MacKinnon’s Rangers 03.5 - Upon A Winter's Night (8 page)

Behave, or you will be gelded and put in my stewpot!

The animal followed docilely as she led it toward the paddock.

From behind her she heard Joseph let out a breath.

And then
Killy
spoke. "I’ll be damned."

* * *

Connor and his brothers began their second full day in Albany by heading below stairs to break their fast and talk over their plans, careful to speak only in Gaelic lest they be overheard and their words carried to
Haviland
.

"Either Wentworth has already set sail for New York, or he
doesna
wish to be found," Iain said.

Connor nodded his agreement, finishing his breakfast of eggs, sausages, and bread with a swallow of hot coffee. "What are you goin’ to say to
Haviland
? We’ve no more proof today than we did yesterday."

"I
dinnae
ken just yet." Iain looked across the rough-hewn table at Connor. "But we owe it to the men no’ to give up."

Morgan tore off another bite of bread. "If it weren’t so near Christmas, I’d say we should journey to Fort Edward and seek witnesses there."

"What we need are the army ledgers Wentworth’s clerk kept."

Connor thought he knew where those ledgers were. "
Haviland
probably has them and knows full well he’s
cheatin
’ the Rangers. He’s
lyin
’ to us, the
mac
an
uilc
.
"

Son of evil.

"Wentworth is gone, and so
Haviland
sees his chance to bring the Rangers low." Morgan tossed back the last of his coffee. "I wonder if he kept their pay for himself."

Iain’s face settled into a scowl. "I
wouldna
put such a thing past him, but we
cannae
accuse him
wi’out
proof."

Anger churned in Connor’s gut to think that any man could so blithely deprive another of what was rightly his. "I’ve a mind to take what belongs to the men from the next British supply train."

Iain arched a dark
brow
. "We’ve only just freed the MacKinnon name from the taint of murder."

"Now you would see us hanged for thieves?" Morgan chuckled.

Connor shrugged. "At least we’d be guilty."

It enraged him to think of men who’d served so faithfully — some of them, like
Killy
, McHugh, and Forbes, from the earliest days of the war — being deprived of the coin they’d earned by risking their lives. He had no doubt they and their families would make it through the winter. A canny man could provide for his family by harvesting the bounty of the forest, and the Rangers were cannier than most. But after all they’d endured, they shouldn’t have to face such deprivation.

Haviland
, pampered officer that he was, would never understand the hardship the Rangers had faced. Long marches in
sweltrie
heat and bitter cold. Gnawing hunger. Exhaustion. And always death — death that stalked them from behind every hillock and tree, death that cut down their comrades beside them, death that turned wives to widows and left the bodies of heroes to molder on the forest floor.

Nay,
Haviland
could not understand. Yet, how could he deny the service the Rangers had rendered? These men had fought for Britain, turning the tide of the war, bringing victory when British generals had known only defeat.

"We will go to
Haviland
and demand to see Wentworth’s ledgers. All the proof we need is there."

"And if he refuses to produce them?" Morgan asked.

"We’ll pay the men ourselves," Iain said. "I’ll ask Annie to sell some of her mother’s jewels to see the men well settled. I’m certain she’ll agree."

Connor and Morgan exchanged a glance. Although the wealth a woman brought to her marriage belonged by law to her husband, Iain had intended never to touch Annie’s jewels, her inheritance from her mother. "Nay, I’ll ask Sarah to part
wi
’ some of the coin Wentworth left for her. Those jewels are all Annie has of her family."

Their discussion was interrupted when Miss Janssen appeared at their table. She’d watched them all morning, seeming pensive now rather than angry.

"Pardon me." She looked over at Connor. "May I speak with you?"

Connor stood and followed her a short distance.

"Is what you’ve told me true? Does
Killy
truly feel…affection for me?"

Connor forgot his rage for a moment. "Aye, miss, he does. I heard him say
wi
’ my own ears that he was afraid to ask you to wed him for fear you’d refuse."

She held Connor’s gaze for a good, long moment, as if measuring the truth of his words, then gave a nod as if something had been decided, her lips curving into the first smile he’d ever seen on her face. "I’ll bring you all more coffee."

And Connor saw why
Killy
thought her handsome. Without a frown weighing down her features, she was quite bonnie.

* * *

They paid for their room and board and left the tavern, making their way up the hill toward the fort, snow falling in thick, fat flakes.

Connor looked up at the leaden sky. "It will be a long trek home."

"Aye." Morgan trudged along on his left. "We must leave soon if we wish to make it back to the farm in time for Christmas Eve."

Connor felt that pull — the tug of home and hearth, wife and child. He, too, wished to be home for Christmas. He wanted to see Sarah’s eyes when he slipped that gold wedding band on her finger, wanted to watch it glint in the candlelight as she played at her harpsichord, wanted to hold his son and kiss his sweet, downy hair.

