“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, had to be far better than life as the wife of Halbert Chisholm or one of his brothers. Determined that no matter what she had to do, she would keep Meggie safe from the Chisholms, Annora finally went in search of her charge. When it came to the safety and happiness of Meggie, Donnell might soon discover that his cousin, the unwanted bastard child, was not the meek, obedient soul he thought she was.
The sound of a little girl’s laughter drew James to the door of his workroom. He had to step all the way outside to get a clear view of his child. As always, Meggie was with Annora. It seemed to him that there was something a little different in the way Annora treated Meggie today, but it was several moments before he realized what the difference was. Annora was acting far more watchful, more protective, of her little charge. James suddenly wanted to know why, what had changed, and he actually took a step toward them, only to feel someone grab the back of his shirt and stop him. He glanced behind him to find Big Marta slowly shaking her head.
“Nay, laddie, ye best nay be doing that,” she said.
“Oh? I cannae just wander o’er there to greet them, mayhap remark upon the fine weather we are having?” James had given up trying to hold fast to his disguise in front of the sharp-eyed Big Marta, but he spoke softly so that no one else heard the clear proof that he was no Frenchman.
“Dinnae ye see those two hulking fools watching o’er the lassies?”
“MacKay has Annora and Meggie watched closely e’en inside the walls of Dunncraig?”
“When those bastards the Chisholms are here, aye. And it isnae just MacKay who wants the lassies watched. Egan doesnae want them to catch Annora alone. In the keep itself she isnae followed about much, for a good scream could save her if anyone was fool enough to try to grab her and nay many of us talk much to her for fear MacKay will find out. One doesnae want that mon thinking ye ken something ye shouldnae. Aye, and every mon, woman, and child here kens that neither of the lassies is to be touched.”
“It surprises me that MacKay would be so protective of a child he kens weel isnae his.”
Big Marta crossed her arms over her chest. “Och, aye? Who better to watch than the daughter of the mon ye ken weel must want ye dead?”
James grimaced, realizing that his resentment over MacKay’s false claim of being Meggie’s father could obviously make him blind to a few simple facts. “And Annora? He couldnae think that I kenned her at all. She ne’er came here when I was wed to Mary.”
“As I just said—Egan doesnae want Annora touched.”
“He wants her.”
She nodded. “That he does and he has wanted her from the first day she walked through the gates of Dunncraig. It took a while for the lass to see that.”
“As MacKay’s first and a mon who doesnae seem to hesitate to take what he wants, why has Egan left Annora alone all this time?”
“She may be a bastard but she is higher born than he is and he wants her to accept him without being forced. ’Tis his vanity, I suspicion. He wants all to ken that she chose him, that she willingly went into his bed because he is such a big, important mon.”
At first James was furious, and the derision clear to hear in Big Marta’s voice as she spoke of Egan did nothing to diminish that anger. It took him a minute to realize that a lot of it was born of what tasted so much like jealousy he could not deny it. It was a bad time to be feeling possessive about a woman. It was particularly bad to feel so about Annora MacKay, a woman who was cousin to the man who had destroyed him and was dependent upon that same man for her livelihood.
“Do ye think that will happen?” The noise Big Marta made, one rife with scornful amusement, eased something inside him this time.
“Nay. I think she wouldst rather be in a gutter and begging ere she took him as her mon. The lass isnae allowed to have much to do with the rest of us, ye ken, but after three years one can still ken what sort of lass she is despite that. Aye, and wee Meggie loves her. The wee maid Annie who helps her with the child says Annora is a fine lady, sweet and kind and patient with Meggie. To me, weel, the first time she made Meggie giggle, I kenned she was a good sort.” Big Marta sighed. “Your bairn was a sad wee lass ere Annora came. And Annora does her best to be sure Meggie isnae under Donnell’s eye much, ye ken, tu
rning his anger to her own self if needed.”
“He beats them,” James said quietly, a renewed anger tightening his voice.
