Multi-argument parameter handling

I am attempting to add a user configurable multi-argument parameter to an exec-maven-plugin invocation in the verify phase of my project. However, the multi-argument parameter is always attached to the Apache CommandLine object as a single argument (with escaping so it goes that way into the command).

What I would like to be able to do is this:

<configuration>
    <executable>java</executable>
    <workingDirectory>${project.basedir}/src/test/features</workingDirectory>
    <arguments>
        <argument>...</argument>
        <argument>-classpath</argument>
        <classpath/>
        <argument>cucumber.api.cli.Main</argument>
        <argument>...</argument>
        <argument>${cuke.files}</argument>
    </arguments>
</configuration>

And have the execution pass the cuke.files variable as multiple arguments on the command line to the executing command.

However, if I pass a multi-argument (space separated) value into the cuke.files variable in Maven, the CommandLine goes as one parameter escaping the spaces.

Is there a way to achieve this functionality with the current version of the plugin, and if so, how do I do it? Or, if that functionality is not handled today and I put together a pull request for splitting on spaces in an argument, would someone be willing to merge it into the mainline?

Start by tracing how the exec-maven-plugin maps the configuration and the cuke.files property into the Apache CommandLine object during the verify-phase invocation. No source file or test is named, so first locate that argument-handling entry point; done means the supported behavior is decided and verified for both separate argument elements and a space-separated property value.