A Heart In The Highlands

The Little Pretender“I am instructed to arrest a young woman staying in this castle - calling herself Iona Ward.” Iona looked from the English officer to Lady Wrexham, who was watching with a twisted smile on her face. Iona raised her head proudly, called for her cloak, and allowed herself to be conducted to an unknown fate at Fort Augustus. There the drunken, leering commander of the fort lost no time in making clear what lay in store for her. Standing accused as a Jacobite spy, she gathered her courage to ask for proofs of her guilt. “Zounds!” the major exclaimed. “Do you realise, you cheeky wench, that I have the authority to have you thrown into the deepest dungeon in this fort? Or, better still, give you over to my men for their amusement?”