Chapter Four
Marian of Knighton had not been quite interested in meeting the new ladies that had arrived to Nottingham before the egnagement between Lady Ines Novak and Sir Guy of Gisborne, her own ex-fiancee, had been announced. Not that she held any hard feelings for the Lady, oh, that no. She only felt pity for the poor woman that had been, probably, forced to marry Guy, as she had been. Only that Lady Ines seemed to show a far greater amount of enthusiasm than herself had. In which case, she merely wasn't aware of what was in store for her.
True, Guy had never cruelly abused her or even mistreated her, while she was good to him. But that was her, as vain as it may have sounded. She had been the woman Guy had, obviously, loved. And he loved her still. He was not going to tolerate another woman he had probably never wanted to marry in the first place. So, out of the regret she felt for Lady Ines, she was now in the courtyard of Nottingham Castle, standing before the bench where the mentioned woman sat.
She was not a beauty, it was the first thing Marian noticed, and it did not surprise her-even if subconsciously, appearances actually caught one's eye first. But she was a passable looking woman, she had to admit that much. Not that it was any trouble admitting to Guy's fiancee being pretty. Well, not actually pretty---
Oh, what was she bothering herself with! Who cared, really, if the woman was pretty or not? Smiling at the lady, who had raised her head, Marian decided to instead focus on the kind of person she was and once again remembered how sorry she felt for the trouble she would undoubtedly endure. Nodding at Ines, she greeted in a tone that was supposed to sound cheerful, but came out as strange, to her, at least.
"Good day to you, Lady Novak! I am Lady Marian of Knighton. I thought I should meet the Lady…" She finished in a more serious tone, her smile losing on intensity slightly, "…who is to marry Sir Guy of Gisborne."
Even though she had been rather obvious, Ines had not noticed it. Instead, the moment she mentioned Guy, she grinned widely, nodding her head, "Oh, yes! Please, sit. I am very happy to meet you."
Marian took the offer, heeding the dress Ines had worn-a yellow-and-purple one, with no decolletage and skirts that were not exactly wide. The hood she'd seen on her head for a few times was not there now…Marian was half-tempted to ask her where had it disappeared.
"I am so happy to be getting marry to Sir Guy." Ines went on and Marian was taken aback when she so openly bragged to her, "I know he could chosen a lot of other ladies, but he chose me! And I am happy!"
Disregarding the grammar errors she had made, Marian had understood the sentence. And the amount of desire to tell Ines that Guy had been forced to marry her, that he had not done any choosing, was rather overwhelming. Why did Marian find this woman so annoying? She had met brides who bragged about their fiancees before…but those fiancees had not been Guy of Gisborne. Meaning, she added to herself quickly, that the woman had nothing to brag about. Of course. What else could it have been?
"It is good that you are happy. Have you, however, gotten to know your fiancee well?" She inquired carefully, steering onto the topic she wished to discuss and the point she wished to make.
"Oh, of course, of course!" Ines' grin grew wider, "I have. We spent entire night…the entire night…together."
Marian's eyes widened and she was positive the surprise on her face could've been noticed by a beggar. What was she saying? Had she just openly admitted to--? That she and Guy had…so soon? The impact of that realization hit her so hard she barely remained sitting straight, swooning ever so slightly. What kind of a whore had replaced her in- - -?
"I believe she wanted to say 'entire evening'. Or, even better, the entire party."
Both Marian and Ines turned their heads abruptly to the right, from where the new voice was coming. It was accompanied by not only one pair of feet, but two, Marian discerned right away with the help of her gift for details. Well, not exactly her gift-it was something Robin had taught her. But she most certainly had not recognized the voice that had spoken, only the silent cackle that came not from the same person and that followed the explanation. Her shock decreased, but only in the back of her mind where it had transferred upon encountering the sight of a woman in purple she recognized as Lady Elizabeth Horvat and Sheriff Vaysey, walking towards them.
Marian was aware of the large sums of money Lady Horvat's father had been sending to the Sheriff, but she had not realized they were large enough for Vaysey to actually walk next to a woman without a trace of contempt on his face. Marian, herself, did not care what the Sheriff thought of her, but she had overheard him referring to her using the word 'leper' more than once when talking to Guy. In her presence, he had always acted as if someone had placed something stinky underneath his nose. She did not care, only wondered, why was this Lady Elizabeth so different? Something strange was going on, and she felt it had to do with more than just gold.
