A Knight of Honor Read Online Free PDF Page A

consistent, she thought.   Her gaze shifted to Jared, who was speaking earnestly with a large man -- a man who was almost as tall as Slane but with a much less flattering physique.   His belly flopped over his breeches; the muscles in his arms were slack.   Jared had sensed he was the town gossipmonger the second he laid eyes on him.   And as usual, Jared was right.   The large man looked at her and smiled, then glanced back at Jared and spoke quickly to him.
    Taylor shifted slightly.   “This ring must be very important to rouse you from the comfort of Castle Donovan.”
    “Yes,” Slane answered stiffly.
    “No more tournaments to play in?” she quipped.
    He stared curiously at her.
    She cast him a wry look.   It was like speaking to a wall.   A well-muscled wall, with long, glorious blond hair, but a wall nonetheless.
    Jared and the man headed over to them, Jared wearing the same exasperated expression he always wore when some man would insist on propositioning her.   Taylor shook her head.   They never learned.   Or were there just too many to teach?
    “He says he won’t give me any information unless you bed him,” Jared explained.
    As a large, eager grin split the man’s lips, Slane’s eyes widened in outrage.
    Taylor pushed herself from the wall, placing a hand on Slane’s chest to quiet him.   “I’m used to it,” she said.
    “You’re not thinking –” Slane began, but Taylor turned her attention to Jared.
    “You offered him a gold coin?”
    Jared shrugged slightly.   “Two,” he said.
    Taylor smiled at the large man.   “You know, you’re being quite unreasonable about this,” she told him.   “All we need is information.   You’ve seen the ring?”
    The man nodded.   “I’ve seen it.   But that’s all you’ll get from me unless I see some action.”
    “Action?” Taylor repeated.   “Is that all you want?”   She half turned to Slane, clenched her fist, and turned back to the man, ramming her balled fingers into his stomach.
    The man doubled over.   Taylor shoved the brutish lout backward over Jared’s carefully positioned foot and he slammed into the ground.   Taylor whipped out her dagger and held it to the man’s neck.   “Is this the type of action you wanted?” she asked.
    The man fought back the urge to swallow as Taylor pressed the side of the blade against his throat.
    “All we want is a little information about the ring.   I know that you’ll be very accommodating, won’t you?”   Taylor eased the tip slightly from the man’s neck.
    “I don’t want any trouble,” the man gasped.
    “Out with it,” she ordered.
    “They went toward Briarwood,” he gasped.   “I swear that’s all I know.   They rode north!”
    Taylor paused for a long moment.   She knew he was too shocked and scared to lie.   Still, she liked the feeling of this slime groveling in the dirt.   “Maybe next time you’ll think before you insult a woman,” she said and slowly stood up.
    The man sat up, putting his hands to his throat, eyeing her with hatred.
    Jared joined her, standing protectively behind her.
    Finally, the man narrowed his eyes, stood and scrambled away.
    Taylor’s lips quirked up in a grin of satisfaction.
    “I bet you make a lot of friends that way,” Slane said and moved toward the stables.
    “No one needs friends like that,” Taylor retorted, casting one last glance at the man’s retreating back before following Slane.
    “Good job,” Jared congratulated as he trailed after the duo.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    Slane rode behind Sully and Jared.   His gaze lingered on the woman, this enigmatic Sully.   Her long, braided black hair swung back and forth over her cuir-bouilli armor.   The hard leather armor had been worked and shaped to fit her tiny figure.   And the leather maker had done an admirable job.   It fit her very well indeed.   She wore black leggings beneath her armor.   Black boots hid her calves.   The sword strapped to her