Pay the Devil - Jack Higgins [57]
There was another small space of silence before he said, “How did you find out about me?”
She shrugged. “You couldn’t really expect to keep it a secret this time—certainly not from the Rogans or me. The connection was so obvious. But it was Kevin who clinched it. He recognized Pegeen.”
Clay sighed. “It was bound to come out sooner or later.”
“What made you do it?” she said gently.
He shook his head. “I don’t really know. At first I tried to tell myself it was because of Marley—that he needed to be taught a lesson. But now I’m not sure. Kevin Rogan told me the other night that no man could live in this country and stay neutral; that sooner or later I would have to take sides or get out, and he was right. The things I’ve seen here, the squalor, the poverty, the degradation—these things are caused by men like your uncle and Marley. I despise them and everything they stand for.”
She squeezed his hand and tears glistened in her eyes. “I know, Clay, I know. But what can you do? What can anyone do about it? Men like my uncle and Marley have the weight of the law and the power of the British nation behind them. You’re a soldier. Do you honestly think that Ireland has the slightest hope of winning her freedom by force of arms?”
He shook his head. “Of course not, but there are other ways. If a loud enough cry is raised, the English themselves may do something about the situation. I hardly think your uncle and Marley are representative.”
“And yet men like Kevin Rogan will continue to fight,” she said. “The Fenians will rebel, if not this year, then next year. The innocent will die as well as the guilty, outrage follow outrage until what little sympathy Ireland can command will be dissipated.”
He knew in his heart that what she said was true and, touched by the desolation in her voice, he took one of her hands and said gently, “There is always hope—that’s the only thing these people have to live for. That, and a pride in their race.”
She pushed back a tendril of dark hair from her forehead and stood up. “I’ll have to be going. Even if my uncle has returned home instead of continuing to Galway, I may be lucky enough to get to my room unobserved. I’m in the west wing, some distance away from his rooms, and I have a key to a small door that leads into the stable yard.”
“What about Kevin?” he said. “Has he left?”
She nodded. “He knows of a place a mile or two from the farm where he’ll be safe for a day or two.”
“They’ll have to get him out of the country as quickly as possible. Your uncle is bound to call in the constabulary over this matter.”
“And what about you?” she said gravely. “Hasn’t it occurred to you that Burke will suspect who you are, especially when he hears from my uncle the full details of what happened in Kileen, and starts putting two and two together.”
Clay tried to sit up against the pillows. “Suspicion is one thing, proof is another matter. After all, I do have a certain standing. A gentleman doesn’t ride the countryside by night wearing a black mask and using such a ridiculously melodramatic name as Captain Swing.”
She pulled on her gloves and there was no smile on her face. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Clay. For some reason, I’m frightened—really frightened. Recently, my uncle seems to have got worse. At times I don’t think he’s in his right mind.”
Clay managed a confident smile. “There’s nothing for you to worry about, I promise you.”
There was a quiet tap on the door and it opened to admit Joshua. His teeth gleamed in the firelight. “I heard you talking, Colonel. Can I get you anything?”
“You can saddle Pegeen and escort Miss Hamilton home,” Clay told him. Joanna started to protest and he raised a hand to silence her. “No, I insist. You can take the path across the moor. I’ll not rest easy until I know you’re safely home.”
Joshua withdrew and Joanna sat on the edge of the bed and smiled. “All right, I surrender.”
Clay smiled back at her and she leaned forward and kissed him full on the mouth. He slipped his good arm about her shoulders, but she pulled