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She couldn’t deny that she was both surprised and flattered at how charmingly kind Flynn had been towards her father. He had been understanding and open and had not said one harsh word, while her father had gone on to criticize him. If she hadn’t swooped in and taken over, she knew Flynn would have blown over and might have shed the restraint he was practicing. The matter had been handled without sparring or bloodshed, and she was truly thankful for it.
It was just a few more days, she reminded herself, since she knew her father would not stay here any longer than that. He had only come due to his concern about her, and he would leave once he was satisfied. Astrid could not blame him either, since he was just looking after her, but she knew that she needed to keep him and Flynn apart.
“I need to talk to him,” she whispered to herself as she stood in front of Flynn’s study.
She had been standing there for a few minutes now, knowing that she needed to thank him for what he had done and apologize to him for the way he had been treated by her father, but she did not know how to do it. The two of them had not talked since that night two weeks ago, and now, Astrid could not help but be unsure of Flynn’s reaction towards anything she would say.
Before she could even knock on the heavy, wooden door, the door opened itself, and Flynn stood there staring at her, confusion evident in his expression.
“Astrid?”
“I—I was just coming to talk to ye,” she stammered, still embarrassed that she had been caught red-handed.
“About what?”
“Can we talk inside?” she asked, gesturing towards the study, and he immediately backed away from the door to invite her inside.
“Of course.”
Astrid walked inside slowly, adjusting to the unfamiliar surroundings. Laila had told her how Flynn was rather particular about his study and how he hardly allowed anyone inside. The fact that he hadn’t resisted and had let her enter for even a second was extremely heartwarming for her, and she wondered what it meant.
He motioned towards the sofa, and Astrid sat down, unsure as to why she felt this awkward. The two of them had had important, serious conversations before, but this was the first time she was there to apologize for something. She waited until he sat down across from her and finally found the courage to begin.
“I came here to thank ye,” she said softly.
“What for, may I ask?”
“For being both kind and hospitable to my faither. I noticed ye were very welcoming towards him,” she replied with a smile and waited for a retort from his end.
She was certain he would comment on how her father had not returned the sentiments and had been openly hostile towards him, but she was surprised when he mentioned no such thing.
“It was the least I could do.”
Astrid nodded. “I also wished to apologize.”
“Why?” Flynn asked, leaning forward on his seat as if genuinely curious and confused. Astrid did not believe that the man would not know what she was apologizing for, but she replied anyway.
“For my faither’s behavior towards ye. I ken he could have been kinder and more grateful for yer permission to let him stay in the castle, but he was rather rude towards ye. He shouldnae have done that.”
“And ye shouldnae be sitting here in front of me apologizing for mistakes made by yer faither. I willnae hear it,” he stressed and stood up.
Astrid followed suit and stood up as well, slowly walking towards him.
“He could have acted maturely, I ken, but I implore ye to see reason here. I agree he was rude, but he was doing the best he could do,” she insisted, wishing to take her father’s side in the situation as well.
“Was he, now?” Flynn asked, a rather comical expression on his face.
Astrid wondered what was going through his head, but she remained quiet and continued with what she needed to say.
“He was,” she answered. “The man has been grieving the kidnapping or death of his only son, his sole heir, for the past ten years now. And all the evidence that was gathered was against the MacKie clan. It is a grieving faither’s heart that forces him to be this way, or else I can assure ye, he is a better person.”
Flynn breathed in deeply as if unsure of what to say, “Yer right, Astrid. I cannae even begin to feel what he must have been going through for the past ten years, and his hate towards us although unjustified is not nonsensical. He is simply trusting the evidence he saw without seeing reason in the matter. If he did see reason, he would ken that it wasnae us.”
“Reason? What reason?” Astrid asked, suddenly growing curious. A part of her heart had already forced her to believe that the MacKie clan was innocent, but she had never seen the reasoning for the situation herself.
“The MacKie clan is one of the richest clans in all of Scotland, even richer than the O’Donnely clan. We never had any motive to kidnap or murder Aiden. Yer faither thinks we did it to show power, but if it were an act of power, we would have admitted that we killed Aiden rather than denying the kidnapping allegations.”
Astrid stared at him with wide eyes, his words making sense. “Ye really had nae motive at all.”
