Page 30 of Wolf Heir (Highland Wolves of Old #3)

Niven walked out to Collum and Coinneach, with Nelly and Aisling following behind him. To Coinneach’s surprise, Blair ran to catch up with them.

“Did you witness the fight between Coinneach and Aisling and the two men from the stable?” Collum asked Blair.

“I have witnessed much more,” Blair said.

Coinneach wondered if she planned to reveal what she had seen between Osmond and Morag. Or if she was ready to divulge the truth about him. But Coinneach didn’t want her to, fearing for her safety.

“We’re just going to discuss the fight between the stable hands and us,” Coinneach, trying to persuade Blair not to go with them.

“I’m going with you,” Blair said, her arms folded across her waist, her chin tilted up, determined.

“Tell Chief Hamish we need to speak with him in his solar,” Collum said to Niven.

“Aye.” Niven raced off to find the chief.

Coinneach didn’t feel Blair needed to be in on the discussion. She hadn’t been there, and he was afraid she might say something that would get her into trouble.

Aisling told her mother, “You didna see the fight. You dinna need to be there.” She was afraid of what her mother might say in front of Chief Hamish.

“I’m going. Nothing you will say will convince me to stay away,” her mother said.

Collum nodded. “Aye, you can come. You can tell His Lordship what happened, and your parents and your brother can give their accounts afterwards.

Niven dashed out of the castle to join them, nearly out of breath, huffing and puffing. “He…Chief Hamish…wants to know what it is about.”

Collum shook his head. “Let’s go.”

“Lady Morag said Chief Hamish said that,” Niven said, trying to keep up with the adults’ longer strides. “I should say.”

Aisling felt the mood shift for everyone. When they were going to talk to Hamish, she thought he would listen to reason. Not so with Morag.

When they arrived at the chief’s solar, Morag was there. “What is this concerning? Niven was supposed to report back with the answer to my question, no’ bother the chief with unimportant issues.”

“Did you speak with the chief?” Collum asked Niven. At once, Collum sounded like he believed Morag had stopped Niven from getting word to Hamish.

“Nay. Lady Morag stopped me and asked me to find out what the discussion was about. She says she speaks for Lord Hamish. So I ran back to see you and ask.”

“Go find my brother, Niven,” Collum said, sounding irritated that Morag would interfere with his business with the chief.

“Aye.” Niven rushed off, looking like he was in trouble for giving the message to Morag, not to Hamish.

He was only ten and three-quarters, and Morag was intimidating, so Aisling didn’t blame the lad. As before, she didn’t want to speak in front of Morag, knowing she would take the stable hands’ side and not hers and Coinneach’s.

It seemed to take forever for Hamish to arrive at the solar with a red-faced Niven; by the time even Tamhas and his parents came, accompanied by Aodhan. Everyone was breathing hard, and their faces were flushed with exertion.

“All right, what’s this all about?” Hamish asked, taking a seat, and Morag did too.

Then everyone who had witnessed the attempted murder told their versions of what they had seen, how the stable hands had tried to kill Aisling and Coinneach, even at the crofters’ home. The stable hands had had a mission, and they’d been determined to carry it out.

“What motivated them to do such a thing?” Hamish asked.

Coinneach glanced at Collum, as if waiting for him to offer an answer that didn’t have to do with accusing Morag of being Rupert’s mother while his father was Osmond, not Hamish.

“No one knows why they would do such a thing,” Collum said. “I haven’t spoken with Osmond yet, but I will. I just wanted you to know what was going on with the men’s disappearance and what they’d been up to.”

“See that you do.” Hamish looked at Blair, the only one who hadn’t said anything.

Blair shook her head. “I only came in case I was needed, for my daughter’s sake. I only learned what had happened late this day.”

Hamish inclined his head.

“You’re no’ going to have them all held accountable for two of our pack members’ deaths?” Morag asked, sounding furious.

Hamish sighed. “From the sounds of it, they were defending themselves as any pack member has the right to do.”

“You will take the word of their family? Canna you see they are sticking up for each other? Spinning a tale that would absolve them of any crime?” Morag raged at Hamish.

“What would their motive be? They had planned to mate in the meadow, not kill a couple of stable hands who had no business out hunting for anything. I hadna approved it,” Hamish said, sounding irritated with her tone of voice. He motioned to the gathered group in his solar. “Leave us.”

Everyone showed their respect and then left the solar while Hamish said to Morag, “Why would you defend the stable hands who were obviously at fault in the whole matter?”

They didn’t hear her response, though Aisling was dying to eavesdrop and learn what Morag said to that.