The Border Trilogy Read Online Free PDF Page B

for self-preservation still kept her temper under some control. “I cannot marry a borderer, Father. He does me no honor!”
    Duncan glowered. “What is this willna and canna? By Christ’s holy rood, lass, ye overstep yourself, and I’ll no brook such damned impertinence. Would ye shame me, forby, asking that I gae back on me word? By God, ye’ll accept the mon and be fidging fain of it into the bargain!” He was shouting now, and she freed her temper at last, wrenching away from him and turning, arms akimbo, to reply in kind.
    “I will never be glad, Father, nor eager. Indeed, if you want this match so much, you may marry the man yourself, for I will not! Why should I consider your honor when you would force me to submit mine to the will of that…that prick-eared, border-bred Jack-sauce!”
    When Duncan went rigid with fury, Mary Kate gasped in dismay, realizing at once that despite all her good intentions, she had allowed her temper to carry her beyond the limit of what he would tolerate. It was too late for remorse, however, for her father’s immediate intent was only too clear. She stepped back, involuntarily putting up her hands to fend him off, though she knew such a gesture to be weak as well as useless, and despised herself for making it. In an attempt to recover her dignity, she said carefully, “I beg your pardon, Father. I ought never to have spoken so to you.”
    “Nae doot. Fetch a switch, Mary Katharine.”
    “Father, I—”
    “Whist now, and do as you’re bid.” His gray beard bristled. “Ye’ll no speak such nash-gab tae me, daughter. Not wi’out ye suffer the consequence, as ye ken full weel. Ye’ve met the mon but once in your life, so this blathering canna be but a bairn’s wicked tantrum, which is a thing I didna tolerate when ye were a week lassock and willna tolerate from ye the noo. A swingeing’s what ye’ve asked for, and by the rood, a swingeing’s what ye’ll get.” He pointed toward the door. “Fetch me a switch.”
    Sighing, Mary Kate did as she was told, and when Duncan had exerted his paternal authority to his complete satisfaction, he threw the switch onto the fire and released her. “A bargain’s been struck,” he said sternly, “and a proper good bargain it be, sae ye’ll submit wi’ a good face on it. Sir Adam returns on the morrow tae speak wi’ ye himself, as is proper. Ye’ll don a decent gown, conduct yourself wi’ propriety, and we’ll be having nae more o’ this defiance, gin ye please. D’ye take my meaning, lass?”
    “Aye,” Mary Kate replied, her manner grim but subdued. His meaning was clear, and she knew now that he would not hesitate to force her submission by whatever means he deemed necessary. Though Duncan was not by nature a harsh man, he could be an obstinate one, and she knew her own stubbornness was no match for his, particularly when, as now, she could not believe herself to be altogether in the right.
    She wiped dampness from her eyes with the back of her hand, but the gesture brought her no sympathy. Duncan merely ordered her off to bed without her supper as he had done when she had misbehaved as a child. In general an indulgent parent, he had shown little tolerance then for her “damned insolence” and had never allowed her to be rude or impertinent to him or to any other adult, so she couldn’t be altogether surprised that he had lost his temper with her tonight. Her behavior, she readily admitted—if only to herself—had been inexcusable. She had known the moment the offending words crossed her lips what the consequences would be, but she didn’t mind the punishment as much as the knowledge that her father had made up his mind to the marriage.
    She knew Duncan had been disappointed, even shocked, by her negative reaction to the match. He had clearly expected her to be delighted. For that matter, any girl in her senses probably would be delighted, she decided, because any girl in her senses would care more about