The Warrior Poet by Kathryn Le Veque Read Free Book Online Page A

Maggie
won't be pleased in the least."
    The men who heard the comment snorted loudly with humor
as the horses thundered down the rocky thoroughfare. The dirty soldier picked
at his nose again. "Marble-head Maggie," he repeated with a longing
sigh. "Every man who looks at her grows hard for the woman."
    "Why do you think they call her Marble-head?"
the sergeant replied over the roar of the hooves. "She can bring a man's
head to marble without even trying. And I hear she pleasures Christian with her
talents all the time."
    The men nodded and snorted their agreement as the dirty
soldier spoke loudly so that all would know of his intimate knowledge of their
liege's activities. "My own daughter says she's seen Christian and Maggie
in the alcove in the great hall, her mouth to his member. She's a delightful
trollop, Maggie is."
    "I know I would like a piece of her," the
sergeant growled, casting a knowing glance at his subordinates. "I hear
she even swallows."
    His men appeared rightly awe-struck, gasping their
surprise and pleasure at the thought of a woman who swallowed a man's seed as
he spent his ecstasy, allowing him uninterrupted enjoyment until his
convulsions had ceased. Reaching a new level of lust and wonder with the mysterious
aura of the Lady Margaret du Bois, they allowed the conversation to linger a
moment on that highly erotic note.
    "She left Eden a week ago for Grayburn
Fortress," one of the men practically groaned after the lengthy pause,
still lingering on the previous revelation. "She and Lady Carolyn Howard
are the best of friends."
    "The Lady Carolyn is another high-bred
trollop," the dirty soldier said firmly. He liked to believe he knew
everything about everybody. "She's spent too much time in France, learning
their lustful secrets. Maggie probably went to Grayburn to discover more of Carolyn's
methods to use against Sir Christian."
    The sergeant shook his head slowly as they entered a
particularly dense collection of trees. "Maggie already knows all there is
to know about pleasuring a man. She went to Grayburn to fornicate with Kelvin
Howard."
    "But Sir Kelvin doesn't live at his father's
castle," the dirty soldier said, appalled that he had not been the first
to hear of the relationship between Kelvin and Maggie. "He resides at
Forrestoak."
    The sergeant cast him a knowing glance. "A half a day from Grayburn. I have heard Maggie spends
the majority of her visits to Carolyn at Kelvin's manor."
      'Twas of no
concern for a man to be unfaithful to his betrothed, but it was an entirely
different matter if the woman was indulging in acts of betrayal. The
conversation came to an uneasy, thoughtful end as the horses thundered down the
deserted thoroughfare, each man pondering his private, if not amorous, thoughts .  
    Eden beckoned nearly two hours away and the company made
haste with their message of victory. With Sir Christian guarding the wench, she
was as captive as Lucifer in Hades and already they could smell the panic soon
to infiltrate Alex de Gare's soul. A panic that would lead
him to his own demise.

 

 
    'The first I gazed into her eyes...
    Heaven glimpsed!
    And then I beheld the battle for my soul
    and knew that I was no more.'

 
    ~ Chronicles of Christian St. John
    Vl. IV, p. LIV

 
 
 
 
    CHAPTER THREE

 
    Christian knew his way to Scotland only too well. His
memory had always been an amazing source of talent; with one glance at a
missive, he could recall the entire message to the letter. When instructions or
names were relayed into his conscious, he could remember to the very last
detail. He never forgot a name or a face, and he never required a second
explanation or request. His memory was like a vise as it sank intelligent teeth
into the smallest of facts, never to let go.
    The road north of Carlisle was dusty and vacant, being
slightly past the nooning hour. He had been riding well over two hours with his
unconscious burden who , he suspected, had been lucid
for quite some