he said. “My brother’s only daughter … I have known her since she was a babe in her mother’s arms. We must do something, Bennett. I was the one who brought her here, and if anything happens to that gel, Iwillnever forgive myself.”
Barely able to see beyond the scarlet rage that was burning his eyes, Richard gripped the hilt of his sword and backed away. “Who is responsible for this? Who was on duty last night?”
They both watched him with concern, and when they did not answer quickly enough, he shouted at them both, “Who,dammit!”
“They’realldead,” the colonel replied.
Richard backed away toward the door. “Iwillfind her,” he said. “And when I do, Iwillcut that Jacobite traitor into a hundred pieces. Not just for Amelia’s honor, but for my king and country aswell.”
Richard strode out of the room, crushing instantly the flicker of distress that had lodged in his gut, for he was not the kind of man who gave in to such weakness.
* * *
Amelia sat on the floor of the cave, fighting against an overwhelming sense of defeat. No matter how hard she tugged and wrenched at the thin ropes binding her wrists, she could not free herself. She was trapped like a helpless fawn in a wolf’s den, and soon her captor would return and do what he’d wanted to do to herallalong, since the moment he’d crept into her fiancé’s bedchamber. Then suddenly Duncan was there before her, kneeling down,pullinga knife from his boot. Terror exploded inside her.
“Please,” she said, tugging harder and more desperately at the bonds. “If you possess thesmallestshred of humanity, youwilllet me go. You must.”
He raised the knife in the dim light, and just when she thought he was going to cut her throat, he sliced through her bonds instead. They dropped lightly to the ground.
“You’re a fighter, aren’t you?” He took both her hands in his and held them up to inspect the undersides of her wrists.
“I admire your tenacity, but look what you’ve done to yourself.”
A thin trail of blood was dripping down her arm. He reached for a cloth, dipped it into the pot of water that hung on a hook over the unlit fire, and touched it to her wrists.
Gently he washed the blood away.
“Are you going tokillme?” she asked, glancing uneasily at the sword he carried. “Because if I am to be put to death, I wish to know.”
He remained focused on what he was doing. “I’m not going tokillyou.”
She was grateful for the information, certainly, but wasstilla far cry from feeling reassured.
“What about the other Highlander?” she asked. “He doesn’t seem to like me very much.” She glanced toward the mouth of the cave.
“You’re right. He detests the very ground you walk on.” The Butcher folded the cloth and continued to wipe her forearm with the cleaner side of it.
“Why? Because I am English? Or is it because I am engaged to Colonel Bennett?”
Duncan paused. “I reckon both those things make him want to murder you where you stand.”
The cloth touched a tender spot, and Amelia snapped her hand back.
Duncan looked at her intently, and somehow without a single word he persuaded her with his eyes to endure the discomfort without complaint. She found herself responding, as if she were being lured into obedience.
“Why do you both hate my fiancé so much?” she asked, striving to keep her mind sharp and clear while she offered her hand to Duncan again. She watched the water run in shiny rivulets over her raw, chafed flesh and focused on the movements of his hands. “What did he ever do to you, besides fight for our King in this war?”
Duncan’s eyes flashed up. “OurKing? Are you referring to the wee German laddie who sits on your throne like a puppet to parliament and speaks French?”
“He is the rightful King of Great Britain,” she argued.
“Which—in case you are not aware—according to the Act of Union, includes Scotland. But that is beside the point. It is my betrothed who is your target. Why?”
“It’s not a topic I mean to discuss with you.”
“Why not?”
“Because I doubt it’s something you’d want to hear.”
