Free Dark Destroyer by Kathryn Le Veque Page B

the wench in full view of her and in full view of his companions. Some of the soldiers were laughing, drinking, calling to the soldier and belittling his manhood while still others began to crowd around the pair, observing. It soon became evident that they were waiting their turn with the wench because more than one of them already had a great arousal evident through their breeches. One man was even stroking himself.
    But Kathalin still wasn’t looking; she was embarrassed and shocked by what was going on and she moved from her position near the hearth to the wall across the room, tucked back into the corner where she couldn’t see anything, but she could certainly hear the grunts of pleasure. She covered her ears but that only muffled the sounds; she could still hear them.
    Having grown up in the convent, she had been separated from men, insulated from their lust by the great priory walls. It had been a very safe place to be even though she had wondered about men from time to time, wondering what it would be like to be married to one. Wondering what it would be like to be in love with one. But here she was, now exposed to the worldly wickedness that Mother Benedicta had tried to protect her from, and the fear and shame of it made Kathalin want to return to the shielding walls more than ever. The world, what she was seeing of it, was a perverse and evil place.
    More grunting and moaning filled her ears, bringing back a memory that reminded her that she wasn’t being entirely honest about the sanctity of the priory. Last year, she had been in the dormitory when she’d heard similar moaning. Thinking someone had been ill, she followed the sounds and came across two novice nuns lying in a bed together, covered with heavy woolen blankets, and when Kathalin had pulled the covers off to see who was in distress, she found one woman with her fingers in the other woman’s body, stuffed in between her legs.
    It had been shocking and terrible, and Kathalin had fled the dormitory but had not gone to tell the Mother Prioress. She simply wanted to forget about what she had seen and wouldn’t even talk to one of the offenders when the woman came into the kitchen to try and speak with her. She’d ignored the girl who, because of a completely different violation a few months later, had been sent away. But the second woman had remained at St. Milburga’s and Kathalin went out of her way to avoid her. They never spoke nor did they even look at one another. Therefore, it was true that St. Milburga’s wasn’t an entirely pristine haven.
    It had its wicked moments as well.
    She took her hands away from her ears, listening to the sounds of fornication and hating the fact that her world had changed so much in the past few days. She was disoriented and bewildered, fearful of seeing her father and fearful of his reasons for extracting her from St. Milburga’s. In fact, she was fearful of life in general at the moment, hating this new world she found herself a part of.
    A knock on the door startled her, rousing her from her thoughts. She was terrified of who was on the other side of the door, terrified that it was a soldier wanting to know if she wanted to join in their wickedness. When the door opened, she was fully prepared to scream, but instead of a lustful soldier, de Wolfe appeared. He had a large basket in his arms and some kind of fabric or coverlet thrown over one shoulder. He frowned when he saw her on the ground.
    “What are you doing down there, my lady?” he asked, concerned. “Surely it is cold down there. Are you ill?”
    Oddly enough, she was relieved to see him. At least it wasn’t a lustful soldier. “Nay,” she replied. “I am not ill.”
    His bewilderment grew. “Then why are you down there?”
    She sighed heavily. “Because the bed is covered with vermin,” she said. “I will not sleep on it.”
    Gates’ brow furrowed and he set the basket down next to the hearth even though his focus was on the bed. It was