Rivals for the Crown by Kathleen Givens

Author:Kathleen Givens [Givens, Kathleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Outlaws, Man-Woman Relationships, England, Historical, Knights and Knighthood - England, Scotland, General, Romance, Scotland - History - 1057-1603, Historical Fiction, Great Britain - History - 13th Century, Fiction, Love Stories
ISBN: 9781416509936
Google: Ypb14S2r4I0C
Amazon: 1416509933
Publisher: Pocket Star
Published: 2007-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

AYRSHIRE, SCOTLAND

Rory wiped the blade of his sword on a handful of leaves, then

looked at the man on the ground. He felt ill, but at least he'd not lost his meal, as Kieran had. Not that he blamed his cousin. The scene they'd come across on their daily ride of Magnus's lands was stomach-turning. Two men dead. A woman, who'd died just as they'd found her. And one man alive, but barely, his stomach torn open. He'd cried like a bairn when Rory had leaned over him, and asked Rory to be merciful and end his suffering.

And Rory had. Which had, no doubt, ensured him a spot in hell, if he'd not already been headed there. He sighed and looked for a soft bit of ground in which to bury the four. This murder was unnatural, and unsettling.

There was no easy way to know who had killed them, for their belongings had been stripped from their bodies, leaving only the weathered woollen clothing most Scots wore on the road—long tunics and lined cloaks. That their cloaks were lined indicated that the victims had not been vagrants. He cut a piece of hair from each head, and a square of cloth from each cloak and took their belts and a brooch that the attackers must not have noticed. And yet he did not believe this had been simple robbery. It had been murder, the kind that had been happening all too often, and far too close to his brother's home.

"Come," he said to his brother's men, gesturing them forward. "We'll bury these poor souls and then get home. Two of ye, get yerselves to the road and watch. We dinna want to be set upon unawares."

He looked at the bodies on the ground and swore. This was the second unexplained attack in a fortnight. The roads were dangerous, as they'd learned on their return from Norham. They'd heard that Scotland was in turmoil, both from the increasing discord between the Balliol and the Bruce factions, and from the invasion of English soldiers, but they'd not been prepared for this kind of attack.

With so many helping, it did not take long to dig the graves. When a cairn had been laid atop the graves to keep the animals out, Rory said a few prayers over the dead, then washed with the others in the burn nearby before returning to their horses. He pulled a cloth out of his pack to dry his hands; as he did so, he dislodged a circle of branches, which fell to the ground.

It was Isabel's crown, dried and brown now, most of the needles gone. But still he kept it with him. He should discard it, he knew, for it would not last much longer, and he might never see

Isabel de Burke again. But he wrapped it carefully in the cloth, ignoring Kieran's crooked smile as he watched.

He was the Oak King and this was the symbol of his reign. He was glad the story of the

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