“It will come right, Kieran.” Andrew sipped his whisky. “Jamie hasn’t come this far and suffered this much tae hang for a crime she can’t remember committing.”
“I cannae believe Cuthie has done this. Tae accuse Jamie of murdering so many men—” Kieran nearly spat. “Cuthie always hated our Jamie. She made him look a fool in the end, so of course he has twisted the events tae suit his own ends. The man would perjure himself before man and God afore allowing Jamie to walk free.”
“The captain can be viciously vindictive.” Ewan set down his plate. “But are we convinced that Cuthie would perjure himself just to spite Kieran and Jamie? Swearing false testimony under oath is a serious crime, and Cuthie has appeared keen to avoid prosecution these past several years.”
“Perhaps.” Andrew grimaced and tossed back the rest of his whisky. “Regardless, I’ll start tugging on some strings in Lords. If the situation deteriorates with Jamie, Alex and I will petition the King for a pardon.”
Silence for a moment.
Kieran wiped a weary hand over his face. “Of course, this all assumes that my Jamie is innocent.”
Andrew set down his glass, waiting until Kieran met his gaze. “Ye know she wouldn’t have blown up that ship without a justifiable reason.”
“Aye,” Kieran agreed, “but the fact remains that Jamie would have done it, had it felt warranted.”
“Och, I hate him, Kieran!” Jamie stormed into the night, her feet sinking into the wet sand of the beach. “I cannae believe he planned this all along.”
“Cuthie is an opportunist—”
She whirled around and tapped his chest. “We need a plan. Something needs tae be done to stop him—”
Kieran bit his lip.
What had happened aboardThe Minerva?
“That’s the rub, is it not?” Andrew said. “Cuthiemaybe telling the truth.”
“Or a partial truth,” Rafe offered.
“But until Jamie remembers . . .” Ewan’s voice drifted off.
“Aye.” Kieran swallowed back the acidic taste of despair in his throat, walking to stand in front of the window. A sliver of gleaming ocean glinted on the horizon. “Miss Eilidh Fyffe needs tae remember being Jamie. That’s all there is to it.”
9
September 1815
Youse all should have told me.” Kieran pointed a finger at the other members of the Brotherhood. They lounged around the table in Andrew’s quarters, dinner spread before them. “I thought we were friends. We pledged a brotherhood and everything.”
If Kieran thought to guilt his friends into showing shame, he was disappointed.
“It wasnae our tale tae tell, Kieran,” Andrew said, sopping up the last of his ragout with a bit of bread, blithely ignoring Kieran’s death stare.
In fact, all of his supposed friends ate on, unconcerned and irritatingly cheerful.
The bunch ofbawbags.
“Aye, it was,” Kieran said. “I’m master of this ship and responsible for her crew. Therefore, I need to know secrets of this magnitude.”
“Jamie asked us to keep the confidence,” Rafe chimed in, pouring himself more ale from a pitcher.
“The lass doesnae get tae make such far-reaching decisions.” Kieran tapped his chest. “I do.”
“Och, and how were we supposed to tell ye?” Alex asked.
“It’s simple,” Kieran snorted. “Youse just open your mouth and say,Why Kieran, ye know that wee laddie you’ve taken under your wing? Well, she’s actually a bonnie lassie—”
“Bonnie, am I?” Jamie laughed.
