Unlaced by the Outlaw (Secrets in Silk) (41 page)

“This . . . guest offered to pay you that night, didn’t he? What did he ask you to do?”

Walker’s complexion went white, and he said nothing.

“Answer the question,” the Lord Justice Clerk said.

“He asked me to run an errand for him,” Walker answered.

At that moment, Cain turned back to look at her. In his eyes, she saw faith and a love so deep, she couldn’t imagine it. Whatever was happening now on the witness stand, she felt certain that he had planned it. And that it would save Jonah’s life.

From across the courtroom, she felt the fury in Barnabas’s stare. For whatever reason, he was angry, and he was directing all of his rage toward her. A chill pricked beneath her skin, and she tried to ignore him.

“Before you fought with MacKinloch, witnesses overheard you arguing about money.”

Margaret wasn’t certain why the agent had changed tactics, but she held her breath. Cain, too, was leaning in.

“Was this the same money offered to you by the gentleman at the inn for this errand?”

“Nay.”

“Then the gentleman did offer you money.”

“He did, but I wouldna take it.”

“And why wouldn’t you take it?” the agent pressed. “If you were willing to fight MacKinloch to the death for the money owed to you, why wouldn’t you help this gentleman? What sort of errand did he ask you to do?”

Margaret turned back to Barnabas, but this time his entire focus was upon the witness. The contempt upon his face gave the outer appearance of ennui—and yet, she saw the way his hands were clenched together. He had reason to be afraid.

Walker stared back at the Lord Justice Clerk. “Uncle, I don’t think I should be answering that.”

Margaret was startled to realize that the two of them were related. She wondered if incriminating Walker would anger the Lord Justice Clerk.

“You are under oath,” the man reminded him.

Walker let out a slow breath and faced the jury. “I was asked to kill the Earl of Strathland. The man that night said he would pay me twenty pounds if I went out and waited for him on the road. But I wouldna do it. I’m no’ a murderer.”

The jury exchanged looks, and Cain’s shoulders lowered as if in relief.

“If you didn’t kill him, then who did?”

Walker shrugged. “MacKinloch offered to shoot him, but only if I swore that he was playing cards with us all night. He promised to pay me half the money if I did. Then he ne’er gave me my share.”

Barnabas shrank down, as if to blend in with the throng of people. There was a buzz of excitement within the courtroom, and Margaret gripped her hands together. She wished Cain were beside her, so she could embrace him. This was what his brother had needed—a testimony that would clear Jonah from the accusations. Walker had all but admitted that MacKinloch had committed the crime.

“And where is the gentleman who paid MacKinloch to kill the Earl of Strathland?” the Advocate finished. “Have you seen him since that night?”

More hesitation. But then Walker nodded. “He’s sitting right there.” And he pointed to Lewis Barnabas, who had gone motionless, his gaze fixed ahead. The man didn’t move, nor did he speak a single denial.

No longer was there any need to bring Barnabas to the stand. The testimony of the Lord Justice Clerk’s nephew was enough.

Margaret let out the breath she’d been holding. Her head swam with dizziness and a strong sense of hope. Jonah might live after all. And since MacKinloch was already dead, his death sentence had been carried out.

After the Advocate Depute declined to question the witness, he addressed the jury and the Lord Justice Clerk with his closing statement. Then Jonah’s Advocate spoke on his behalf, giving his own appeal to the jury members.

“Gentlemen of the jury. After the attention you have given this case, and with the great care you have heeded at examining all of the evidence and listening to the witnesses, I must discharge upon you the duty of finding the proper verdict.

“The defender, Jonah Sinclair, is a boy of fourteen. He has made mistakes, as most boys of his age are wont to do. And yet, the evidence presented to you is largely circumstantial. Had it not been for his past reckless behavior, I strongly believe he would not be sitting here today.

“What you see is a frightened lad before you. A boy whose only crime was to follow the man who he believed was an acting guardian. A man, who we have now learned, was the true murderer.”

