“I will send men to find out all they can. Then we will decide what is to be done,” Storm said and turned. “Come. We need to get back to camp. There is work to be done.”
Burke didn’t want to follow. He wanted to head in the opposite direction and demand to see his brother, if it was indeed his brother, and then he would demand his brother be freed or he’d buy his way out of prison. One way or another, he intended to free Cullen, his brother, and take him home to America. He had promised his father, and he intended to keep his promise. Besides, he wanted to get to know his brother; he was all the family Burke had left.
Nightfall found them camped behind a large boulder, a single fish serving as their meal. Storm ate little, though Burke insisted she eat more. She insisted she wasn’t hungry, and he wondered if that was her standard response when little food was available.
Tanin was quick to seek his bed. Burke realized he was a man of few words but of great courage and compassion and a man who thought highly of Storm. He wondered what had brought the pair together and what bond kept them together.
Burke approached Storm where she sat perched on the edge of a boulder, staring into the night.
“Tell me of the Earl of Balford.”
Storm didn’t even turn and acknowledge him.
“He is not a man of his word.”
“You’ve dealt with him before?”
“Yes, to my regret,” she said.
Sorrow clearly filled her voice and Burke ventured to guess, “You lost a man to him?”
“Yes,” she admitted reluctantly and looked about to say more, but remained silent.
Burke waited, giving her time, realizing the memory hadn’t been a pleasant one and that perhaps she didn’t wish to recall any more of it.
She took a breath and continued. “He has a small dungeon beneath his manor house. He imprisons tenants on whatever charges he creates—”
She paused, and Burke wondered how many such painful memories she must have endured while helping people.
She sighed and went on. “He then charges the families for the food and the cell.”
“What if the family has no money?”
“The prisoner starves to death and then the family is charged to remove his body or it’s tossed in the woods for the animals to feed on.”
While the information disgusted Burke, it also gave him a shred of hope. “Then there’s a good chance I can buy my brother’s freedom.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“Why?”
“That someone who poached on Dunwith land was taken to Glencurry for imprisonment doesn’t make sense.”
“What do you think is going on?”
“That’s what we need to find out, but first we have to determine if it’s your brother being held at Glencurry.”
“Tanin and I can go and find out,” Burke suggested, anxious that his brother might need his help this very minute and he was wasting precious time.
“No. I will send what men I choose.”
“I will not see my brother suffer,” Burke said firmly. “If I go and discover it is Cullen, I can make immediate arrangements to have him freed.”
“How? You have no money.”
That stopped Burke, but only for a moment. “I’ll make certain the earl understands that he’ll receive plenty of money in two weeks.”
“In which time your brother will more than likely starve if he hasn’t already.”
Burke raked his hair with his fingers in frustration. “I can’t stand by and do nothing.”
“You’re not,” Storm assured him. “If my men ascertain it is your brother and they believe they can easily free him, then they will do so and return to camp with him.”
“I want to be part of the rescue,” Burke insisted.
“You would only be a hindrance. You are not familiar with Glencurry land or the manor itself. I will send men who know it well. The best thing you can do for your brother is to wait here.”
“You ask a lot.”
“I give a lot—your brother’s freedom.”
Burke reluctantly admitted to himself that she made sense but it didn’t ease his annoyance. He made one more attempt. “I could wait along the trail.”
“You can wait at camp, and that settles it.”
Burke held his tongue, realizing she tested him. Would he follow her orders or not? If he didn’t, would she refuse to help him any further? He wouldn’t take a chance with his brother’s life. He would do as she instructed though it rankled him.
“We’ll do it your way.”
“We will always do it my way, Burke.” She smiled.
He grabbed her chin and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Don’t count on that.”