Justice for the Damned Read Online Free PDF

and angry red. "This is a matter for private
discussion!" she growled, staring at the glover as if he had just walked
in on this conversation unbidden.
    Master
Bernard bowed with nervous grace. "I will take my leave most
willingly..."
    "Nay,
you shall not!" Alys barked, then beamed at him with love. She turned to
her mother. "I can think of no reason why he and I should not marry. Since
he has asked most courteously for my hand, he has the right to hear from you in
plain speech why his suit is unacceptable and Master Herbert's so
persuasive."
    "Later
might be best. I can return when..." Bernard edged toward the door.
    Jhone's
back stiffened. Although her lips twisted into a chill smile, disdain burned
hot in her dark-rimmed eyes. "My disobedient daughter may have chosen to
forget that it was her father's last wish that she marry Master Herbert, but I
have not. Of course I must follow my dead husband's direction. Surely you can
understand my obligation as a proper wife in this matter, Master Bernard?"
    The
glover nodded quickly, then glanced at Alys with silent apology.
    She
turned her head away as if he had just denounced her.
    "Were
my husband still alive, Master Glover, he might have explained that your youth
and failure to show great success in your own trade were strong arguments
against your suit. My dead husband's wool venture was profitable, and my
daughter's husband must not only assume this undertaking but build on it.
Neither you nor Master Herbert is knowledgeable about wool. That is true, but
my husband left a trusted man to help run the business until a sound tradesman
can take over the management of it and learn what is needed. This requires a
man who has proven he knows how to manage a profitable enterprise. You clearly
lack this experience. Master Herbert, on the other hand, has proven his skills
in his vintner trade."
    "So
say you! Bernard is not poor. He has just begun in the business his father left
him, but you can see how prosperous he looks." Alys gestured at her plump
beloved as if arguing the benefits of buying a fat sheep. As her eyes focused
on the man himself, her expression softened with love. "Modest in dress,
but..." She blushed.
    "This
boy makes gloves !”Jhone shouted with evident exasperation.
"Master Herbert is a wine merchant with vineyards in Gascony. He has
gained respect amongst merchants beyond our shores and could improve on what
your father began with the contacts he has made." She waved at the young
man as if he were so insubstantial that her gesture would make him disappear.
    "What
is wrong with gloves?" Alys protested.
    "May
I explain..." Bernard began.
    "Fa!"
Jhone spat, doggedly pursuing her argument with this daughter who remained so
illogically enamored of something other than a secure living. "A glover
and his family will starve the first time crops turn black from drought and no
one can buy such pretty trifles. Wine and wool are things we all must have. Not
only does Master Herbert have the more secure business and better connections,
he is of more mature years." She put her hands on her hips. "Must I
remind you that he provided well for the wants and fancies of a prior
wife?"
    "We
can all drink beer and wear homespun cloth if bad times come." The girl's
voice dripped with contempt. "I would rather a man whose hands are as soft
as his gloves than one with horny, old paws. Marry him yourself, mother, if you
like him all that well!"
    Jhone
leapt forward and slapped her daughter, then stared with horror at the red mark
her fingers had left on her only child's cheek.
    Bernard
put his hand behind him against the wall and moved toward the door. Quickly he
looked over his shoulder. The door was shut. He closed his eyes.
    Tears
streamed out of Alys' eyes, and she fell to her knees in front of her mother.
"I beg your forgiveness! Can we not make peace in this matter? I want to
be your most dutiful daughter, but I yearn just as much to become
Bernard's wife."
    Jhone
clutched her hands