The agent continued to plead on Jonah’s behalf, reminding the jury, “The only reason Jonah Sinclair took the pistol from the scene of the murder was because it was the only possession the boy had that once belonged to his father. He acted as a child, unthinking and innocent. Would a murderer have picked up his weapon and fled? I think it more likely he would have left the pistol behind, as MacKinloch did.”

In closing, he said, “If there is within you, a voice of mercy, let it be heard. This boy, like others before him, had no father to guide his path. But does that make him capable of murder? Or is he naught but a lost soul, one in need of higher guidance and a family to show him the path of righteousness?”

After the agent stepped down, the Lord Justice Clerk made his own speech to the jury, reminding them of their duty. “I hold confidence that you will come to your verdict to meet the ends of justice.” With that, the jury members departed the room to conclude the trial.

Barnabas tried to stand up, but the sheriff and another man moved to either side of him. Though Margaret didn’t hear what was said, it was clear that the new earl would go nowhere. The look Barnabas sent her was filled with hatred. From across the courtroom, he said to Margaret, “Nothing at all has been proven. And this isn’t finished, Miss Andrews.”

Cain turned from his seat and stared at the man. His blue eyes held a cold rage, and he added, “Aye, Barnabas. ’Tis indeed finished. Just as you are.”

Barnabas met Cain’s gaze for a long moment before he sat down. And Margaret didn’t doubt that the earl would be found guilty of his crimes.

In less than an hour, the doors opened, and the jury members returned. There was no emotion upon their faces, and her heart began pounding in her chest. If they’d reached a verdict so soon, it must have been unanimous.

Cain turned to her, and though he was across the room, it was as if there were no distance at all between them. She held his gaze, feeling the hope rise up within her. Regardless of what happened now, she would stand by his side and never leave him.

A representative stepped forward, and the Lord Justice Clerk asked, “Have you come to a verdict?”

The man nodded. “We have.”

Chapter Nineteen

T
he interior of the Tolbooth was as terrible as it had always been. And yet, Cain hardly felt the cold. His senses were dead to all of it, the noises and odors unnoticed. He could only stare at the wall and thank God that it was Barnabas who was confined here instead of his brother. Now that Jonah had survived this ordeal, Cain vowed that he wouldn’t let the boy be alone again. He’d become a father to him in the best way he could.

He stood outside Barnabas’s cell, his hands resting against the wooden door. It was at last over, and justice would be served to the true guilty party. From behind him, he heard the sound of footsteps and voices. It sounded like Margaret approaching, along with Jonah, though he couldn’t make out the words.

Cain had no time to speak before his brother barreled forward and embraced him hard. Jonah was sobbing and muttering words that were hardly understandable except for two:
not guilty.

He hugged the boy so hard, he didn’t even care that he was crying, too.

“It’s over,” Jonah whispered. “We can go home now.” He drew back, and the happiness in his eyes blazed brightly.

“Aye, lad. That we can.” He glanced up at Margaret, who was holding on to her waist, her own tears dampening her cheeks.

Cain let the lad chatter on about the remainder of the trial and how he intended to go home with them and eat until he had his fill. Then he’d take a bath in hot water until he was never cold again.

Margaret was smiling through her tears, and when Jonah finally stopped talking, she asked him to wait downstairs for her. Jonah agreed, but not before he hugged Cain as hard as he could. “Can we leave?”

“Soon,” Cain promised. He’d only come to the Tolbooth to ensure that Barnabas was locked away. The man could now face his own trial for conspiring to kill his cousin.

After the boy was gone, the sheriff came up to speak with them. “Well, Sinclair, I cannot say that I’ve ever had a man offer himself up as a prisoner. But it did serve to bring Barnabas into the courtroom.”

“Will I need to spend time in the Tolbooth?” he asked, half in teasing.

The sheriff sent him a wry smile. “Normally, we question the accused before we bring him here. You would have been released, Sinclair, since there was no evidence against you.”

