Page 44 of Highland Jewel
Sir Rupert was expecting him, it appeared. Tolley had wasted no time getting word to his master. A hammer was pounding in Niall’s head, for he was more certain than before that his sister was being used as a tool by these people.
The larger, inner room was dark and cold, and Niall took it all in with one glance. A table along one wall was piled high with ledger books and stacks of papers. By the only window, a second clerk—also bull-necked—sat at a high desk, pretending to copy a document. He didn’t turn around when Niall entered. Another table and a chair had been positioned near the center of the room. By a newly lit fire, Sir Rupert sat in one of two chairs.
The spymaster rose and greeted him as if Niall were making a social call. “I’m very pleased to see you, Lieutenant. You’re here early. Did you ride or take the coach from Edinburgh?”
Niall fought an impulse to lift the man up by his hair and rip his throat out. The door had been left slightly ajar, no doubt to give the men in the outer office the chance to intervene, should Niall give in to any violent inclinations.
“I rode.”
Burney motioned to the chairs near the fire. Niall refused.
“Very well. Then what can I do for you?”
“My sister. I’ve been told that you know where my sister is being kept.”
Burney moved behind his desk and sat. “How long do you plan to stay in Glasgow? I can recommend excellent places to dine.”
“Fiona Johnston. Arrested on Wednesday evening, March 1, across the street from Canongate Kirk.” He announced every detail slowly, never tearing his eyes away from his foe’s face. “Where is she?”
The question hung heavily in the air. He had no time for games. The thought of what could be happening to Fiona at this very moment made his heart beat like a battle drum. Niall’s hands fisted at his sides and he leaned over the table.
“Where is she?” he repeated. He was quite certain that he could kill Burney before any of the bodyguards had a chance to come to the man’s rescue.
“What you’re asking is Crown business, Campbell. And we both know you have no desire to—”
“I’m asking about mysister.”
Sir Rupert’s pinched face was as emotionless as an undertaker’s.
“Fiona Johnston, you say?” Burney said finally. He picked up a sheet of paper that sat on top of the pile in front of him.
Right there. In front of him.As Burney scanned the paper, Niall fought the urge to tear it out of his hand.
“Let me see. Indeed, here it is. I’m shocked to learn she’s your sister.”
This meeting had been engineered, and it was all based on lies and gamesmanship. Niall was smart enough to guess what his opponent’s next move would be. A coolness that had nothing to do with his state of mind and everything to do with his years of training descended on him now. He straightened up.
“What are the charges against her?”
“Are you certain you don’t want to sit, Lieutenant?”
“I prefer to stand.”
The fox shrugged and looked again at the page in his hand. “Fiona Johnston is the founder of a revolutionary organization. She is being charged with inciting unrest, sedition, the dissemination of falsehoods about Parliament and His Majesty, and conspiring to overthrow the king.”
“Overthrow the king?” Niall’s bark was sharp enough that one of the bruisers from the outer room stepped inside.
“Do you want me to read the actual charges?” Burney asked coolly.
Too angry to reply, Niall nodded curtly.
“So far, conspiring to devise plans to subvert the Constitution. Conspiring to levy war and subvert the Constitution. Preparing addresses containing incitements to the king’s subjects to assist in levying war and subverting the Constitution.” He looked up. “The list is quite long. Would you like me to continue?”
Niall shook his head. It didn’t matter. Any one of those charges was enough to drag her to court for treason. She’d be hanged and beheaded. If she were very lucky, she’d be transported to one of the penal colonies.
“And before you cry foul to your army connections in Whitehall or your lawyer friends in Parliament, youshould know that she was in possession of rather damning evidence at the time of her arrest—a letter addressed to her from a group associated with the Cato Street Conspirators.”
Burney handed the list of charges to Niall. He was too furious to read them all. Words ran together on the page.
