Page 27 of Highlander's Captive Bride
Now, Nadia was smiling down at Elodie. “I thought we could play a game together before bedtime, Elodie, if ye’re nae too busy with yer company,” she said.
“Och, I do want to play, Nadia. Da’s finished reading me a story, and I’ve had me medicine, and Daisy gave me a sweetie, too, for being good, so I’d love to play a game with ye,” Elodie agreed in an excited rush.
“It sounds like ye’ve been having a grand time, me pet,” Poppy said from the end of the bed. “But it’s getting near yer bedtime now. I think we’d best give ye a wash and get ye into a clean nightie. Then, ye can have some hot milk and play a wee game with Nadia before ye go to sleep, eh?”
“Thank ye, Poppy, I’d love that,” Elodie replied, looking more content than Daisy had ever seen her.
They all looked at the Laird as he suddenly rose to his feet. “Well, I’d best be off, lass, seeing as it’s yer bedtime, but I’ll come and see ye tomorrow, eh?”
“Do ye promise, Da?” Elodie asked, a small, worried frown appearing on her face as she looked up at him.
Daisy’s heart went out to her, praying the child’s tender heart would not be wounded again.
Bellamy leaned over and kissed Elodie’s forehead. “Aye, I promise. And I’ll read ye another bedtime story. Sleep tight and make sure only to have sweet dreams. That’s an order from the Laird,” he added with a mock glower, eliciting another giggle from her.
“I will if ye will, Da,” Elodie shot back, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
Bellamy laughed, once more setting Daisy’s poor heart aflutter with the obvious effort he was making to show more affection to his daughter.
As long as he keeps it up.
“I’ll do me best, hinny. Good night to ye, ladies,” he said to Nadia and Poppy, who returned his farewell politely.
“Daisy,” Bellamy uttered, at last, turning to Daisy, his dark gray eyes flashing in the lamplight. “Let me ken how that new medicine works out. Good night to ye.” Giving her a curt nod, he strode out of the chamber.
When he had gone, Daisy’s butterflies calmed, and she felt the atmosphere in the room change. The tension that always seemed to exist whenever she and Bellamy shared a space faded away, allowing her to breathe easily again. She, too, decided it was time to go and rest, and stood up.
“Here ye are, Poppy, ye can have yer chair back,” she said. “Now, will ye make sure to note if this new concoction I’ve given the lass has any effects, good or nae?”
“Of course, Daisy. I’ll be keeping a close eye on her,” the young servant promised.
“Thank ye. Ye ken where I am if ye need me,” Daisy added.
“Aye. I’ll call ye if anything happens, ye can be sure. Good night to ye,” Poppy assured her.
“Thank ye. Good night to ye, girls,” Daisy said, smiling at Elodie and Nadia, who responded in kind, before she left the chamber, eager for the peace and quiet of her own room, where she could think undisturbed.
However, as she made her way to her room, she could not help wondering why Bellamy had not escorted her there, as he always had before their argument and passionate encounter.
It truly did appear that he was deliberately avoiding her. That thought was accompanied by a peculiar pang in her heart, which she reluctantly had to admit felt very much like disappointment. She gripped the handle angrily as she opened the door, inwardly cursing herself as she entered her room, just refraining from slamming it behind her.
Wheesht, woman! Have ye gone quite mad? What is wrong with ye that ye should feel so, ye fool, when ye ken very well ye should be glad to see the back of him?
As she got ready for bed, she could not help reflecting on what a strange evening it had been. The most remarkable thing had been finding the Laird reading to Elodie, something she assumed had seldom if ever happened before. She knew how much it meant to the girl and hoped he would continue to spend time with her and show her the affection she deserved.
What made it doubly shocking was that he appeared to have taken her criticism of his parenting methods seriously, something she had never expected to happen.
Bellamy had revealed another side of himself to her that she had never thought existed.
She had personally witnessed his capability for brutal violence, and the passion in his kiss had lit a fire inside her that she had not been able to resist. But this unforeseen tenderness was in some ways even more alarming than either of those. Because it threatened to bring down the last of the walls around her heart that she was just managing to maintain between them.
If she allowed those walls to give way, she would be betraying the men who had given their lives for her.
Which is why I have to stick to me plan of escape. But in the meantime, I must work harder than ever to make sure Elodie is healed before I leave.
9
Bellamy was sitting at his desk in his study, signing off some new agricultural agreements for some of the farming communities within the clan. However, his mind was really on Daisy and her imminent arrival. He had summoned her, intending to get her to write some new letters to her family, to continue the charade he had created to keep her at Castle Murdoch.
