Almost a Countess by Jenna Jaxon
Chapter 5
“Ye may no’ be quite as familiar with the law o’ the land as I am, Miss Harper.” A young, sheltered woman such as herself likely had no knowledge of the hateful law he had broken. “But it’s true.”
“That’s as may be. I don’t pretend to know the law.” No, she might not know much about the law, but she did know he was a wanted man. He’d admitted it himself. But she could let her questioning go for now and hope he’d tell her the truth in the end. A glance at him showed his complexion had paled and his eyes were tired. That wouldn’t do at all. She picked up the tray. “I’ll take these down and let you rest until dinner.”
“Thank ye, lass.” He tracked her as she nodded briefly and sped out the room.
Something told him Miss Harper wasn’t going down to the kitchen simply for tea. The next person to open that door was as likely to be Lieutenant Scarlet as his hostess. Perhaps more likely. Finn doubted she’d believed him to be an earl. Certainly, he didn’t look like one in his current state. He really didn’t know what he could do to convince her, save tell her the rest of his story. Better to have her think him a fool than a murderer—or worse. He’d been incredibly stupid. Now he could only hope to live through this ordeal, with Miss Harper’s reluctant help, it seemed. There was nothing for it but to wait until she returned and try to explain the troubles that had befallen him in the past weeks. And hope she would believe him.
Finn worried himself into a restless sleep where dreams of Miss Harper’s charmingly crooked smile alternated with nightmarish scenes where red-coated soldiers clapped him in irons in a dark dungeon and threw the key into the sea. He awoke from that one in a cold sweat, gazing frantically around the room at the plush furnishing to reassure himself it had indeed been a dream.
The chamber remained quiet, only the sounds of birds twittering outside the window breaking the solitude. The sole way he could tell the afternoon was passing was the lengthening shadows as the sun crawled across the window that overlooked a rear garden. He could see only a tiny bit of greenery from the bed, but the light had unmistakably softened. Perhaps he was safe for one more day.
The door swung open, and Miss Harper entered with a large tray filled with dishes. “I looked in with the tea tray some time ago, but you were fast asleep, and I didn’t wish to disturb you. Did you rest well, my lord?”
“No’ particularly, despite this comfortable bed.” Sleeping in barns or under hedgerows for the past several nights had given him a healthy respect for creature comforts. “But after my recent adventures, I willna rest easy until I get tae London.”
Her eyes met his. “So you are now traveling to London, even though you informed me earlier that you had no business there.”
“No’ previously, Miss Harper, but circumstances change. I’m certain ye’re aware o’ that general truth.” Devil it, he hadn’t meant to speak so sharply to her, but the suspicion in her eyes irked him immeasurably.
“I suppose I am, my lord.” She set the tray on the table then handed him silverware and napkins. “I convinced Cook you needed fattening.” She removed the covers from the plates, and the heavenly smells that wafted over him brought tears to his eyes and made his mouth water.
“Will ye dine with me, Miss Harper?” He hoped she’d say yes, despite her misgivings. “I’ve had my fill o’ solitude this past week. I’d relish a bit o’ company, especially yers.”
“I thought you might wish for a companion, so I had Cook fix my dinner on the tray as well.” She smiled and handed him a plate.
His stomach growled. “My pardon, Miss Harper.” His own body conspired against him. What must she think of his manners?
“Think nothing of it, my lord.” She smiled and took up her own plate. “You’ve a bit of catching up to do, unless I miss my guess.” She nodded to him. “Please, begin.”
Finn needed no further invitation. The food was hot, plentiful, and delicious. He commenced with the juicy, rare roast beef, and silence held sway in the room for some minutes. Finally, when his first pangs of hunger were assuaged, he came up for air to find Miss Harper watching him as she drank her wine. He took up his glass also and drank deeply before remembering his manners just in time to keep from draining the glass.
“You look as though you’ve not eaten in a very long time, my lord.” Miss Harper held her wineglass in both hands, assessing him. “Would you care to tell me what actually happened to you?”
