Binding Vows PDF
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“A lady is not safe out here by herself.” She stopped again. This time he didn’t stop in time and fell into her. Hands at her sides, her chest thrust up next to his, she gritted the words between her teeth. “A lady isn’t safe around you, either.” “Now, Tara.” He tried pleading with her. “Oh, don’t you even, ‘now, Tara’ me.” She stepped to the side and started off in a different direction. Walking in circles. He let her walk for several minutes before attempting to talk to her again. “I would be happy to escort you on a walk, but we need to get you more properly dressed.” He knew the effect watching her walk was having on him. He could only imagine what his men must have thought when she had stormed the courtyard in her shorts. “You’re a bastard, you know that, MacCoinnich?” He wanted to counter what she said but cautioned himself against it. “Still, we need you in more fitting clothes. If someone were to come along, questions would be raised which would be most difficult to answer.” “You should have thought of that before you brought me here.” She waved a hand in his general direction. “Right now I don’t give a crap what questions you might have to answer.” “I told you how necessary it is for secrecy.” He turned to the Keep and noticed some of the men watching to see what would happen. He needed to put a stop to this and soon. “Bite me.” A completely inappropriate image of him doing exactly that popped in his head. A slow lazy smile inched over his lips. Unfortunately for him, Tara read his thoughts. BINDING VOWS by Catherine Bybee This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental. Binding Vows COPYRIGHT © 2009 by Catherine Bybee All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Contact Information: [email protected] Cover Art by Rae Monet The Wild Rose Press PO Box 708 Adams Basin, NY 14410-0706 Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com Publishing History First Faery Rose Edition, 2009 Print ISBN 1-60154-607-6 Published in the United States of America Dedication For David, my Knight in Shining Armor. For Sharon, who read this book first and encouraged me to pursue my dreams. For Aithne, whose expert advice and enthusiasm helped me on the road to publication. Chapter 1 They weren’t even at the county line, and Tara McAllister already regretted getting in the car. She entertained a beautiful, yet brief fantasy of turning the late model Honda Accord around and heading back home. The pounding behind her eyes began about ten miles ago when Cassy, her best friend, started reading the information she had downloaded from the Internet. Traveling down a dirty highway, in the heat of summer with a broken air conditioner, Tara repeated the words Cassy lived and breathed by, “You’re only young once, ”YOYO, as Cassy would say anytime Tara started balking, as if the words were the secret code to life itself. Tara scolded herself for falling headlong into the world of her oldest and best friend, a world full of piss-poor planning and lousy accommodations. “Remember, this was your idea,” Cassy said, glancing up from the papers she was reading. “No. I suggested going to that medieval restaurant for dinner and a show. You came up with attending a Renaissance fair. You’d think after last time, I would have learned,” Tara muttered. “Who could have known Wyoming would be so cold in February?” “It was winter! And cold doesn’t describe what twenty below zero feels like. I never even got on the back of a horse. Who goes to a dude ranch in the winter?” 1 Catherine Bybee They did, and Tara wouldn’t forget how sick she’d been. She never left her bed the entire time they were there. “This will be better, just wait and see.” “Right.” Tara couldn’t believe she’d gotten herself roped into another one of Cassy’s adventures. This time, she’d agreed to a Renaissance fair and an extended weekend in some Podunk town with what she imagined was a compound filled with circus freaks. They weren’t even going to have a bed for God’s sake. They were going to sleep in tents, in the middle of some grimy field, with strangers and only thin strips of fabric separating them. Tara imagined the sounds and smells she’d be forced to endure over the next few days. As if the rugged sleeping accommodations weren’t enough, from the minute they arrived until they left, dresses were the required attire for all women. Dresses with entirely too many undergarments. Aside from the dress code, they could eat only food available during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. “Ah ha!” Cassy screamed, waving the papers in front of Tara’s eyes, all but causing her to swerve into traffic. “Would you mind? I’m trying to drive here.” “Listen to this!” Cassy ignored her and read the pamphlet aloud. “When ye arrive, all ladies are asked to wear the costume they think is most befitting their station in life. If ye are a vendor or entertainer, it is understood your garments and color choices lean toward the drab, while honored guests and people of wealth are encouraged to bring their most colorful fetching gowns. Ladies’ hairstyles should represent their station in relevance to the time.” “Remember, only young unmarried maids are 2
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