The Gorgon Read Online Free PDF Page A

focused on the subject of conversation as he and Tate made their way
toward the half-pitched black and white tent well removed from the common
cluster of shelters.
    "How old do you suppose she
is?" Bose asked, realizing with dismay that he sounded eager to know.
    Tate sensed the curiosity and
cast his liege a long glance. "God's Blood, Bose. Do I detect a hint of
genuine interest in the woman?"
    Immediately on-guard with Tate's
knowing query, Bose averted his gaze stubbornly. "Answer the damn
question. How old is she?"
    Tate grinned; he had served the
mighty Bose de Moray for six years, becoming acquainted with a man of little
emotion and even less sentiment. He had found service with the dark knight
during Bose’s years as Captain of the King's Household Guard and had
subsequently chosen to follow his superior officer when the man resigned his
post shortly after the death of his beloved wife.
    The Bose de Moray he had come to
know before the passing of the Lady Lora had been a hard man to please, fair
and intelligent and incredibly skilled. And even though the man had a face of
stone, revealing little of the thoughts and earning the reputation of a man who
had not yet learned to smile, still, there was compassion behind the coal-black
eyes. But Tate, and others, believed that compassion had disappeared the very
moment Bose’s wife had perished in childbirth.
    Tate had seen the last of his
liege's compassion four years ago. From that moment on, it was as if Lora's
death had stolen something away from him. The resulting individual spared
little time for rest or humor, seemingly possessed to keep on the constant
move. Tournaments, competitions, any sort of games that entitled skill and
money, Bose would find himself a part of. It was as if he had to keep moving,
fearful that if he stopped the grief that was following him would catch up.
    So he kept running. Tate ran with
him, too, as did three other knights who had served Bose when he was Captain of
the King's Guard. Men who were more loyal to de Moray than to young King Henry
considered it an honor to continue to serve a knight who seemed determined to
forget about his past.
    Bose continued to exist in an odd
limbo where all that seemed to exist was a day to day continuance. Which was
why Tate was surprised to hear Bose's question in regard to Stephan du Bonne's
sister.
    "Who is to say?” Tate
finally replied. “I would wager to guess that she is no more than twenty years
at the most. Far too young for you, of course."
    Bose did not reply as they neared
his tent. Just as they closed in on the structure, a large knight with a bushy
red mustache raised a massive standard of black, white and silver, announcing
that the House of de Moray had arrived. As Tate continued to eye Bose in
anticipation of a reply to his taunting statement, his liege seemed intent to
ignore him.
    "Farl," Bose boomed.
"Make sure my charger’s shoes are checked. He was moving strangely, as if
a shoe was loose."
    The burly knight nodded faintly.
"Your squire has taken the beast to Artur, who is examining him as we
speak,” he replied. “They are under the large gnarled oak near in the small
ravine to the west."
    Bose glanced over his shoulder in
the indicated direction, noting the aged oak in the near distance and several
forms clustered beneath its heavy branches. With a faint nod, he shifted his
attention and moved away from Tate to inspect the lashings of his large tent.
But the auburn-haired knight followed on his heels like an eager puppy; Bose
could feel the man behind him, his smirking grin igniting a blaze of annoyance.
After testing one of the iron stakes himself, he turned to his smug
subordinate.
    "Do not you have tasks
requiring your attention?" he growled.
    Tate shrugged lazily. "A few
that can be taken care of in a matter of minutes. I'd much rather talk about
the Lady Summer."
    Jaw ticking, Bose turned away
from his knight and focused on the tent once more. "If you value your
life, you