To give himself time, Finn dredged a piece of potato through the thick sauce and popped it into his mouth. What would be the best way to tell her about his wretched adventure? “Would ye like the long version or the brief?”
That seemed to take her aback. Her brows rose, and she cut her eyes toward him. She set her glass on the table and picked up the bottle of Bordeaux. “I am a great believer in brevity, my lord. More wine?”
He nodded, glad for the relaxing properties a good bottle of wine would afford him.
She filled his glass and hers, careful to keep her gaze on the wine.
Taking a sip to brace him, Finn began. “The crux o’ the matter is that I was stupid.”
“Indeed.” Her brows swooped up alarmingly, eyes wide, giving her the look of a startled deer.
“I suppose ’tis difficult tae believe, but ’tis nothing but the truth.” Finn settled back on the pillows, sated and more comfortable than he’d been in what seemed like forever. “My sister was tae be married in the kirk at Aberfoyle just about a week ago, I believe. Time has been muddied a bit in my mind. What day is it?”
“Tuesday, the tenth of August,” she said, her gaze following him keenly.
“Then exactly a week ago, on August third. My sister Mary had met a good man early in the new year and they’d asked my permission tae marry.” Finn shook his head. “I was all for having a small ceremony at home, but Mary insisted on marrying in the kirk. Sae the family was invited, and last week I took great pride and satisfaction in giving my sister away.”
Miss Harper’s keen gaze held him enthralled. “I doubt seriously you’d be accosted by the British Army for attending your sister’s wedding.”
“Aye, likely no’ if all I was doing was attending the wedding. But as head o’ the household, I was giving my sister away, in front o’ God, the priest, all our family.” He paused and grinned at her. “For such a ceremonious occasion, I wanted my father represented as well. So, I wore his kilt, made up in the tartan plaid o’ the Macdonalds o’ Sleat.”
Miss Harper stared at him then shrugged. “I’m certain you cut quite the dashing figure.”
Finn shook his head. He stared at the pretty Englishwoman. She was terribly young. He couldn’t expect a well-brought up young Englishwoman to even know of the Dress Act or how it rankled the souls of every Scotsman.
“I dinna think ye noticed that when we met, Miss Harper.” He chuckled when she blushed, her cheeks reddening to the hue of ripe cherries.
“I’m sure I didn’t notice anything about your kilt, my lord.” She settled back in her chair, but Finn caught her surreptitiously feeling her bright cheeks.
“Well, if ye dinna, the British Army did.”
“Whyever would they be interested in your clothing?” She looked at him as though he were a lunatic.
“The Dress Act, which prohibits all Scottish men and boys from wearing kilts or plaids—tartan clothing, that is. Disobey the law, ye’re clapped in prison for six months. Dae it a second time, and the punishment is transportation tae the colonies for seven years.”
Miss Harper’s lips were pressed together in a thin line. “That seems overly severe.”
Finn stared into her beautiful, innocent eyes. “I see ye’ve no idea o’ the depth o’ hatred the British hold for Scotland and the Scots.”
“But you said your father died fighting for England.” A puzzled frown deepened the lines of her brow.
“And he wisna the only one. However, the British cared naught for such loyalty. The Dress Act stands tae this day. The only men allowed tae wear it are those who have sworn an oath o’ loyalty and joined special Highland companies.” He let his eyes twinkle at her. “I’m no’ a member o’ any o’ those regiments.” Finn gazed over Miss Harper’s shoulder, out the window, seeing something quite different from the patch of garden still touched by the afternoon light. “My father was, and he died for king and country. That should have been enough.”
“Yes, it should have been, Lord Aberfoyle.” The words were spoken without malice. Quite to the contrary, they had conviction, and in her face, he found a trace of guilt. “But how did the soldiers know you’d be wearing the illegal garment?”