He avoided people and tried to speak as little as possible, afraid to risk his disguise. Even so he had learned a lot. People seemed to like to talk to a man they did not think understood all they said or, at least, could never repeat it correctly. One man had quietly told James, after a long rant on all that had gone wrong since MacKay had taken Dunncraig, that there was something about him that made a person feel he could be trusted. James was not sure he fully believed that, but was glad that it was so, for it was proving very helpful.
One thing he had learned was that Donnell MacKay and his first were brutal men. They used their fists and worse to enforce their rules and strengthen their hold over the people of Dunncraig. James expected that the torture and death of so many of his guard had been enough to make people understand the danger of complaint or resistance. Hearing strong, brave men scream was something that made many pause for fear of sharing that fate. It was hearing that MacKay took his fists to Annora and Meggie that had enraged him and nearly made him do something foolish. It had taken hours to calm himself after that. The fact that he could not immediately do something about it, might even have to stand back as it was done again, caused a hard knot of bitter anger to lodge in his belly.
“Aye, he beats them but nay so badly that there is much damage,” Big Marta said quietly.
“And that is supposed to make me feel better?”
“Just said it to make ye nay try to do anything that might help them yet lose ye all else. Only once did MacKay become so enraged with Annora that he wasnae careful, but Egan pulled him away ere he could do too much damage. I took care of the lass then and it was bad, but naught was broken. Nay, not e’en her spirit. I realized then that she had some, quiet and weel hidden that it is. ’Tis what keeps her here. That and her love for wee Meggie.”
“I am nay finding out what I need to ken fast enough,” he muttered, dragging a hand through his hair.
“Ye didnae think the mon would leave a written confession lying out for all to see, did ye?”
“Impertinent wench.”
“Aye, and proud of it. The proof is there, I am sure of it. There is something or someone who can expose all that bastard’s lies and trickery.”
“Ye sound so sure of that.”
“I am. He is too careful. A mon that careful kens that there might be something out there that can hurt him. He is a mon who has secrets he needs to keep anyone from guessing.”
James just nodded as he watched Annora and Meggie play some skipping game around the back garden. “If I could prove my innocence, MacKay could then be hanged many times o’er for the killing of so many good men.”
Big Marta sighed heavily. “Aye, that was a verra dark time. I think I may ken where some of the few who escaped are hiding.”
A flicker of hope danced in James” heart, but he had had too many disappointments lately to allow it free rein. “Where?”
“I will ken the whole of it soon. Need to be careful about such things as I wouldnae want to be the one who caused the death of any of those few lucky ones who survived MacKay’s arrival.”
“Nay, of course not.”
James sighed and started to turn back toward his workroom only to have Meggie suddenly look straight at him. She smiled at him and waved. James returned the gestures and then caught Annora staring at him. He could still taste her on his mouth, feel her soft curves in his arms, and hear her soft sighs in his ears. His dreams had been filled with the sort of images that left him hard with need when he woke. When Meggie looked at her, Annora gave him a hasty smile and a little wave before hurrying his child away.
For a moment James actually considered accepting the smiling offers that had been made by several of the maids. His body was starving for a woman, but he realized it wanted only one woman. In one way, that was a good thing, for dallying with a maid could all too easily prove a serious mistake, exposing him for the fraud he was. On the other hand, he was not sure he liked the fact that Annora MacKay held his body in thrall.
“She would be a good choice when ye are laird again,” Big Marta said quietly.
Refusing to blush over being caught staring longingly after Annora MacKay, James snorted and walked back into his workroom. “She is a MacKay.”
The noise Big Marta made clearly revealed the scorn with which she viewed that answer. “Only because her mother was. The lass hasnae been treated weel by her kin. She certainly hasnae been treated weel by this part of the family. She doesnae trust MacKay and hasnae from the start. And ye didnae think ye were the only one asking questions about the mon, did ye?”
Thinking of how he had caught Annora sneaking into MacKay’s ledger room, so obviously intent upon spying on the man’s writings, James just frowned. “Who else is? Aside from me and mayhap Annora MacKay?”
