Free The Love Slave by Bertrice Small Page A

nae a virgin,” she explained to him.
    “Why are you not afraid, girl?” His black eyes bored into her.
    “I am afraid, my lord, but what can I possibly do to alter my circumstances? To weep and wail would be useless, would it nae?” she said.
    He nodded. She had distinct possibilities. Her beauty would have been enough for most men, but he had a very special man in mind to master this girl. A man who would be as intrigued by the girl’s intellect as he would be by her beauty. “She is very outspoken,” he complained to Gunnar Bloodaxe nevertheless. “A slave should be humble.”
    “The boldness can be beaten out of her, Donal Righ,” Gunnar Bloodaxe replied. “There are some men who might even enjoy such an exercise in discipline,” he suggested with a smirk.
    “Give the girl back her gown,” Donal Righ ordered the Norseman. “I have seen enough. She is fair, but not a virgin. She is too forward, but perhaps with proper training I can eke out a small profit on her.
Mayhap
.” He appeared to consider a moment, and then he said, “What do you want for the girl, Gunnar Bloodaxe, bearing in mind, of course, that her fairness does not make up for her many deficiencies?”
    Gunnar Bloodaxe named his price, and Donal Righ winced delicately. He counteroffered, saying as he did, “The serving wench is to be included in the price as well. I cannot have thegirl parted from her companion, lest it sadden her and she sicken and die. Too many of these girls will do that, you know, and then the entire investment is lost.”
    “If you would have the servant, Donal Righ, you will have to better yer offer,” Gunnar Bloodaxe told him. He was not fooled. The slave merchant wanted his fair captive, as he had known that he would.
    Donal Righ’s short, stubby fingers worried the fabric of his sleeve. Properly trained, and he knew what she could be, the girl was perfect for what he had in mind. The Norseman was a wily, stubborn fellow fully capable of selling her as a whore to some Celtic brothel keeper just to get what he felt was a fair price. Donal Righ upped his offer by half again, and Gunnar Bloodaxe, who had not expected to get that good a price for Regan, was stunned. He nodded mutely.
    “Abu, take the women to the baths, and see that they are made comfortable,” Donal Righ instructed his servant quickly, before the Northman could change his mind. “Then bring me my strongbox, and send Gerda for wine, that Gunnar Bloodaxe and I may toast this sale between us.”
    “It is a good bargain,” the Norseman said slowly, still amazed by his incredible good fortune. Eubh would certainly be surprised … 
if he told her
. He looked up to discover that the two girls had been shepherded from the room by the tiny Abu. “What will you do with her?” he asked Donal Righ. “You must have some purpose in mind, I know.”
    “I owe a debt to a certain lord in my mother’s homeland,” Donal Righ answered him. “I shall send the girl to him in gratitude for his patronage. Fair-skinned and fair-haired girls are greatly prized amongst the Moors. He is a man who enjoys a variety of women. She will undoubtedly please him, furthering the lord’s gratitude to me.” He smiled broadly at Gunnar Bloodaxe. “I have paid you too much for the girl, my friend, but it pleases me to do so, knowing the advantage the girl will give me with my lord.”
    “Yer a sly old fox.” The Northman chuckled, feeling expansive now that he believed he had gotten the upper hand with Donal Righ.
    “Will you be back in Dublin before year’s end?” Donal Righ asked Gunnar Bloodaxe.
    “I think not I would be home in time for the midsummer festivities. I’m taking another wife then, and my oldest two sons cannot get in the harvest without me. Besides, my cousin, Eubh, the abbess, will not have another shipment of slaves readied for me until next spring. Her convent is where I got this beauty. Mostly they are just peasant girls with small dowries sent