I'm going to post a few random snippets, things that are too long to put on FB and that I don't feel like sharing quite so widely. :) >>> -- Cindy's Cottage

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 14:30:00 03/06/13 Wed
Author:

celtgirl ()
Subject: I'm going to post a few random snippets, things that are too long to put on FB and that I don't feel like sharing quite so widely. :) >>>
In reply to: celtgirl 's message, "Good heavens, the cobwebs are thick in here! I'll give it a sweep and put the Barry's on to steep. The whiskey is on the sideboard, help yourselves. :)" on 14:11:38 03/06/13 Wed

copyright 2013 Cindy Brandner

(This first one is clearly from the short stories I'm working on)

�Do ye intend to commit to the woman yer seein�, then?� Casey asked, black eyes holding a challenge in them.

Brian felt a jolt go through him. �Pardon me, boy? What woman would that be?�

�The one ye sneak off to see when ye think we�re asleep on Saturday nights.�

He raised his eyebrows. �An� what makes ye so certain it�s a woman I�m off to see those nights?�

�Because ye always dress nice an� put aftershave on. An� ye sing as yer gettin� ready. Seems like it must be a woman.�

He hadn�t realized he was quite so obvious. Mind you it was hard to have three males live in such close proximity and not have all aware of the nuances of each others� lives. Patrick wore a look of lively interest, his pencil stilled in his grubby hand.

�Aye, it�s a woman, but that�s the point, isn�t it? A woman, not a girl.�

�Well, ye told me to keep away from women, so a girl is all the choice I have right now.�

Were the boy so clearly not fit for the celibate life, Brian would have been certain his true vocation was in the Jesuit brotherhood, he could certainly twist arguments about like one.

�Do ye intend to commit to her?�

Brian suddenly realized the question was much larger than it appeared on the surface. Casey was asking if this woman was going to become a part of all their lives.

�I don�t know, son� besides what makes ye think any woman would see me as a bargain?�

The boy rolled his eyes. �Da�, we�re not halfwits, women like ye. They like ye a great deal. Ye could have yer pick any time.�

He supposed that was true enough. Women did like him, always had, maybe not quite so much as they were going to like this laddie when he was finally grown into those big hands and feet, but no, he had not lacked for female attention in his life. Only, how to explain to this son of his that it didn�t much matter one way or the other if it wasn�t the right woman.

�I�m not sure I see yer point,� he said, stalling a bit for time.

�Well, when ye can take yer pick, I figure if ye�ve picked one, she must be special, no?�

Then again, maybe the boy didn�t need him to explain, maybe he understood all too well.

�I am not goin� to discuss my love life or lack thereof with my fourteen-year-old son.�

Casey�s eyes narrowed. �So what�s she like, this woman?�

Brian took a deep breath. He expected honesty from his boys, and he had always given it in return as much as he felt was necessary.

�She�s lovely an� her name is Aibhlinn.�

�Where�d ye meet her?� This from Patrick, who had given up all pretense of doing sums.

�On the side of the road. She had a flat tire an� I stopped to change it for her.�

�Is she pretty?�

�Aye, she�s very pretty.� The two boys exchanged a look and Brian began to feel like a penitent in the confession box, with two somewhat dubious priests grilling him.

�Does she have children of her own?�

�No, she doesn�t. She didn�t have a particularly happy time of it with her husband� he�s deceased now, ye understand,� Brian said, just so they were aware he wasn�t having an adulterous affair.

�Do ye stay over with her, then? Ye know on the odd night we're with Gran.� This from Casey. Brian decided that there was only so much honesty a father owed his boys.

�That will be my business, boyo, an� ye well know that�s an impertinent question.�

�It was worth a try,� Casey grinned, unrepentant.

***

Snippet #2- this is the intro to a longer chapter about Noah Murray, who has become a major character in this book.

Upon Slieve Gullion they said, on a fine day, you could see eight counties clear as glass laid below at your feet. It could make a king of the most ordinary man to see such a sight and know it to be his own, even if only for a fleeting moment. For Noah Murray the sight was just that wee bit different though, for much of what he saw lying below him was indeed within the hand of his considerable power. South Armagh was his own private fiefdom. Even the British Army acknowledged that he was the ruler in this tiny kingdom. They had learned long ago to step lightly upon this land, and when they hadn�t he had brought it sharply to their attention.