“That, Miss Harper, is the very question. I’d told no one, no’ even my sister, I’d be wearing it sae I could surprise her.” He clutched the coverlet in both hands. “Cormack, Mary’s groom, had apparently been gaming with some soldiers from Edinburgh Castle no’ long before and mentioned he’d be getting married. For some reason, a lieutenant asked tae be invited and I suppose Cormack dinna want tae offend the officer, and sae issued an invitation tae the ceremony and the breakfast after.” Christ, why had Cormack done such a fool thing? “That would have been bad enough, but the daft gomerel dinna think tae tell me they’d be attending.”
“Dear Lord.” Miss Harper’s hand flew to her mouth.
“Needless tae say, I’d have worn something quite different had I known. However…” The officer had gotten a nasty shock to be sure. “I’ve never seen blood drain from a face sae quickly as it did from the lieutenant when he saw me coming down the aisle, my sister on my arm. O’ course, my face was likely as white when I caught sight of him.” He’d almost stopped in his tracks when he’d seen the bright red coats in the kirk. Still, he’d tried to carry on. His sister’s wedding couldn’t be marred by his own folly.
“What happened then?” Miss Harper had leaned toward him, hanging on his every word.
“He stopped the wedding by arresting me on the spot.” Finn shook his head. “I dinna ken tae this day whether Mary and Cormack are wed or no’.”
Not unexpectedly, Miss Harper’s eyes had widened until they seemed all blue. “I cannot understand why the lieutenant couldn’t make an exception for such an occasion. You weren’t parading about in the public square or anything.”
“Nae, nothing sae blatant, but the kirk is a public place and that was enough for Scarlet. Believe me, I tried tae persuade him, as did Cormack.” Finn’s mouth hardened. “He wisna inclined tae be lenient.”
“Not even when he knew you were Lord Aberfoyle?”
Finn shrugged. “I broke the law. My status disna keep me from being charged in criminal matters, although from what I’ve gathered no’ all soldiers take the charge as seriously as Lieutenant Scarlet.”
“Do you know why he did?”
“I dinna at first. After dragging me from the kirk, Scarlet tapped me with the butt o’ his pistol,” Finn pointed to the gash on his forehead, “and I kenned naught until later that night when I learned the reason for his great animosity tae me.” Finn picked up his cup. The tea was stone cold, but he drained it anyway. “His father had been killed at the Battle o’ Culloden, a little more than six months after mine. I tried tae make him see that those circumstances should call for leniency, since both men had been fighting for the same side.” Finn shook his head and set the cup down. “He just laughed and said I was still a Scot and if I was wearing a kilt, he could guess tae which side my family actually gave their allegiance. Sae I deserved nae consideration o’ any kind.”
“I’m so sorry, my lord.” Miss Harper took his hand, which startled Finn to no end. Then she gave it a gentle squeeze. “He must have felt his father’s death keenly.”
“As did I, I assure ye, Miss Harper.” He withdrew his hand and stared at her, anger flooding his chest. Much as he hated to sound harsh, this Englishwoman couldn’t possibly understand how galling it was for Finn that his father had died fighting for a cause he didn’t believe in, against men with whom he actually sympathized.
The shocked look on Miss Harper’s face sent a sliver of guilt through Finn. She might be English, but she’d been kind to him when she might easily have left him in the burn, easy prey for Scarlet.
The woman quickly tucked her hand into her lap and cast her gaze down at the coverlet. Silence encompassed them, save for the ticking of the clock.
Finn fought for some other topic, but everything he could think of seemed either rude or banal.
Finally, Miss Harper managed to look at him. “Why didn’t you go with the soldiers and plead your case to the authorities? Surely they would have been lenient with you under the circumstances.”
Finn shook his head. The lass might have spirit, but she knew little about the way of the world. At least for the Scots. “The troop was stationed at Edinburgh Castle, only a day’s ride from Aberfoyle, where the garrison was to be commanded by a person o’ some status, which could mean a reward for turning in a traitor.”
“A traitor?” His hostess paled. “Surely they could not charge you with treason. You broke the… What act was it?”
“The Dress Act.” Finn couldn’t help smiling at her agitation. She was terribly sweet to worry about him.
