“Yes, hestilllives.”
There was a clear exhalation of relief in the room.
Josephine rose from her chair, came forward, and embraced Amelia, who wasstilltrying to understand whatallof this meant. They knew. Were they already planning how to extract Duncan from the prison?
“I thought you’d be halfway to England by now,” Josephine said.
Amelia held her close. “No. I couldn’t leave.” She stepped back and held both of Josephine’s hands in her own. “I’ve been at the fort for days, not knowing if I did the right thing by leaving here. Then last night there was a terrible commotion in the compound, and my uncle told me they had captured the Butcher. I was beside myself with despair. I didn’t know what to do, so I came here straightaway.”
“How is he?” Iain asked with concern. “What have they done to him?”
“Do they know his identity?” Fergus asked.
Amelia shook her head. “No one knows who he is, at least not yet. But he is notwell, Iain. He was badly beaten, which is a mixed blessing, I suppose. It’s why he is unrecognizable.”
Josephine stepped back and covered her mouth with a hand. “Poor Duncan.”
“They’ll hang him, I suppose,” Iain said.
“Yes,” Amelia replied. “That is their intention, which is why I came so quickly. We must get him out of there somehow, and the sooner the better.”
Fergus circled around the table. “You think it’s an easy thing to do, lass—to break a Scottish rebel out of an English prison?”
She met his gaze directly. “Duncan managed to break in and carry me out on his back. Perhaps we can do the same for him.”
Fergus scoffed. “You’re lighter than a daisy. He’s heavier than an ox, and chained up besides.”
“He may be able to walk,” she argued, refusing to be daunted. “His worst wounds are on his hands and face.”
“There’sstillthe wee issue of getting him free of the prison,” Fergus said. “The place is crawling with redcoats, and with the notorious Butcher as a captive, I suspect they have their watch doubled or tripled.”
Amelia took a deep breath. “Yes. I realize itwillbe difficult.
But as I said before, Duncan managed to get in quietly.”
In fact, he had slit a few throats to get inside. He had been ruthless. There had been no mercy. Was shewillingto condone such methods to save his life?
“Where is Angus?” she asked. “Would he bewillingto take such a risk? I could give him instructions andtellhim exactly where Duncan is being held, and I have, in my trunks, three red uniforms that might be useful. I took them from the laundry before I left this morning. I doubt they’ve been missed yet.”
A heavy silence descended upon the room. Theyallexchanged troubled glances.
“What is it?” she asked. “What’s wrong? Has something happened to Angus? Don’ttellme … has he been captured, too?”
“Nay, lass, he wasn’t captured, but something did indeed happen to him,” Gawyn said, “and we’reallstillrecovering from the shock of it.”
She frowned. “Tel me.”
“He turned on us, lass. He’s the one who told the English soldiers where Duncan would be.”
She felt the blood drain from her face. “I beg your pardon?
Are you sure? No, it cannot be true. Angus hates the English.
Why would he do such a thing?”
“It’s unforgivable,” Gawyn said.
“He’ll rot inhell,” Iain added.
