White Rose Rebel by Janet Paisley Page B

him, all in Black Watch uniforms, all apprehensive. They had heard about Calum’s execution. Now their chief might be leading them to theirs.
    ‘All you need do is stay here,’ Aeneas said. ‘Can you do that this time?’
    The boys nodded, but their fear and trepidation were obvious.
    ‘Be strong,’ Aeneas said. ‘I’ll tell you the price we’ll pay when I come back, but it won’t be your lives. That much I promise you.’ It was a big promise. A new British force under English command had recently arrived in the fort. But the regular garrison was Scottish, including their commander, Lord Louden. The Earl of Louden was no fool. He would respect a chieftain’s right to determine justice for his own clan.
    Inside, Forbes was already making his case. As Scotland’s supreme judge, peace was his business. He had persuaded several chiefs to stay neutral if the threatened conflict came. Never one to miss an opportunity to compel another, he had possession papers ready in his hand. The other man in the room was not Louden. He was a stranger, a general and English, red-faced, plump, a man who liked his food and port wine. He was also polite, standing to greet Aeneas and shake his hand.
    ‘General Cope, Chief M c Intosh,’ he introduced himself. ‘John Cope. I’m afraid Lord Louden is out of the fort. Perhaps I can help.’
    Hearing the Englishman’s name, Aeneas would have turned around. The commander of a force sent to quell the Jacobiteswould have no qualms about ordering the firing squad for Black Watch deserters. But an abrupt departure could mean fighting their way out, and his boys were no match for guards with muskets.
    ‘Then I won’t trouble you,’ he said, easily as if he were untroubled. ‘We’ll return when Lord Louden is available.’
    ‘Not at all, not at all,’ Cope said. ‘I’m sure we can settle this between us. You saved us a deal of trouble rounding up these lads.’
    ‘They’re my clansmen,’ Aeneas said. ‘Their desertion is my dishonour.’
    ‘Well, very kind of you to take it like that,’ Cope said. ‘Now, the thing is, what to do about it.’
    ‘I doubt more shootings will help,’ Forbes butted in.
    ‘Maybe not, maybe not,’ Cope said, seating himself again. ‘We don’t want to push more support to this Pretender Prince. But desertion is a serious matter. Port?’
    The question was to Aeneas. He nodded and sat down opposite. The more amenable the negotiation could be kept, the better. He had to buy time, the appearance of neutrality, but not with young blood. While Cope poured, he decided how to play it.
    ‘Maybe it’s the words rather than the deed which give us a problem,’ he suggested. ‘The death penalty for desertion is just. I have no quarrel with it.’
    ‘Very glad to hear it.’ Cope pushed a generous glass of rich wine over to him.
    ‘But these boys were not on the battlefield,’ Aeneas went on. ‘They are not cowards who ran under fire.’
    ‘That’s true,’ Cope nodded. ‘Absent without leave is a different matter, a different matter entirely. Is that what you claim?’
    ‘Isn’t that what it is?’ Aeneas asked. ‘They were confused. The country is rife with rumour. They simply went home to find out what they should do.’
    ‘In the king’s army,’ Cope corrected, ‘we are told what to do by our superiors.’
    ‘Sir, with your pardon, these are voluntary recruits, and Highland. They’re bound first to their clan and, there, I’m their superior.Their service in the Black Watch is in lieu of our clan dues. I have the right to rescind it.’
    ‘On payment of your debt,’ Forbes reminded him, waving the papers he held. ‘Your undertaking is in default again, your commitment insecure.’ He changed tack. ‘But perhaps we can settle the matter like gentlemen. The land settlement, I’m sure you’ll see that’s the best solution now.’ He put the papers on Cope’s desk, in front of Aeneas. ‘A signature, and this nasty problem will be