Chapter Ten

I woke the next morning shivering. The temperature had fallen a good twenty degrees since the night before. I suddenly wished I had thought to set up my pallet closer to the fire. There was, of course, a very good reason that I had ended up sleeping in the distant corner of the cave, far away from everyone else.

I didn't want to be any closer to Will than I absolutely had to be. I had come so close to kissing him last night, and I didn't know what would have happened if Allan hadn't burst onto the scene. So, I felt that staying far away for a little while was the best option.

Unfortunately, I had absolutely no luck. When I opened my eyes, to find my cloak, I found that everyone was out- except the person I was trying to avoid.

'Good morning, sleepy-head,' he said, smiling. He threw me an apple as I sat up. Still drowsy, I didn't react quickly enough- it hit me squarely in the head, bouncing off and rolling into a corner to my left. 'Ouch!' I cried, rubbing my forehead. 'I take back that thing about your good aim.'

Chuckling, he apologized. 'Sorry. But I can't say much for your catching skills.'

I rolled my eyes as I pushed myself to my feet. Retrieving the apple, I moved to polish it on my tunic. I stopped, however, when I saw how dingy the cloth had become. I sighed, tossing the apple into the air and deftly catching it again, and bounced to my bag. I pulled out my spare tunic- the crimson one- and started to change- only to remember that I wasn't alone in the cave. Blushing, I asked, 'Er... Will? Do you mind... erm, leaving the cave for a second?'

Also blushing, he hurried out of the cave, tripping over his own feet and stumbling.

I quickly pulled the new tunic over my head and made a mental note to make a dash for the creek to clean the old one. Spotting my mother's necklace at the bottom of my pack, I pulled it out, kneeling on the cold stone floor and staring at it.

Mother? I asked inside my head. What would you say if you saw me now? I laughed. You'd probably groan and say, you remind me so much of your brothers! And what would you say about Will?

Suddenly, her voice was clear in my head, as though she was sitting right beside me, speaking. 'A nice boy... a little serious, but a nice boy.' I laughed again. But what, I asked in my head, would you tell me to do about this latest development?

I cringed as I heard her voice saying something sappy like, 'Follow your heart, darling!'

Instead of listening to more tripe like that, I wondered what my father would have said. Probably something a little more indifferent than my mother. And just as suddenly as my mother's voice had come to me, I heard my father's gruff, laughing voice telling me, 'Just go for it. Life's too short to worry.' Well, I reflected grimly, it was for you, Pappa.

Impulsively, I fastened the charm around my neck and tucked it under my tunic. Pulling the drawstrings on my bag tight, I stood up with a sigh. 'Will?'

I heard his voice mutter something inarticulately.

'You can come back in now.'

I heard footsteps behind me and Will said, 'How are we doing on the black powder?'

I sighed again, moved over to the back of the cave, and pointed to a very lumpy pile of blankets and pots.

He shrugged and looked at me expectantly. 'So... how many barrels are under that?'

'Three,' I said, sitting down in a cross-legged position on the hard floor. 'The Sheriff is opening the mine in five days.'

'How do you know that?' he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

I shrugged. 'Djaq heard while she was in Nottingham.'

'What was Djaq doing in Nottingham?' he asked.

I sighed. 'Collecting more ingredients for the black powder.'

He made an impressed sound. 'I didn't even realize she was gone.'

I laughed. 'Well, then we're doing a good job keeping this secret.'

He sighed, watching me reach over to a loaf of pilfered bread, tear a chunk off and bring it to my mouth.

'Do you really have to do this?' he asked, softly.

I swallowed a mouthful of bread slowly. 'Do what?' I asked.

'Make this stuff. Blow up the mine,' he replied, staring me straight in the eyes. 'It's... well, it's dangerous, for one thing.'

I raised an eyebrow at him. 'Dangerous for who?' I stood up and moved toward him. Smiling, I pushed his right shoulder slightly and playfully. 'You're scared, aren't you?'

He grinned, pushing me back. 'No, I'm not scared. Well, I am,' he admitted, sobering at once. 'But not for myself.'

I let out a loud laugh. 'That's what they all say.'

'Who?' he asked, the grin back on his face. 'What who all say?'

I poked him on the left shoulder. 'People.'

Sooner than I could say "qui rogat, non errat", he had taken my face between his hands, and was looking into my face with a deep intensity, just as he had the night before. My heart began to flutter. To myself, I thought, 'Oh no! Not again...'

And...

'Bats!' I heard a whining voice cry. 'I hate bats!'

I sighed as Will quickly removed his hands from my face and Much entered the cave.

He stood for a moment, eyeing the two of us. 'I'm so sorry,' he muttered, reddening. 'Am I interrupting anything?'

I glanced at Will and realized... we were standing rather close.

'Erm...' I sputtered. 'No, not at all, Much. Er... what were you saying about bats?'

He looked at me confusedly. 'Didn't... didn't you hear the bat flying out of the cave just a minute ago? Didn't you hear it?'

No, I hadn't. But what would I say? Oh, no, I didn't hear or see the bat, I was too busy staring into Will's eyes and hoping desperately that no one would interrupt...

'Well, yes,' blustered Will. 'But we aren't quite as sensitive as you seem to be. Gwen and I, we can handle bats. Is it our problem you can't?'

I slapped him hard on the upper arm.

'Ouch!' he cried, rubbing the spot. 'What was that for?'

I laughed. 'Being so rude to Much, you dolt.'

I had to say something. Truth was, I just felt like slapping him for making me feel the way I felt. Mother! I called out silently. Please, tell me what to do!