But there was so much more he could have told her—like how it pained him to turn on Angus, his closest friend, and how he had hated her in that moment for leaving him no choice.
But those were things he could not say. They were feelings he did not welcome. Feelings he would have to bury, like so many other things.
He turned away from her and faced the window, and wondered how long this proper, civilized inquiry was going to take.
* * *
Later Amelia entered the library, where her uncle was pacing in front of the bookcases. “You sent for me?”
“Yes.” He held out his hand and guided her to a chair, but continued to pace the room.
“You are troubled, Uncle?”
At last, he stopped and faced her. His cheeks were flushed with color. “I have been thinking about what I witnessed in the banquetinghall, and I have become most distressed.”
Determined to stay calm, she folded her hands on her lap.
“How so?”
He began to pace again. “I have not changed my mind about Richard Bennett. Istillbelieve he is a villain and must be stopped, but something else has been poking and jabbing at me.” He looked at her. “That savage who approached him with the claymore—the one theycalledAngus. Is he the Butcher, Amelia?”
She blinked up at her uncle in astonishment. “No, he is not.”
He studied her careful y. “He is not the one who abducted you from the fort? You must be honest with me, gel, because if your future husband is in legion with such murderous rebels, I cannot, in good conscience, sanction this marriage.”
Sheswallowed thickly. “I assure you, Uncle, that man was not the Butcher. He is a MacDonald, and he is an old friend of Duncan’s. They fought together at Sherrifmuir, and Duncan was once betrothed to his sister. That was who Duncan was questioning Richard about in thehall.”
“Yes, yes, I already knew about the young woman. Duncan shared many things with me. But when I watched that fierce Highlander advance across the room, I swear, my heart nearly gave out. I have never, inallmy years, seen such fury.”
Amelia had.
“I believe,” her uncle continued, “that he would have slaughtered Richard before our very eyes if Moncrieffe had not been there to prevent it.”
She looked down at her hands. “Yes, I believe you are right.”
Her uncle went to a side table and poured himself a glass of claret from a crystal decanter. He took a drink, then paused a moment to let it settle his nerves. “So this MacDonald is not the savage who abducted you?”
“No, Uncle, I assure you he is not.”
He faced her. “That is a relief, I must say.”
She sat for a moment, then stood up and poured herself a glass of claret aswell.
“Whatwillhappen to Richard?” she asked.
“That remains to be seen. I have sent a dispatch directly to the King with the details of my findings, and I have also informed Colonel Worthington at the fort. We sent a rider there today with news of Richard’s incarceration here, and I suspect Worthington’s forceswillbe here tomorrow to arrest him and take him back to FortWilliam. After that, therewilllikely be a court-martial.”
«Willhe be hanged?”
“It is difficult to predict,” her uncle told her. “The man is a decorated military officer who has proven himself loyal to the Crown in countless situations in the past. These things can be…” He paused. “They can be delicate.”
“Do you believe hewillbe found innocent of the charges, even with your influence and the testimony of the witnesses?”
“I cannot lie to you, Amelia. It is quite possible.”
She lowered her gaze. “If that happens, Duncanwillnot be pleased, especial y if Richard is reassigned to Scotland.”
“I realize that, and who could blame him?”
