Read Online Morganna (The Brocade Collection, Book 4) by Jackie Ivie - Free Book Online Page B

to rue the day he put her on the bargaining block. She was going to enjoy making him, too, and he was going to give her two dirks back for the pleasure.
    She narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
    “What is the contest?”
    “One of your stoners hits the dummy. If my squire hits the same spot, I gain another servant for a term of a year, either the stoner or a member of his family. If he loses, the stoner gains my servant for a period of five years. Who takes the challenge?”
    The three young men all stepped forward again. Morgan eyed them again and her lips tightened . What was Zander going to do with three more squires? she wondered.
    The distance was doubled, by taking both dummies and marching them a significant piece away from the tents. Then ten paces were added. Morgan ignored what they were doing as she went looking for stones. That’s when the nymph she’d described earlier to Zander tapped her on the shoulder and held out seven, perfectly rounded stones.
    Morgan looked up into the most beautiful green eyes she’d ever seen, set in the most beautiful face, surrounded by a wealth of reddish-brown hair, and atop the most perfect form a bliant could wrap. Morgan wasn’t male, and she knew she wasn’t male, but everything in her that was female was instantly alerted.
    Her eyes widened at the instant emotion, and her nostrils flared with it. She had her teeth so tightly gritted that her jaw twinged. The girl smiled.
    “F or luck,” she whispered, picking up Morgan’s hand and dropping the stones into it. Then, she blew her a kiss. Morgan’s knees jerked and she searched for Zander. The last thing she needed was a lass like this making love-struck eyes at her. Zander would be unstoppable with his teasing.
    “Who wishes to be humiliated first?” Zander called loudly. “My squire grows impatient, and I’ve three servants to gain! Come, my friends! Put your champion forward!”
    The largest stepped up, fit a stone into his sling and started swinging. He spun it too fast, Morgan noticed, intent more on speed than accuracy. She wasn’t surprised when he hit one of the dummy’s arms, although a great cheer went up in the crowd.
    “Your turn, Morgan,” Zander said.
    Morgan fit one of the stones into her sling, and started looping it cross-wise at her side, barely missing her own body with it. Then, she let it fly. The arm fell off with her shot, and the gasp that ran the crowd was more gratifying than anything she’d ever experienced. Morgan lifted her eyebrows and met Zander’s gaze.
    “Check it, Ian “
    “Aye! See it checked! It must be a trick, “one of those gathered about said.
    A young lad ran to the arm and brought it back, and there was some consternation as they tried to find where Morgan’s stone had hit it. Zander explained it to them before he dug out her stone. She’d put it in the exact same hole.
    That gasp of reaction was even more stimulating than the first had been, and she smiled before ducking her head.
    “Is there another taker?”
    “ Best two of three!” The stoner yelled. “Lucky shot!”
    “Morgan?” Zander asked. She shrugged. “My squire accedes to my wishes, and I’ll grant it. Best two of three. You! Take your shot.”
    This time, he was sweating, and tried harder. His shot was faster than the previous one, but did as little damage, as it winged where the hip would be, leaving a half-hole.
    “Can you hit the same spot now, squire?” he taunted Morgan.
    “How will I prove it?” she asked quietly.
    “ What the lad says is truth. There is na’ way to prove it unless we fill the hole with something,” Zander’s booming voice replied.
    “Hit the other side,” someone suggested.
    “I have a better idea,” Zander spoke. “Take a bit of this biscuit and plug the hole. Ian?” He motioned for the young lad again. “Go out and stuff this into the hole.” He held out one-half of a MacPhee irresistible biscuit to the young man and everyone waited until it was set