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“Maybe. But it’s more Rodland’s problem than ours. I’ve just been trying to ease his way in case it develops into a gigantic mess.”
“But he called and told me that Adams had convinced Bohdan.” She frowned. “A half-truth?”
“Total truth, he just didn’t mention that he was going to be chaperoning Adams on the trail to keep Bohdan from massacring him en route to the trap.” He shrugged as he glanced at her. “What can I say? I’m not the only one who didn’t want to disturb you in your delicate condition.”
“Delicate? That’s bullshit. What’s he going to do?”
“He’ll just be on watch and take care if Adams causes an upset.” He smiled. “And you don’t have to go to his rescue because it’s already been set up.”
“MI6?”
“Only if needed.” He saw the way she was looking at him and said, “You want to know the complete plan? Okay, no problem. I told you that Bohdan and his forces were coming in from the lake country to the north. He’s going to bring a substantial force with him, but I’ve arranged for MI6 to be camped out along the route with enough agents to counter it. Bohdan is expected to attack the railway yard because they’ll know we’re there and Bohdan wants us very badly. We’re the bait that’s drawing him into the trap. Unless I can talk you out of it?” She shook her head and he continued. “Plus the fact that he thinks we’ve found the treasure that Adams used as a lure to get him here and are keeping it in a safe in one of the railway cars.” He added grimly, “But I’ve told the MI6 chief that they’vegotto wipe Bohdan out before he tries to launch an attack on the rail yard. They’ve said there shouldn’t be a problem since Bohdan’s reported numbers are seventy percent less than what MI6 has brought in. They’ll stage the attack about three miles from the gates of the rail yard.”
“But what about Rodland?”
“Rodland will be with MI6 for the entire trip unless Adams sends a message that he needs him. Then he’ll find a way to go after him.” He paused. “Rodland can handle almost anything on his own. He’s very innovative. And he’ll call if he wants me to make any special arrangements. Nothing is going to happen to him, Jane. Trust me.”
She nodded slowly. “But what he’s doing is something we didn’t expect, and it’s not only the surprise that’s making me uneasy. I think it’s a sign that we’d better check this place out thoroughly in case we need to be innovative, too.” They had turned a bend in the hill and Jane suddenly saw what lay below them. “And right now, I’m going to forget everything but doing that. Do you see that railroad yard? There must be eight or ten cars down there. I didn’t expect it to be that big. I love it! How old do you think those cars are? I can imagine Fiona putting on those boy’s clothes MacClaren sent her and running down to board her train to go to meet her lover.”
“Youaregetting excited.” Caleb was amused. “But we’re not sure that the mural train is one of those cars. You told me that it wasn’t discarded but kept renovated because it was considered an antique. This is obviously a supplemental yard used for storage. I see a couple of engines and three fairly modern-looking cars. One of them even appears to be a refrigeration car. No antiques.”
“It wouldn’t necessarily look like an antique if it was well maintained. Stop raining on my parade.”
“I wouldn’t think of it. If it’s not down there, I promise I’ll search every rail yard in the United Kingdom and find it for you.”
“You think I’m being foolish.” She made a face. “You’re probably right. But lately I’ve been feeling very close to Fiona. I want to share what she must have felt like on that day when she was rolling the dice and giving up everything she knew to go away with her Farrell MacClaren. It’s strange, when I’ve been fighting all these years to keep her at a distance. Now I feel like I need to protect her.”
“Not so strange,” he said gently. “You’ve been protecting friends, family, everyone in your circle ever since I’ve known you. And through the years you’ve been drawn to Cira, the founder of the MacDuff family, in the same way. Maybe it’s time to admit that you’re seeing a connection between Fiona and Cira and instinctively protecting family.”
“And you say that’s not strange?”
“No.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “That’s Jane.”
She was incredibly touched. “Then it’s good that you manage to put up with me. Eve would approve.”
“It’s my pleasure. I look forward to doing it for the rest of my days.” He released her hand. “Not the right time. We’ll go into this later.” He parked the car outside the wire gate. “Let’s go see if there’s anyone minding the store or if we have to break into this place.”
***
It took them thirty minutes to locate a weathered, gray-haired man who was eating his lunch under an oak tree a short distance from the gate. He identified himself as Tim Fraser, the caretaker of the property, and seemed friendly enough. When they told him they were tourists who had seen the rail yard and wondered if they could get a tour, he was almost enthusiastic. After checking their IDs, he invited them to come inside the gates for tea and scones. “I’m glad to see you. There’s not much to see here, but I’ll be happy to show you around.”
“Are you alone here?” Caleb asked. “Aren’t you bored?”
“Sometimes.” Fraser shrugged. “But it’s an easy job and they send me help when they want me to transfer any of the equipment back to the main border station.”
“Do you have an index of the cars and equipment on hand?”
“Sure.” Fraser pointed to the outer wall of the office building at the center of the complex. “I have to change it all the time when they send me new cars and equipment to repair or exchange. What do you want to see first?”
Jane was striding toward the wall. “There might be one that I’ve heard about…” She ran her gaze down the lists. Then she saw it! “Yes.” She whirled on Caleb. “The Reiver.” She turned back to Fraser. “I’ve heard about an antique railcar with fancy murals. Could I see that one? I was afraid that it might not be here.”
“Why?” Fraser asked. “I’m surprised you’ve heard about it. It’s just an old car they have me send out of this yard once or twice a year when they want to publicize the railway.” Fraser shook his head. “Nothing really fancy about it except those paintings.”
“They’re fancy to me,” Jane said. “Because I’m an artist, too. I wonder if I could take my sketchbook and make a copy?”
“I don’t see why not.” Fraser was frowning. “I’m sure there are all kind of copyrights and legal restrictions, but as long as it’s for personal use.”
“Very personal.” Her smile was dazzling. “I’ll just run to the car and get my sketchbook.”