“The Dress Act, then.” She frowned, her mouth set in a straight line. “A law that has its own punishment when broken. The lieutenant cannot simply say you committed treason when you actually broke a different law.” Her brows furrowed deeper. “You said there was a penalty for disobeying the Dress Act. That’s what you should be charged with, not treason.”
“Och, I suppose ’tis a fine line between the two if ye look at it from Scarlet’s perspective.” Finn cocked his head. She did seem truly concerned for him. Was she married? Surreptitiously, he glanced at her left hand, but there was no ring. Even a widow would still wear her ring. If not married, then where were her parents? “The Scots who fought on the Jacobite side in the rising were considered guilty o’ treason. Scarlet was sae incensed at my actions he would have certainly tried tae make a case for charging me with treason.”
“How could he do that?” The woman looked more and more perplexed.
Finn studied her face, looking for some clue as to her identity. By her speech, her carriage, her manners, she seemed to be of aristocratic birth, although perhaps she was of the wealthier gentry. “The penalty for breaking the Dress Act is seldom enforced, and he wanted me punished tae the fullest extent o’ the law. Perhaps he kens the garrison commander will side with him. My wearing a kilt might have roused the commander’s anger as well.” Finn shrugged. “However, after a small taste o’ Scarlet’s personal attentions, I decided I wisna going tae give him the opportunity tae continue them.”
“What did he do?” Miss Harper clutched his hand, sending a spark dancing up his arm.
“He took me away from the kirk, unconscious and draped over a horse with my hands tied. I only came tae when we stopped tae water the horses, and Scarlet dragged me off the horse and threw me tae the ground. He paraded around in front o’ his men, waving his sword wildly. Almost took Gates’s head off once. So most o’ the men kept pretty quiet. He went on and on about how some o’ the British soldiers were soft on the filthy Scots who’d rebelled against King George, but he damn well wisna one o’ them. He meant tae teach me a lesson afore he turned me in.” The lieutenant had fixed Finn with a malevolent stare that had chilled him to the bone. At that point, he’d begun to fear for his life. “That’s when let fly wi’ the hilt o’ his sword a brawlin’ punch tae my eye.” Gingerly, Finn touched the bruised flesh. The eye had been swollen shut for a day. “I thought a nest o’ hornets had exploded in my head.”
“Dear Lord.” Miss Harper’s face paled. “And your hands were tied when he did this?”
“Aye. I truly thought he meant tae make an end tae me when he drew back his foot tae kick me. He had a savage look in his eye I’ve seen only once before, in a mad dog that lashed out at anyone in its path. But one o’ his men spoke up and said they needed tae get on the road if they wanted tae report t’ the garrison in Edinburgh by tomorrow.” That soldier’s remark may have saved Finn’s life, though it did the man no good. “Scarlet strode over tae the man without a word and backhanded him. Bloodied his nose. ‘I’ll be the one who says when we need tae move, Sayers.’”
The stricken look on Miss Harper’s face made Finn recall his audience might not wish to hear all the gory details.
“Fortunately, Scarlet then told them all tae mount up, but he looked at me and said ‘I’ll continue your lessons later, Scot.’”
“What a horrible, horrible man.” Miss Harper shivered. “No wonder Mrs. Jameson and Mr. Hawkins warned me of him.” She leaned forward. “How did you ever escape?”
“That night we camped in a boggy spot, and Scarlet started tae drink heavily as soon as we stopped. They’d untied my hands so I could eat, but I’d barely started when Scarlet said I’d had enough and knocked the plate out o’ my hands. Then he told the others I was a traitor tae the crown for wearing my kilt and should therefore receive the punishment for treason.” Finn raised an eyebrow at Miss Harper. “Dae ye ken what the Crown does tae those found guilty o’ that crime?”
“They put you to death.” The lady shuddered. “I suppose hanging is the normal way now.”
“Aye, hanging’s part o’ it, but only the first part. They then dae other things tae ye that are no’ sae pleasant.” The story of the Scottish hero Sir William Wallace had been told to Finn since he’d been a child, including the details of his gruesome death.
