Day: July 7, 2026

Fury of the Wind

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excerpt

usual from the heat and being on them all day, were propped on an
ottoman.
“I really am vexed with you, Will.”
“Oh?” Will did not look up from the prize list in his hand.
“Yes, you certainly were not using your head when you put that
Fielding woman to work in the same booth as Jean McKinnon.”
Will leaned over and switched on the lamp beside his chair.
“Damn it, Molly, I’m not in the mood to argue.”
“I don’t intend to argue,” Molly said in a tone Will recognized as
being sarcastically sweet, “because you must have realized by now
that you were in the wrong.”
Will looked at her over the top of his eyeglasses. “If giving the girl
a chance to get to know the town women was wrong, then I plead
guilty. As a matter of fact, now that you’ve mentioned Sarah, I’ll tell
you I’ve been thinking of asking her to join the Agricultural Association.”
His eyes twinkled mischievously. “With her background
she’ll make a great secretary.”
Molly’s mouth fell open then clamped shut with a click of her
dentures. “Will Andrews,” she gasped, “you wouldn’t dare.”
“Why wouldn’t I?’
“You know perfectly well why. Not one of the town women would
ever have anything to do with the Association again, and you know it.”
“Then it would be their loss, not mine.” He felt his bile rising.
“Anyway, none of you even know Sarah. What’ve you got against
her except that she married Ben Fielding?”
“Well, that’s it, isn’t it? She married Ben Fielding, and only a
coarse woman or a slut would have considered doing that.”
“Then,” said Will mildly, “there must have been sluts in Nimkus
long before Sarah arrived.”
Molly sprang to her feet, her lower lip trembling. Turning her
back to him she strode, with all the dignity she possessed, to the
bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Will watched her over
the top of his gold rims.
Oh drat, why wouldn’t she talk about it, even after all these years?
“Oh, you’re an old fool, Andrews,” he muttered under his breath.
He should know by now that needling her never got him anywhere.
He sighed and looked down at his papers.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981073530

In Turbulent Times

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excerpt

‘This has been a splendid day.’ Clifford Hamilton pronounced each word separately, distinctly and with obvious satisfaction.
‘I’ll drink to that,’ said John Simpson, a prematurely balding colleague of Clifford’s at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. He was an English-trained heart specialist who had come to Belfast from the Royal Army Medical Corps after the war.
‘I think we can all drink to that.’ Clifford’s wife Fiona displayed her prominent teeth. ‘And to your fiftieth birthday, darling. What a wonderful way to celebrate.’
A chorus of ‘Hear, hear’; ‘Happy five-o, Clifford’; ‘Great day altogether’ responded to Fiona’s remarks.
The five members of the jovial party had spent the day in Clifford’s new Bentley—a birthday present to himself—driving around the countryside of the Drumard hills and visiting places that Clifford had known as a boy. He had amused his passengers like an Irish jarvey with stories and histories and half-remembered ballads about drumlins and dolmens, outlaws and rebels, murders and massacres, big houses and castles, and their restless ghosts. The sun had shone all day from an unblemished sky; the road had shimmered in front of them; the sea glimmered and sparkled; and the mountains languished in a lavender haze, like a herd of huge animals sprawling in the sun at noon. The journey had ended at the Drumard Strand Hotel, a large red sandstone building on the green foreshore at Carraghlin, where Clifford and Fiona’s twenty-year-old son Julian and his girlfriend Catriona had joined them.
‘I admit it’s not my favourite bit of architecture,’ Clifford had said of the hotel. ‘But here we can dine in a manner befitting the mood of the day—splendidly. A grotty little cafe on the main street just wouldn’t have been right.’
‘And what can you tell us about this place, Clifford?’ asked John Simpson’s recently married wife, Susan, a short, slim, sharp-featured young woman from a wealthy, landowning politician’s family in Oxfordshire.

