“Good work, men,” the pasty redcoat said with a foulmouthed grin. “Looks like we caught ourselves a Butcher.” Then he swung his musket by the barrel and struck Duncan hard in the side of the head.
Fort William, midnight
Amelia woke to a frantic knocking at her door. Heart suddenly racing, she sat up and squinted into the darkness.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Uncle!”
Recognizing the distress in his voice, she slid out of bed and hastened across the room in her bare feet. She unlocked the door and opened it. “What’s happening? Are we under attack?”
He stood in the narrow corridor wearing only his nightshirt and cap, his finger hooked around a brass candleholder. The flame flickered and danced wildly in the drafts. “No, my dear, it’s not that. It’s something else. Good news, actual y. They’ve caught the Butcher.”
A horn blew from somewhere in the compound. There were voices shouting. Footsteps tapping up and down the stairs. Amelia stood in the doorway, staring mutely at her uncle, not entirely certain she’d heard him correctly. There must have been a mistake. They had caught someone else, an imposter. Not Duncan.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“He’s here. They just brought him in on the back of a wagon, half-dead from the sounds of it.”
“Have you seen him yet?”
“No, but I thought I shouldtellyou right away, because surely itwillgive you some peace of mind to know that your abductorwillfinal y get the justice he deserves for what he did to you, and countless others.”
She backed unsteadily into the room. “Half-dead, you say? What happened to him? How in the world did they catch him?”
And was it real y him? If it was, did they know he was the Earl of Moncrieffe? Had he been dressed in silks and finery when they took him? But no, he couldn’t have been, or her uncle would have said something. News like that would shake the very foundations of the fortress, and the entire country aswell.
“Information was delivered to asmallEnglish camp on Loch Fannich,” he explained. “The soldiers learned where he would be at a certain hour, and sure enough, that’s where he was—living in a cave like the savage barbarian that he is.”
“Yes…,” she said, feeling almost dizzy with shock. “That’s where he took me on the morning of my abduction.”
Her uncle movedfully into the room, set down the candle, andpulledher into his arms. “I am so sorry, Amelia, that you endured such torture, but you are safe now. That despicable savagewillbe locked in acelland chained to awall. Hewillnever be able to hurt you again.”
She blinked a few times and fought to stay calm. Locked up? Chained to awall? Her emotions careened dizzily. She could not bear to think of it. Despite her need to turn down Duncan’s offer of marriage, she had never desired his imprisonment or his suffering. She would never wish to see pain inflicted upon him.
And what did her uncle mean … half-dead? What had they done to Duncan?
“Are youallright, Amelia? You look ghostly white. Sit down. I’ll send for some brandy.”
“No, Uncle. I do not need to sit. I must see him.”
“See him? But surely you do not wish to see the man who—”
“I do wish it,” she argued. “If youwillwait outside, Iwilldress quickly.”
“But why, Amelia? Do you not think it would be best if—”
“Please do not oppose me, Uncle. I need to know if it is truly him.”
Winslowe took a step back and sighed. “Oh, it is indeed the Butcher, without a doubt. Not only was he carrying the famous shield with the Mullagate, but the officer who captured him had encountered him before and barely escaped with his life. He survived only because he was a strong swimmer.”
Amelia whirled around to face her uncle. “A strong swimmer…”God, no.She could not stomach any more of this. What kind of strange destiny had befal en them? “Did this officer mention a woman who was there as a witness?”
“No. He said the Butcher appeared out of nowhere and hacked their tent to pieces while they slept.”
“Is his name Jack Curtis? Major Curtis?”
Her uncle studied her curiously. “Yes, but how would you know that?”
