Free A Witch's Tale by Karolyn Cairns

and
leave her broken by the wayside. She was a witch first, a woman second. She
might have to remind herself of that often these next weeks. Very often, she
thought with a sigh as he held her tightly to his hard chest as they rode
through the palace gates.
    ****
    They arrived outside a nondescript building
several miles from the palace. Madeline was too busy craning her neck to take
in the sights to pay any attention. The bustle of the city getting ready to
herald a new king in their midst had taken over. The excitement of it all was
evident on every corner they passed. The merriment was contagious.
    Though James Stuart was regarded as a
foreigner and his mother still viewed a traitor; he was next in line to the
throne. None could gainsay his succession. In her final moments, Elizabeth I
finally named her cousin her heir, pressured by her advisor Robert Cecil to do
so.
    The uprising that cost the Earl of Essex his
head in his bid for the throne was still very fresh in the queen’s mind to
ignore the obvious threats. Despite her disgust to allow Mary Stuart’s son to
succeed her, she had no choice in it. It was rumored, but never proven, that
the queen had many illegitimate children throughout her lifetime; many who
would seek to further their closer claims.
    None of that dissent was seen today, only
merriment everywhere as coronation day grew near. She looked up at Gavin and saw
his weariness around his eyes. The powder would ease his tired muscles and
allow him to sleep. She could see he was near to drooping and it was only just
getting to be dusk. She felt guilty for her demand of a bath now.
    “What is this place?” she asked curiously as
he jumped down and took her bundle from her. He ignored her as he helped her
down, taking her arm and tying his horse off on a post. He grinned and his eyes
twinkled down at her.
    “Does your desire for a bath make you ask
that?”
    Madeline shrugged. She wanted a bath. No, it
did not matter. She followed him to the door. An old crone answered, cackling
in delight to see him. The house was dark and quiet within. The old woman led
them down a hallway to the rear of the building. They stepped inside and she
lit many tapers, revealing it was a bathhouse. She shut the door and left them
alone.
    Madeline felt shy of disrobing in front of
Gavin. He solved her dilemma by producing a screened partition lying against
the wall. He smiled at her look of relief as he set it up next to a steaming
wooden tub. Once she was assured of her modesty, she slid out of the dirty
brown gown and stepped into the hot water, sighing in unabashed delight.  
    “That was all the thanks I needed to hear,”
he said in amusement from the other side of the screen. “Take your time, my
sweet.”
    “What is this place, Gavin?” she asked as she
began to wash, listening to him splash on the other side of the panel,
disconcerted by being in such close proximity to a naked man.
    “You’ll be angry. I should wait until you
finish your bath,” he informed her with a low, naughty chuckle beyond the
screen.
    “Now I demand you tell me,” she insisted as
she paused in scrubbing her skin.
    “It’s a brothel, Madeline,” he told her in
amusement, chuckling at her outraged gasp. “You desired a bath, did you not?”
    She practically got out of the tub at that.
He laughed again, making her feel ridiculous to act so offended. It wasn’t as
if they were staying for the entertainments.
    “You might have told me,” she grumbled as she
hurried now at her bath, lathering and rinsing quickly. She dunked under the
water and washed her long, thick hair painstakingly.
    “You wouldn’t have come,” he pointed out
beyond the partition.
    “You’re right. I would have refused.”
    “Isn’t it better I kept that from you then?”
he asked with teasing in his voice. “This is much better than the horse trough
the men now bathe in, is it not?”
    “It’s heavenly, but I dare not linger,” she
replied reproachfully to