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562904

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763270

Blood, Feathers and Holy Men

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excerpt

“They’re family. That’s different.” Ula stood up at the sound of footsteps and tumbling
pebbles just above their perch. It was Brother Ailan.
“You two are out early. Brother Rordan, Finten’s been looking for you. You
skipped morning prayer again.”
“Thanks Ailan. If I didn’t have you to look out for me, how would I possibly survive?
We’ll be there for breakfast.”
“You had better hurry then or Brother Keallach will eat your share. I’ll make sure
he leaves some for you, little sister.”
Ula smiled at the chubby monk. “Thanks Brother Ailan. We’re coming.” She offered
a hand to Rordan and pulled him to his feet.
Rordan and Ula allowed Brother Ailan to get well ahead of them before following
back to the Brothers’ lodge. For the first time in many weeks, the Native village
appeared to be deserted except for Finten, Ailan, Keallach, Bjorn, and Ari who stood
waiting at the lodge door until they saw Rordan and Ula arriving and Finten gave
the signal to enter. Once everyone was seated in the centre eating area, Ari produced
a steaming bowl of baked gull’s eggs and cod.
Father Finten intoned the grace.
Although Father Finten managed to rattle off the entire prayer, the first mouthfuls
were stopped short by shrieks and loud whoops coming from outside the Brothers’
lodge. Brother Keallach jumped up to look outside. “My God! We’re under attack.”
Bjorn grabbed a smouldering piece of wood from the breakfast cooking fire.
Keallach grabbed another and followed him through the door blanket with Ari, Ailan,
Rordan and Ula right behind. Finten didn’t follow but fell trembling to his knees,
seeking help from a Greater Power. No sooner were the six outside the lodge than each
was grabbed and clubbed over the head by warriors with partially shaved heads. Only
Father Finten remained behind, crying to God in whispered Latin,“Déus, salvam mé.”
Rordan came to with blood trickling down his face and into his open mouth.
Shards of pain stung his naked chest and privates. His hands were tied tightly behind
his back and he was standing, roped to a pole. He opened his eyes to a wild, painted
face before a blazing fire. The sky behind the face was filled with a million sparks.
Whoops and yelps of a hundred savage voices rent the air. Painted Face bobbed
up and down in front of him and banged a stick against a burning bough, sending
sparks to burn Rordan’s skin, shouting “Nikamu! Nikamu! Nikamu! Yi! Yi! Yi! Yi! Yi!”
Rordan gritted his teeth and shook his head to clear his thoughts amidst the
yowls. “Nikamu! Nikamu! Nikamu! Yi! Yi! Yi! Yi! Yi!” The warrior applied the burning
bough to Rordan’s hair and, as he felt the searing on his scalp, Brother Rordan
cried out the same “Yi! Yi! Yi! Yi! Yi!”
The warrior laughed and Rordan understood that he wanted him to sing. “Yi! Yi!
Yi! Yi! Yi!”
Again the flame singed Rordan’s scalp, and again he sang, more frantically than
before, Painted Face laughed and singed his scalp once more.
That song’s not helping. If I’m to die by fire, I will go out singing.
Rordan had one song he loved above all others. He raised his head, took a deep
breath and called out beyond the pain. “Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo,
et spes nostra, salve.”

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562826

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763106

The Circle

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excerpt

The vegetable garden is a large area at the back; located on the north side of
the property and sheltered by a fence to the north. Their house faces east so that
the garden is on the western part, with the western and southern sun hitting it
almost all day. On one side, William has a small area covered with plastic and
Evelyn tells Bevan that’s where they plant the tomatoes and eggplant which like
the heat and not rain.
“We get a lot of rain here, as you know, and tomatoes don’t do well in rain, so
he covers them every year. Everything else we plant is exposed to the weather.”
“What do you usually plant, Evelyn?”
“We grow everything, you name it; we grow potatoes, celery, leeks, beets,
Swiss chard, garlic, onions, greens for the salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers,
spinach, beans of three different kinds—oh, Bevan , everything is grown here,
believe me,” she says, quite proudly.
“In other words, you literally live off the land.”
“Yes, and you’ll see all that when you come this way next year.”
Bevan smiles, and it’s his turn to clear his throat. Evelyn looks at him and smiles.
“You’re not planning to come our way when you retire, are you, Bevan?”
“Well, to be honest, Evelyn, I haven’t given it any thought as yet; I have a few
things to do before I retire.”
“What do you still have to do, my brother? Isn’t it enough that you have given
this service of yours your whole life? Aren’t the tragedies that have taken place all
over the world in the last thirty years enough? However, I don’t want to go there
again and upset you; after all, you’re an admiral. Your job is to serve the armed
forces of this land.”
But Bevan doesn’t get upset with Evelyn. He has made peace with that side of
himself, and his sister doesn’t get him upset anymore. As a matter of fact, he’s at
such peace with himself lately that he feels just great, even when she talks harshly
about the army.
“Are you at peace with yourself, Bevan?”
He takes a deep breath and looks at the garden with all the vegetables they
grow. He sees his sister being so relaxed and in a state of complete satisfaction
with herself. He knows he’s in that same state also, but it’s very hard to explain
why. He knows why and that is good enough for the time being. When they read
in the papers later on what has transpired, they’ll understand. She’ll understand
why he’s at peace with himself at this time in his life.
“I am quite happy to see that you and William are in good health and in good
spirits, as always. I’ll make a point of coming back here again some time and then
perhaps we’ll talk about being at peace and all. Right now, I’m very happy to see
you are well, my dearest sister.”

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562817

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978186524