Page 98 of Keeping Kate
Chapter 27
“What! This is the man I spoke to you about, Lord Hume,” Grant said. He fixed at tight smile on his face as he looked at Alec, and then at Kate. “Captain Alexander Fraser. And this—by God! This looks like the girl he stole away from the prison at Inverlochy, as I told you, disobeying General Wade.”
Kate narrowed her eyes at Grant, who gave her a sly glance that then swept down her body, in its tight jacket, low, kerchiefed bodice, and flaring skirts. He lifted a brow in a lewd acknowledgment.
“Madam,” he said in a mocking tone.
The Lord Advocate wore a scowl so deep and habitual that it had carved troughs in his heavy jowls and wide brow. “Alexander,” he said in a deep, gruff voice. “How are you?”
“Fine, sir, thank you, and you?” Alec said with formality. “It has been a while.”
“Alexander?” Colonel Grant repeated.
“Captain Fraser is my nephew,” Hume told Grant.
“Uncle! Damn you, Fraser—”
“It is no matter to me if he is kin,” Lord Hume snapped. “If he is guilty, he is guilty, and he knows me well enough for that. But if he is innocent, that will hold true. Where is my damned chocolate? And who the devil are you, girl?” The Lord Advocate peered at Kate from under shaggy gray eyebrows. His eyes were blue and rheumy and he looked supremely annoyed. She smiled timorously.
“I am Katherine, sir,” she said.
“Katherine who? I do not have time for games. Grant says you are the girl who is to be interviewed for treasonous crimes and espionage. The one Wade wrote about in his report. The one the Colonel is whingeing on about.” He peered again at her. “Well?”
She wanted to retreat, but did not, holding her ground and regarding the Lord Advocate calmly. She smiled again.
“Katherine Fraser, sir,” Alec said. “This is the one, sir,” Alec said. Kate glanced at him, dumbfounded by his open admission, tantamount to a betrayal that left her on her own—but for the fact that he sent her a covert glance that said, inexplicably, all would be well.
“Where’s Walter’s lass with that blasted cocoa? I do not have all day for this. Well, sit down, all of you, and tell me what this is about. If she is to be interviewed, it may as well be here, since I do not even have my chocolate yet and must wait.” The Lord Advocate sat down, heavily, for he was apparently a robust man under his voluminous black robes.
Alec pulled out a chair for Kate, and he sat beside her. Grant remained standing.
“Lord Hume, sir, this girl was caught stealing documents from officers’ tents,” Grant began. “You have seen the reports. She was seen in different locations, and did bodily harm to some of the men, including myself. She is a harlot, to be frank. And though Captain Fraser arrested her, he changed his mind and helped her escape.” He looked smug. Kate wanted to reach out and slap him. She sat silently.
Lord Hume grunted. He peered from one to the other as if assessing them all swiftly. Just then, Walter came back into the room carrying a tall silver pot with a long, narrow spout. A servant girl followed, holding a tray with a second silver pot and assorted cups and bowls. “Finally,” Lord Hume muttered.
Watching as Walter frothed the chocolate in the pot and whipping it fervently with the stirring stick, Kate felt her heart pounding. She dreaded the meeting and its outcome and dared not look at the justice—or Alec.
“Spanish style with cinnamon,” Walter said proudly, as he poured Lord Hume’s chocolate into a small porcelain bowl. Steaming hot, it smelled like heaven, Kate thought, as he set another bowl before her and filled it with hot cocoa as well. When he offered Grant a hot drink as well, the colonel declined with a curt wave of his hand.
The servant girl filled a small china cup with hot black coffee for Alec, setting it in front of him with a bowl of sugar and a small spoon. Then she set down a platter of hot biscuits with marmalade and butter. Bowing, thanking his customers, Walter left, the servant following.
“Go on,” Lord Hume said to Alec. “You explain to me what is going on here. I must return to the courts in a few minutes.” He sipped the hot cocoa, holding the bowl with both hands. “The girl stole documents and so on. I know all that. Tell me what I do not know. Katherine Fraser, you called her. Is she a relation to the family?” He peered at her over the rim of the bowl.
“Uncle George, Katherine Fraser is my wife,” Alec said. “Bride, actually. We were only recently wed.”
“Bride!” Grant growled. “What the devil is this about?”
“Wed?” Lord Hume bit into a crumbly biscuit. “Walter said nothing of this to me. My wife and I were not invited.”
“No one was, sir,” Alec said. “We had a private ceremony. Uncle Walter and Aunt Euphemia only found out about it today when we arrived.”
“If you married your prisoner, you might be a damned fool.” The Lord Advocate slurped loudly. “You could be stripped of your military commission for that.”
“Exactly, sir,” Grant said. “He has committed treason, lying to the court, stealing the prisoner without permission. She was arrested in his quarters, and now he is trying to protect her. That is what she does to men, Lord Hume,” Grant continued. “She is a Jezebel and a strumpet.”
”I will decide who has committed treason here, Grant, and I will ask the questions. Keep quiet,” Lord Hume barked. “I like the look of the girl myself. Are you a strumpet, then?” He peered at Kate.
“I am not, sir, and never have been,” she replied. Lord Hume tipped a bushy eyebrow thoughtfully, but only turned his attention to his steaming drink.
