Snapes chuckled and Joshua whipped his head to the captain who smirked. Nerves rattled down his spine. Had he met the pompous bastard before? No. He’d remember the closely spaced eyes—chips of glass, cold and lacking human quality. Was the captain’s enmity more personal than the issue of spying?
“You cannot trust Snapes’ word. He incited the Indian attack on Horace Hayes, a loyal subject to the King.”
“He is a liar,” sneered Snapes. “Rumors abound, it was you who led the attack with the Oneidas.”
The colonel uncorked a bottle of ink.
“How crafty your manipulations, Mr. Hansford. I’ve found liars always the hottest to defend their veracity.” He sharpened a fresh quill, took an empty page from his drawer. Slowly, he dipped his quill pen and in a furious but clear hand began to write.
Joshua hated using his only recourse, shaming his family. Damn his pride, he’d do anything to outmaneuver the orders signing his and Two Eagles’ deaths. He had to do something to stall for time in the hopes of escape.
“I’m Lord Joshua Rutland. My father is a very powerful duke and is cousin to the King.”
Faulkner stopped writing. “You Patriots will stop at nothing, lying to save your neck.”
“Sir!” said Joshua haughtily. With heavy chains, and aching ribs, he drew himself up stiff as well as he could, befitting the part of the gentry whose word was being impugned. “I am the third inheritor of the Duke of Rutland, Baron Manners of Haddon and the Marquess of Granby. My father serves in the House of Lords. The Duke of Bedford, of St. Albans and York can vouch for me.”
“Once a liar, always a liar. A Patriot born and bred. Do not fall victim to his contrivances,” goaded Snapes.
Faulkner’s eyes bulged. “Damn you. Have you ever heard of anything so fantastic? You will swing from the gallows as a spy.”
It was done. There was nothing he could do to reverse events. The price he paid as a spy. “We will win this war.”
The colonel blew on the paper to dry the ink. “While hanging from the gallows with the crows pecking your carcass, tell me of your Patriot successes then. Take him away.”
Pushed, Joshua tumbled to the bottom of the stairs, the thirty-pound weight cutting into his ankles.
Mary came around the corner. “Dear God.” She knelt next to him, put her hand on Joshua’s shoulder, and then gave a scathing look at the guards. “Why is he treated like this? He has saved my life.”
“Get moving, colonial swine!” said the scarecrow sergeant with the tip of his bayonet.
Another soldier kicked him. Joshua raised his fists and the rest kept their distance.
“He is the worst kind—a traitor and spy who used you to enter the fort for his nefarious deeds,” spat the sergeant.
Mary’s eyes widened. “A spy?”
Chains clinking, Joshua leaned on her to rise and in a breathless voice, whispered, “Warn Two Eagles.”
“It is too late. They have taken him prisoner.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Disaster clutched Juliet in its hideous dark claws…the icy breath of the gallows primed to inflict its gruesome vocation. She had to save him. He had saved her life and she owed him.
Her skirts swishing about her ankles, Juliet hustled into Colonel Faulkner’s office. “You must stop the hanging.”
His beady eyes glittered with the prospect of the execution. “I have been informed he is a spy and will hang for his crimes.”
“That’s ludicrous. I demand to know who would say such a thing.”
“You don’t demand anything, Juliet, but I will allow this one-time concession, and on good authority, Captain Milburn Snapes.”
“Snapes is here?” She looked behind her, and then returned her gaze to her cousin. “His word is not to be trusted. He assaulted me, and led the attack on the Hayes’ by Onontio. He is the traitor and should be hanged for his crimes.”
Faulkner pulled up, squared his shoulders. His mouth flattened. “He is a respected officer of the Crown.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Interesting your rabid defense of the traitor. Perhaps you are not as innocent as the rebel rascal said you were?”
Juliet practically laughed in his face. “After everything I’ve been through…now you accuse me of spying? Snapes is a liar and a monster. For you to believe the man is reprehensible.”
