Hamish sat against the far wall, one leg stretched out, the other bent. His face was a map of bruises but he looked up as Evan entered.
“Ye took yer time,” Hamish rasped.
Evan shut the door behind him. “I’ve only just been able to get away.”
Hamish gave a faint huff of amusement that turned into a wince. Evan crossed the small space in two strides and crouched in front of him. Up close, the damage looked worse.
Evan’s jaw clenched. “Dear God, Hamish! What were ye thinking? Inviting Bryce here? Are ye mad?”
Hamish shrugged slightly. “Seemed necessary.”
“Necessary? It was stupid! Why didnae ye just talk to me if ye had concerns? Did ye really think these men would allow ye tosend a message to the Earl of bloody Newborough? Ye’ve already seen what they are capable of!”
A flicker of something—humor?—touched his good eye. “Aye, and they’ve just proven it. Strange friends ye have, Evan.”
Evan fixed him with a stare. “Ye know they are not my friends. Dinna ye?”
Hamish nodded “Aye, I know who they really are. Criminals. Just like Seoras MacInnes. And ye are pretending to work for him. Am I somewhere near the mark?”
Evan exhaled sharply. “I knew it. Ruby. She told ye?”
“Aye, she told me. She wanted someone to keep an eye on ye.”
Evan sat back on his heels. “That bloody woman. She couldnae stop meddling if her life depended on it.”
“She wasnae meddling. She was looking out for ye. Like we all are.”
“So the letter to Bryce was a ruse? Ye deliberately provoked MacInnes’ men. Why?”
Hamish shrugged. “Because ye are running out of time. I figured if MacInnes thought there was the threat of Bryce coming here, it might speed things up a bit.”
Evan dragged a hand over his face. “Ye have to stop doing this. Yeallhave to stop doing this!”
“Doing what?”
“Taking such risks for me! Ruby. Ye. Ye let Key beat the stuffing out of ye, and for what? A man who doesnae deserve yer loyalty, that’s what!”
Hamish’s expression hardened. “Ye are wrong. Ye are a good man, Evan Campbell. And we need ye.”
Evan let out a low, humorless laugh. “Good men dinna let their friends bleed for them.”
Hamish clasped his shoulder. “Good men make sure it means something.”
Silence settled between them. Aye, he would try to make it mean something. He reached into his tunic and withdrew the parchment.
“Ye must get this to Ruby and Niall,” Evan said. “It confirms MacInnes’ plan. They need to be ready. Tell them I’m meeting MacInnes tomorrow but I dinna know his location yet. I’ll get it to them as soon as I’ve met him.”
Hamish nodded, taking the parchment. “I’ll tell them.”
Evan nodded, then stood and crossed to the door. “I canna just let ye go. It needs to look like ye escaped. Otherwise Key will suspect me.”
He lifted the heavy grain scoop leaning against the wall and brought it down hard against the lock. Metal rang. Again. On the third strike, the mechanism cracked. The staple tore loose from the wood. He kicked the splintered frame once for good measure and the door swung half-open, hanging crookedly.
Evan took a deep breath and turned to face the headman. “I’m sorry, my old friend.”
Hamish climbed to his feet, wincing in pain. “For what?”
“For all of this. For what ye’ve had to endure for my sake.”
Hamish’s expression softened. “To win, sometimes ye have to take a blow.”
For an instant, the weight in Evan’s chest felt unbearable. Then he straightened. “Head through the east trees. Avoid the road.”
Hamish nodded. Evan stepped aside to let him pass. The headman clasped his shoulder briefly then slipped into the passage and was gone.
Evan stood alone in the dim store room, looking at the dried blood on the floor where Hamish had been sitting. Dear God, he didn’t deserve such loyalty.
But somehow,somehow, he would find a way to prove worthy of it.
