Chapter 32 #2
They entered the building that he assumed housed the officers, and walked up a set of steps. The last time he’d come here had been to assist Sutherland when his wife faced her jailor and tormenter. Later, he’d helped break MacLean free.
Yes, he’d done his duty to Scotland. Sutherland was married to the English lass and still running his underground system.
And MacLean…Well, MacLean had shocked them all and become an honest man, taking over his duties as clan leader but still managing one of the biggest smuggling operations in Scotland, bringing banned tea, wine, and fabrics into the country and basically tormenting the English soldiers with his activities.
Now it was Iain’s turn to reside in Fort Augustus, but he wasn’t certain that he was going to get out of this mess. Admitting to killing an English soldier was a hanging offense. He’d asked Cait to call on Sutherland and MacLean for help, but he wasn’t certain that they could help him.
A tall blond soldier stood behind a large desk. With thin lips and cold gray eyes, he looked Iain up and down. So this was the way it was going to be. He’d be tried and judged by a man he didn’t know. All of the English contacts he’d made were for naught.
“Campbell, is it?” Rutherford asked.
“Lord Iain Campbell,” he said, refusing to allow the young pup the upper hand. “Marquess of Kerr and Earl of Corrington.” Let that sink in for a bit, he thought. He might be Scottish, but he also possessed an English title, and that would make it harder to condemn him.
“I’ve heard of you,” Rutherford said. That statement could go both ways, and Iain wasn’t about to ask which way Rutherford meant. “I understand that you have confessed to the killing of Lieutenant Donaldson of the English Royal Horse Guards.”
“I have.”
“Care to tell me why you killed Lieutenant Donaldson?”
“He attacked my betrothed and dragged her out into the woods to have his way with her.”
Rutherford raised his brows. “And he told you this? He revealed his plans to you?”
Iain’s back teeth came together at the man’s arrogance. Good Lord, he hoped he’d never sounded this arrogant.
“He approached Cait Campbell on the road a few days before and told her that she was to make herself available for his attentions later that night. Mrs. Campbell came to me very frightened; she didn’t feel safe going back to her own home.
Captain Palmer and I were at Mrs. Campbell’s cottage when Donaldson arrived at the time he told Mrs. Campbell he would be there.
Palmer told him to leave Cait alone. The next day Donaldson was reassigned to a division in the northern Highlands, but instead of following orders and reporting to his new division, he returned to Cait’s cottage and attacked her with the intention of having his way with her and then killing her. ”
“I see.” Rutherford looked down at his desk and pushed some papers around as if looking for one specific piece. He looked up at Palmer. “Do you always bow to the whims of the locals, Captain?”
Palmer jerked, appearing shocked that Rutherford’s attention had centered on him. “Pardon me, sir?”
“Do you always follow the commands of a Scot, or do you follow the orders of your commanding officer?”
Palmer looked at Iain, then back at Rutherford in confusion. “I don’t understand, sir.”
“Did the orders to send Donaldson to the northern division come from your commanding officer or Lord Campbell?”
Palmer opened his mouth and then closed it. His face turned red. “My commanding officer.”
“Why?”
“Because Lieutenant Donaldson harassed a local woman and threatened her.”
“Did he?”
“I never told Captain Palmer how to discipline Lieutenant Donaldson,” Iain said. “But that’s beside the point. The man attacked and nearly killed Cait Campbell. Have you nothing to say to that?”
Rutherford turned his cold gaze to Iain. “What I say and don’t say is none of your concern, Lord Kerr. And I’ll decide what the point is and what isn’t.”
“It is most certainly my concern. She is my clanswoman, and anything to do with my clan is my concern.”
Rutherford rocked back on his heels, anger pinching his expression.
“Sir, if I may,” Palmer said. “Lord Campbell is a great asset to the English. He’s worked with us in quelling the Scottish uprisings and helped with the problems of the local population.”
Once again Rutherford focused on Palmer, making the man nearly squirm. “Captain Palmer, did you ever hear Lord Kerr threaten to harm Lieutenant Donaldson?”
“I…” Palmer appeared sick.
Rutherford raised a brow. “Yes?”
“You don’t understand. He was distraught. He obviously cares for Cait Campbell, and she had been threatened. He was angry.”
“Angry and distraught?” Donaldson asked. “And what did he say when he was angry and distraught?”
