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He stepped back, giving her room, and he watched as she finally stood up and walked out of the courtyard, her red dress disappearing into the darkness of the hallway.
CHAPTER10
“What do ye mean?”Astrid asked Daphne as the two of them sat in Daphne’s bedchamber, absorbed in conversation.
“I only told ye what I have been noticing, Me Lady. I think ye have been avoiding Me Laird for the past two weeks now,” Daphne repeated, and Astrid wished she could deny it.
She knew Daphne was right. Since the dinner at the courtyard, Astrid had been trying her best to avoid Flynn as much as she could.
It wasn’t as if she was upset with him or embarrassed about anything that had happened that night. It was simply because she was immensely attracted to him still and whenever she looked at him, the memory of the kiss returned to her. She knew that she had done the right thing by stopping him that night. Astrid was aware that the position between the two families was unclear still, even if the fighting between the clans had ceased.
Flynn had already taken too much from her. She had feelings for him, both romantic and sexual, and she could not act on either of them. The betrothal was fake, and they were still enemies. Even if her heart was not almost convinced that the MacKie clan could have ever kidnapped or murdered her brother, she had no proof to support her belief.
It was simply based on her gut. Despite that all, Flynn had been her first kiss, and that had been enough for her to remember him up till now. If she had given him her virginity, she would have handed her heart to him, and she knew that would not have been the right thing to do. She needed to protect herself.
“I am doing no such thing, Daphne. Why would I avoid Flynn?”
“I have a theory or two,” Daphne replied playfully.
“Really?” Astrid asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Care to enlighten me?”
“I think ye have developed feelings for him,” Daphne said, sitting up on the bed. “And now, yer scared that if ye spend any more time with him, ye will fall in love.”
Astrid laughed outwardly even though she knew that Daphne was entirely right. “That is an absurd theory. One thing I can assure you, Flynn is unlovable.”
“That is not true, Astrid,” Daphne countered, turning to face her.
The two of them had become very good friends, and their friendship had only gotten stronger since Astrid had been spending all her time with Daphne and Laila. She had grown close to both of them and enjoyed every minute she spent in their company. They made living in this castle easier for her and helped her stay away from Flynn.
“I ken ye would never accept it, but what is true is true, Me Lady.” Daphne once again laughed, and Astrid smacked her arm jokingly. She had no desire to discuss Flynn and the possibilities of liking him, which Astrid knew were high already. The man had somehow wormed his way into her heart.
She knew he must have noticed her distant attitude as well, but he hadn’t said anything about it to her. It felt good to see that he was respecting her wishes and actively staying away from her. If he had somehow tried to talk to her regarding what had happened on that night or had questioned her distant attitude, she would have never been able to answer him satisfactorily.
“I dinnae ken what yer talking about,” Astrid said finally, completely removing all related thoughts from her mind. She needed to think about something else entirely, since thoughts of Flynn were already invading her mind.
She would often find him secretly trying to pet Bannock or offer her a treat, but the cat stood in solidarity beside her and was staying away from Flynn as well. Astrid did now know why he was trying so hard to befriend her cat, since he had clearly mentioned to her that he disliked her cat in the very beginning. Although now, she was surprised at his growing affection towards the creature. She couldn’t deny the man was too hard to truly grasp and understand, and at this point, she had even stopped trying.
She simply needed to wait and stay in the MacKie castle until her father and Flynn found a way to end the betrothal, which Astrid knew would be soon enough. Her father was already angered by this arrangement and entirely against sending her to live here, and he would do anything in his power to make sure she returned home as soon as possible.
“Yer lost in yer thoughts again,” Daphne commented, and Astrid slowly nodded before looking at her friend with a guilty smile.
“I was just thinking about how this will all be over soon.”
“What do ye mean?” Daphne asked, sitting up straighter.
“The betrothal. I am certain my father and Flynn will soon come up with a plan to end this thing just as we had decided earlier. Ye already ken it was all fake.” Astrid’s heart suddenly hurt as she said this, and she realized that she did not want this to end, now or ever.
She couldn’t deny that the betrothal had felt real, and her feelings towards Flynn, despite all the differences between them, were real too. Still, this could never go on, and she knew that.
“Do ye want it to end?”
Astrid looked up at Daphne’s question, not sure how to answer it. This was something she had been constantly asking herself too for the past week.
“It disnae matter what I want or dinnae want. The betrothal has to end, and I am expected to return home. There are nay other questions in the matter.”
“Yer right. Can I ask ye something?”
“Of course.” Astrid nodded.
