“I do not understand. What am I supposed to say?” Edward shook his head in confusion. He rubbed his palms over his eyes as if to clear up his vision and make things clearer. Finally, he looked at the colonel and said, “These charges are not true. I cannot—”
Colonel Ainsley said simply, “The fact of the matter is, Edward, this is about as open and shut as they get.”
“But I did not kill anyone!” Edward shouted as the guards put their hands on his shoulders to keep him from rising. “You cannot take the word of a man from this village over my own. They despise us.”
Colonel Ainsley said, “I am not. Several soldiers have stepped forward to verify that they saw you leave with the young lady in question.” The colonel gave him a sad look. “I am sorry, Edward.”
“You have to know I did not do it,” Edward said fervently. He had come to view the man as a friend. “When will I get my say? Can I know who testified against me?”
Colonel Ainsley shook his head. “We will convene a field officer court-martial in the morning. We have to do this as quickly as possible. All evidence will be weighed and your sentence handed down. Until then, I am going to put you in one of the nearby buildings where you will be safer.”
Edward felt the guards pulling him to his feet, and he just let them. He was stunned. The guards’ hands were on him as they guided him through the street and to another building. Edward paid it no attention. What did it matter where he was? His life as he knew it was over.
They shoved him a bit rougher than necessary into a cell, and it was then that Edward realised he must be in the town’s jail. He dropped onto a cot that was pushed against one of the bare walls. There was nothing else in the room other than a pot. Edward shook his head. How could this have happened?
***
The sounds of the town outside waking up also woke Edward. He sat there for a long while before he realised that no one appeared to be coming to give him food. The food would have done him little good anyway as Edward did not feel any hunger once his mind latched onto why he was in this cell. No, there was nothing he wanted except perhaps to write to Emily. Edward desperately wanted to explain to her that he was innocent so she would not have to hear about his court-martial second-hand.
Edward pulled himself up and looked around. There was little he could do but wait. And wait he did. Edward waited until the sun was well up in the sky before the guards came to get him to hear his sentence. The building where the court-martial was taking place was the old town hall.
Edward walked past his old subordinates and friends towards the front of the room. Clayton caught Edward’s eye as he walked past. Edward was brought to stand at the front of the room.
Colonel Ainsley was standing behind a podium, and he tapped a wooden gavel to get the low murmur of voices to quiet down. When everyone was silent, Colonel Ainsley cleared his throat. “Let it be noted that Major Dalton has denied the charges before him, but under the press of overwhelming evidence, this court has no choice but to find the defendant guilty of the charge of aggravated murder.
There was outrage from the crowd of men behind Edward as the soldiers protested. Colonel Ainsley raised his hand. “The evidence has been weighed, and it is out of my hands now. Major Dalton is hereby sentenced to be hanged with the dawn tomorrow.”
Edward felt his knees go weak. Surely, he had heard that wrong. He had to have heard that wrong. Edward’s mouth opened and closed. How could they do that? How could they find him guilty when he was innocent?
Colonel Ainsley looked at Edward and told the guards, “Take him back to his cell where he will await his sentence.” Edward was suddenly being pulled backward by the guards.
“This is not happening,” Edward said. “Please, I am innocent!”
Clayton shouted, “There is no way he did what they said! Major Dalton is the most selfless officer we have, yourself included, Colonel!”
“Silence!” Colonel Ainsley bellowed. “I will have order, or I will throw you all in the jail tonight. If you want your own court-martial, then that is the right way to go.”
Edward’s shoulders slumped as he was led out of the room. Clayton and several of his old troops gave Edward thumps on his shoulders as he passed, but Edward saw other faces who scowled at him. Edward kept his eyes down after that.
***
The afternoon dragged by. Edward had begged a guard to get him some paper, but the man had just sneered at him. The guards ignored him unless Edward forced them to pay attention to him. He had long since given up trying to get food or water from the men. They gave him just a few drops of water if he pressed, and that was almost worse than the sneers on their faces as he tried to lick the moisture from the cup.
Edward went over to the bars of the cell. “Guard,” he called.
The man who had been sitting playing cards looked over at him. “What do you want?”
“I need an audience with the colonel, please,” Edward begged. “I should be allowed to plead my case.”
The man sighed. “You had your say already. The colonel is indisposed and cannot listen to your foolishness.”
Edward wanted to scream, growl, to throw things, but instead, he simply leaned his head against the bars. “Will you not even ask him?”
