The Brickmaker's Bride Read Online Free PDF

want to be known as liars or cheats in their new homeland. Do you not see that the best way to build a business is with honesty and fairness?” He waved toward his uncle. “Tell her, Uncle Hugh. The price they were asking was fair, was it not?”
    “Aye, I suppose it was, but I’m a man who enjoys bartering and making a deal.”
    Ewan bit back the words he longed to speak: the secret he’d learned while crossing the sea. He’d promised to keep his lips sealed, and he would keep his word. But he would not become a party to cheating anyone.
    “It’s not your money that’s crossing hands, is it?” Margaret speared several green beans with her fork. “You owe your uncle money, and you need to do as he tells you.”
    Ewan inhaled a deep breath. “I do owe him money, but that does not mean I’ll compromise on this point. I’m sure I could find work as a brick burner and eventually repay him.”
    “But you’d never earn enough to bring your sisters over here, now would ya?” Margaret glared across the table.
    “We all need each other, and arguing won’t settle things. There’s been enough talk for tonight.” Hugh nodded to hiswife. “Ewan and I will settle our differences in private.” He signaled to the waitress. “I could eat a piece of that apple pie.”
    Maggie pushed away from the table. “You enjoy your pie, Hugh. Kathleen and I are going upstairs so you and Ewan can settle your differences.” She stood and rested her palm on her husband’s shoulder. “Just see to it that any differences settled between the two of you don’t interfere with a move into the Woodfield Manor by the end of the month.”
    Hugh’s lips tightened and caused his mustache to droop more than usual. “You’re hovering over me like a black shadow, Maggie. You need to remember that purchasing a quality brickyard is more important than any house. I haven’t made a final decision to buy from Mrs. Woodfield, so don’t be making plans to move into her house just yet.”
    Margaret squared her shoulders and squeezed his upper arm. “I’m tired of traveling, and this is where I want to settle. There’s not a man alive who can strike a better bargain than you if there’s no one interfering in the process.” She cast a warning look at Ewan. “I just want to make certain you understand my position before I go upstairs.”
    Hugh glanced over his shoulder. “Aye, and now that you’ve said your piece, will ya let Ewan and me discuss our differences?”
    “No need to speak in such a gruff tone. I said I was going upstairs.” Margaret motioned to her sister. “Come along, Kathleen. Let’s give the men their privacy.”
    The two women wove between the tables, with Kathleen following close on Margaret’s heels. Hugh nodded toward them. “Ya’d never know they were sisters. O’course Kathleen is nearer your age than Maggie’s, so I guess she’s a wee bit afraid of Margaret. Still, the differences between the two are immense. Kathleen’s quiet as a mouse while my Margaret’s as loud as a yapping dog. Took me a lot of years to abide her ways, but I understand shemeans well, and I’ve learned to make allowances because of her childhood. Besides, I’m not the easiest man to live with, so she has a right to complain from time to time. I wouldn’t want anyone ever to cause strife between us.” He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. “You understand what I’m sayin’, boy?”
    Ewan stared at his uncle. Of course he understood. Because of Uncle Hugh’s gambling, the couple had separated more times than he could count on one hand. A year ago he’d given his solemn oath that those days were behind him. If Aunt Margaret ever discovered that a portion of the funds to finance their voyage and to purchase the brickmaking business had been won at the racetrack and gaming tables during that year, Uncle Hugh would never hear the end of it.
    And that wasn’t the worst of it. When Uncle Hugh had been in his cups during