Glasgow Tolbooth
The next morning before first light, Juliet took a carriage to the tolbooth. Minette accompanied her, a basket in hand full of carefully gathered items for Leith. Foodstuffs, soap, artwork by the twins, a pipe and tobacco. Juliet also brought a pipe and tobacco for the tolbooth governor, a surly man she was slowly becoming acquainted with but remained chary of. He lived alongside the prison in a tenement while the keepers and custodians resided inside to maintain order and security, their keys a harsh jangle in the cold, unwholesome air.
As Juliet stepped over the threshold in time to see a rat darting into a corner hole, she said another silent, hasty prayer. This formidable place dashed any and all expectations.
“G’day, ma’am.” The greeting was hardly hospitable, butwhat could she expect from a man who seemed encrusted in calluses? The grimy, iron-grated window behind him let in scant light, just enough to see how the pox had ravaged his heavy features and a hump bowed his back. “Yer husband’s been moved to another cell after a fracas. Seems another inmate wished him ill, so he’s been taken to solitary on the third story.”
Alarm clawed at her once again. “Is Mr. Buchanan well?”
“Och, weel enough.” He took a key hanging from the wall, raising both her curiosity and her hopes. “I suppose we’ve ye to thank for the wagonloads of goods here lately. I’d suspect yer trying to bribe me, but yer too barrie a lass for that.”
Barrie?Better than a saucy minx, she guessed. Nay, a bribe was not what she’d had in mind. Her only thought had been for the poorest inmates she’d heard were starving, some of whom had died for lack of bread and water. It pained her that she had no way to see if the goods were being distributed as she hoped.
She took the pipe and tobacco from the basket and held it out to him without a word. His eyes lit up and he muttered, “Weel, one good deed deserves another.”
Motioning her to a turnpike stair, he told Minette to stay behind while he took her basket. Juliet fought tears as she climbed the steep, winding stair that reminded her of Kairthmere Castle’s ruins. Oh, to return to that blessed day when they’d not known what was round the bend.
Minding her steps, she wanted to cover her ears when the massive tower’s bells chimed and left her half deafened. Finally they arrived at the top floor, where a large apartment housed Leith away from the debtors and criminals.
“Ye’ve a quarter of an hour,” the keeper said before handing her the basket. He shut the door behind him and, Juliet guessed, descended the stair.
Leith stared at her from behind the iron bars as if seeing aghost. And then he turned away, broad shoulders shaking. Was he ... weeping? Without a sound, but undeniably weeping. The realization so tore at her that she was nearly weeping too.
“Leith ... please...” She stood still, groping for what to say. How did one comfort a proud—but broken—man?
“You shouldn’t be here. I never intended you harm, to demean you like this.” He spoke the words over his shoulder in winded snatches as if wrestling with control of his emotions.
“I don’t care, Leith. Wherever you are is where I’ll be. Where I want to be.”
“You’re far better than I deserve. I expected condemnation...” His head came up but he didn’t turn around. “But what I see in you is Christ.”
She crossed the empty, echoing room. Setting down the basket, she wished away the barrier that stood between them. “Look at me, Leith. I couldn’t love you more than I do right now. God is here with us. We mustn’t lose heart.”
He turned around slowly and swallowed so hard she saw his throat constrict. “What miracle did you perform to gain entry?”
It was hardly the greeting she’d imagined after a fortnight apart. With a half smile, she reached for his hands that fisted the bars. His clasp was cold, but his eyes were tender.
“I’d rather be locked in with you than be away from you another minute.” The admission brought a new footing. Their circumstances had tumbled the last stronghold between them, leaving only raw vulnerability and honesty in its wake.
“How are you?” His gaze roamed her face as if discerning the answer before she gave it. “The bairns?”
“Missing you. But the only question that matters is, how are you?”
“Weel enough for a criminal.” He rolled his eyes heavenward, an echo of the old insolence. “I’ve retained the bestbarristers in Britain as legal counsel, who agree we’re dealing with liars and slanderers as far as the charges.”
“Then I pray their evil will call them out.” She took a breath, trying to steady her own emotions at seeing him again. “There’s so much to tell you. I hardly know where to begin.” She didn’t want to waste their precious time with business, but what else could they do? “All the tobacco shares have sold, every one. Euan tried to dissuade me, but Niall was unwavering in his support. The sale has reaped a great profit to be reinvested when you’re free.”
“If I’m free.” His voice held nothing but a brisk acceptance of matters. “If not, it’s to be handled by you.”
“There are other, more pressing things you should know. Things I’ve found out while going through accounts and bills of lading and such in your offices.”
“Speak freely, then.”
“There are several missing account books and ledgers, more than you told me about prior, including a new investor—a silent partner named Malcolm Sinclair—who is unknown to your clerks. I don’t know what to make of it. I suspect Sinclair is a front. A false name used to cover illegal activities.”
“I’m aware of Sinclair.” He looked down at the flagstone floor, clearly perplexed. “Have you told anyone about this?”
“None but you.”