“I said he is indisposed,” the guard said as he scowled at Edward’s intrusion into his game. “Now go sit down, or I will break your knees.”
Edward went back over to his cot and reclined with a sigh. He would be forced to wait until the colonel was back, and that might not be until Edward’s sentence was carried out. A familiar voice echoed down the hall and caused Edward to sit up on the cot.
James appeared at the cell door. “You look awful,” he said through the bars.
“Can you get me some paper?” Edward asked eagerly.
James looked at Edward curiously. “Why?”
“So, I can write a letter to Emily,” Edward explained desperately. “She has to know I did not do what they said I did.”
There was a long pause before James said, “But there are people who said they saw you, Edward.”
“You cannot think that I would—I did not hurt that girl,” Edward said as he begged James to believe him. “You have to believe me, James.”
James said, “War changes people, Edward. All the violence, anger, and frustration of it can cause men to do things that they never would otherwise.”
Edward stared at his friend. “What are you talking about?”
“I am talking about all of this,” James said as he flung his hands up in the air. “You really think that your titles will see you through this?”
Confused, Edward shook his head. “James, do you know something? Do you know who said I did it?”
“No,” James said firmly. “But I know they were men from our regiment, and I can think of none who would turn against you if they did not have a reason.”
Edward laughed deliriously. “You think I did it. My best friend since forever and you think I am a bloody murderer of young women. I have not looked at a woman other than Emily since we were sixteen, James. You know that!”
“Like I said, Edward, this is war, and war changes people,” James said. “I just wanted to come to see you.”
Edward shook his head. “Why bother if you do not believe me? Leave me alone to await my death.”
“I had to,” James said. “I had to reconcile this image I had of you as my childhood friend with this fiend that I now find you to be.”
There was nothing that Edward could do to make James see reason, and he saw that clearly. The whole world had gone mad, and Edward was stuck in the middle of the chaos that such madness wrought. Edward said calmly, “Leave me be.”
James stood there for a moment longer eyeing Edward with such sedateness that Edward found it uncomfortable. There was the trace of a smile on James’ face that made Edward wonder if perhaps James knew something even when he said he did not. James had been critical of Edward for months, but did that mean anything?
When James turned to walk away, he threw the words, “Sleep well,” over his shoulder. Edward stared after his friend with the thought nagging at him that James seemed almost pleased with the situation.
***
The cell was lit only by a small window with bars over it. At night, the faint moonlight that filtered through was hardly worth counting. Edward lay awake in the square of moonlight waiting for dawn to return, and with it, the end to his waiting.
The sound of footsteps made Edward blink, trying to focus his eyes. Several boots walked into view from where Edward lay on the floor. There was a low grumble from one of the men, “You think he’s asleep?”
“Any man who can harm a woman like that could probably sleep in the shadow of the gallows,” another spat.
Edward shivered as he heard the key turn in the lock. The guards who could not be bothered to bring him food could very helpfully open the door for a mob of angry soldiers? Edward thought that fitting of his new view of the world.
The men’s boots stomped across the cell. “Wake up, you wretch,” a man growled as he grabbed Edward violently by the shirt. His coat had not been given to him, and all he wore was the pair of pants and a shirt that had been brought to him. He did not even have his shoes.
Edward protested with a cracked voice, “Leave me to die.”
“Why would we do that?” a soldier that Edward was vaguely familiar with asked. “You think we care about that sentence? We could just as easily gut you tonight.”
Edward groaned as one of the men hit him hard in the stomach. He crumpled back to the ground as they kicked him. Their hard boots landed blows all along his body, and Edward could scarcely breathe for the pain wrenching through his body.
A familiar face swam into view before Edward’s eyes moments before James landed a brutal blow across his face. Edward could scarcely cry out for lack of water had made his throat parched. Instead, blood was in his mouth as his lip split open. The metallic taste of the blood filled his mouth, and when he finally sank into unconsciousness, Edward saw only blissful blackness.
Edward blinked and felt his eyes sting with wetness. As he tried to move, the pain seared through his body. The beating had left him bruised, broken, and bleeding on the stone floor of the jail. He just managed to roll over as the pain nearly made him pass out again.
