Just Beyond Tomorrow by Bertrice Small Read Free Book Online

seated in a high-backed, blackened oak chair next to it was a white-haired old man. He had been a large man once, but now he was gnarled and bent, his most prominent feature being his large, hooked nose. His eyes, however, were sharp, watching carefully as his visitor approached him in the company of his son.
    â€œThis is Patrick Leslie, the Duke of Glenkirk, Da,” Aulay Brodie said.
    Patrick bowed politely to the old man. “Sir.”
    Lachlann Brodie waved the younger man to a seat opposite him. “Bring whiskey,” he said curtly. His command was quickly obeyed. His gaze swung about to his only daughter. “Where were ye?” he demanded.
    â€œAt Brae,” she said. “I intend taking Aggie and Angus so I may live there.”
    â€œHuumph!” her father grunted, and then his eyes moved back to Patrick Leslie. “They say ye brought my lass home, bound hand and foot upon yer saddle. Why?”
    â€œShe attacked me,” the duke replied quietly. “Nae one arrow, but two, shot at my feet, nae to mention the dirk she waved about. I considered it a hostile action.”
    â€œShe could hae killed ye if she so desired,” Lachlann Brodie replied, chuckling. “When she was sixteen I saw her bring down a full-grown stag with one of those arrows. Straight through the beastie’s heart she shot it. She could hae found her own way back to Killiecairn.”
    â€œI want to buy Brae,” Patrick Leslie said bluntly.
    â€œWhy?” The old man’s eyes were suddenly sparkling with interest.
    â€œIt abuts my lands. I want as much land between me and my neighbors as I can get,” the duke answered him. “These are dangerous times between the king’s war down in England and the religious fanatics all about us.”
    â€œAye,” Lachlann Brodie agreed.
    â€œYe canna sell Brae, Da,” Flanna interrupted him. “ ’Tis mine. My dowry. ’Tis all I hae!”
    â€œI’ll gie ye a fair price for it,” the duke continued as if Flanna had not even spoken. “A dower of gold is more valuable to a lass than Brae and its forested lands. They are all surrounded by Glenkirk lands, useless to anyone else but me.”
    â€œHow much?” Lachlann Brodie asked.
    â€œTwo hundred and fifty gold crowns,” came the answer.
    The old man shook his head in the negative. “ ’Tis nae enough.”
    â€œFive hundred, then,” the duke replied.
    There was an audible hiss of breath in the hall at the very substantial offer.
    â€œ ’Tis nae gold I’m wanting for Brae, my lord,” Lachlann Brodie finally said. “There isna enough gold in the world for ye to buy Brae.”
    â€œThen, what do ye want, sir?” the duke inquired. “If it is in my power to gie it to ye, I will, for I mean to hae Brae.”
    â€œIf ye want Brae, my lord, then ye must take its heiress as well,” Lachlann Brodie said. “Marry Flanna, and Brae is yers.”
    â€œDamn me!” Aulay Brodie said aloud, as surprised as the rest of the audience in the hall. Gold was his father’s God, yet here was the old man actually attempting to do well by his youngest child.
    â€œI dinna want to marry anyone, least of all him!” Flanna exploded.
    â€œShut yer mouth, lass,” her father said calmly. “I’m a hard man, and ’tis true I’m tight wi’ a merk, but I loved yer mam. She was the joy of my old age. I promised her I’d see ye wed well, and the truth is, lass, ye’re nae likely to hae a better chance ever again.” He turned back to the duke. “Well, my lord, how badly do ye want Brae? She’s nae a bad-looking wench, although a trifle big boned. She gets that, I fear, from me and nae her mother. She’s young enough to be a good breeder, although at twenty-two she’s almost past her prime. She’s got a fierce temper, I’ll nae lie to ye, but ye could nae hae a