Ines pursed her lips and bent her head a bit, looking at the floor and then at Elizabeth, who, Marian noted, was prettier than her. And obviously more skilled at English, for she believed there was no amount of money that could've made Vaysey spend a moment of time with a woman he could not understand. On the other hand, he was known for tremendous greed..
"I said that. Didn't…I?" Ines' voice sounded insecure. Elizabeth chuckled, glancing at the Sheriff sideways, before clearing the matter up in a cheerful and a loud tone.
"Dear Ines, you just told this poor lady that you and Sir Guy have already slept together!"
Marian bolted again, surprised by the boldness. Did she not know that she'd said something terribly inappropriate? Ines, embrassed, reddened and murmured an apology, while Vaysey laughed out loud. Marian, not knowing what to do, smiled uncomfortably, raising from her seat which was suddenly uncomfortable.
"Sheriff Vaysey." She greeted quickly, looking away from him as soon as it was possible, shifting her attention to Elizabeth, "You must be Lady Elizabeth. Thank you for…" She hesitated, "..the translation."
"It was no problem, really." Elizabeth smiled politely, "And I gather you are Lady Marian of Knighton?"
"Yes." She should not have been surprised-the ladies had spent three weeks already here in Nottingham. They must have asked some questions and found out who the basic people were. A lot of gossip concerning her must have reached them, "How have you been enjoying Nottingham these days?"
"It's very lovely!" Lady Horvat said eagerly, turning her head to glance at the Sheriff, "The Sheriff was just telling me of all the nobles that have visited it so far this year. I was, in fact, hoping to go riding one of these days."
"The countryside is beautiful. You should do that."
"Oh, I shall." Elizabeth nodded, pausing slightly before continuing in the same carefree manner, "The Sheriff was also telling me about King Ri---"
"That…would be enough, my Lady." Vaysey sounded abruptly, sending a look of warning at Elizabeth, who returned with one of bemusement and questioning. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she looked back at Marian and smiled another smile, just as the Lady of Kinghton flinched, asking in shock;
"What were you about to say, Lady Horvat?"
No. This was impossible. The Sheriff surely hadn't told anything about King Richard to this foreign woman.
"Nothing at all." Elizabeth looked at Ines, who must've missed out on parts of the conversation, her voice colder, "I think that I must talk with the Sheriff in private…if you would excuse us, of course."
As the two of them left again, Marian excused herself as well, claiming she had a headache. In reality, she did not retreat to her quarters, but instead ran to the stables. She intended to undertake a riding trip far sooner than Lady Elizabeth.
"That was quite a move you've just played! In future, though, inform me of your plans before taking actions, won't you?"
The 'won't you' was obviously there for mocking purposes solely. Right now, Elizabeth did not mind it. She was feeling too much accomplishment over what she had just done, especially after she saw from the window of the Sheriff's Office Marian riding away at the speed of light…or Thunder, more exactly, for that was the name of the horse she had taken.
The last three weeks had elapsed very quickly for her. Or, to be precise, the last two, for it was two weeks ago that she had been summoned by Vaysey to his office, where he and Sir Guy had awaited.
It had been the first time she had seen him after their kiss. After him evidently doing his hardest in order to avoid her, she had felt quite unpleasant upon encountering him again and having to be practically alone with him in the room. Unluckily or luckily, he had not said a word to her-all the talking had been taken over by the Sheriff.
"We have chosen to present a business proposal to you. There'll be a lot in it for you. Or not. It depends on you and that 'brilliant strategic mind of yours'. It's a matter concerning Robin Hood. Originally, me, myself and I've intended for you to be a bait for Robin Hood, but an unaware one. Now, since we've gotten to see a little bit more of you, we think you'd be more useful if you knew what you were doing. What do you say?"
Her first thought had been what kind of danger did the plan represent, but she would've died sooner than asking that before all. So, instead, she'd said, "What kind of plan are you proposing?"
Saying no had been quite out of question, for numerous reasons. Number one, her desire for an adventure, which was rather childish, but who cared! Number two, saying no would've made her regret acting like a coward…and she would've spent the rest of her days imagining what could have been. That was one of the things she despised most.
Also, subconsciouslly, but with enough consciousness to be aware of it, a part of Elizabeth desired to be on the same side as the man she had kissed that morning, in a way more complete than just being the daughter of the Lord who donated money to the cause. The fact he had said there would be a lot in it for her had not played a more significant role. It made her feel important.
