Scent of Roses (36 page)
Authors: Kat Martin
He looked out through the bars at the drizzle that had begun to dampen the earth around his cage. In the past few weeks, he had lost track of how long he had been confined. Again and again, he had attacked the men who guarded him, fought like a madman for his freedom, but shackled and chained as he was, he'd had no real chance to escape.
He reached down and plucked up a blade of straw from the damp mound covering the floor of his cage. He had wanted to see the world outside his homeland. He scoffed. He had seen any number of amazing things in this foreign land, seen animals unlike any he had known existed, seen houses dotting the countryside larger than his entire village back home. There were people of different colors, of every shape and size. If he was not locked in this cage, he would be fascinated by the sights and places in this new and strange world, but instead, he remained a prisoner, locked up and treated like an animal.
In the days since he had been taken captive, he had been laughed at, jeered at, stoned and beaten. The people thought he was mad and some days he believed it, too. Worse were the ones who pitied him. He had seen women cry at the cruelties he suffered. He did not want their pity, but it made him think that mayhap all of the people in this world were not like the ones who had stolen his freedom. Mayhap one day, he would find someone willing to help him. If only he could speak to them, make them understand.
He said a silent prayer to the gods, as he did each day, begging them to help him.
Mayhap one day they would. It might even be today.
Leif clung to the thought as the crowd began to form around his cage.
ISBN: 978-1-55254-489-3
SCENT OF ROSES
Copyright © 2006 by Kat Martin.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
MIRA and the Star Colophon are trademarks used under license and registered in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.
For
New York Times
bestselling author Kat Martin, a career in real estate led her down the road to romance.
Through real estate, Kat found her own perfect matchâher husband, Western author Larry Jay Martin.
“We were on opposing sides of a transactionâI represented the seller and he represented the buyer,” Kat recalls.
A short time after the two became acquainted, Larry asked her to read an unpublished manuscript of an historical western he'd written. Kat fell in love with both the book and the author!
“It was quite a romantic story,” she admits. “I'd still like to see it get published.” Then, after doing some editing for her future husband, she thought she'd try her own hand at writing.
Kat moved on to become the bestselling author of over thirty historical and contemporary romance novels. To date, 10 million copies of her books are in print, and she's been published around the globe, including Germany, Norway, Sweden, China, Korea, Bulgaria, Russia, England, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Argentina and Greece.
When she's not writing, Kat also enjoys skiing and traveling, particularly to Europe. Currently, she's busy writing her next book.
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