Page 21 of The Forsaken
That made Gabe laugh. “Interesting comparison.”
“My grandma Ruth used to say that when my dad tried to bully her into taking things easier.”
“All right then,” Gabe said as he stroked her hair. “You’re as tough as old boots.”
“They’re still fashionable boots though,” Quinn mumbled, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
“Blood-red Dr. Martens with a steel-reinforced toe,” Gabe replied, smiling widely.
“You remember?”
“Of course I remember. You wore those bloody boots every day, and when you tripped and fell over me, you kicked me in the shin. It was like being kicked by a donkey. I limped for a week.”
“How would you know? Have you ever been kicked by a donkey?”
“No, but I’ve been blessed with a very vivid imagination,” Gabe replied, his impish grin fading as his gaze clouded with desire.
Quinn lay back and pulled him down on top of her. “Come here, then,” she whispered. “I won’t kick. I promise.”
Gabe didn’t need to be asked twice. He tossed his towel to the floor and covered her body with his own.
“You know, you’re very fit for an academic,” Quinn murmured as she ran her hands across Gabe’s hard chest.
“And you’re wonderfully round.” Gabe lowered his head and kissed Quinn’s belly before sliding his hand up her leg.
Quinn moaned with pleasure and arched her hips as flames of desire leaped in her belly. Gabe made love to her slowly and gently, as if she were made of glass. Afterward, she lay in his embrace, feeling languid and sated. Gabe’s unwavering devotionbanished her nightmares to the deepest recesses of her mind, exactly where she wanted them.
THIRTEEN
“Gabe, do you know anything about Holystone Priory? It’s not too far from here, is it?” Quinn asked as she pulled on a pair of track pants and a T-shirt.
Gabe rested his hip against the bureau, lost in thought. “No, it isn’t too far. The Holystone Priory was the home of a cloistered order of Augustine nuns before it was looted and destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was built next to a Lady’s Well, which was believed to be a place of great mysticism and power. My mum actually took me there when I was a boy,” Gabe said. “I kept staring at the Celtic cross rising out of the water, expecting something to happen. I thought it was frightening.”
“I didn’t see a cross.”
“The cross was erected during Victorian times, so it wouldn’t have been there in the Middle Ages.”
“Why did your mum take you there? Did she want to visit the ruins?” Quinn asked.
“No, we went directly to the Lady’s Well,” Gabe replied. “Come to think of it, it is really odd that she took me there. I’ll have to ask her if she remembers. Why do you ask about Holystone?”
“The owner of the rosary was a postulant there.”
“I wonder how she wound up here,” Gabe remarked as he began to dress for the day.
“She was brought here by your ancestors, Hugh and Guy de Rosel. I didn’t think she’d stay.”
“Did she?”
“I don’t know yet. I’m working on the assumption that the remains we found are Guy de Rosel. Kate nursed him after he was gravely wounded at the Battle of Towton.”
Gabe’s jaw tensed at the mention of Towton. The Wars of the Roses was his area of expertise, and the Battle of Towton, fought more than five centuries ago, still pained him since his ancestors had been on that battlefield and fought for the losing side. “What were they like, Hugh and Guy?” Gabe asked as he searched under the bed for his trainers.
“Guy was unconscious most of the time, so it’s hard to say anything about his personality. He was handsome, though. Kind of looked like you when I first met you at that dig,” Quinn added, smiling wistfully.
“And Hugh?”
Quinn shrugged as she tried to marshal her thoughts. “Hugh wasn’t as attractive, but he had an air of competence about him. He was the type of man who got things done. He was a bit gruff too, but I suppose, given the fact that he’d just lost one brother and was about to lose the other, a little gruffness wasn’t unexpected.”