So, as the Sheriff had relayed to her the plan, waiting for Hood to appear in the castle and then luring him somehow, she had eagerly proposed not waiting for Hood, but arranging for his arrival, therefore having an edge over him. Annoyed by the fact she'd said it before him, the Sheriff had said 'We'll see that as we move along. For now, we wait'. They had been like that, waiting, until this very moment.
"You have to admit I was brilliant, my Lord." She added coyly, turning away from the window and moving towards the table in the same way, "Now, Hood is going to be waiting for me to take that riding trip…the lady of Kinghton shall undoubtedly try to persuade me to choose a certain date for that. The date on which he and his men shall be waiting for me and they shall, I gather, capture me."
Toying with his quill, Vaysey looked up at her with a diabolical glare, "Naturally. And then, you'll kill him at the earliest convenience, pretending to cooperate…or doing whatever your 'brilliant mind' tells you to."
"Precisely." Elizabeth smiled certainly, ignoring the unpleasant feeling that was beginning to form in her gut. Oh, it had nothing to do with Vaysey's jest-she'd gotten used to that.
It had to do with the fact that she was not feeling all that sure and good about murdering this outlaw, just as she was feeling insecure about the entire plot. Oh, she kept reassuring herself and all around her she was firm, of course, that she could easily be heartless and cold and that she was no emotional weakling. She found that she could've hardly waited to prove that upon killing Hood…if not to anyone else, than to herself. Then again, she did not want for that moment to ever come, dreading the day she would be willingly captured by a gang of outlaws and wondering what had she gotten herself into.
But it is coming. And you shall do it. You are brave. You are not like Ines.
She repeated to herself, just then hearing two firm knocks on the door.
"That must be Gisborne." Elizabeth swallowed uncomfortably, her smile fading at the mention of that name, "I sent for him. Come in!"
Guy entered, a look of irritation on his face. He barely skimmed Elizabeth with his glance, coldly, before walking up to Vaysey's desk and shooting daggers at him with his glare.
"My lord, I've seen Lady Marian ride out just a few moments ago, surely to visit Robin Hood. I was dispatching men to follow and seize her. But I was stopped by a messenger, claiming that you have forbidden such a thing. May I ask why, my Lord?" He growled, finally coming to a halt.
Elizabeth had not, despite working for him now, in a way, made much contact with Sir Guy lately. Actually, they hadn't spoken much. To be blunt, they had not spoken a single word. Each and every time there'd be an opportunity present to amend that, he would've avoided it, so eventually, she had begun hiding all her interest in the opposite occurring. Who was she, a lady or some whore that couldn't have had any other man and was obsessed with him? When she recalled all her foolish thoughts of love not so long ago, she barely withheld a snort. She did not love him. And even if he told her he would love her until he died, she would have refused him now.
"Relax, Gisborne. She has gone to see Hood and she shall come back."
The matter-of-fact way in which he said that drove madness into Guy's eyes and he shook his head in disbelief.
"Perhaps you don't understand, my Lord," He hissed dangerously, "Marian-has-gone-to-Hood!" He shouted out the last word with all the disdain he could have fathomed, "If we follow her, there is still time to catch Hood!"
"The only thing you might catch out there is some stupidity, and you already have it in abundance, Goddamnit!" Vaysey raised his tone as well, making Elizabeth strangely annoyed by him and wondering why on Earth did Guy stand for that, "If I say something, you do that something! The leper running to her outlaw is a part of our plan." Elizabeth was sure that with 'our', he had been referring to himself in plural, but then, at her utter astonishment, he inclined at her, adding, " She will explain."
Guy seemed to, just as herself, be very well-aware of the fact that they were about to look into each other's eyes for the first time ever since…then. But he, as she noticed with a corner of her eye, for she dared not be the first one to look at him, purely out of pride, also seemed to be approaching it with abandon. They stood like that for a couple of seconds, she glaring at the desk and spying at him, he sending lightning bolts towards the sheriff with his look. Vaysey, thankfully, was not looking at Elizabeth, more focusing on Guy and his mood.
"For heaven's sake, Gisborne, turn around, look at the woman and let her begin speaking!" He said with ire, impatiently. His jaw clenching visibly, Guy squared his shoulders, raised his head and slowly began turning towards her. Taking in a deep breath, her stomach tying itself into a knot, Elizabeth did the same, jutting out her chin and travelling with her eyes along his torso, until they reached his.