He’d known that, but before he could go home with Margaret and Jonah, he’d wanted to ensure that no one would ever harm them again.

“Do you mean to say that you volunteered to be held prisoner?” Margaret was frowning at both of them. “Is that why you were late to the trial?”

Cain nodded. “Barnabas was so eager to have me arrested, he didna realize where we were leading him. And once the doors were closed, he couldna leave.”

“You can go now,” the sheriff told him, before he walked down the stairs, leaving them alone.

Once Margaret came closer, Cain told her, “This is no place for a lady, Miss Andrews.”

“Then it’s a good thing that I’m not a lady anymore, isn’t it?” She leaned up and kissed him, touching his cheek. He returned the kiss, claiming her with his tongue and nipping her lips. She melted against him, her arms winding around his neck.

“I want to take Jonah back to Ballaloch,” he told her.
Before I marry you,
he wanted to add. The thought was bittersweet, for he missed his home . . . and yet he knew Margaret’s parents would not support a marriage between them. The last thing he wanted was to tear her from her family. But in this battle, he would never stand down. Margaret belonged to him, and always would.

“For the rest of the summer,” she agreed. “And in the fall, he’ll go to school. I promised you that, remember?”

He’d nearly forgotten. But the idea of Jonah gaining the education he’d never had, and building a better life, was a welcome one. “I would be glad of it.” He squeezed her hands and added, “Let us go home, lass.”

“He looks much better, doesn’t he?” Juliette said to Margaret as she led her inside the dining room. Jonah had been bathed, had a haircut, and was wearing new clothing. He was already seated at the table but immediately stood when he saw the pair of them.

“I guess I’m no’ supposed to sit down before the ladies, am I?” he asked sheepishly, stepping back from the table. “I was hungry.”

It didn’t surprise Margaret, for he’d had little to eat in the past few weeks. “You may eat your fill tonight,” she reassured him. She gestured for him to sit, and when the first course of food came, she began instructing him on the proper silver to use.

He shot her a skeptical look but obeyed. “Does it really matter?”

“It will when you dine with the duke and duchess,” she said. “You should know the proper way, so you’ll feel at ease.”

He shot her a wry smile. “I’ll ne’er eat with the likes of them.”

“As they are my sister and brother-in-law, I think there’s a good chance you would.” Margaret didn’t want him thinking that he was unworthy of sitting with them. Although she’d never been well acquainted with Jonah, she realized that she could help him to feel comfortable among the upper class.

“You’d best listen to her, lad,” a voice resounded from behind her. “She’s always right.”

Margaret turned and saw Cain standing at the doorway. She hadn’t seen him since they had brought Jonah back a few hours ago, for he’d been helping Paul around the estate. His long black hair was tied back, and perspiration gleamed upon his face and throat.

At the sight of him, she pushed her chair back and ran forward, throwing her arms around him. She didn’t know what had come over her, but she needed to feel his arms around her. “Come and dine with us.”

“Lass, I’m no’ fit to sit with anyone right now. I’ve been helping Fraser with his horses.” Cain extricated himself from her arms and stepped back. “I only wanted to see both of you before I went upstairs.”

Margaret wasn’t about to let him out of her sight. She hadn’t had the chance to speak with him or learn what would happen to them after they returned to Ballaloch. “Juliette, I—”

“Say no more,” her sister interrupted. “Go. And I will see to it that Jonah has his fill, as well as cake and pudding for dessert.”

With a grateful look toward her sister, Margaret caught a footman and gave the order for a hot bath to be brought up.

Cain led the way, and when they reached his bedroom, he stopped her. “This is no’ verra proper, lass.”

She sent him a wicked smile. “I know that. And so do you.” There was only a little time before the servants returned with the hot water. Even so, she found herself without the words she wanted to say. For so many years she’d kept herself apart, afraid to admit that she cared for this man and always had.