Page 143 of Feathers in the Wind
She lowered her eyes and shook her head.
He pushed the goblet away and ran a hand over his eyes. “Deliverance, Farrington knows everything that is going on within these walls. Someone is passing him that information. Whether it was Penitence or something she may have said to Jack without thought, lives will be lost and Truscott is as much a party to those deaths as if he had been the one who had handed over the information himself. An example has to be set.”
“I understand,” Deliverance said with a heavy heart.
He looked up at her. “You're not going to argue with me?”
She shook her head. “No, because as awful as it sounds, you are right, Luke. Now excuse me, I am going to bed.”
She left him alone in the Great Hall and crawled alone into the big bed. She had become used to sharing it with Penitence and she missed her sister’s comforting presence. She lay awake thinking of her sister and her love for Jack Farrington, and felt nothing but pity. A way had to be found of making this right.
Chapter 17
Luke stood back and let Hale unbolt the door of the room in the Jewel Tower where they had incarcerated Jack Farrington. He had given the prisoner six hours to consider his fate and to judge by his red-rimmed eyes and hollow cheeks, they must have been very long hours indeed.
Farrington sprang to his feet. “Is Penitence all right? What have you done to her?”
“She's fine,” Luke said. “Just trimmed her wings a little. Sit down, Farrington, we need to talk.”
Jack subsided on to the stool and buried his head in his hands.
“She's innocent,” he mumbled. “We both are.”
Luke surveyed the wretched specimen of manhood. He had reached the point of believing the pair's protestations. They were probably guilty of nothing more than stupidity, but lesser men had been hanged for that crime.
He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. “If I am to believe that you and Penitence are not the traitors, then tell me who your brother has working for him within these walls?”
Jack looked up, genuine surprise on his face. “I've no idea. Charles keeps his own counsel on these matters.”
So would I, in his position.
The man seemed incapable of dissembling and Luke admitted to himself that he had to accept Jack told the truth.
“So, your meetings with Penitence Felton were nothing more than lover's trysts?”
“You have my word on it,” Jack said, misery written on his face and in the way his shoulders slumped.
“What am I to do with you?” Luke said, with a heavy sigh. “The last thing I need at the moment is a prisoner. We barely have enough to feed the garrison.”
He studied the younger man for a long minute as he considered the value of interrogating Jack at greater length about his brother's plans, if Jack was privy to them, which he doubted. Jack's main worth to him was as a hostage. Even if Charles Farrington was incapable of feeling anything for anyone Charles would still have to answer to his father, and mother, about his brother’s fate and that made him useful.
He wondered about Jack's relationship with his brother and it made him think of his own brother, Nicholas, whose face he dreaded seeing on a battlefield. Every time he took the field, he scanned the faces of his ‘enemy’, wondering if he would recognise Nick before it was too late.
“Well? What are you going to do with me?” Jack ventured, rousing Luke from his reverie.
Luke straightened and turned for the door. “Nothing for the moment. Enjoy the rest, but I warn you the neighbours can be a little rowdy.”
As his hand touched the latch, Jack said. “Collyer.”
Luke turned his head to look at the young man. Jack looked up at the narrow window embrasure and sighed. “Collyer, there is something I need to talk to you about.”
Luke turned back into the room and stood looking down at the younger man. “I'm listening.”
An hour later, Luke left the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. He tossed the key in his hand. He couldn't spare a man to guard the room and with a Farrington agent on the loose he trusted the key to no one but himself. Back in his bedchamber he found a leather thong and hung the key around his neck.
* * *
Coming downstairs in the morning,Deliverance found herself confronted by a deputation of Kinton Lacey men. She had known them all her life and she knew why they had come. She listened to them plead the case for Truscott and promised she would do what she could to save Truscott from the noose.
