Page 57 of Highlander's Captive Bride
Elodie clapped her hands, her eyes shining. “D’ye? Presents?”
“Aye, presents,” Bellamy confirmed with a chuckle, rifling through his coat pocket and pulling out a tiny package. “This is from me,” he said, handing it to her.
Daisy watched them both as the child opened the package with obvious excitement. Bellamy’s expression was dark and intense, yet his lips were curled into a smile of expectation. Daisy realized he was as excited to see Elodie’s face when she saw her present as the child was to have it.
“Och, Da, it’s wonderful!” Elodie exclaimed, holding up the horse pendant and admiring it, her face alight with joy.
“Well, I promised ye a pony, did I nae?” he joked, his features softening as his smile broadened into a delighted grin.
Daisy’s heart almost melted at the sight of them looking so happy together. Then came the stab of pain at the thought of leaving them, never to see them again.
“Let me help ye put it on.” Bellamy took the locket in his large fingers, and with the amazing dexterous delicacy that always impressed Daisy, he fixed it carefully around Elodie’s neck. He moved her hair out of the way, and the tiny silver horse lay shining against her nightie.
“Och, Da, ’tis the best present I’ve ever had. Thank ye, thank ye so much!” The little girl threw her arms around his neck, and the pair embraced tenderly.
Daisy felt almost choked with emotion and had to surreptitiously wipe away a tear. She waited a few minutes before offering her gift to Elodie as well.
When the child’s eyes fell on the little wooden ark and all its carved figures, her mouth fell open. Her little face beamed with wonder and delight.
“I love it!” she cried. “I absolutely love it!”
She took Daisy by surprise when she suddenly threw herself from beneath the bedcovers and hugged her tightly, planting a big kiss on both her cheeks.
“Ye’re the best healer ever, Daisy,” Elodie whispered in her ear. When she finally let go, Daisy had to cover her tears with laughter as Elodie had the miniature Noah and his wife and all the animals disembark so she could examine each one minutely.
Through teary eyes, Daisy could just about see that Bellamy was smiling at her, and it suddenly all became a little too much.
“I must go to me room for a moment. I’ll be back shortly,” she managed to say before hurrying out.
Once in the privacy of her room, the tears came in earnest, though she had tried to hold them back so Bellamy and Elodie would not know she had been crying. Tears streaming down her face, she went and wetted a flannel at the washstand, holding it over her face while she cried.
After a quarter of an hour, she had composed herself enough to go back in.
The pair were huddled on the bed, laughing. The ark was between them, and Bellamy was marching a tiny pair of elephants up the miniature gangplank, making the beasts talk in comically silly, deep voices. Despite her fragile emotional state, Daisy could not help laughing.
Just then, the food Bellamy had ordered arrived. Grateful for the distraction, Daisy took the tray from the servant at the door and brought it over to the bed. The ark was cleared away, and Elodie tucked into a bowl of chicken stew, with thick pease pudding on the side, with enthusiasm. It was a joy to see her eating, and judging from the expression on Bellamy’s face, Daisy was not the only one to think so.
They chatted a little while Elodie ate her dinner, telling her all about what they had seen at the marketplace, and Bellamy promised to take her there as soon as possible. Elodie admired Daisy’s new scarf and the silver charm bracelet that Bellamy had gifted her.
“And I shall give ye a thank ye present, too, Daisy, as soon as I am allowed outside again. I promise,” Elodie told Daisy with a sweet smile.
“Ye dinnae have to do that, sweetheart,” Daisy replied, deeply touched.
“But I want to,” the child insisted. “Without ye, I would never have gotten better.”
Poppy returned a little while later, and Daisy took the opportunity to leave then, not wishing to leave at the same time as Bellamy and risk being alone with him again. Bidding them all a cheery good night, she went quickly to her room.
For the first time, she locked the door herself. She knew if she did not and Bellamy so much as called in on her to say goodnight, she would not be able to resist the lure of his company.
That night, Daisy did a lot of soul-searching. In the end, the best she could do was to tell herself that it was no use denying the way she felt about Bellamy, nor the fact that she cared for Elodie. But her duty to her family had to come first.
In the meantime, however, since she would be spending a lot of time with them, she resolved to try to enjoy what little time she had left with the two people she had come to love so well, as a kind of goodbye.
She spent a large part of the next day with Elodie and Poppy, helping the little girl keep up the pretense that she was growing worse in her sickness. They both admitted to each other that they felt very guilty for misleading Poppy, who was terribly worried, but they knew it was necessary and would only be for a short while.
Bellamy came in at lunchtime and sent Poppy off again to the dining hall. Once alone, he presented Elodie with a packet of cheese and buttered bread and an apple to feast on. While Elodie devoured them, the trio discussed how the plan to draw out the “nasty person,” as Elodie called the poisoner, was working.
“Naething to report as of yet,” Bellamy told them, sounding disappointed.
