Page 99 of Exile's Return
An ominous silence hung over the castle, servants scuttling away at the sight of Turner and the guard escorting Agnes. Only at the door to the Great Hall did he pause, looking down at her with his cold, hard eyes. From behind the door, she heard a woman weeping and feared the worst.
Turner’s men were gathered in an orderly half circle in front of the dais where the Earls of Elmhurst had presided for centuries and now Tobias Ashby, in the red coat of his military status, complete with the metal gorget around his neck, stood with his hands on his hips.
Ashby gave Turner a nod and the man released Agnes’s arm. She rubbed at the place where his fingers had grasped her.
‘Stand aside,’ Turner ordered his men, and they parted like the Red Sea as Agnes walked forward, coming up short at the sight of the two bedraggled figures arrayed before Tobias Ashby.
Peg Truscott was on her knees, her head buried in her hands, weeping softly; the sound Agnes had heard when she entered. She lunged forward to go to Peg but Turner brought her up sharply, grabbing her arm again and pushing her into line beside the second figure, a man, who stood swaying slightly, his hands bound in front of him, staring resolutely at a point above Ashby’s head.
Agnes cast a fearful glance in his direction, fearing it may be Daniel. Her initial relief when she recognized Kit was followed by a growing sense of dread. Kit ignored her but it was too late — her face had betrayed her.
Tobias gave a crow of delight.
‘I see you are acquainted with this man, Agnes.’
She glanced at Kit, and for the first time, he turned to look down at her, his unshaven face haggard and streaked with dirt. She had not realized before how closely the brothers resembled each other, and her heart skipped a beat as she took in his condition. Like Peg, Kit’s clothes were torn and muddy, as if he had been dragged through the mire. The sleeve of his right arm was stiff with another dark substance — blood.
Agnes looked up at Tobias. ‘What do you want of me, Ashby?’
His eyes narrowed. ‘It’s quite simple, I want my gold — the gold that you and this man conspired to take.’
‘You have no proof —’ Agnes began.
Tobias dismissed her protests with the wave of a hand. ‘What sort of fool do you think I am, Agnes?’ he said. ‘You are in league with this man, and the other two who are still at large. I am still searching for them.’
Kit’s eyes hardened, warning her to keep a still tongue in her head.
Ashby turned and paced the platform. ‘I don’t think they have left the area. To begin with, they only have, as far as I can tell, one horse between them.’
‘Horses are easily acquired,’ Agnes said.
‘Possibly, but not around here. The nearest place they could find a horse dealer would be Preston. That is some miles away and I have men watching every road.’
Agnes turned to Kit, who met her gaze with clear, steady eyes. Whatever his injury, at least he was not feverish…not yet.
‘This man is injured,’ she said. ‘How was he brought here, and Mistress Truscott, what has she done to deserve such treatment?’
Peg snuffled and raised her face from her hands. ‘Oh, Mistress Fletcher, they tied us to the stirrups and dragged us here like common criminals.’
‘Which is what you are,’ Ashby barked. ‘Thieves, the lot of you, and like thieves, you will hang in the morning.’
A cold band encircled Agnes’ chest and she stared up at the man. ‘You would hang us? Without trial?’
He shrugged. ‘You’ve had your trial, here and now, and I pronounce you all guilty. You…’ he pointed at Peg ‘…will hang for giving shelter to the miscreants, and aiding and abetting them, and being a witch, and you two,’ he turned back to Kit and Agnes, ‘for carrying out the deed in the dark of night.’
Kit narrowed his eyes. ‘You have no evidence that this gold you speak of was even here, let alone yours for the taking. If what you say is true and I do not admit it, then show us the evidence it was yours in the first place.’
Ashby smiled. ‘Possession, Lovell, possession.’ He turned to Turner. ‘I want it widely known that these three will hang at daybreak unless the gold is returned to me. I need to flush out the other two. I don’t believe they are far away, and they’ll come looking for their comrades. I know their type, sentimentalists,like all who still profess loyalty to Charles Stuart. Dreamers and romantics.’
Kit snorted. ‘Really? Is that what we are?’ He straightened and took a step forward. ‘Ashby, your days are numbered. The King will return and there will be a reckoning. Hang three innocent people out of hand and you will pay.’
‘The King,’ Ashby spat. ‘There is no king here yet. I am the law and I say you are thieves and she is a witch,’ he indicated to Peg. Raising his voice, he said loudly enough to encompass the whole hall and anyone beyond the door who may have been listening, ‘My gold for their lives.’
Peg whimpered and Agnes stooped down and put her arm around the woman, raising her to her feet. Peg shivered as she leaned in toward Agnes.
‘Thank you, dear,’ she said through blue-tinged lips.
‘Tobias, for God’s mercy, if no one else’s. This woman is old and sick. She needs warmth and care,’ Agnes said.