“Weel, your kinsmen tried but they couldnae get close enough.”
“Aye, and I made it clear that this was my trouble and they shouldnae risk their lives, at least until I had some way to prove that MacKay had committed the crime I was accused of.”
“Didnae stop them. But they couldnae get close. I dinnae ken how but MacKay could almost sniff them out. After a few times when your kinsmen barely escaped with their lives, I think they finally decided to sit back as ye had asked them to. I doubt they have done naught, though.”
“I doubt that, too. Unfortunately, the truth is hidden here. I am certain of it”
Big Marta nodded. “That it is, laddie. That it is. But, mayhap, it isnae hidden as weel as that bastard thinks it is. ’Tis muckle hard to keep something secret for long in a keep, isnae it? There is always someone who saw or heard something and one day they admit it.”
“Have ye heard something?”
“Whispers, laddie. Just whispers for now. I am keeping this old ear to the ground and will let ye ken when I hear more than a wee rumor or an I think.”
James sighed and nodded. He watched the woman disappear back into the kitchen and resisted the urge to drag her back and demand to hear what rumors she had heard, even every little suspicion. That was foolish and he knew it. He would not win his freedom with rumors and suspicions. Moving too quickly could also silence those who were doing the whispering and they might well lead to something he could use.
As he returned to his work he thought about Egan’s pursuit of Annora. It roused something very primitive inside him, some chest-thumping thing that kept grunting mine. He would have to be careful there for several reasons. Egan could cause him to be thrown out of Dunncraig if he thought Annora had an interest in him, or worse. And Annora was such an innocent, he could hurt her feelings if he went from hot to cold and back again once too often.
He cursed and shook his head. No matter how much he told himself that it was bad to feel so attracted to Annora, the attraction did not fade. He had the sinking feeling that he had met his mate. There was a strong belief amongst his foster family the Murrays that everyone had a mate, and thus far, in the matches he had seen, there seemed to be some truth to that feeling. He had not had it with Mary, something that still stirred a deep feeling of guilt, but that strong sense of mine that came over him whenever he saw Annora MacKay made him think he may have found it with her.
Not only stupid but a very poor sense of timing on fate’s behalf, he mused. As a declared outlaw, he was a walking dead man. Accepting a mate now meant that he placed the woman under that same death sentence. He was going to have to try harder to control that part of him that wanted to grab Annora and claim her in every way a man could claim a woman.
Forcing all thought of her from his mind, he concentrated on his carving. The work did bring him some peace and he welcomed the lessening of the tension that had gripped his body. It was not until he paused to study what he had done that his tension returned full force. In the far corner of the piece of the mantel he had been working on was a woman’s face. It was
Annora’s, every soft curve of the face already as familiar to him as his own.
“’Tis some fine work ye have done there, laddie,” said Big Marta from behind him, and James inwardly cursed. The woman had a real skill at arriving at his side at just the wrong moment.
“Aye, it will do,” he murmured, hoping the woman would leave it at that.
“That face looks verra familiar.”
“Does it, now?”
“Aye, it looks just like our wee Annora.”
“Weel, she has a fine face.”
Big Marta laughed, slapped him on the back, and walked away. “Och, laddie, dinnae fight it too hard.”
James groaned and rested his head against the carving that was now permanently etched into the wood of the mantel that would adorn the fireplace in the laird’s chamber. He would probably still fight what was becoming very clear. It was a man’s natural inclination to fight a thing as binding as what was growing inside him. Unfortunately, he was sure it was a battle already lost.
Chapter Six
Annora woke to her cat sitting on her chest and staring into her face. She gave the big, gray torn a sleepy smile and scratched behind its ragged ears. It had been on a bit of a wander for a few days and she feared there would be some kittens born in a few months. She would have to try to find them and see if she could save them from a drowning.
Mungo, named after a boy who had been her friend when she was a child, was a well-kept secret. Annora had absolutely no doubt that Donnell would use her love for her cat against her if he found out about Mungo. He had already shown that he could use her feelings for Meggie to keep her obedient.
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