“It depends,” he said, after a meditative sip. “Where he is, who he can talk to. And whether he can still read the Gàidhlig,” he added, with a rueful smile. “If not, we’re nay worse off than before. If we’re lucky, he may be moved to find out who Cunningham’s been dealing with among the Cherokee, and maybe drop a word to the headman of that village.”

I nodded, dubious. The Cherokee territory was a vast country, with hundreds of villages. On the other hand, Jamie was well known there as the Indian agent before Scotchee, and I rather thought that while Charles Cunningham’s accomplices might be familiar with some of the Cherokee headmen, Cunningham himself almost certainly wasn’t. Alexander Duff and his son lived within a quarter mile of the Cunningham cabin; Donald MacGillies within a stone’s throw of the Duffs. Sandy Duff and Donald MacGillies were Ardsmuir men, wholly to be trusted, and I knew they had been keeping an eye on the comings and goings over the Treaty Line.

“What did you do with the rifles you took from Cunningham?” I asked, pouring another cup of hot milk and adding a drizzle of honey.

“Gave most of them to men I can trust. Speaking o’ that …” he said, and yawned again. “Oh, God … I’ll have to send word to the Overmountain men, though I canna reach them all in time. Sevier might come, though; he’s the closest, and a solid man. And he doesna much like Indians.”

108

Lodge Night

Seven days later

JAMIE COULDN’T EAT SUPPER, though he hadn’t eaten anything since the night before. His wame was closed as a knotted glove, and he didn’t feel hungry; the lack of food sharpened his bones and cleared his head. He felt calm but as though he was standing behind a sheet of glass, watching himself.

“Eh?” Claire had said something to him, and he hadn’t heard. He made a brief gesture of apology, and she narrowed her eyes at him—not in annoyance, in concern.

“It’s fine, Sassenach,” he assured her. “Cunningham doesna want me dead. The worst that can happen is that he takes me prisoner tonight.”

“What about what happens after that?” she demanded. She was wound tight as a new watch; he could see her wee gears spinning, and smiled. One of her eyebrows went up, and he leaned over and kissed it.