Chapter Nine

For the first time since Charlotte's arrival, the weather was awful. The afternoon brought an onslaught of dreary, rain-laden clouds that hung in the air like a premonition.

Charlotte was the brightest thing for miles, as she wore a brilliant crimson dress that stood out in the grim grey of everything else. The dress complimented her figure very well, as it was tight, which emphasised her already slim waist and had very long sleeves, which hid her wounded arms.

Eventually a wagon pulled into the courtyard. Sir Guy rushed to open the door for Lord Arthur, who emerged wearing exactly the same clothes as Roger. The real Lord Arthur was quite handsome, with large, baby blue eyes and tousled caramel brown hair. His body was quite muscled underneath his clothes and he had broad shoulders, which made him look even stronger.

'Here we go!' Charlotte thought to herself. The Sheriff walked down to Arthur and welcomed him warmly, but Charlotte could tell that the warmth in the welcome was forced. Luckily, Arthur couldn't. The Sheriff then led Arthur up the steps to where Charlotte was standing. Her heart began to race as she studied Arthur more closely, noticing the scar over his left eyebrow and the little bit of his right ear missing, among other things.

"This is Lady Charlotte," the Sheriff said. "Lady Charlotte, this is Lord Arthur of Shropshire." Lord Arthur's pupils enlarged when he drank in the sight of Charlotte and a silly grin spread over his lips.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Charlotte said, battering her eyelids. Arthur lapped it up, but Charlotte felt like an idiot.

"Charmed, I'm sure," he said, kissing her hand. Charlotte blushed in embarrassment rather than pleasure. The Sheriff's expression was unreadable.

"Let's go inside before it begins to rain," the Sheriff suggested. Arthur nodded, but kept his eyes on Charlotte.

Dinner was a blur for Arthur, as was supper. Lord Arthur loved to talk, but he loved to talk to beautiful women even more so. For Charlotte, the hours dragged on. Eventually she resorted to one word responses and began to only listen to half the conversation, asking the occasional question when she felt it faltering. Lord Arthur insisted on dancing and, when he had a bit too much to drink, playing with Charlotte's hair. She was glad when the evening was over.

"Ugh," she said, sinking into the chair opposite the Sheriff's desk. "Rocks are more interesting than Lord Arthur of Shropshire's conversation. At least rocks aren't self obsessed."

"I can't say I've ever heard a rock talk," the Sheriff said, sitting down in his chair.

"My point exactly," Charlotte said darkly.

"You did fairly well," the Sheriff congratulated her. "That idiot is completely infatuated with you."

"I don't know how."

"Me either," the Sheriff joked. Charlotte smiled at him.

"How many nights?" she asked.

"Four more, and two of those will be days as well."

"Kill me now," Charlotte groaned.

"That would be a waste."
"How?"

"He hasn't signed the contract yet," the Sheriff said, then stood up. He moved so that he was behind Charlotte and began to rub her shoulders.

"Don't be nice to me all of a sudden just because I'm helping you out," Charlotte warned.

"It's not like you have a choice," the Sheriff reminded her. "Besides, what if I like to be nice to you?"

"What do you want?" she asked. "You're doing an awful lot of sucking up."

"Me?" the Sheriff feigned shock. Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Nothing," he assured her, then put his head next to hers so that they were cheek to cheek. "Nothing at all."

"As you insist, I'll take Lord Talkalot on a leisurely ride through the forest and then maybe have a picnic there," she mock-sighed.

"Good girl." The two remained motionless for quite some time, and then the Sheriff stood up and stretched. "I'm ready for bed," he told her.

"Me too," she replied. "Goodnight." With that, she stood up and walked out the door, not looking back.

"Goodnight," the Sheriff echoed, blowing out the candle on his desk.

***

Djaq stood in the clearing, her head bathed in the ghostly moonlight. Will watched her from afar, too nervous to approach her. His heart swelled whenever he laid eyes on her, and a bright red glow rushed to his cheeks. If only he could admit his feelings.

He wondered if she had ever been in love before.

He wondered what she thought of him.

He wondered if secretly she liked him too.

That last question caused a boyish smile to spread over his lips.