Much like a child would watch for sign of anger in their parents, Ada paid close attention to the Sheriff and the Prince. The older man had given her a scathing look when he first saw her in the morning. The Prince, however, was all smiles. Disconcerted as she was, Ada did not allow it to show. She drew strength from the carriage standing in front of them all. The Prince would be gone and soon.
"It is that frown upon your face, my lady; it could drive some poor knight to madness. A smile I beg of you, just one smile to see me safely to London." His exaggerated manner did not fail to win him the smile he kept asking of her. "I've done all humanly possible to see it." Prince John did not fail to remind her of the favour he'd done her by releasing that peasant woman in her care.
Emily, Ada had learned the woman was called, would live. The previous night, after she had left the celebrating, Ada had gone to the servant quarters to look in of the poor wretch she'd brought in. Thankfully the other servants had done her bidding, and one of them who knew a bit about plants and ointments patched her back up. Emily would live, aye; but there was a good chance she would never get over the trauma. Ada had washed the woman's forehead with her handkerchief and said a prayer for her. She was in the hands of God.
"Your kindness humbles me, Your Highness," the young woman replied, folding her hands demurely in her lap."I shall pray for you to have a save journey." And a speedy one at that. It would have also pleased her greatly in he refrained for visiting at least for a few good years. Ada bowed gently, evading what could have become an awkward situation when she saw the glint in the Prince's eyes. "Fare thee well."
Vaisey pushed her aside and saw the Prince to the interior of his carriage. What was said between the two of them Ada couldn't hear, nor did she care to. Instead she sought Guy out from the corner of her eye. He had stayed behind, his rank not allowing him to step with them. But when their eyes met he smiled at her, a short stretch of lips, barely perceptible and not nearly long enough to be anything but fleeting. But all was well. It was, after all, such moments that she thought about when in the seclusion of her own rooms. Young and foolish and very much in love, that was what she was and somehow she couldn't summon the regret she knew she ought to feel at this deplorable state she had fashioned her way into. Ada own lips curled in a response, a tiny wave of something fluttering inside of her. She could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest and the blood, she could hear the blood rushing through her veins.
Dragging herself out of the stupor, Ada turned away. She looked to see her uncle was only then beginning to face them and her face fell into a neutral expression. His face which had been up until that point pleasant turned into a thundering cloud. "You," he hissed advancing upon his niece. "Do you realise what your foolishness could have cost us?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you dare look at me so, you ingrate!" His tirade did not stop there. It took a long time for Vaisey to forward all of his complaints against her transgression, yet Ada could feel her mind slipping. When she finally managed to summon her attention back upon the man, her uncle's face resembled a red apple. "Gisbourne, take the damn woman to her chambers and if I see so much as a hair of her or her servant you may have them both beaten."
To be sure, he was being crueller than his usual self. However, Ada supposed she had tempted the beast. She bowed her head in feigned obedience. Guy took her arm roughly, not enough to cause her injury, but enough for her uncle to let out a gruff curse and be on his way. Pretending to carry out his orders, Guy pulled Ada along, his hold softening. "Don't make trouble for me," he warned her playfully. "Follow like a good lady and I'll see to it that you are well-treated."
"I already am," Ada breathed roughly with the effort of keeping up with his pace. "Sir, you walk too fast." Her accusation was met with a hastening of his pace, making her almost run to catch him. Her skirts, having not been made to allow her such acts, twisted around her legs, making her falter.
Guy caught her before she could take a fall. She was small and light and utterly delicious with her affronted look. It shouldn't have appalled him to want to comport himself in a roguish manner and steal her lips in the plain sight of all, Guy had committed so many other heinous acts. What was kissing her to those? Especially when he had done so on other occasions too. "We'd best be gone, my lady." He released her, his heart jolting. "We must see that you are properly contained. Else you and I, we shall never hear the end of it, my dear." Guy knew all too well that lingering would make him more susceptible to bending to those desires that even then whispered wickedly in his ear.
"Are you not glad?" Ada's voice drifted to him through his haze. He watched her with a hint of confusion. "Are you not glad that the Prince has finally left?" For her it was a burden lifted. She did not need to watch her every step and school her features when turning around the corner and pray, pray that she would not meet the sardonic smiles and mock-kind tones of Prince John.
"The walls have ears, my lady," Guy reminded her gently. He was not in the habit of protecting others. Eve less so women who were more dangerous than they looked. But with the constant reminder that this particular woman.
