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proposition.
She and her men were outnumbered by perhaps five to one.
    Glenis's words of caution ripped through Madeleine's
mind, along with her own promise not to take any heedless chances. In this
instance it was best to seek the counsel of all involved, she decided.
    "We have a choice to make," Madeleine said
evenly, looking from one somber face to the next. "We can either make our
way to Aberchalder Burn by another route, or we can take these cursed redcoats
by surprise and add a few well-loaded supply wagons to out bounty. What do ye
say?"
    "I'm for raiding the bastards!" Allan spoke
up first, with Kenneth not long behind him.
    "Aye, and me, too!"
    Madeleine had expected as much from the hotheaded
Fraser brothers. They were always spoiling for a fight.
    "What say ye, Angus?" she asked. Of all her
kinsmen, she trusted Angus Ramsay's opinion the most. He was steady and
cautious, and his thoughtful wisdom reminded her of her father.
    "Given the number of soldiers, 'tis perilous at
best, Maddie. But we've seen worse scraps before. I think if 'tis well planned,
we have a good chance of capturing three wagons, but no more. With the cattle,
'twould be the most we could manage."
    Madeleine nodded. "So ye'd support a raid then,
Angus?"
    "Aye."
    "How about ye, Ewen?"
    "If Angus believes 'tis possible, then I'm with
ye."
    "Duncan?"
    "Aye, Maddie."
    "Then it's decided," she said, smiling
faintly. "After this raid we'll have so much food we'll have earned a
week's rest." She leaned forward in her saddle, tense excitement bubbling
within her. She loved a good challenge. "Now, Kenneth, if ye'll tell us
the layout of the camp, we'll plan our next move."

     
    ***

     
    Madeleine lay flat on her stomach with her elbows drawn
up beneath her chest, scarcely breathing. She gazed intently at the English
camp just ten yards away and down a slight decline, irritation gripping her.
    Eyeing the blond officer seated by the fire with his
broad back to her, she thought, if that bastard doesn't settle in soon, we'll
have to abandon the raid.
    A precious hour had passed since she and her kinsmen
had tethered the cattle and crept up on the camp. They could have completed
their business and been well on their way to Aberchalder Burn by now if not for
that captain. He was the only man left awake in the camp, other than the three
guards standing watch.
    "Patience, lass," Angus whispered as if he
sensed her thoughts.
    Madeleine glanced over her shoulder at him, somewhat
chagrined. He and Ewen Burke flanked her, their faces and hair also blackened
with peat ash, caps pulled down well over their heads, and dark brown kerchiefs
covering the lower halves of their faces.
    They were waiting for her signal, as were Duncan and
the Fraser brothers, who were hiding near the three guards positioned at cross
angles about the camp. That signal could not come until that English officer
settled in for the night.
    A snapping branch startled her, and she turned back to
the camp. The captain had risen to his feet and was walking around the
perimeter of the clearing. He seemed to be searching the darkness beyond the
glow of the fire, and they ducked their heads as he passed within ten feet of
them.
    Madeleine held her breath, the moist ground cold
against her cheek. She waited, listening, until his footsteps moved away. When
she looked up he was back by the fire and shaking out a blanket, his face to
her.
    Unwittingly she found herself thinking he was a very
handsome man. He was tall and powerfully built, his hair a burnished gold in
the firelight . . .
    She bit her lip angrily. Fool! What was coming over
her? How could she consider an English soldier handsome? He was a murderer, a
beast. He might even be the man who had killed her father!
    Madeleine kept that thought in her mind as she watched
the officer lie down on the ground, wrap himself in the blanket, and roll onto
his back. She decided grimly that it would become his death shroud if he made
even the slightest motion