This was it. A moment she had feared so much, expected even more and wondered about the most. Finally breathing out, Elizabeth found herself strangely untoucehd by it. Some weeks ago, the thought of it would've made her heartebat increase to painful. Some days ago, it would have made her content. A few seconds ago, she had been afraid of it and now, when it was occurring, she felt quite even. The only thing that struck her as she'd expected all to was that she had forgotten how blue his eyes were.
Her pause had perhaps lasted a moment longer than it should've and once she realized that, she began amending it fiercely. This man had chosen Ines over her, had he not? Well, now, he was about to see just who he had lost. A swell of pride overcoming her, she began her explanation under the furious stare of Sir Guy.
"The Sheriff and I had been walking in the courtyard, discussing certain matters." A flare of surprise gathered in his eyes and she smirked inwardly-there was no need to indulge his curiosity and specify these matters, "We encountered Lady Ines, your fiancee," A curt expression overtook him. Elizabeth contemplated briefly over what that could have meant, him disliking Ines or him disapproving of her mentioning her or something third, "And Lady Marian. As we began conversing with them, I considered it handy to mention my wish to explore the surroundings of Nottingham, so Lady Marian would perhaps inform Robin Hood of it, resulting in him attempting to rob me. But, since her reaction was hardly pleasing and hardly showed my plan coming to fruition in any nearer future, I recalled another thing I considered wise. 'By accident', I mentioned that the Sheriff had been telling me about the King Richard…and his Lordship, of course, took the hint and stopped me from speaking further." She nodded at Vaysey with a grin, "Now, Lady Marian is on her way to inform Robin Hood that I happen to know something about the King. And his whereabouts and your plans for him. The way things are now, I am certain to be ambushed by him and his outlaws, taken to their camp…where I shall, once the time is right, kill him."
Coming to an end, she closed her mouth, looking firmly at Guy. It took her a bit to be able to look into his eyes, but she managed. He still looked the same; stiff, displeased, angered, furious. However, if she wasn't mistaken, something else was beginning to show-dsibelief? And was that…distaste?
Guy had known of the basics of the plan for some time now-Lady Elizabeth being the one to get rid of Hood. The ingeniosity of such a plan couldn't have been denied. It was swift, intelligent and seemingly easy. So, he did not why exactly did he have so much trouble being deligthed at this new twist. It must have had to do with the fact that, when he had once given it better thought, he had come to the conclusion that it was too risky for one, simple reason-placing so much trust in a Lady.
Women, as experience had taught him(he wondered why the Sheriff had paid so little attention to the point he usually accentuadted most), tended to let one down. Lady Elizabeth was far from a trained combatant. Guy was not certain she could have handled a sword. Even though she was trying to present herself to the world as fierce, even dangerous, Guy felt as if he was completely oblivious to her mask. Not that he had ever spoken too many words with her. But that encounter at the stairway had told him more than he would've found it possible. Elizabeth, in his opinion, was a fiery woman with a lot of pride, fierce reactions and a temper. But she was not the corageous ice queen she so often tried to be. He did not believe her a coward, but he was sure it would've taken a very important motive to make her truly unafraid. For the rest of the time, she hid her fears, sometimes well and sometimes poorly. Her trembling when she'd landed into his arms, then her tears later on…it proved the person she represented herself to be inaccurate.
It was eeire that he now remembered that he had never found out why she'd been crying. He probably was not going to. But that triggered the arrival of other recollections; recollections of whom he had accused of hurting her.
Even at this moment, he could've still felt the anger rising in his chest when she'd made him so naively believe Hood had actually done something to her. That moment, that day, he had nearly felt ready to kill. He had actually thought that Hood had been so close to him, and had escaped him. oHYet, despite the fact Elizabeth's plan was one way of disposing of Robin Hood, as far-fetched as it objectively was, he felt very repulsed by the idea of deliberately sending her into his hands.
Maybe she did still remind him of Marian, hence his displeasure with it. Whatever the reasons were, logic was on his side, too. As he intended to explain to Vaysey.
"My lord," He hissed, removing his eyes from Elizabeth, "I do not believe this plan to be wise."
"Hah!" Vasey's vocie was high-pitched as he hit his plam against the desk, "Nobody's been asking for your opinion, Gisborne! You will simply do as I say. "
"My lord—" Guy began again, not getting to finish, for Elizabeth butt in.
"Sir Guy, what exactly is wrong with the plan?"
Why did he not like it? Did he find her incompetent? Did he believe there was no way she could have done this? Oh, how she was going to! Now, nobody would stop her! She would show this man what kind of a woman she was, and then she would walk away, leaving him stuck with his pathetic little wife-to-be.
