Highland Legend by Kathryn Le Veque

Author:Kathryn Le Veque
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2021-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The fights that night had been full of dust and sweat and blood.

In the fading heat of the August night, the torches of the Fields of Mars were ablaze and the arena seats packed with patrons. It was so crowded that people were sitting in the aisles. The purses were big this night because it was Theme Night, meaning the warriors had selected a favored country or favored legendary hero, and they were fighting on behalf of that country or hero.

Clegg de Lave had returned to his primus venue, and he walked the arena floor before the fights began like a conquering caesar. He was swathed in white robes and had a turban on his head in the style that Diantha had seen in her youth when caravans would cross from the Mediterranean coast on their way to Portugal. Clegg lifted his hands benevolently, and the crowd cheered wildly for the man who made this entire way of life possible.

Diantha didn’t see much of Clegg because he quickly retreated into his private box above the staging area where he could watch the fights unimpeded. The bouts soon began, and she discovered that there were a good deal of Englishmen in the lists this night. When a young warrior by the name of Warenne de Soulant, fighting for English honor, won his first bout against a novicius Scotsman, the English patrons erupted in victory, which turned into a brawl with the Scots patrons.

That happened three times.

Seated over on the left-hand side of the arena with the rest of the warriors’ women, Isabail and Lucia and Diantha laughed at the fighting going on. It was sheer ridiculousness. Isabail was feeling much better after having rested all day, and at one point, she ran over to the fighting and clobbered some hapless Englishman on the head. It was all great fun to her, this former warrior woman, and she returned to her friends quite happy and satisfied at having gotten in a lick in a fight.

But her joy was short-lived.

Lor had been in the lists, breaking up the fights with some of the other doctores and sentries who kept order at the Ludus Caledonia, and he saw his wife get in a good belt. When the crowd had settled down, he came over to her, giving her a look that suggested she was in a good deal of trouble, and pulled her out of her seat.

At the top of the lists, he scolded her, shook a finger at her, and she took it until she finally threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Lucia and Diantha were watching all of it, giggling when Isabail kissed him. It had the desired effect because Lor cooled down, returning to the arena floor as his wife returned triumphantly to her seat.

She’d won the battle.

The later bouts were between the more advanced warriors, including two new ones that had been brought in by Clegg. One man was big and pale, with flaming-red hair, and went by the name of the Celtic Storm.

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