Read Online Highland Wolf by Hannah Howell - Free Book Online Page A

of blackmail that Donnell would offer the Chisholms what Donnell always claimed was his first and only child.
    “Why does Wee Ian get to choose?” growled Halbert, the younger son. “He has already had two wives.”
    “Because he is my heir, ye half-wit,” snapped Ian. “Those weak lassies he married didnae give him the son we need ere they died. Young as she is, wee Meggie looks a sturdy, healthy female.”
    “Fiona is a cursed sturdy and healthy female, too. Why doesnae Wee Ian marry her?”
    “What does Fiona have to do with this?”
    “Wee Ian has been sharing her bed and showing her that he isnae so verra wee after all, aye? Word is that she is carrying his bairn.”
    There was the sound of a fist hitting flesh and then someone crashing to the floor. Annora fought the urge to run from those sounds of violence, a caution she had learned early on in her life at Dunncraig. Thinking of the fate that might await Meggie, Annora found the strength to stay where she was and silently began praying that the Chisholms would keep their attention centered upon the fruitful Fiona. If that woman was carrying Wee Ian’s child, the whole matter of Meggie wedding one of Ian Chisholm’s unwholesome spawn might be forgotten for now.
    “Why did ye knock me down?”
    Annora thought that, for a full-grown man, Wee Ian could whine just like a small child.
    “Why didnae ye tell me that ye got a bairn on Fiona?” demanded Ian.
    “Because she is a whore, ye ken. I cannae e’en be sure tis my bairn she is carrying.”
    “’Tis your bairn and ye ken it weel,” said Halbert, sneering triumph filling his voice. “The minute ye got your arse in her bed she ne’er e’en spoke to another mon. Everyone kens it.”
    “Then ye will be wedding Fiona, Wee Ian,” said Ian.
    “But she could bear a lass!” protested Wee Ian.
    “So ye get her with bairn again and again until she gets it right. She looks a good breeder. Halbert will be the one betrothed to Margaret. If, by the time the lass grows, ye have no son and Fiona has joined your other wives, then we will talk on this matter again.”
    “Then let us discuss the possibility of a betrothal, a joining of our houses,” said Donnell.
    Annora had to force herself not to run into the great hall and scream nay. Another part of her still wanted to just grab Meggie and run away. She had to fight both urges so hard she was trembling. Realizing how long she had stood there, she finally found the strength to move and fled to her bedchamber. She knew Meggie would be waiting for her, wondering where she was, but Annora needed time to calm down, time to push away all thought of that sweet, innocent, and bright child being given to one of those hard, cruel men.
    Once in her room, she threw herself down on the bed and took slow, deep breaths until her heartbeat slowed and she could finally think more clearly. Her first thought was that the threat to Meggie was not imminent. She was only a child of five years. At the very least, she would not be of an age to marry for another eight years and a lot could happen between now and then. She repeated that fact to herself over and over and felt her fears slowly fade away.
    Sitting up, Annora stared at the door to her room and decided that she needed to make plans. Since she could not be certain she would be allowed to stay with Meggie for all of those years, several plans needed to be made to cover every possibility. The knowledge of what Donnell planned for Meggie gave Annora even more incentive to find out the truth about Donnell, his possession of Dunncraig, and his claim to Meggie. If Donnell was no longer a laird, might even be proven to be a thief and a liar, or worse, then Meggie would be freed of all promises Donnell had made.
    Destroying Donnell would rob Meggie of her life at Dunncraig, but that realization caused Annora to hesitate for only a moment. Even the sort of life Annora had led, or one where food and shelter were of a poor quality,