Page 26 of Highlander's Captive Bride
Daisy maintained her smile, feeling a smidgen of triumph at having annoyed him. “Ye could say that’s a blessing,” she said, feeling the urge to needle him further, tickled by the glower he sent her. She saw him open his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. “I mean, what a blessing for the clan to have such an efficient chief.”
The dark slashes of Bellamy’s brows drew together, but he leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest, continuing to stare at her. She decided to ignore him, and instead, she turned her attention to the child.
“Well, me pet,” she said to Elodie, feeling her forehead and noting that her temperature had dropped considerably since the morning. “I’ve made some new medicine for ye to try, to soothe yer poor tummy and help ye sleep. I put some honey in it for ye, for it might not taste very nice on its own. Would ye try it?”
Elodie nodded obediently, taking the little cup Daisy handed to her.
“Hold yer nose and down it goes!” Daisy intoned, the rhyme meant to help Elodie swallow what were often quite foul-tasting concoctions.
With a giggle, Elodie held her nose and swallowed the medicine in one go. “That wasnae too bad,” she declared, handing the cup back to Daisy.
“Well done,” Daisy told her approvingly. “Here’s yer reward for being so good.” She pulled a barley sugar sweet from her pocket and gave it to the little girl, who took it, looking delighted.
“Och, thank ye, barley sugar is me favorite!” Elodie exclaimed, popping it in her mouth and grinning at her father. “Daisy is so kind, Da,” she told him earnestly. “She’s the best and kindest healer who’s come to help me, ever. Thank ye for bringing her here for me.”
Daisy felt the Laird’s eyes upon her as he replied, “That’s why I chose her. Because she’s the best, and only the best is good enough for me wee lassie.”
Hearing these words, which seemed directed at her as much as the child, Daisy felt the butterflies clamoring more urgently in her chest, as if desperate for release. She silently watched as Bellamy brushed the hair back from Elodie’s face tenderly, while Elodie sucked happily on her barley sugar, looking from one to the other.
“But she isnae so kind, for she didnae bring me a sweetie,” Bellamy added suddenly in a plaintive tone, a grin flickering across his lips as he caught Daisy’s eye.
Daisy could not quite suppress the chuckle that left her lips, and Elodie burst out laughing. The sound was like music to Daisy’s ears. When the Laird laughed, too, the butterflies in her chest went mad.
“Only those who have been very good get a sweetie,” Daisy said, straight-faced, struggling to calm the butterflies.
“I suppose it depends on what ye mean by good,” Bellamy returned.
“I suppose different people have different ideas about that,” Daisy shot back.
“Like the monster in the story,” Elodie chimed in. “She tried to do good, but the people chased her from the village because they thought she must be bad just because she was a monster.”
“That’s right,” Daisy replied. “Ye cannae always tell what people are like on the inside by looking at the outside. And vice versa. Especially not monsters.”
She saw the Laird’s lips twitch at that and felt she had scored a point, enjoying sparring with him.
“If I ever meet a monster, I shall try to be kind to it and find out what it’s really like inside instead of just running away,” Elodie pronounced.
“And that’s why ye’re a very clever lass,” her father told her, shooting a glance at Daisy, who suddenly felt the room was unusually hot.
Just then, the door opened, and Nadia and Poppy came in, chattering animatedly. They both stopped and stared at the tableau around the bed.
“Well, goodness me!” Poppy exclaimed, beaming at the trio and bobbing a curtsey to the Laird. “’Tis quite a party we have in here. I think we’ve been missing out on the fun, Nadia.”
“Aye, it would seem so, indeed,” Nadia replied. “Good evening, M’laird,” she added, crossing to the bed. Bellamy nodded at her. “Good evening, Daisy.”
“Good evening, Nadia,” Daisy replied as the young woman came to stand next to her. “How did yer meeting with the ladies go? Did ye get much done?” she asked, recalling what Nadia had told her earlier.
Daisy was quite taken aback when Nadia’s head suddenly snapped towards her, and the girl’s eyes suddenly bored into hers, with what Daisy could have sworn was a look of fear.
“Meeting?” Nadia repeated, her voice oddly tense.
Daisy frowned in confusion. “Aye, I thought ye said ye were meeting up with the ladies of the committee to start making some of the Beltane decorations.”
She watched the fear fade from the girl’s expression and her face relax, as if in relief. Daisy wondered why that should be as Nadia’s lips curled into a small smile, and she nodded.
“Aye, aye, of course,” Nadia replied, her tone more even. “Och, ’tis all going very well, thank ye.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Daisy murmured, bewildered by the girl’s strange response. But there were more important things to think about just then, so she shrugged it off.
