LITMIR.BIZ

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years of age. Most of my nieces and nephews are older than I am. They all live at Killiecairn. A huge household of loud, boasting, noisy men, bullying and ordering their womenfolk about. I dinna like it. As I hae my own lands I decided to go and live at Brae.”

      “By yerself?” he asked her. “And yer father agreed?”

      “I hae a maidservant, Aggie. She’s actually my youngest brother’s bastard daughter,” Flanna said. “I took her into my service when she was scarcely more than a child, for my brother’s wife was cruel to her. She was always looking for an excuse to beat Aggie.”

      “Two lasses in an isolated and tumbling-down castle?” Patrick Leslie’s voice was scornful. “And yer father agreed?” he repeated.

      Flanna swallowed back her sharp retort. She needed this man’s good will if she was to deter him from his planned purpose to purchase Brae and thereby disenfranchise her. “I hae Angus,” she said slowly. “He was my mother’s servant. When Mama died he became mine. He stands almost seven feet tall and is a most fearsome warrior.”

      Patrick almost laughed aloud. Two lassies and a daft, old soldier-at-arms. This Angus would have to be daft to agree to Flanna’s plan. He restrained his mirth. He was doing Flanna Brodie a kindness in buying Brae. It was nonsense, of course, her wish not to marry. His gold would gain her a very respectable husband. He would even be a little more generous than he had anticipated, for in a strange way he admired her spirit. Flaming Flanna, Colly had said they called her. She was certainly well named.

      “Dinna fret, lass,” he told her. “It will all turn out for the best, I promise ye.”

      God’s nightshirt! Flanna swore silently. Did this damned duke have a hearing deficiency, or was he just plain stupid? Had he not heard her or understood what she had been saying to him. “Please, my lord,” she said, swallowing her pride for the moment, “dinna offer to buy Brae. ’Tis all I hae. My da will keep yer gold. I shall nae see a bit of it.”

      “Nonsense, lassie,” he attempted to soothe her. “Ye’re yer father’s only daughter. He’ll want to do well by ye.”

      “Damnit!” Flanna burst out. “Do ye nae understand, my lord? Lachlann Brodie is a mean-spirited old man! He’ll nae spend a groat unless forced to do so. Why do ye think my brothers and their families are all forced to live at Killiecairn? He would gie my brothers nothing. So the wives they finally managed to marry had little themselves. Nae one of them hae a bit of land to call her own that her husband might hae for himself. And they hate the old man for it, although none is bold enough to say so aloud. Offer to buy Brae, and he’ll take yer gold, leaving me as penniless as my brothers. And when he is dead and gone, the heir, my eldest brother, Aulay, will be just like him. I will hae nothing!”

      Her words had the ring of truth to them, but Patrick Leslie could not believe any man would deprive his only daughter of what was rightfully hers. Especially such a pretty wench, for she was, indeed, pretty. The lass was exaggerating because she didn’t want her mother’s ancestral lands sold off. He could understand, but he nonetheless meant to have Brae. The Duke of Glenkirk said nothing more as they rode along. Flanna Brodie was silent, too, her body slumped slightly as if in defeat. It was mid-afternoon when they reached the glen of Killiecairn where Lachlann Brodie’s large stone house stood dark against the gray sky. As they drew abreast of the front entrance, a woman emerged shouting.

      “There ye are, ye wicked little devil! Where hae ye been? Who are these men? Get off that horse at once! Yer sire has been readying himself all day to gie ye the beating ye deserve!” The woman’s face was red with her anger.

      “This is my eldest brother’s wife, Una Brodie, my lord,” Flanna said dryly. “Una, this is the Duke of Glenkirk. I caught him trespassing at Brae, and he hae captured me.” Mockingly she held up her bound hands. “I am afraid I canna dismount until my ankles are unbound.”

      At the sight of her sister-in-law’s plight, Una Brodie began to shriek so loudly that her extended family came running from all directions, surrounding the riders, open-mouthed.

      The duke was certain he heard Flanna Brodie chuckle wickedly, but on reflection decided he had imagined it. “There is nae need to shout, madame,” he told Una Brodie. “If I meant the Brodies of Killiecairn any harm, I should hae scarce come wi’ just six men at my back.” He untied Flanna’s wrists, instructing Colin More-Leslie to undo the girl’s leg shackles at the same time. “Ye may get down,” he murmured to her.

      “Oh, no, my lord,” she said, almost gaily, obviously enjoying herself mightily. “The view from up here is far better than I should get on the ground. Besides, I hae never been on such a fine beast as this one is.”

      “We shall both get down,” he said through gritted teeth, dismounting first, then lifting the girl to the ground after him.

      “What the hell is going on here?” a man, fully as tall as the duke, said as he pushed his way forward. “Flanna? Where hae ye been? The old man hae been frantic all day wi’out ye.” His glance met the duke’s green gaze. “And, who are ye, sir?”

      “Patrick Leslie, Duke of Glenkirk,” was the reply. “I hae business wi’ yer sire, man.” He held out his hand.

      It was gripped in return. “Aulay Brodie, my lord. If ye will come wi’ me. Ye and yer men are welcome in our hall. Una! Cease yer caterwauling, woman! ’Tis nae a raid. ’Tis a visit, damnit! We get few enough. Dinna drive our visitors away before we can offer them our hospitality.”

      The duke followed Aulay Brodie into his house, Flanna hurrying ahead of them, the others following behind. The little hall was soon full with all the family and servants. There was but one smoky fireplace at the far end of the room, and 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.

      “This 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.

      “At Brae,” she said. “I intend taking Aggie and Angus so I may live there.”

      “Huumph!” 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?”

      “She 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.”

      “She 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.”

      “I want to buy Brae,” Patrick Leslie said bluntly.

      “Why?” The old man’s eyes were suddenly sparkling with interest.

      “It 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.”

      “Aye,” Lachlann Brodie agreed.

      “Ye canna sell Brae, Da,” Flanna interrupted him. “ ’Tis mine. My dowry. ’Tis all I hae!”

      “I’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.”

      “How much?” Lachlann Brodie asked.

      “Two

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