Young Norman knight Gareth de Vavasour dares not tell the
outlaws holding him for ransom in Sherwood Forest he is nephew to the Sheriff
of Nottingham. He will be fortunate to
escape this maze of magic, peril and hatred with his life. And not the least of the danger to him lies
in the beautiful, dark eyes of Linnet, the Saxon healer who tends his wounds.
Granddaughter of Robin Hood, Linnet has always known she is
destined to fill a place in the magical triad that guards Sherwood Forest,
along with her sister, Lark, and their lifelong friend, Falcon Scarlet. Falcon wishes to marry Linnet, and she
believes her life well settled until the arrival of Gareth. Then all her
loyalty is tested, even as her heart is forced to choose between the ties of
duty and love, and Sherwood declares its own champion.
He wondered what it would be like to kiss her, to taste the inside of her mouth and touch her tongue with his. He itched for it, by God. Nay, he ached for it the way a man in the throes of suffocation starved for air.
She had gone breathless, and studied her hands intently with
lowered eyes. Sheer impulse made him ask, "What is between you and
Scarface's son?" He jerked his head toward where Falcon stood even now
watching them.
Linnet sighed; her dark eyes met his at last, and held.
"It is commonly believed we are to wed."
It hit Gareth like a blow to the gut. Everything within him
rejected the idea, and he was forced to swallow words he dared not speak. He
wondered if Falcon had bedded her yet, cupped those breasts in his hands as
Gareth longed to do.
"He has spoken for you?"
"Not yet. But he
will. The three of us – Falcon, Lark and
I – have a duty we must assume. It has to do with the guardianship of Sherwood
and the ability of our people to stand against oppression and continue our
fight for justice, for all English men." She shrugged slightly. "The
three of us must stand together; two of us will ultimately wed. 'Tis the way it
has been, time out of mind."
Gareth stared. What madness was this? Talk of guardianships
and duties – was not the Sheriff the King's guardian of Sherwood?
Linnet asked a bit too casually, "Have you, perhaps, a
betrothed who awaits you?"
Their eyes met. Gareth's heart began to beat high and hard,
which fairly well matched his condition below. Had things been different, he
would have traded his life for one night in this woman's bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment