A Witch's Tale Read Online Free PDF Page B

of you. I will have your
delightful company, for one fortnight in my bed. Do not act as if you do not
want me as well,” Gavin declared with a mocking look.
    Madeline eyed him with a condemning
stare.  “Are you any better than Hugh now? He would have employed such
tactics to have his way in things.”
    “Do not even compare me to de Valmont’s
whelp!” Gavin snapped as he regarded her in annoyance. “I have never had to
force any woman. You will likely enjoy it. Come, we must be off. We waste
enough time arguing over my reward. Do not think I am unaware of your growing
admiration for me, Mistress.”
    Madeline was too stunned to react to Gavin’s
arrogant words. She soothed her growling cat and followed him back to his
horse, staring daggers into his back. He mounted and pulled her up to lay
across his chest. She was aghast when he suddenly molded her against him,
unmindful of Gerwin’s warning rumbles. His hands held her fast, smiling down
into her flushed features.
    “I do believe I’ve rendered the witch
speechless,” he acknowledged quite proudly to the other men with a roguish
smile, and his men all laughed heartily.
    “You will have no pleasure of me,” she
whispered tightly as her face grew reddened from their merriment and lewd
comments. “I will make you regret this!”
     “Nay, I think I will have much pleasure
of you, Madeline,” he breathed as his gauntlet covered hand brushed back her
hair from her cheek, “regret would have been to leave you behind to your fate.
And that is something I could not do.”
    Madeline had little time to reflect upon
Gavin’s words. The horse was kicked back into a gallop back up the hill and
onto the road to London once more. She simmered and stewed over his
determination to hold her with him now. The tournament would last a fortnight.
Only then would she be free of him. She had to admit she was much better off in
London than anywhere else with an uneasy look up at her savior. 
    The countryside flew by and she wondered
again why she felt so drawn to him. He was handsome to be sure. It was likely
he knew it.  She had never met a man like him before, and cursed her
limited experience. Had she paid more attention to the few men who had shown an
interest in her over the years, she might have been able to anticipate his next
move.
    Gavin’s face was perfect and unscarred,
sun-darkened and chiseled. His hair was as dark as a raven’s wing, long and
waving to his wide, broad shoulders. His strong, powerful build made her feel
safe and secure as he held her protectively during the journey. The eyes that
looked down deeply within hers were startling. They were long-lashed and so
deep a color of green, she was disconcerted when they fell upon her. He dressed
like all the other knights, wearing gleaming bronzed armor, abstaining from the
foppery worn by both Hugh and his father. 
    Gavin de Mortaine had honor. He had put a
stop to her being burned out of sheer principal. He seemed unimpressed with
Father Belsay’s accusations of heresy for his actions. He acted with courage,
conscience, as well as conviction. He was nothing but gallant towards her, that
is, until he told her the immoral reward he would have.
    Try as she might, she couldn’t deny the
obvious admiration she had for Sir Gavin de Mortaine, despite his obvious
conceit. It took root the moment he strode across the wood scaffold to champion
her against the whole village. When did one ever seek to save a witch? She
smiled as she looked anywhere but the wide chest she was sprawled across,
flustered to know she was eager to give him his reward.
    ****
    Madeline tried not to gawk as they rode
through London into Westminster. She was in awe as they passed through the
gates of the palace. Wide eyes took in the splendor that met her gaze
everywhere she looked. The five knights that thundered behind them let out
raucous cries as they went through the gates, excited to be there at last.
    Her wide eyes took in the