Eochaidh - Legend of the Horsemen (Book One) by Terri Reid Read Free Book Online Page B

men. Monty was dumbstruck.
    “Hey, you want to see, you buy a ticket,” a large olive-skinned
man called as he stepped from the folds of the tent.
    “Oh, I’m sorry,” Meaghan replied, pulling on Monty’s arm
with no response. “We were just on our way to the food tent and got
sidetracked.”
    The man laughed and nodded at Monty. “Your friend is more
than sidetracked,” he said. “He is mesmerized.”
    Meaghan looked up at Monty, his eyes locked on the women,
his mouth dropped open in awe and his breathing slightly constricted.
    “I dare say you are correct,” she agreed with the man. “But
I know the magic words to break the spell.”
    She tiptoed as close as she could get to Monty’s ear and
whispered, “Your mother is here.”
    The spell was immediately broken as Monty turned quickly,
flushing bright red, and ducked behind Meaghan. “Where?” he stammered,
panicked. “Where is she?”
    The olive-skinned man laughed loudly, nodded to Meaghan and
disappeared back into the tent.
    “Oh, I’m so sorry, Monty,” she said. “I was mistaken, it
wasn’t her at all.”
    “Oh, Meggie,” he exclaimed, wiping his brow. “I nearly died
on the spot. If my mother had caught me here—”
    “She would have killed both of us,” Meaghan inserted,
pulling him forcibly away from the tent. “So, really, we should be on our way.”
    He glanced back over his shoulder to the tent. “But weren’t
they…amazing?” he asked, his eyes glazing over once again. “The way they moved…,”
he put his hands in front of him and waved them side to side imitating the
women’s hips, “was utterly hypnotic. All I wanted to do…”
    “Monty, I don’t think I need to know about what you wanted
to do,” Meaghan interrupted. “Suffice it to say you were immensely intrigued.”
    “Oh, yes,” Monty agreed heartily. “Immensely.”
    He had stopped walking and was turning back toward the tent
when Meaghan pulled on his arm again. “So intrigued that you forgot about the
food?” she asked.
    She could see the internal war going on inside him and bit
back a smile, but her smile was short-lived as just beyond Monty she caught
sight of a group of armed men riding toward the campsite, the local magistrate
leading the pack. “Monty,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm as she
pulled on his jacket. “Look over there.”
    Hearing the urgency in her voice, Monty immediately turned,
frowning when he saw the men. “What in blazes are they doing here?” he asked.
    “From the look in their eyes, they don’t seem to be here to
sample the food,” Meaghan replied, taking in their grim and angry looks.
    Meaghan didn’t like the Magistrate. Although sworn to uphold
the law in the area, she found him to be a bully rather than a peacekeeper, and
all too many times an innocent villager was beaten into an unlikely confession
or, even worse, sent to the gallows. Her father had filed several complaints
with the Duke, the member of nobility who oversaw the magistrates in the area,
but had never received a response.
    Monty stepped toward the men. “Ho, Magistrate Murphy,” he
called. “What goes on here?”
    Noticeably surprised to see Monty, the Magistrate reined in
his horse and halted the other riders. “Lord Montague,” he replied, nodding
deferentially, “What brings you here?”
    “A bit of fun and some food, of course,” Monty replied
evenly. “What brings you here?”
    “We’ve had reports of thievery and witchcraft,” he replied,
“and have been sent to question these vagrants.”
    Meaghan, who had been blocked from view by Monty, stepped
forward. “And, may I ask who sent you? Surely not my father.”
    Taken aback, the magistrate looked discomfited and sat back
in his saddle to recompose himself. “Well, Lady Meaghan, I bid you good
afternoon,” he said, his smile forced.
    “Good afternoon, Magistrate Murphy,” she replied politely.
“But you still haven’t answered my question.”
    The smile hardened