“Why do you say that?” Burke asked.
The man gave a gruff laugh. “He was stupid to think that Lady Alaina could love him. He’s nothing but a peasant, not fit to be in her presence.”
“Lady Alaina didn’t return his love?” Burke asked, curious, since the tears that had welled in Lady Alaina’s eyes had told Burke a different story.
“Of course not. The earl has special plans for his daughter and it don’t involve the likes of a peasant.”
“So the reason this Cullen has been imprisoned is because he fell in love with the earl’s daughter?”
“And pay he will for his foolishness,” the man said with a sharp nod.
“And what price will that be?” Burke asked, intending full well that his brother would not suffer simply because he had fallen in love.
The man turned his head, his beady eyes searching the area, then whispered, “He’s being sent to Weighton.”
“That’s a harsh punishment for simply falling in love,” Philip said. “Why not just send him away or sell him into slavery in a far-off port?”
The man shrugged. “Don’t know. Only know that the earl is furious and intends for the man to pay for what he’s done.”
“Make him pay for falling in love?” Philip said with a shake of his head. “Makes no sense.”
The man shoved his hand out, palm open. “Don’t care if it does or it doesn’t. I told you what I know and now I want my money.”
“Is Cullen in Weighton now?” Burke asked.
“Arrived yesterday,” the man confirmed.
“How did you learn all this information?” Burke asked.
The man turned defensive. “What difference does that make?”
“Curious.” Burke shrugged.
“Curious can get you killed,” the man snapped.
“Not answering my question could get you penniless,” Burke said sternly.
The man kicked at the ground and answered reluctantly. “Me sister works at the earl’s manor house and accidentally overheard the earl talking with a man.”
“What man?” Burke asked.
He shook his head. “She don’t know, never saw him before, but soon after, the fellow Cullen was thrown in the earl’s prison. That’s it, that’s all I know. Now me coins.”
Burke held his closed hand over the man’s open palm. “One more thing. What does this Cullen look like?”
The man stared at him for a minute. “Like you, a lot like you.”
Burke dumped the coins into the man’s hand, and he greedily swallowed them up with a taut fist.
Burke watched the skinny man sprint off into the woods. He had a feeling the fellow wouldn’t stop running until he reached his destination.
“This isn’t good,” Philip said, shaking his head. “Come on, we need to meet up with Storm and William as planned.
Burke followed Philip and silently agreed it wasn’t good. Not if what he had been told about Weighton was true. If it was impregnable, then what chance did he have of getting his brother out of there?
He’d be damned if he had come this far to see his brother rot in a prison for the rest of his life. There had to be something he could do, and he had a feeling that buying his brother’s freedom was the only option left to him.
It didn’t take long for them to meet up with Storm and William.
