Less Than a Gentleman - Kerrelyn Sparks Page 0,102
you wouldn't be the one passing her food through the balcony door?"
"I know nothing about that."
"You're a liar. I know you helped Jane Thomas escape."
She blinked with surprise. "Escape? Jane is gone?"
He ground his teeth at her lame excuse for acting. "I know you helped them. That makes you a traitor. Do you know what happens to traitors, miss?"
"It wasn't her!" Edward blurted out. "It was the ghost."
Ezra snorted. "A ghost wouldn't need a saw to pass through a ceiling."
Miss Munro smoothed back her hair as if unconcerned, but her pale face indicated otherwise. "When do you believe this escape took place?"
"I would say yesterday while my men and I were occupied with the explosion."
"The children and I were in the kitchen. My sister gave birth yesterday and I was there helping her. You may ask Dottie or Betsy. They can confirm it."
"They lie as poorly as you do, Miss Munro. Trust me, I will prove my loyalty to the crown, and if I have to string up a pack of women and children to do it, then I will."
Satisfied with the white, stricken faces of Caroline Munro and her nephew, Ezra left the nursery to the sound of the little girl's sobs.
Chapter Thirty-One
"Ye disappeared with my daughter last night," Jamie Munro announced as he rode beside Matthias.
"We had some urgent matters to discuss." Matthias felt his face redden. For the past five miles, the Scotsman had glowered at him. Never had a short journey felt so long.
"Aye, I have no doubt ye were feeling a wee urgent. Tell me, lad, what exactly did ye discuss?"
Matthias hoped the village of Kingstree would suddenly appear around the next bend. Marion had put him and Major Munro in charge of the evacuation. Richard, Quincy, Josiah, and a dozen more men rode behind them. "I asked Caroline to marry me."
"That's great news," Quincy said.
Jamie Munro huffed. "He dinna ask me for permission."
Matthias took a deep breath. "I believe you told me that she's allowed to make her own decisions."
"Aye. So was she smart enough to refuse you then?"
Quincy and Josiah snickered.
Matthias gritted his teeth. "No, she wasn't."
"Are ye calling my daughter a dimwit?"
Matthias slanted an impatient look at his future father-in-law. "She's as clever as her father."
Jamie's eyes twinkled. "I like grandchildren. Do ye think ye can manage that, lad?"
"Yes, sir. It will be my pleasure."
" 'Tis my daughter ye should be pleasing. If ye can. Ye're no' one of those minute men from the north, are ye?"
"Excuse me?" Quincy scoffed. "I've given you four grandchildren."
Jamie shrugged. "Aye. I've about decided to accept you."
Quincy snorted. "Welcome to the family, Major Thomas."
"Aye," Josiah added. "Congratulations."
"Thank you." Matthias slowed his horse as they rounded the bend. The road in front of them was narrow and straight, tightly hugged by thick vegetation on each side.
Jamie came to a halt, holding up a hand to alert the horsemen behind them. "Ye suspect a trap?"
Matthias scanned the trees. "Let's divide and meet in Kingstree. Richard and I will take a group to the left."
"Agreed." Jamie veered to the right, motioning for Quincy, Josiah, and six of the men to follow. They had just entered the forest when musket fire erupted.
"Take cover!" Matthias yelled.
More shots rang out. Two men fell. The horses reared and whinnied as men scrambled for cover. Choking smoke surrounded them. Shouts of huzzah echoed around them, signaling the British advance. His men panicked, knowing they were outnumbered.
"Disperse!" Matthias hollered as he weaved amongst the men and their agitated horses. Their group of seventeen partisans had no chance of victory in a conventional battle. It was better to lead the British on a chase into the nearby bogs of the treacherous Tarcote Swamp.
Fifteen partisans, Matthias corrected himself. The two men who had fallen in the road were not getting up.
"Go!" he shouted, relieved to see Jamie Munro and his group riding safely away. The musket fire ceased, followed by an ominous silence. Tarleton must have given the order to mount and give chase.
"Come on!" He waved at Richard, and they charged through the trees.
The pounding of horse hooves followed them. Tarleton and the dragoons were hot on their trail.
He headed for the Tarcote Swamp. He and Richard had hunted and fished there as boys and knew every path.
Silently, they skirted the bogs. A few times, they backtracked to leave false trails into pools of muck. The British continued to hunt for them. He could hear their shouts and curses echoing through the swamp.