Chapter Nine
'Black powder?' I repeated, uncomprehendingly. 'Greek fire?' I looked between Will and Djaq. 'What on earth...?'
Will started toward the cave entrance, but Djaq called out, 'William Scarlet! If you tell Robin I... I'll...'
'Why would I tell Robin?' he asked. 'He'd be furious. Lambert wanted his work destroyed so the Sheriff couldn't-'
'Do you honestly think I would let the Sheriff get a hold of this?' she shouted at him. 'Lambert wouldn't have wanted all his hard work to be wasted.'
I stepped between them, holding my hands out. 'All right. If you could please explain what in the Lord's name this is all about, I'd be happy to let you continue your argument afterward.'
'Gisbourne commissioned a man to create a substance that, when lit on fire, could explode with the force of a volcano,' Will explained.
Djaq snorted. 'A very small volcano,' she muttered to me.
Will rolled his eyes. Continuing, he said, 'Lambert was then jailed and tortured to find the whereabouts of his ledger.'
'He died, didn't he?' I asked.
Will nodded. 'And he told Robin to destroy the thing. But... Djaq, how did you get a hold of it? Robin threw it in the fire.'
Djaq blushed delicately, and said, 'He didn't throw it in the heart of the fire. I just took it out. And he even saw me, and smiled, he wanted me to save it.'
Will clutched his head and groaned. 'What are you going to do with the stuff?'
'I heard that the Sheriff was going to open the Treeton mine again,' Djaq said, her voice low.
'The mine?' I asked. 'But... wasn't that burned?'
'Yes, we burned it,' Will said, his arms falling to his side with a sigh. 'But it didn't exactly destroy the ore.'
'Ohhhhh,' I said slowly. 'So, he's opening it?'
'Yes,' growled Djaq. 'And it's a death trap.'
Will looked at Djaq. 'Do you know if the Sheriff is bringing in more slaves?'
At the word "slaves" Djaq flinched. 'I think so.'
'Well, what will black powder do to stop the Sheriff opening the mine?' I asked.
'We could blow it up,' suggested Will sarcastically with a shrug.
'We could!' I said, excitedly. 'And... and to do that, we'd need a lot of black powder!'
Will stared at me incredulously. 'You're joking.'
'No,' I said, bouncing up and down slightly. 'I'm not!' I turned to Djaq. 'How long will it take?'
'Well, I figure that I'll need about six barrels. Two for each of the shafts,' she replied.
'Would it take less time if I helped?'
'Wait!' cried Will. 'You can't just make black powder!'
'Why ever not?' I asked, shocked.
'Because... because it would be an unfair advantage for us to... be able to destroy everything in this thing's path. And dangerous. If anyone innocent was in the area, they'd die, too. That's not right.'
'Wi-ill!' I complained. 'We could make sure all innocents were out of the range of the explosion.'
'But if we use it for one thing, we'd use it for another.'
'Wi-ll!' I said again. 'Stop worrying. You underestimate our moral fiber.'
He threw up his hands in defeat. 'Let me just say this: I pray to God that you know what you're doing.'
As he started to leave, I said, in my most innocent, wheedling tone, 'Will? You wouldn't say no to two good, kind, intelligent ladies, would you?' When he looked wary, I added, 'Not someone so chivalrous and good as you, Will.'
He sighed, and closed his eyes as though praying for patience. 'What now?'
'Well, wouldn't the whole process go quicker if three of us were working on the stuff?' I asked, a smile curling my lips.
'No,' he answered softly, leaving the cave.
I sighed and turned to Djaq. 'Ah well, you can't win them all.'
For a week, Djaq and I tried to hide the fact that we were illicitly making black powder. We succeeded tolerably, but I was always ready to jump in the conversation whenever Will seemed as though he was going to let our secret slip. Throughout the week, I tried to work on Will to change his mind.
'Please?' I asked one night, as we sat outside the entrance of the cave. 'Why won't you help us? It's not like we're trying to kill anyone, we just want to get the mine out of business.'
'What about the guards?' he asked, narrowing his eyes at a distant squirrel, perched on a distant branch.
'Well... we could just find a way to make them leave...?' I pondered that for a moment. 'I'm not sure, but I'll think of something.'
'Will you?' he asked, as though he weren't really interested in what I had to say.
'Yes.' I watched him for a moment, admiring his profile, slightly pensive. 'Will, where is your family?'
He met my eyes steadily. 'In Scarborough.'
'Oh.' He looked away, but I didn't.
'Did you leave someone behind when you left Rochdale?' he asked, suddenly serious.
'Yes,' I said, hardly thinking that there might be another meaning than the one I thought he meant.
'Really?' he said, startled. He was suddenly looking at me with a deep intensity.
I nodded. 'My body left, and part of my soul, but not all of it.'
There was a long silence for a while. I felt that if he didn't look away soon, the gap between us might just close. But I couldn't look away. I almost wanted the gap of space between us to vanish. But...
'What was he like?' he asked, his eyes boring into mine.
I was highly confused. 'He?'
'Yes, he. Your... well, the bit of your soul that never left.'
I was still confused. 'What? How could part of my soul be a "he"?'
'Did your parents approve of him? Or was he someone you found on your own?' he asked, seemingly trying to make his voice sound natural.
Suddenly I realized what he was talking about, and laughed. Closing my eyes and giving myself over to a fit of giggles, I leaned over and laid my head on his shoulder. Looking back up at him, still slightly breathless from laughter, I said, 'I didn't mean a beau. I didn't have one. I meant that I left part of myself behind. I miss Rochdale. Sometimes I want to go back and find that little girl I was that I left behind.'
His face cleared instantly. 'Oh! Oh, I see.'
'Why did you ask that?' I questioned, leaning my head back onto his shoulders. 'I mean, seriously. A strange question.'
'Well, I was just trying to make conversation,' he replied.
For a moment, I let the silence stretch. Then, I sat up straight and looked him suspiciously in the eye. 'Did you leave anyone behind in Locksley?'
He laughed. 'No.'
'Ah,' I said. 'Well... would you help us, please?'
He sighed. 'Promise me not to ever use it again, unless in the most dire, most dreadful, deadly emergency, and I will.'
I squealed in delight, and threw my arms around his neck. 'Thank you, Will! With you helping, we'll be able to put that mine out of business in a week!'
I bounded to my feet and made to slip into the cave to tell Djaq of my success. I didn't make it, however.
Will seized my hand and didn't let go as I tugged. 'Gwen.'
'Yes?' I asked, watching him as he got to his feet.
'And another thing,' he said.
'What's that?' I asked cheerfully.
'If I'm going to help you...'
'Ye-e-e-s?' I asked in a long, drawn-out way. I realized that the gap between us was closing. And that I didn't really want to stop it. And...
Allan walked out of the cave. 'Oy! Will. You and I are making deliveries tomorrow morning. Be up on time this time.' And with that, he left.
I sighed. I smiled at Will. 'You were late last time?'
He nodded, looking like he'd just missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Looking down at me, he said, 'Good night, Gwen.'
I muttered good night back. Impulsively, I reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes.
As I turned to walk away, I reflected that Will Scarlet was complicating things.
