and Whig gentlemenalike. The blame will fall on the commander of the king’s army in Scotland. You, sir.”
Wade tapped his fingers on his desk. “That’s troublesome. We could lose supporters of the war in both Scotland and England.”
“Exactly.” Alec looked around as voices rumbled out in the corridor. A rapping sounded on the door, and it was opened.
A sentry looked inside. “Sir, Colonel Grant is here.”
“Tell him to wait a moment. I’m busy,” Wade said curtly. The sentry shut the door, but it was pushed open by Grant.
“General, I must speak with you,” Grant said, wedging himself in the gap. “Fraser! Damn it, man, I shall have your head for this!”
“Get out, Colonel,” Wade snapped, and the sentry yanked the door shut despite Grant’s protests. The general looked annoyed. “I presume you know what that was about, Fraser?”
“Colonel Grant may have discovered that I ordered an end to the lady’s punishment. She fainted—she might even have died. I sat her down myself and told a guard to see to her welfare.”
“That was out of line. But humane, I’ll allow.” Wade frowned, picking up a folded letter. “We should not keep the girl here, where we have no private accommodations for female prisoners. And there’s a bad lot in that jail just now—that fellow Cameron, for one. A Highland rascal. But he’ll be transferred soon. Sir, look at this letter, if you will.”
Alec accepted the creased page handed him, then glanced up. “The Lord Advocate of Edinburgh wants to see her personally?”
Wade nodded. “I sent a courier to Lord Hume myself the day the girl came here, knowing she would need to be interrogated, possibly charged and tried at the Court of Justiciary. Lord Hume sent a messenger immediately with a reply. She is to appear before him in the first week of November. It’s mid-October now. We could keep her here for two weeks, or just transfer her to his custody now and have done with it. I could send her off to Edinburgh Castle with that Cameron fellow.”
“Sir, if I may say so, it is unchivalrous treatment to send her in an open cart with a male prisoner and male guards,” Alec said. “General…the Lord Advocate is a kinsman of mine. My family lives in Edinburgh. Allow me to escort her there.”
“Then do that,” Wade said brusquely, looking up in irritation as the knocking resumed at the door. “Damn that pestering little man. Fraser, find out who the devil this girl is and what she knows, if anything. The Justiciary Court will need her name and so forth. Get whatever information you can from her so that we do not all look like buffoons.”
“Aye, sir.”
“I’ll write out the order. Take her tomorrow. I’ll order a closed vehicle.” Wade took up a pen, dipped it, began to write. “Also—I want you to determine if she knows anything about that horde of Spanish weapons that went missing after the rebellion of the ’Nineteen, up atEilean Donan Castle, when the Jacobites had help from a shipload of Spaniards.”
“Those weapons have never been found, sir,” Alec pointed out. “Presumably the Spaniards took them back over the sea when most of them fled after the insurgents failed.”
“So we thought, but rumors persist. Recently muskets of Spanish make turned up. Two Highlanders were killed in a skirmish in the Great Glen not long ago, and they were equipped with guns of Spanish style, the sort said to have been brought to Scotland to aid in that uprising.”
“It is certainly possible to acquire Spanish-made pistols.”
“Not marked with the initials of the ship that brought them. And this fellow Cameron was caught with the rascals who died holding those pistols. He had two such guns himself.”
“Why not ask him, then?”
“We’ve tried,” Wade said. “Stubborn Highland breeding. Like the girl, he will not say a word. He was nearly beaten to death, but I put a stop to that myself. We’ll send him to Edinburgh, and the girl as
Wade tapped his fingers on his desk. “That’s troublesome. We could lose supporters of the war in both Scotland and England.”
“Exactly.” Alec looked around as voices rumbled out in the corridor. A rapping sounded on the door, and it was opened.
A sentry looked inside. “Sir, Colonel Grant is here.”
“Tell him to wait a moment. I’m busy,” Wade said curtly. The sentry shut the door, but it was pushed open by Grant.
“General, I must speak with you,” Grant said, wedging himself in the gap. “Fraser! Damn it, man, I shall have your head for this!”
“Get out, Colonel,” Wade snapped, and the sentry yanked the door shut despite Grant’s protests. The general looked annoyed. “I presume you know what that was about, Fraser?”
“Colonel Grant may have discovered that I ordered an end to the lady’s punishment. She fainted—she might even have died. I sat her down myself and told a guard to see to her welfare.”
“That was out of line. But humane, I’ll allow.” Wade frowned, picking up a folded letter. “We should not keep the girl here, where we have no private accommodations for female prisoners. And there’s a bad lot in that jail just now—that fellow Cameron, for one. A Highland rascal. But he’ll be transferred soon. Sir, look at this letter, if you will.”
Alec accepted the creased page handed him, then glanced up. “The Lord Advocate of Edinburgh wants to see her personally?”
Wade nodded. “I sent a courier to Lord Hume myself the day the girl came here, knowing she would need to be interrogated, possibly charged and tried at the Court of Justiciary. Lord Hume sent a messenger immediately with a reply. She is to appear before him in the first week of November. It’s mid-October now. We could keep her here for two weeks, or just transfer her to his custody now and have done with it. I could send her off to Edinburgh Castle with that Cameron fellow.”
“Sir, if I may say so, it is unchivalrous treatment to send her in an open cart with a male prisoner and male guards,” Alec said. “General…the Lord Advocate is a kinsman of mine. My family lives in Edinburgh. Allow me to escort her there.”
“Then do that,” Wade said brusquely, looking up in irritation as the knocking resumed at the door. “Damn that pestering little man. Fraser, find out who the devil this girl is and what she knows, if anything. The Justiciary Court will need her name and so forth. Get whatever information you can from her so that we do not all look like buffoons.”
“Aye, sir.”
“I’ll write out the order. Take her tomorrow. I’ll order a closed vehicle.” Wade took up a pen, dipped it, began to write. “Also—I want you to determine if she knows anything about that horde of Spanish weapons that went missing after the rebellion of the ’Nineteen, up atEilean Donan Castle, when the Jacobites had help from a shipload of Spaniards.”
“Those weapons have never been found, sir,” Alec pointed out. “Presumably the Spaniards took them back over the sea when most of them fled after the insurgents failed.”
“So we thought, but rumors persist. Recently muskets of Spanish make turned up. Two Highlanders were killed in a skirmish in the Great Glen not long ago, and they were equipped with guns of Spanish style, the sort said to have been brought to Scotland to aid in that uprising.”
“It is certainly possible to acquire Spanish-made pistols.”
“Not marked with the initials of the ship that brought them. And this fellow Cameron was caught with the rascals who died holding those pistols. He had two such guns himself.”
“Why not ask him, then?”
“We’ve tried,” Wade said. “Stubborn Highland breeding. Like the girl, he will not say a word. He was nearly beaten to death, but I put a stop to that myself. We’ll send him to Edinburgh, and the girl as
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