Spinning his head towards her, he did not hesitate a second before beginning to explain.
"The plan is perfect. But it is its executor that requires polishing. And a lot of it."
Elizabeth felt as if someone had petrified her with some dark magic. So he did believe her incompetent, and he had the audacity to say something like that out loud? In front of her? In her face? How could she have ever thought this man to be a gentleman? If a short time ago, a half of her had hoped for him to manage talking the Sheriff out of this, she was now so extremely glad the other half had made her intervene.
Guy was gazing at her, waiting for her reaction. She swallowed. What could she say? She had to respond to this. Such an insult could not have been just ignored! A long time ago, Elizabeth had been a person, or more a child, that had let people say all kinds of things to her and get by unpunished. But then she had vowed-never again. And that was one vow she kept true to and would keep true to for all times. Her God was her oath. As her name meant.
"If you are so quick to judge my plan," She retorted haughtily, "Then, how comes you have not once been capable of thinking of any kind of plan yourself?"
Guy raised his eyebrow, rage beginning to form within him. He did not like being talked back to. The only one with the right of that around Nottingham was the Sheriff. Certainly not a foreign Lady that was intent on putting into motion murder, while a mere fall down the stairs made her shiver. He found it hard to believe he had once thought her to be an intriguing woman. Was it, indeed, luck that the Sheriff had picked Lady Ines for him?
"I haven't judged your plan, but yourself, m'lady." He snapped, "How on Earth do you intend to kill Robin Hood?"
"Using a sharp, little thing called a knife, Sir Guy. You would not happen to be acquanited with that weapon? I assure you, I am perfectly capable of handling that." She spat right back at him.
"Enough, enough!" The Sheriff stopped any more insults coming out of each of them, "Get out, both of you, now. Lady Elizabeth, practice handling the knife just in case. Gisbrone, the plan will be put into motion. Off you go!"
They both looked at him, then glared at each other, but obeyed.
"Sir Guy, what has made you angry?" Ines clung to his arm, batting her eyelashes. Today, she had worn a black-and-white attire, attempting to show off some cleavage. She had succeeded, but Guy did not find it anything his eyes particularly enjoyed.
All that aside, currently, he found his fiancee preferable to Lady Horvat, so he gritted his teeth and ignored the urge to hurl her across the hall, instead answering rather truthfully; "Lady Elizabeth, I believe."
"Ah!" She exclaimed, "She can be…angeritating?"
Guy had no idea what that word meant, and he was more than just annoyed by what he thought to be complete stupidity on her side. Then he reminded himeself that she, at least, was not pretending to be anything else than she was. No, she was doing that, but in the way she was supposed to be-she tried to show herself as the perfect, gentle lady. Elizabeth was aiming for the opposite effect.
"Irritating." He amended her mistake coldly, "Though I cannot imagine why would we waste our time discussing her."
"Oh." Ines seemed somewhere between pleased and taken aback, "Well-of course." Then she grinned; "My wedding attrire---"
Guy did not bother to amend her mistake again, so he let her babble, his dark thoughts focusing on the plan that had been given Vaysey's blessing a week ago. The plan that, despite its executors inefficiency, was to occur tomorrow.
Yesterday, the Lady Of Knighton(he avoided the use of the name 'Marian' as much as it was possible) had extended an invitation for Lady Elizabeth to go riding around the countryside with her. Elizabeth agreed, settling for Wednesday, which was, at the present time, tomorrow. They would, of course, be accompanied by Elizabeth's chaperone and some guards. None of it would, he thought gloomily, have stopped Hood even if it was not in their intetion to have the infernal woman captured. Or at least it had not before. If only he had been given more competent guards. Then there would have been no need for Elizabeth at all.
A few hours ago, he had informed her, after the meeting with the Sheriff, how he had no intention of coming to her rescue when she incompetently and stupidly got herself killed with her idiotic clumsiness…or worse. Yes, in those exact words. It had not been his fault that she had spent the hour in the Sheriff's office annoying him, with her straight posture and the bold look on her face and all that act.
To that, she had replied that he would be the one requiring rescue if he ever dared talk to her with such disrespect again. Then she had turned around, knocking over a vase with her hand and swearing as he did when he was in the worst of his moods.
What was it possibly that could have come over him when he had kissed that?
"And you could have some pink on you, too, when we are marrying!"
Ah.
The fact that he had, prior to doing it, found out he was to marry this.