Forbidden Magic by Catherine Emm Read Free Book Online

upon the crowd one by one. Although they numbered nearly a score, she wished for more, enough to hide herself among them and allow a moment to dry her clothes and chase away the cold dampness that rattled her teeth. Nearest her sat three men sharing horns of ale and tales of their travels. Several more encircled one long table, eating hungrily of the breads and meats spread out before them, too lost in their feasting to pay her notice. Cautiously, she slid the heavy mantle from her shoulders and reached for the strings of her wimple, unaware of the satisfied appraisal she received from one corner of the room.
    "You stare, my friend," one of the two knights said with a grin, lifting his horn of ale to his lips.
    A half smile curled the other's mouth. "Yea. A long time has passed since my eyes have seen such beauty."
    "Beauty?" the first chuckled, nearly strangling on his drink. "Dost thou actually see beauty beneath the mud? Or doth your lust cloud your vision?"
    His friend shrugged. "Mayhap."
    The first casually settled his attention on Jewel as she pulled the headgear away and long, coppery curls spilled from beneath the cloth. He straightened abruptly in the high-backed chair, his chin sagging. "Yea, my friend, you have wisdom beyond your means! The damsel is quite beautiful."
    The other laughed and picked up his own horn. "Careful, Gunther, or word of your unfaithfulness will reach your wife's ears.
    "Tis not unfaithful to feast one's eyes," he argued. "And you have little room to preach. You are the same as wed."
    Green eyes darkened with the reminder. "Even if the vows are spoken, I will belong to no woman. None will ever claim my heart."
    "Ah, of course," Gunther chided. "Have not we all spoken such words? True knights to King Richard, country and cause above all else, while in the darkened corner of our mind we think of only one—a woman."
    The other nodded. "Yea, I will not disagree. But with each new day, I think of a new woman as well. Tis as long as one can hold my thoughts or my attention. I have little use for their suffocating ways."
    "Methinks there will come a time when you will laugh at what you've said this day." Gunther did not flinch when his companion glowered at him, but continued on more strongly. "Wouldst thou like to know this young maiden's name before tumbling her in bed, or will you do as you have done before? What easier way to forget her if you do not know how she is called?"
    "Enough, my friend, before you push me to the limit."
    "Ah, then let us find out," Gunther tested further, raising a hand to summon the innkeeper. "A wager says this damsel will come to mind in morning light, and for many to come. How say you? Doth your assuredness stand strong enough to challenge me?"
    "Whether I acquire the knowledge of her name or not, I do not think her image will burn again in my thoughts except in recalling if she equaled those before her"—he turned away and muttered into the ale'-raised to his lips—"or those after."
    Gunther studied the young maiden who had inched her way closer to the fire. The damp gunna clung to her feminine curves, revealing the body of a woman full grown, though her youth shone clearly in her face. Her auburn hair, catching the light of the blaze, seemed to be set aflame. Of all the women his friend had bedded, none could compare, and Gunther's conviction deepened that this would be the one to infect his companion's mind. Eagerly, Gunther waved the innkeeper closer so only the two could hear his words.
    "Dost thou know the young damsel?" he asked, nodding toward Jewel.
    "Nay, m'lord. She claims to have lost her way, and thought to trick me out of food and drink."
    "Is she alone?"
    "'Twould seem so since I know all within my place this night."
    Gunther reached into the small pouch tied to his kirtle and handed the innkeeper a coin. 'Tell her you have had a change of mind and will give her credit. This should more than pay for a room. And a bath," he added firmly, looking at