Malice Striker by Jianne Carlo

Author:Jianne Carlo [Carlo, Jianne]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, Suspense, Fantasy, erotic romance, Historical romance, cookie429, Kat, Extratorrents
ISBN: 9781937976736
Publisher: Etopia Press
Published: 2012-10-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

“Why have we been banished from the hall?” Skatha bathed her face and neck with water warmed in the cauldron above the fire.

The ladies had toiled ceaselessly to prepare the náttverðr, but afore they had finished the sweet for the end of the repast, Raki had herded them out of the kitchens and escorted them to Brökk’s lodge. After cleansing the grease and dirt acquired while preparing the many courses of the meal, Skatha dried her hands with a linen square.

“An Arabic ship arrived today. Most Arabs are Muslim and do not believe men and women should mix. They are men to be feared as they will kidnap females for their masters’ harems or to be sold at slave auctions.” Lady Gráinne’s even tone betrayed no hint of alarm, but ’twas some nuance in her phrasing that set Skatha’s bells a-ringing. They had all heard whispered gossip of the wicked harems, yet it had never occurred to Skatha a woman could be pressed into such service.

Lady Gráinne had taken the lone chair in the room, Dagrún sat on the stool at her right, while Elspeth and Muíríne sat side by side on the bed. Each had taken a turn with the warm water and soap, Skatha being the last to wash.

“Nay. Say ’tis not so. They would sell a pure Christian female?”

“Indeed, Elspeth, a female with an intact maidenhead is valued above all. The Arabs are dark-skinned and dark-haired. A woman with your red-gold hair who is virgin would bring an Arabic trader a small fortune.”

“Me?” Elspeth fair squealed the question. “But I am not comely like Skatha or Muíríne. I have freckles.”

Hard-pressed to choke back a guffaw, Skatha busied herself emptying the basin into the chamber pot. Elspeth’s freckles were the bane of her existence. She had tried potion after potion to erase the speckles from her face.

Muíríne had once told Skatha that she had counted less than eleven spots in an uneven spray across Elspeth’s cheeks and nose. But her friend suffered from a lack of confidence inspired by her stepfather’s refusal to grant her a sizeable dower, which in turn left her without suitors and little hope of marriage. Over the summers Elspeth had decided ’twas her lack of beauty which thwarted her dreams of a holding of her own and a pack of babes to raise.

“Your freckles would increase your value three-fold at least, Elspeth. You would bring more at auction than even Muíríne with her blue eyes and golden hair. Red hair is much prized in the Arabic world.”

“Truly?” Elspeth sounded pleased at the notion. Skatha shook her head. When had matters turned so upside down?

“Elspeth. ’Tis not a goal to which you should strive—being auctioned on a slave block. Each one of you would be a sore temptation for an Eastern trader. The three of you together would prove an irresistible enticement. ’Tis the reason, to answer your question, Skatha, we have been banished from the kitchens. I am cert the jarl wanted none to know of us or of you, his new wife.

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