“Dear God.” Miss Harper had paled considerably. Perhaps he shouldn’t elaborate.
Hanging, drawing, and quartering was the standard method of death for traitors. Horrible enough, but, as Scarlet had informed his men, in medieval England, there had also been the added agony of emasculation. The lieutenant had laughed and said anything that would stop the production of Scots was an Englishman’s duty so they should start now with the prisoner at hand.
Finn shuddered just thinking about the maniacal glint in Scarlet’s eyes as he came toward him. “Aye, and when Lieutenant Scarlet began thinking tae start my punishment afore I’d even been tried and convicted, well, I thought I’d best be parting company with the lot o’ them.”
“What did you do?” Eyes bright, Miss Harper hung on his every word.
“I waited until Scarlet was almost bending over me then I drew my legs up tae my chest and kicked him right in the stomach. He went sailing backward, intae two o’ the others, knocking them over like ninepins. I ran for the horses, swung up on the biggest o’ them, which happened to be Scarlet’s, then scattered the others as I took off.” Finn’s pulse raced thinking of that harrowing escape. “The soldiers got off a few shots, but ’twas dark and they were fairly in their cups. They tried tae pursue me, but thankfully I got clean away. Fortunately, I know all the roads between Aberfoyle and Edinburgh, sae I found my way tae the Great North Road easily.”
“Heading south to London, you said earlier.” She cocked her head, and that suspicious gleam returned to her eyes. “Why not return to your home to straighten the matter out? You said this law is often flouted with no penalty.”
“With Scarlet out for my blood, I dinna want tae take that chance, Miss Harper. The lieutenant would probably expect me tae head back home and would have overtaken me quickly. For that reason alone, I would have headed south, but in the end, I decided I needed tae get t’ London.”
“Why? What’s in London?”
“My uncle, who’s got great influence with Parliament. If anyone can get this sorted, he can.” Finn prayed to God Uncle Abernethy could do so.
“How did you come to be in the ditch where I found you?” She wrinkled her nose. “You were certainly far from the Great North Road there.”
Finn sighed. His luck had run shallow again. “T’ avoid a tollbooth two days ago, I struck out across an open field. My horse put his foot in a hole and pitched me over his head as he fell. I must have hit my head and passed out for when I came tae, the animal was nowhere tae be seen.”
“Then that’s how you sprained your ankle.” Miss Harper’s features relaxed. “That wasn’t Scarlet or his men’s doing.”
“Nae, only my own misfortune that time.”
“And still you wish to ride to London, more than five days from here.” She appraised him frankly, making Finn all too aware of his vulnerable state. “Do you honestly think you can ride so far in your current condition?”
Her disparaging tone set his teeth on edge. “Whether or no’ I can remains tae be seen, but attempt it I must. There are those there, my uncle among them, who have enough power tae countermand any charge Lieutenant Scarlet lays against me.”
“Could you not go to Leeds instead? It’s much closer.” The concern for him was back in Miss Harper’s voice. “You could lose yourself in the crowds and avoid the soldiers. They might not even look for you there, and if they did, it would likely not be for long.”
“A good scheme, Miss Harper. I am indebted tae ye once more.” He sketched an awkward bow. “It may have tae be my alternate plan if I find I canna ride far, but I must try tae press onward tae London as soon as possible.”
“You should remain here until you are well again.” A stubborn look came over her face, and he had to fight a smile. Miss Harper seemed used to getting her own way, but so was Finn.
“I’ll burden ye an’ yer hospitality for a wee while only, Miss Harper.” Now he’d see if he could discover a bit more about his lovely hostess. “I would no’ wish tae ruin yer reputation should my presence here become known.”
She straightened and lifted her chin. “I assure you, my lord, that will not happen.”
“No’ even if ’twere revealed ye allowed a strange man tae reside with ye, without a chaperone?” He leaned closer and stared directly into Miss Harper’s big blue eyes. “Come, lass, dinna ye ken ’tis dangerous tae be here all alone with me?”