Hannah Howell Read Online Free

wrong,” she snapped, turning her hurt into anger against him.
    Smiling wryly, Revan shook his head. At first he had thought Thurkettle’s men were merely stupid. They were indeed stupid; however, they would never do anything without exact instructions from Thurkettle. If they were shooting to kill with no thought to Tess’s safety, it was because Thurkettle had ordered it. What he needed to know was—why?
    And she knew, he thought as he poured them each a cup of wine. He could read the knowledge in her wide, beautiful eyes. He could also read her struggle to deny it. It gave her a touch of innocence he decided it was wise to ignore. He did not want to assume she was not part of Thurkettle’s treasonous plots and intrigues. Not yet. Trusting her too quickly could get him killed.
    “Nay, I am not wrong, and ye ken it,” he said, “I can see it in your eyes.”
    She gave him a contemptuous look as she accepted the cup of wine he held out. “Read it in my eyes? How foolish. They are eyes, not a letter.”
    “Your eyes are as readable as any letter, the script clear and precise. Ye are trying to deny what ye ken is the truth.”
    “Of course I deny it. ’Tis a heinous accusation. Why would my uncle wish me dead?”
    “I was hoping ye could tell me.”
    “Well, I canna for he doesna.” She sipped the wine, annoyed to find it tasted good.
    “I canna believe ’tis because he disapproves of your bloodline,” he murmured, watching her closely.
    “Disapproval can be easily accomplished through ignoring me. He doesna have to bloody his hands to disassociate himself from me. Ye have been trotting after Brenda for a while, and ye didna ken I was about, did ye?”
    “Nay. Ye came as quite a surprise.”
    “Aha! So, he didna have to commit murder to cut me off from the family.”
    “True. So, what is the next possibility? Murder can have many motives. Jealousy? Nay. Unless there is some lover’s triangle I am unaware of.”
    “Dinna be such an idiot.”
    “Nay, in truth, I think love doesna enter into this family quandary at all.”
    The truth of that hurt, but she tried to hide it behind a look of disgusted annoyance.
    Revan saw the brief flash of pain in her look and felt a twinge of sympathy. He had kept a close eye on the Thurkettles for weeks, yet had never known about Tess. She had been thoroughly ignored by her own kin, tucked out of sight like a shameful secret. The time she had spent with her uncle could not have been pleasant. He quelled his sympathy, however. He was still not sure he could trust her, still did not know if she was an intricate part of her uncle’s intrigues.
    “Money, then. Greed. Do ye have some money?” Considering her rough, unsuitable attire, he doubted it but then saw a look of realization widen her beautiful eyes.
    Money, Tess thought, and shock rippled through her. It was the one thing her uncle loved more than himself. And she had some—a great deal by most people’s standards—now that she had turned eighteen. The painful fact that her birthday had passed unnoticed again faded into insignificance. Her lands and money were all hers now. Her uncle was supposed to relinquish all control to her. The doubts she had struggled to hold on to faded. For wealth her uncle would most certainly try to kill her.
    Those “accidents” had been attempts to remove the only heir that stood between her uncle and her fortune—herself. He wanted her dead and had wanted it for years. What he had needed was a way to point the finger of suspicion away from himself. An even-tempered mount suddenly gone wild and a fall that could have broken her neck was one way. A simple errand that sent her trotting back and forth over a flood-weakened bridge was another. Then there was that loosened masonry that chose to fall just as she stood beneath it.
    And now, she thought as she looked at Revan, there was a kidnapper.
    It was perfect. She had been abducted and, it could be claimed, murdered by her abductor.