BooksBarbecue
Back A Night of Flames Save as PDF
Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise forMATTHEW HARFFY
  3. BY MATTHEW HARFFY
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Maps
  8. Epigraph
  9. Contents
  10. Place Names
  11. One
  12. Two
  13. Three
  14. Four
  15. Five
  16. Six
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Ten
  21. Eleven
  22. Twelve
  23. Thirteen
  24. Fourteen
  25. Fifteen
  26. Sixteen
  27. Seventeen
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Thirty-Six
  47. Thirty-Seven
  48. Thirty-Eight
  49. Thirty-Nine
  50. Forty
  51. Forty-One
  52. Forty-Two
  53. Forty-Three
  54. Forty-Four
  55. Forty-Five
  56. Forty-Six
  57. Forty-Seven
  58. Forty-Eight
  59. Forty-Nine
  60. Fifty
  61. Fifty-One
  62. Fifty-Two
  63. Fifty-Three
  64. Fifty-Four
  65. Fifty-Five
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Fifty-Seven
  68. Fifty-Eight
  69. Fifty-Nine
  70. Sixty
  71. Sixty-One
  72. Sixty-Two
  73. Author’s Note
  74. Acknowledgements
  75. About the Author
  76. An Invitation from the Publisher

A small group of children were running on the sand. A couple of dogs barked and chased them. Fleetingly, I wondered where the rest of the crew was, but such questions could wait. Setting down my cup on the grass, I took a deep breath of the fresh air and stared out into the sound. A light breeze blew in over the glimmering water, carrying with it the tang of salt. Fulmars soared above the sheltered sea, and several kittiwakes dotted the waves. I was excited to spot a small flock of dappled, long-billed birds I did not recognise, and I stared at them as they probed the sands of the shallows, far enough away to feel safe from the men working on the ship and the shrieking children with their noisy dogs. The sun was high in the pale sky, and all trace of the storm and the black clouds had vanished like a bad dream.

With that thought came memories of my own dream and I smiled as I took a great spoonful of the porridge and shovelled it into my mouth. I was ravenous and savoured the warm oats as I chewed and swallowed. The porridge was good and wholesome, and I was thankful to the serious woman for saving some for me. Still, I would have preferred choice cuts of roasted meat, lovingly prepared and pushed into my hungry mouth by the soft fingers of the lovely girl in my dream. I felt the stirrings of desire as I recalled the images from my sleep. The young woman’s plump softness had been perched on my knee, one hand popping food into my mouth, seeming to revel in me licking the juice from her fingertips, the other hand stroking my neck and caressing my hair.

I shuddered at the thrill of the memories, and wondered whether the dream might have been Devil-sent. I squirmed uncomfortably as my body responded to the recollection of the dream. It had been weeks since I had lain with Cwenswith and I had thought, since I had recommenced my daily prayers with Leofstan, that I was free of these temptations. I know now that a young man’s mind is seldom far from the fascinations of the flesh; carnal desires I all too frequently succumbed to in my long life. I have oft prayed for forgiveness from the Lord for my transgressions, but I fear the memories of lust never fade and even now, old as I am, I sometimes sin anew in my dreams, or when certain scents send my mind tumbling back through the years to the memory of pliant embraces of women I knew long ago and far away.