand through his hair again as his anger turned inward.
11
Amara turned over, blinking through her tears.
Rhys’s daughter stood in the doorway. The firelight casting a soft glow on her pale curls and wide eyes. The stuffed rabbit in her arms dropped by one ear.
“Are ye well, miss?” the wee lass asked quietly.
Amara sat up straighter, wiping her face with the sleeve of her gown. Her cheeks were hot and blotchy, her lashes still impossibly wet. “Aye, sweet lass. I’m just… tired. That’s all.”
Daisy took a cautious step forward, then paused. “I heard ye cryin’. Thought maybe ye were hurt.”
Amara’s heart clenched. “Nay, nae hurt. Just… overwhelmed. Do ye ken what that is?” She forced a smile, though her throat burned.
“Aye, me da said it’s when there’s a lot of things happenin' and ye daenae ken what to do about them yet. But he also says that ye feel better after takin’ a nap.”
Amara smiled. “Aye, I feel better now, actually. So, I guess me feelings werenae too overwhelmin'. Ye reckon’?”
“Nay, I always have to nap. Ye could try it, miss, perhaps ye will feel evenmorebetter,” the child said, shrugging as she shifted the rabbit in her arms and opened her mouth to speak again, but then flinched at a sharp noise down the corridor. Footsteps, fast and heavy, echoed off the stone.
Daisy turned her head toward the hall, then gave Amara one last look. “I’ll go,” she whispered, already backing out of the room. “Da will be cross if I’m nae in bed.”
Before Amara could respond, the wee lass had disappeared like a shadow, the door softly clicking shut behind her.
Silence returned. For a moment, Amara just say there, her hands limp in her lap.
Then came another knock that was much firmer this time, and it made her flinch.
“Me lady? It’s Nina, but I cannae get the handle.”
Amara jumped out of bed and lunged toward the door. Nina entered with a wide wooden tray, her eyes warm but worried.
The scent hit Amara before she could speak. It was the dinner from downstairs, brought up to her, as she had requested.
And here I thought that I wouldnae be eatin’ at all… given that reception…
“Aye, I bet ye might have been thinkin’ ye wouldnae be gettin’ anythin’ sent up, nae after all that happened doon in the dinin’ hall,” Nina surmised, as if reading her mind.
Amara’s stomach gave a loud, pathetic growl.
Nina blinked at the noise, then gave a small smile as she crossed the room. “I dinnae mean to take so long, miss. Wasnae Cook’s fault, but he genuinely wishes ye to enjoy it. Even included one of his honey tarts that the wee lass loves.”
“Ye mean Daisy?”
“Aye, the laird’s wee one, Miss Daisy. Spittin’ image of her ma. Such a strong sort of beauty she was.” Nina spoke of her almost dreamily and Amara was immediately torn. She wanted to know so much more about his woman who Rhys had loved, but she was also incredibly hungry.
Sensing the stark silence that fell between them, Nina quickly changed the subject. “Wait ‘til ye hear what the laird did.”
She lowered the tray onto the small table near the hearth and straightened. “Soon as he found out what had happened, he toreinto them men like a storm. Shouted somethin’ fierce. Broke a chair clean in half, I heard it. Would’ve done worse if he’d heard what that lad said to ye.”
Amara blinked, lips parted. “Ye were there for all of that?”
“Aye, I was behind the banners.”
