Free Highlander's Return: The Sinclair Brothers Trilogy, Bonus Novella (Book 2.5) by Emma Prince Page B

marry him!”
    Ansel kept his eyes on Burke, but spoke to his sister
over his shoulder. “Father would disown you if he could hear you now.”
    Burke saw an opening for a new angle to reason with
Ansel. “But Murray Sutherland can’t hear her. He’s dead.”
    Ansel’s eye’s narrowed, and with a wordless bellow,
he charged. Burke just barely managed to block three mighty blows, all
delivered in rapid succession, and all aimed to decapitate him. The sounds of
their swords clanging together broke the otherwise quiet summer morning.
    As Burke continued to parry and block, sidestep and duck,
he became vaguely aware that the household staff of Brora Tower had come
hurrying out to the sounds of clashing metal. A dozen or so sets of eyes now
watched as Ansel continued to rain blows down on him.
    “Your father is dead, Ansel,” Burke panted, his arms
growing heavy from the weight of his sword and the near-constant hail of
strikes. He didn’t quite sidestep fast enough, and Ansel’s blade slid across
his side. He vaguely registered the sting and the feel of blood flowing down
his side. “This feud between us can die with him!”
    Just as Ansel raised his sword for yet another
attack, he paused, seeming to falter for a moment. Burke decided to take a
chance and risk everything. He threw his sword down, to the gasps of surprise
from those watching.
    “Let us end this needless animosity between our
clans,” he said lowly. “Let it begin with my love for Meredith, and hers for
me.”
    Uncertainty flickered across the other man’s
features. “It is my responsibility as my father’s son to carry on his legacy
and protect my family and clan.”
    “But is it really best for your family and clan to
carry on a legacy of hate? I won’t fight you, Ansel. Let us make peace.”
    Ansel’s features hardened, and Burke feared he had
made a fatal miscalculation. “He wasn’t a perfect man, but he was my father.
The Sutherlands and Sinclairs have been enemies for as long as anyone can
remember. Now fight me!” He closed the distance between them like lightening,
raising his sword to Burke’s exposed neck. “Fight me!”
     
     
    “Nay, brother!” Meredith screamed. She launched
herself forward and between the two men so that she faced Ansel and shielded
Burke with her body.
    I will not lose him again .
    “Meredith, get out of the way!” Ansel shouted at
her, his fury and frustration evident on his face.
    “Stay back, Meredith,” Burke panted behind her.
    “I won’t, not until you listen to me, Ansel.”
    Her brother’s chest rose and fell rapidly, the
battle-lust still running in his veins. But his eyes, so much like hers,
flickered to her for a moment. Slowly, he lowered the tip of his sword from
Burke’s neck.
    She took a deep breath. “You are not our father,
Ansel. You do not need to defend my honor, especially since there has been no
wrong. But more importantly, you do not need to carry on with this feud just
because Father wouldn’t let it go.”
    “The Sinclairs have raided our lands for decades!”
    “Aye, and Sutherland men have raided right back! How
did it all start, though? Do you even know? Does anyone here remember?” she
said, turning to the gathered household staff, who stood tensely nearby.
    Ansel frowned. “It had to do with taxes. Many years
ago, our ancestors raised taxes on Sinclairs who lived on Sutherland lands.”
    “The Sinclairs revolted and roasted the tax
collector alive,” Burke said from behind her.
    “Then the Sutherlands were instructed by the King to
restore order. They rounded up the revolters and burned them alive as
retribution,” Ansel finished, eying Burke warily. “The story goes that they
even fed the charred remains to the dogs for good measure.”
    Meredith cringed at the gruesome history. “Haven’t
both clans’ ancestors suffered enough? Haven’t we all suffered enough under
these never-ending hostilities?” She locked eyes with her brother, conveying to
him