But their duty to the men came first. It would not do for them to enjoy the warmth of their fires and the company of their women when men who’d fought for them suffered want. That would be the same as turning their backs on their clan. For the Rangers
were
their clan, bound to them as brothers by the blood they’d lost and spilled together.

Iain’s voice interrupted Connor’s thoughts. "Do
naugh
’ that might cause
Haviland
to arrest us.
Dinnae
threaten him.
Dinnae
speak a word that he might deem treasonous."

Connor realized that Iain was looking at him. "Why do you speak only to me and no’ to Morgan?"

"Because I ken my brothers well." A grin tugged at Iain’s lips.

They reached the fort quickly and were immediately given an audience with
Haviland
. This unnerved Connor, a shadow of warning passing over his heart. He glanced about covertly, and what he saw was not to his liking.

"Aye, I see it," Morgan said in Gaelic. "There are twice the number of redcoats at the door, and
Haviland
has posted sentries in the hallway that were not there yesterday."

"He must be
expectin
’ trouble," Iain said.

"Or
hopin
’ for it." Connor’s sense of foreboding grew stronger. "They haven’t tried to disarm us this time."

Something about it reminded him of the day so long ago when Wentworth had arrested them on false charges of murder. But
Haviland
was not Wentworth, for he wasn’t nearly as wily, nor did his cruelty serve a purpose. Wentworth had wanted to force them to fight for him.
Haviland
seemed to seek only to humiliate them — or ruin them.

They found
Haviland
at Wentworth’s writing table just as he’d been yesterday. "You have returned, MacKinnon. Show me proof."

Iain stepped forward. "We searched the city, but
couldna
find a single officer or soldier who’d served
wi
’ Wentworth, so I have nothin’ more to show you than I did yesterday. But I swear to you that Wentworth saw to the
payin
’ of my men. The proof you seek is written in the ledgers his clerk kept at Fort Edward. Either those ledgers are already here in your possession, or they remain at Fort Edward. If you would bring them, this matter could be easily settled."

"Wentworth’s ledgers? I know not what became of them. I passed through Fort Edward on my way here, of course, but I saw no ledgers. Perhaps they were lost in the same battle where he was taken captive. Although I could dispatch a messenger and ask the commanding officer at Edward to search for them, there are so few troops remaining at my disposal that I would consider that a waste of His Majesty’s resources. Without proof, MacKinnon, I cannot and will not pay your Rangers."

Haviland
spoke the last word with contempt, his lip curling.

Neach
dìolain
! Bastard!

Connor bit his tongue, recalling Iain’s admonition not to say anything that might get them arrested.

"These
Rangers
turned the tide of the war. By their blood, British troops were kept safe on the march. Through their skill
wi
’
shootin
’ marks,
trackin
’ and woodcraft, the Crown won many victories. And now you would break Britain’s word to them,
deprivin
’ them of their wages and
leavin
’ their families to go hungry at Christmastide?"

"I don’t know of any promises made to the Rangers, MacKinnon,"
Haviland
replied in a silky voice, rising to his feet. "As for their much-vaunted woodcraft, their ability to skulk through the forest like heathen Indians
does
lend itself to performing certain tasks, but that hardly makes the Rangers soldiers. You and your men are nothing more than the raffish spawn of exiles."

Connor felt his teeth grind, his fists clenching as he fought to keep them at his side and not slam the whoreson in the face.

But
Haviland
went on. "When I look at you, MacKinnon, do you know what I see? I see the sons of a
Jacobite
traitor. One of your brothers was convicted of treason and only stands here today because he managed somehow to escape the hangman."

Iain cut
Haviland
off, his voice booming through the small room. "Morgan was never a traitor! Governor
DeLancy
himself pardoned— "

"And your younger brother — I’ve heard the rumors. I know that he seduced Wentworth’s niece and got her with child. Perhaps
he
arranged the attack that led to her death. Perhaps he— "

"
Neach
dìolain
!" Connor lunged toward
Haviland
, only to come up short when he saw that Iain had already grabbed the bastard by the throat.

"
Dinnae
you be talkin’ about my brothers or poor Lady Sarah like that,
Haviland
, you filthy son of a whore!"

Haviland
jerked away, a mix of fear and excitement on his face, calling to the sentries Connor had forgotten in his fury. "Arrest these men!"

In a heartbeat, redcoats filled the room, and Connor found himself and his brothers held at bayonet point as
Haviland
watched, gloating.

"Put them in irons. Take them to the guardhouse."

"Belay that order, and stand down!"

Connor’s head jerked around toward the sound of the familiar voice. And there in the doorway in full uniform, he stood. "
Wentworth!
"

CHAPTER 6

William saw the astonishment on the faces of the three MacKinnon brothers — and the shock they quickly hid at the sight of him. He saw a different kind of surprise on
Haviland’s
face and something else, too — fear.