"There are some rumours going around, sir." Her words were spoken as soon as they had reached her chambers. Discreetly she motioned him in, the braid on her shoulder slipping away.
"Are there?" he questioned, stepping over the threshold. He curbed the impulse to touch her hair. "What sort of rumours are those, then?" Vasey's domain was treacherous, its rumours most likely traps.
The last time he had been here, in her rooms, it was without a proper invitation. That visit had been prompted by curiosity and suspicion alike. The innocence she exhibited was convincing enough, buy Guy had learned that appearances were rarely what they seemed. More so in the case of women. Sure enough, Ada did not seem to want much; she did not seem dangerous. It should have soothed him, the knowledge. It should have made it all so much easier.
Yet she had come between the Prince and his prey. She had stood up to a man who could have just as easily decided not to be amused by her display. Prince John could have chosen to punish her. It said something of her when she opposed a man feared even by his own mother. Indeed, if the Queen Mother truly knew of her youngest son's plots and schemes, she was likely huddled somewhere in a nunnery praying the boy wouldn't find her. However, his point was that the girl in front of him needed to be made aware of the dangers she faced.
"I have heard that we are to have another illustrious guest in my uncle's home." The way she said it made it clear just what was her opinion of her uncle's connections. Guy held back a smile and bid her continue. "Some German Count he plans to charm with the beauty of our English countryside."
"You needn't worry that he will call upon you to entertain this guest also." Indeed not. This time Vasey's plans were a bit grander. "The German Count is a man of particular tastes, Ada. The Sheriff is convinced that a more spirited lady should have the honour of partnering the Count."
"Oh dear. Do I even wish to know who the unfortunate soul is?" Her theatrics stole a smile form Guy, which was about all Ada had wanted at the moment. She could already guess who the woman would be. Lady Marian had sealed her own fate. To be sure, Vasey would not allow her to refuse, and the poor girl would be caught in the trap. "And you are not bothered?"
"Not at all," Guy assured her. He walked closer to her, carefully stirring them away from the high window. "So long as I may have your attention." It pleased him not to have to share. He would rather that Vasey excluded his niece from the plan, but that was not possible.
Ada, for her part, was not highly concerned with the count and whether or not he would find her company pleasant. Very few men interested her enough beyond a surface examination. Guy was a notable exception, and if she was true to herself Robin Hood was another. That was not to say that she harboured any feelings towards the blond. Not al all. It was simply intriguing. The rivalry between him and Guy was talked about in dark corners. Ada could not help being interested.
It helped that the thief had been so gallant. One could tell for a certainty that he came of noble lineage, or that at the very least he had had an education worthy of a nobleman. Robin of Locksley. The name rang in her head. The details were unknown to her, yet the fact that a noble would hole up in the woods with a pack of peasants only served to get her mind reeling. This had the making of a great story. A story which she was fortunate enough to be part of. Ada twined her fingers around Guy's.
"What about Robin Hood?" she asked. Ada could feel Guy freeze. She looked up in his eyes, the cold blue drowning her.
"What about Robin Hood?" Guy spat, pulling away from her. He started pacing the floor. "If he so much as dares to make an appearance I'll skewer him."
She didn't even blink at the violence. Ada was privately astonished at the fact that he could carry so much hatred for another. She doubted it all stemmed from their rivalry over the affections of the same woman. Nay, Marian could not have caused this. Perhaps she fuelled the rage, but be the cause of it, no. There had to be a reason. Guy could not even bare to have the man's name mentioned.
"I am certain it will not come to that," Ada murmured absently, trying to find a way to calm Guy. It hadn't been her intention to bring about his ire.
But his suspicion had already been woken. Guy glanced at her. What had Hood said to her in the woods? Had he tried to seduce her? Guy fumed at the mere idea. Christ's bones! He would kill Robin Hood the next time the scoundrel crossed his path.
"Why would you want to have him safe?" he demanded, grabbing her elbow, this time nothing mocking about his grip.
She stared at him with wide, confused eyes. "He could fall in the deepest pits of hell for all I care," Ada declared, despite it not being quite true. She had a certain budding fondness for the thief, or rather a curiosity more than genuine affection. "The one I wish safe is you."
One thing that could not be denied was that Hood was good with a weapon. Guy would know. Ada's words did not calm him much. He needed more. He needed proof. After all, Marian had been all promises too, hadn't she? And when he trusted her, she struck him.
"You needn't worry, my lady. I am capable of defeating the likes of Hood." Yet until now he hadn't done so. The thought rand mockingly in his mind, irritating him further. Hell and damnation!
