A Witch's Tale Read Online Free PDF

knights named Miles
they were an hour outside of London. The knights were headed to the coronation
festivities of the new king, James I.
    Madeline eyed the woods longingly under her
lashes. She knew it was pointless to try to flee. She might be a witch, but the
six men accompanying her reminded her of her limitations. She would not get far
with Gerwin and her bags weighing her down.
    Gavin eyed her with a knowing half-smile. He
seemed to read her mind at that moment. He never took his eyes from her as he
allowed his mount to take water along the stream.
    The sun was growing higher in the sky. They
would arrive in London soon. The men laughed and joked amongst themselves, and
paid her little heed as she moved behind a bush to relieve herself. She
listened to them talk of the tournament held in James Stuart’s honor with
disinterest.
    “I cannot wait to send some fat Lord flying
upon his arse into the dust,” the youngest one of them, named Henry, boasted.
    “Be lucky if you make it that far, lad,” the
handsome blonde knight named Miles teased him. “Every noble and knight in this
land and ours will be there.”
    “He is right,” Gaston interjected with a grim
look. “The odds of making it to the final rounds are not favorable with so many
competing. It is enough we take down as many for our lord as we can.”
    “You all whine like girls,” Sir Jasper
grumbled. “Speak for yourselves.”
    Madeline returned and eyed Gavin knowingly.
“You go to compete in the King’s Day tournament as well?”
    “Aye, we all do.”
    “The odds sound unfavorable, Sir Gavin.”
    “Only for them; I mean to win,” he informed
her without arrogance.
    “You seem very sure of yourself, Sir de
Mortaine. With so many skilled opponents, how do you propose to do that?” she
asked dryly and raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps a good luck spell for you and I
will be on my way?”
    Gavin eyed her with a slow, lazy grin that
made her pulses dance. “I have it on a good authority that witches bring luck.
You go with me.”
    “I would ask you to release me when we pass
the next village,” she replied.
    He held up a hand, his green eyes meeting
hers stubbornly. “Release you to go where? You will likely wear out your welcome
anywhere I leave you,” he replied and shook his head. “You will remain with us.
I will hear no more of it.”
    “You cannot just snatch me up and hold me
against my will, Sir de Mortaine,” she said and seethed at his thoughtful
expression.
    Gavin pondered her words and smiled smugly,
“I asked for your company as my reward. That is what I would have. The
tournaments last but a fortnight. You will be compensated for your time when I
win the day.”
    Madeline gasped and eyed him incredulously.
“You presume much when you’ve not won yet, Sir de Mortaine. You would ask such
an unseemly thing of me? You expect me to stay with you? You are beyond mad, I
think.”
    “I expect you to be my companion while there.
You will see to my gear and to my other needs.” He smiled in anticipation and
reached down to smooth a burnished lock lying across her shoulder. His hand
lingered there too long for her composure. “And those needs be many, sweet
one.”
    “You wish a companion? You really mean a
whore, am I not right?” she raged and looked up at him in fury.
     “I think ‘companion’ be a more gentle
term, and far more complimentary to you,” he teased. “This bothers you? Aren’t
you witches supposed to be bad women? Surely my offer does not distress you?”

~***~Chapter
Three~***~
     
    "Round about the
cauldron go:
In the poisoned entrails throw.
Toad that under cold stone
Days and nights, thirty-one
Vicious venom its sleeping got,
Boil it first in this charmed pot!"
    ~ Anonymous
     
    She backed away from him. “I might be a
witch, but I am no whore! What you ask of me for your reward is unseemly, Sir
de Mortaine!”
    “You owe me something for saving you. You
said so yourself. That is the reward I would have