Palmer swallowed, his gaze caught on Donaldson. Iain’s heart sank. He knew then that all had been lost to him.
“He…he said if I didn’t do something about Lieutenant Donaldson, then he would.”
Iain closed his eyes and felt the noose tighten around his neck. He didn’t blame Palmer. The man was an officer for the English army. His livelihood and his entire career depended on this interrogation. And he was only speaking the truth. Iain had said that.
Rutherford turned his attention to Iain. “Tell me, Lord Kerr, how did you kill Lieutenant Donaldson?”
“With a large tree branch,” Iain said. “I bludgeoned him on the head. Twice.”
“And then you stabbed him and cut his throat?”
Iain frowned. Stabbed? Throat cut? “I hit him with a tree branch over the head. I didn’t stab him or cut his throat.”
“I find it hard to believe that you just happened to find Donaldson in the forest and you hit him on the head twice. You’re a Highland warrior. In my experience, Highland warriors are a bit more sophisticated in their killing.”
“I don’t know where you got the idea that I’m a Highland warrior. I am from the Highlands, yes, but I was educated in Glasgow and spent much of my earlier years in England, going to school and building a shipping business.”
“So you’re not Scottish?” Rutherford asked, being deliberately obtuse.
“I didn’t say that,” Iain bit out between clenched teeth. His jaw was hurting, his finger was throbbing, and his head felt like someone was hammering it from the inside.
“So you admit to killing Lieutenant Donaldson?”
“I’ve already said as much.”
“And the others?”
It occurred to Iain what was happening here.
Rutherford was going to pin the other deaths on him.
It made sense now. If Rutherford could find the killer, he would gain favor with his superiors and put at ease a contingent of soldiers who were increasingly fearful of patrolling the countryside.
Most likely, Rutherford would receive a promotion. And Iain would conveniently die.
The plan was brilliant, and Iain was only angry that he hadn’t thought of it sooner. “I did not kill the other English soldiers,” he said.
“I’m curious why you admit to killing one but not the others.”
“There is nothing to admit to because I did not kill the others. I killed Donaldson because he attacked and beat Cait Campbell.” Iain was fighting a dizzying desperation the likes of which he’d never experienced.
He was fighting for his life, well aware that it was futile.
Rutherford had him hanging before Iain even walked into the room.
“If I may, sir.” Palmer stepped forward, and Rutherford turned an icy stare to him. “I saw Cait Campbell’s injuries myself, and Lord Campbell’s story matches the evidence I saw.”
“And you’re an expert on matching evidence?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Then I suggest you be quiet before you further implicate yourself. I’m already concerned that you were taking orders from a Scotsman.”
Palmer flushed but pressed forward, impressing Iain with his willingness to hang himself alongside the Scotsman.
“Colonel Rutherford, I brought Iain Campbell here because he admitted to killing Lieutenant Donaldson. I find it outrageous that you are trying to implicate me in these other far-fetched schemes you feel me capable of, and I am certain that Iain Campbell did not kill those other soldiers.”
Rutherford tilted his head and stared Palmer down. “I find you insubordinate, Captain Palmer. We will discuss your punishment later.”
“This is absurd,” Iain said. “You are intent on finding me guilty of something I had nothing to do with.” He leaned forward. “I killed Donaldson but not the others.”
Iain and Rutherford stared at each other for long moments. Iain’s fear had deserted him, and he was left with anger at this man who was deciding his fate on nonexistent evidence and a need to convict Iain in order to grab for more power.
“I find you guilty of the murder of Lieutenant Donaldson,” Rutherford said. “The punishment is death by hanging.”
Iain reared back and Palmer yelled, “What the bloody hell?”
Rutherford turned his attention to Palmer. “Do you disagree with me, Captain?”
Palmer must have detected the warning note in Rutherford’s tone and he backed down. “No, sir.”
“You will be hanged in the morning, Campbell.” He dismissed them by sitting down and picking up some papers.
“Is there an appeal process?” Iain asked, his voice strangled. He couldn’t believe that this was it, that he’d been convicted on the word of one English lieutenant.
“No,” Rutherford said. “I am in charge here while Cumberland is gone. What I say goes.”
“That hardly seems like proper procedure,” Iain said, trying to calm his racing heart.
Rutherford looked up at him. “And you are well versed in the proper procedure of a military hearing?”
“I am versed enough in English law—”
“But not in military law.”
“I’m a Scottish citizen, not an English soldier.”