He needed to get away. He needed to be alone with his thoughts. Away from wide, trusting eyes and tempting smiles. Without so much as a word, he released Ada in a chair and stormed out, leaving behind a bewildered face. Aye, he needed peace.
Left to her own devices once more, Ada contemplated silently the events that had taken place. But without all the facts she could hardly form a valid opinion of anything. For the time being she would let it rest, but Ada was quite decided upon finding out the truth. At the very least one problem had been solved. That of her conscience over causing someone's death. Ada toyed with the cross at her neck. She could not avoid writing to her father any longer. She had the proof she needed and it was time to set the plan in motion.
Sherriff Vasey was a despicable man. He did not deserve to be called a human being. Even worse, he was corrupting everything around him. It hadn't escaped her notice that the man loved money above anything else, perhaps with the exception of making others suffer. Gold and agony pleased him like nothing else in the world ever could. One way or another, he had to be eliminated. If she was chosen as the instrument, Ada supposed she could do little but obey. Aye, she would poison the wine he drank, and she would be almost happy to do so.
But Ada would not do it for the king. Political ambitions were very far from her mind and thoughts. Politics was the domain of men. She wanted no part in that. She was doing it for the people, people like Emily, forced to suffer in thrall to men like Vasey. Men whose mercy was as sharp as their ire, if not more so. She would poison her uncle. She would kill a man, and she would take comfort in the knowledge that all had been done for the greater good. Ada only hoped it would be enough to assuage the guilt.
"May God have mercy on my soul," she prayed, crossing herself. Ada doubted she was the first of her family to take part in such plots, but she dearly hoped that in the future there would be no further need for such plans.
The small casket of her table drew her attention involuntarily. All her jewellery. All her poison-filled rings and necklaces. She did not doubt her father had sent enough powder to incapacitate a whole army. Poison and sweet smiles. How had she managed to land herself in such a position? How would she extricate herself from it?
Ada grew slowly aware of the fact that she would have to start placing small amounts of the powder in her uncle's drink and food soon. It would be no easy task. Vasey was distrustful of everything and everyone. Women especially, it would seem. She needed to proceed with all due caution. And, of course, there was the small matter of Guy.
Her own foolish heart had gotten entangles with his. Even more, she had promised to marry him. No doubt her position as his wife would afford her a needed cover, and protection, and perhaps insight into her uncle's plans. But these points did not matter at all. For when she did wed him, it would be her heart she gave.
Her father would not have approved. He had raised a clever girl, and had always taken the time to remind her that the best thinking was done with the head and not the heart. Ada could almost hear him scolding her. A smile grew on her face, it was a tentative attempt. She had her smiles, she would have a marriage and she would do her duty. That was that, and no more could be said of it.
Yet what should happen if her prospective husband discovered her plans? Would Guy believe her when she professed her love then? Without doubt it would look like betrayal, and in a sense of the words it was betrayal. She came with hidden intentions and plans made under the cover of darkness. Guy was not a forgiving soul. He would curse her. He would possibly kill her. He would probably divorce her. Between death and divorce, Ada was unsure which was worse. Doubt filled her again. She needed to write to her father. He would tell her what was the best way to proceed.
In the meantime, Guy would have to be kept in the dark awhile longer. Having succeeded for some time now, Ada thought she could do so until her father's reply came. If only her problems would be solved with more ease. Had she been a peasant girl, she would not have all these decisions to make. But then again, she would have little besides the clothes on her back and the whip of her master to caress her, she was sure. Batter to have unpleasant decisions to make, she thought, an image of Emily fashing in her mind.
Taking out a parchment of good quality, Ada searched around for her quill. The ink was where she remembered it to be, thankfully. She would never understand how her possessions moved around the room without her knowledge. Ada finally found the elegant writing instrument in one of the drawers and heaved a sigh.
Unlike other times, she found writing an easier exercise. Worries and words poured out of her on paper. A plea for help. A cry for mercy. She needed a reason to justify her actions; she needed a voice firmer than her own to give her said motive. And if her father could not convince her of the necessity of her actions, then no one else could. Ada had never known a more persuasive man. He would make it clear to her what she should do, and he would make it so her belief in their cause would be unshakable. Ada trusted that. She trusted the man to make a good, right choice.
The soft scratch of quill on paper filled the room. Ada took comfort in the sound, The cross at her throat felt by turn heavy and light, ever changing as were her thoughts.