CLAN GRANT
1260
Love Letters from Largs
Book 3
Brodie and Celestina
Loki became a favorite from this first book. I’m not sure exactly why. Was it Missy Angel? The way Alex accepted him into the clan? I think it was most likely his cheekiness, and this first scene is a great illustration of the boy’s character.
Chapter Twelve
Brodie is at a loss because he cannot find Celestina. Who knew help would come in the form of a wee ruffian who lived behind an inn in Ayr? And yes, the lad was indeed spying…
Brodie and Nicol stood in the middle of town, Nicol paying close attention to their surroundings while his friend picked up every twig and stick in the area to shred and toss at will.
“I swear if you do no’ stop your pacing, everyone will know your intent,” Nicol smiled.
Brodie stopped for long enough to glare at his friend. “I swear if you do no’ wipe that incessant grin off your face, I’ll do it for you.”
“What do you want to do next? Ivarsson is a rich man, and ‘tis said he has several homes. No one knows where he took her.” Nicol stared up and down the road, as if willing the passersby to give them information.
“Somebody has to know something,” Brodie barked. “I can no’ believe the most beautiful lass in all of Ayrshire was moved out of the village without anyone noticing.” He reached for more sticks to tear apart but found none. Circling a copse of trees for more, he ran right into a young lad who had been standing sentinel just around the corner.
“Lad, watch where you are about. You can no’ just walk into people,” Brodie roared as he helped the boy up and set him aside.
“I dinna run into you, master. You ran into me.”
The lad’s cheekiness put a smile on his face. He had to be between six and eight summers, yet he stood there as if he owned half the land. He glared at Brodie with his hands on his hips in a challenge.
Brodie wrapped his arm around the boy’s waist and flipped him sideways, carrying him around the corner to Nicol. The lad’s arms and legs flailed like windmills until Brodie dropped him to the ground. “Look what I found hiding in the trees behind us, Nicol. An eavesdropper.”
“I wasnae spying.” The boy’s chin jutted up a few inches as he scuffled to his feet.
“Aye, you were, lad. I caught you.” Brodie tried to hide his grin, but he couldn’t. Feisty boys always reminded him of his own boyhood.
The lad crossed his arms and scrunched his face as he stared at his captor. “I was about to come out. I was just waiting.”
“Waiting for what?” Brodie’s eyebrow arched in anticipation.
“Waiting for you to be ready to pay me a big coin for my information. You have to wait till just the right time to get people to part with some gold, you see.”
Brodie glanced at Nicol to gauge his reaction to the young sprite. His friend’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
“And what information do you have worthy of a reward?” Brodie waited. This surely would prove to be entertaining. If the lad was as cheeky as he appeared, perhaps he could use him to help them find the traitors. A multitude of possibilities churned in his mind.
“I know about the angel.”
A fist hit Brodie square in the gut. The angel?Hisangel? He reached over and lifted the lad off the ground until his face sat a mere inch away from his.
“What angel? Out with it, lad, if you value your tongue.”
Nicol grabbed his arm. “Easy, Grant. I am sure the lad will be agreeable. Set him down and let’s find out.” He winked at Brodie. “And if he’s not, we can leave him up in that tree for awhile.”
Though he set the squirming lad down between them, Brodie kept one hand on him. He couldn’t risk losing him if he chose to bolt. “What’s your name?”
The boy tugged at Brodie’s hand, but to no avail. “Leave me be and I’ll tell you.”