Why had James done it? Edward groaned as he tried to move his left arm. His ribs felt bruised or broken, and when he tried to lift his left arm, it barely obeyed him. James had helped them beat him. James had betrayed him. Edward was certain of it now. The doubts grew cold and firm in his mind as Edward thought of the man’s face just before James had hit him. There had been pleasure on his old friend’s face.
Thoughts of James were swiftly replaced by Emily. “Sweet Emily,” Edward whispered through split lips. How long would it take for her to hear of his death and the charges that had led to it? What would she think of him then? The agony of that thought almost surpassed the pain that his body was now enduring.
“Why, God?” Edward asked as he looked at the night sky outside his tiny window. “What did I do to anger you so that you would punish me this way, God?”
There was only silence. The night sounds drifted in, and Edward mourned for the woman he would never see again, the life he had promised her, and the home he would never set foot in. “I am so sorry, Emily,” Edward whispered.
He had never broken a promise to Emily before. She had been counting on him, but what more could he have done? The colonel would not listen to him.
Edward was sure that the army dispatches would merely state that he had died and so forth. However, Edward was certain with what he now knew that James would delight in giving Emily all the details. The details of Edward’s alleged crime would, of course, be immortalised in Edward’s army records. All Emily would have to do was to look.
Edward lay in agony as he waited for the night to pass and his suffering to end. By the time the dawn came, Edward was almost resigned to his fate. He did not want to die, but he saw only suffering in his future. Edward did not know if he could bear that.
His hand clasped around the locket that Emily had given him, and he held it like a lifeline. Edward prayed to God to let him live long enough to hand the locket back to Emily. As soon as he finished praying, Edward cried silently on the stone floor for the futility of the prayer.
***
“We have to do something,” Augustus said fervently. “They are going to hang him.”
Oscar spat, “So, what? He would not blink if it were you being led to the gallows.”
Augustus turned to James. “You said he would just give a prison sentence.”
“I failed to take into account the nature of our situation. Under normal circumstances, he probably would be given a prison sentence, but with the threat of attack and wartime rules … I guess the colonel had to do what he had to do,” James said with a shrug. Augustus had been harder to control since the booze had gotten out of his system. It was something James had expected to a point. Although Oscar had just needed a reason to buy into hating Edward, Augustus actually was fond of Edward.
Oscar rolled his eyes. “People get court-martialled and hanged all the time,” he said as a matter of fact. “Why are you suddenly his greatest champion? Did he stop you from getting sent to the cells?”
“I was drunk, and I needed to go to the cells to dry out. I hold no grudge for that,” Augustus said. “Won’t you two see reason? He is our friend.”
James shook his head. “That is where you are wrong, Augustus. Edward is not our friend. He is merely an inconvenient thing, and anything that inconveniences us can be moved out of our way.” James looked at Augustus intently, and the man shrank back. “Do not forget that my family loaned your father money when he needed it most, not Edward’s. Do not make me reconsider the legitimacy of our arrangements. After all, one day the estate will be mine to run.”
“Now let’s not go letting our heads run hot and ruining our friendship,” Augustus said hastily. “I would never do anything to harm my father’s business dealings, but James you cannot expect me to stand by and watch Edward be hanged.”
James shrugged. “I do not care if you come or not, but I will be there, and I will watch him swing from that rope. There is no shame in seeing something done right. After all, if Saint Edward is such a noble soul, then we send him on to a better life.”
There was a look on Augustus’ face that bordered on disgust mixed with disbelief. James gave the man a smile. “I have to go get ready for the hanging.”
“Where were you last night?” Augustus asked as James turned to leave and go to his room.
James pursed out his lips. “I was asleep. Why?”
“I heard some men saying that Edward was beaten up last night. You did not have anything to do with that, did you?” Augustus looked like he was almost pleading with James to show some humanity.
James relented and let Augustus believe what he wanted to believe. “I did not even know about it until you told me just now,” James said. He turned and went up to his room, grateful that he was a good liar.
It would hardly matter in just a couple of hours’ time. Soon Edward would be awakened and taken to the gallows. James for one planned to be there. It would be a lovely reward to see how the man looked after his beating last night before Edward was hung up.
James shut the door to his room and went over to the mirror. He ran a hand through his blond hair and smiled at his reflection. There was a time when James thought that going into this war was a mistake, but now he realised that he had won in the end.
War had not changed Edward, but it had changed James. He had shot men, left men to die, and even killed someone with his bare hands. James felt freedom from it.
The Revenge of the Betrayed Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 7