Noah Murray was considered the single biggest threat to domestic security within the United Kingdom. It was no small thing to be such. His farm was under near constant watch by Army surveillance teams dug in close to the border crossing point. In the last five years several million pounds had been spent on building watchtowers just to the north of his farm. But there were ways to elude the army and their intelligence gatherers. They had not caught him yet, though he had endured many a search of his land and house, and been beaten more than once at the hand of �interrogators�. It was simply a matter of course, and he bore it when he had to and struck back when the bastards least expected it. The Brits didn�t seem to understand that he would willingly gnaw his own tongue out before he would talk to them about anything, even the cut of their uniforms, never mind anything of real importance. His one weak spot was Kate, for he loved his sister and was extremely protective of her. He had been alarmed when she took up with Patrick Riordan, and even more so when it became clear that she loved the man in no small fashion. But he had reconciled himself with it. The man was on his way to becoming a barrister, and hadn�t taken up the Republican sword in any fashion that would bring harm to Kate. He had made it clear to him he would kill him slowly and painfully should anything happen to his sister. The man hadn�t so much as blinked and had said he�d shoot himself, thank you kindly, if any harm came to Kate on his watch. Noah had believed him, and appreciated the fact that the man didn�t seem to fear him in the least.

That was where he found Pamela Riordan such a surprise too, a wee bit of a woman who didn�t shake in terror of him. He considered what the woman had asked of him. He had told her he would help and he would, for he believed in certain human decencies, and helping a woman who looked as though a breath would crack her fragile composure, was a basic decency in his opinion. He had been somewhat surprised when she had requested a meeting with him, it took a rare courage and a rare desperation to approach him in such a manner, with little to offer in return. He wouldn�t have seen her though, had Kate not vouched for her. Women were used quite often in this war he was involved in, by both sides. A woman who looked as Pamela Riordan did could make a man take risks he couldn�t afford, could make a man lose his wits and flap his tongue. He would have to be certain any of the men she put up, knew the penalty should they feel the need to unburden themselves to that fair face. It would be as dangerous for her as it was for them.

Snippet #3- the spy angle is going to crop up majorly for Jamie in this book. Here he is being discussed by the man who runs him (or did once) and the man who is higher up and a very shadowy figure

�Oh yes, our little Irish golden boy.� He sat back, pinstriped suit immaculate, plum tie a rare blaze of colour for him. Richard considered that he must be celebrating the season, though trying to imagine this man with a home and a family, sitting down to a Christmas meal was frankly beyond him. He thought of him as always here, in this club, brandy in hand, flawlessly cut suit always the same, the man himself only animating when someone needed something, or when, God help them all, things went cock-eyed, which they most certainly had this time.

�We owe him,� Richard said, taking a sip of his own brandy. It tasted like a golden apricot dropped from the tree at the perfect moment.

�Owe him for what? He got out of Russia alive, after all.�

�He wants out of the game, in fact he says he is out.�

The Grey Man smiled, and it was not a pleasant thing to witness.

�It�s not a job one can quit, as you well know, Richard. Besides we still have uses for His Lordship.�

�How do you propose to keep him chained to the business, when he wants out?�

�In the time honoured fashion,� the Grey Man put his brandy snifter on the polished mahogany table to his right. Richard had never seen him finish a drink. �Blackmail.�

Richard set his own snifter down, not caring for the direction the conversation was taking.

�And with what exactly would we be blackmailing him?�

The Grey Man bared his teeth once again, but Richard was certain this time it was not meant to be a smile.

�Our boy has an illustrious past, he has not always been circumspect in his amours.�

Richard did not comment, there was no need, he knew Jamie�s past as well as anyone did, or as well as anyone had been allowed to excepting perhaps his small circle of intimates with whom he lived.

�I don�t think there is a woman at present.�

�Oh? Richard, there is always a woman, or in our Irish boy�s case, several. But for our purposes, we only need one.�

Last edited by author: Wed March 06, 2013 15:07:07 Edited 5 times.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies: