Sorry for the long delay. Work and writer's block has taken me away from my writing. I have been working on this chapter for awhile and I hope I don't disappoint!

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Five

A Proper Woman

Gisborne arrived at the castle and was immediately annoyed. The castle was abuzz with the preparations for the Sheriff's birthday. The Sheriff's birthday was always a big day in the life of Nottingham and in turn Gisborne's. Traditonally birthday's did not go that well in Nottingham. Robin and his outlaws made a fool out of the Sheriff on the King's birthday. Robin was able to escape an army of 100 mercenaries on his birthday. Gisborne did not even want to think about his birthday last year when he had to deal with Lardner and his ring. He managed to get into the Sheriff's study unscathed and waited for him to emerge from behind a blind. It wasn't very often that the Sheriff was modest. Gisborne could not even count the number of times that he had seen more of the Sheriff than he cared to.

"Ah, Gisborne! Didn't hear you come in or I would have greeted you properly," he said in tone full of innuendo. The Sheriff was always lewd and down-right disgusting the rest of the time. And he loved it. He preferred to say what he wanted when he wanted and did not care what others thought. The only time he was ever careful about what he said was when he wanted something. For instance, the deal he made with Winchester last year. He agreed to give Winchester Sussex and Marian in exchange for the Lord's signature on the Sheriff's pact. Of course, after he agreed and got the signature, the Lord was killed, but that was beside the point. Gisborne did not say anything as he waited for the Sheriff to come out. He had settled into saying the least he could to the Sheriff. He would respond when spoken to and carried out the orders he was given. Gisborne was afraid that if he begun to speak he would tell the Sheriff too much. That Gisborne would give him more leverage that he could hold over his head. Marian had been the Sheriff's favorite knife to twist into Gisborne's side. But with her gone he did not want to give the Sheriff something to hold over him. He wanted to keep Charlotte as close to him as he could. The Sheriff came out shortly later and pulled Gisborne from him thoughts.

"Well, how do I look? Today is my birthday and the Prince is coming," he said as he adjusted his coat and smoothed back his hair.

"Prince John?"

"Very good Gisborne," the Sheriff was his usual mocking self and Gisborne just rolled his eyes in response to the Sheriff's tone. "Yes, I have invited Prince John and he has accepted my invitation,"

That was why the Sheriff had been sparing no expense for his birthday. The Sheriff never did seem to enjoy himself at any sort of function, unless it was a hanging or some other kind of public expedition of suffering. Gisborne knew there was a reason he was dreading this day. He had to not only put up with the Sheriff, but now the spoiled idiot Prince. Gisborne watched as the Sheriff primped himself some more and he rolled his eyes. The Sheriff did notice Gisborne annoyance, but did not lead on that he did.

"Now, Gisborne make sure you have an escort to my party tonight," he said as he looked at his own reflection in the mirror.

"My lord?"

"A woman Gisborne. I want you to bring a woman to my party tonight. The Prince will have a good time and I want to be sure that he does," the Sheriff was leading the conversation and Gisborne was not picking up on it. He was lost in his thoughts and the Sheriff could see it.

"Yes, my lord," he said quickly and exited the room. The Sheriff was playing Gisborne and naturally Gisborne did not even notice. He loved toying with his second in command. When he saw him kill Marian in the Holy Land, he saw Gisborne's loyalty demonstrated by blood. He thought when they came back from there he would have Gisborne's full attention. Gisborne fell into drinking and was even more unpredictable than ever. He needed something, something that he could hold over him again. He knew there was a reason that he was going to love turning 40.

Gisborne tended to a few things in Nottingham before returning home to Locksley and to Charlotte. As he rode back, he thought about how things had changed in the last year. Twelve months ago at this time he was pursuing Marian. A task, he later found out, that was all for naught. Now he had the affections of a woman he was growing to love even more than Marian. The next part of his day was going to be difficult; he needed to approach her delicately. He saw Charlotte as he handed his reigns to his stableman. She was working in the garden and the sun was shining through her brown curls. He stood in the shadows and watched her for a moment. A lock of her hair fell into her face and she brushed it away with the back of her hand; leaving a dirt smudge on her forehead. He couldn't help but laugh to himself. He slowly approached her; he was always afraid that he would scare her like he use to.

"Good Afternoon," he said in his deep voice. She smiled lightly and stood to face him.

"Good Afternoon my lord. How was your trip to town today?" She was prying and she knew it. This plan of hers was becoming harder and harder to take. It was taking much too long to accomplish what she was wanted to do. She had to step up her plans and get out of Locksley. Robin was becoming impatient. What she didn't know was, he getting impatient with her or her plans?

"Today is the Sheriff's birthday and he is having a celebration," he said as he watched her continue to gather up her supplies. Julia's attention was piqued. This was the party that Allan had told her about. She was listening much closer than she had been before. She had to figure out how to get this information to Robin and get herself in. "I wanted to know if you would accompany me,"

Well, that took care of getting in the party. She caught herself from showing excitement about how easy this was going to be. "Charlotte" would not be excited to attend such a party. She decided to paste horror and fear on her face as her response.

"I, ah, I'm not sure that I would be the best person to go with you," she answered as she picked up her basket and begun to walk into the house. Gisborne's brow furrowed in confusion; he thought she would be excited. "You should ask a proper lady to accompany you, not me," she entered the kitchen and immediately got to work on cleaning the vegetables she just dug up.

Gisborne followed in and saw that they were not alone. There were several others doing various tasks. He motioned with his head and they all quickly cleared the room. He observed her for a moment. She was nervous and that was plain to see. She fluttered about the room like a bee. She would move from one thing to another and then back again. She had many wasted movements. It was almost as if she was waiting for him to leave.

"I want you to come with me," he said in an even tone. He knew that he could order her, but he didn't want to. He didn't her to come out of some kind of obligation. He leaned heavily on the butcher's block and stared across the kitchen at her.

"I would not be able to blend in with respectable people. I'm a maid, my lord," her voice sounded like it was begging him to stop.

"You are Charlotte, the woman I love," he responded as he walked around the butcher's block and put his hands on her upper arms. He could feel her shaking and he continued. "And I will not be able to survive the unbearable Sheriff and his intolerable guests without you there," his right hand left her arm and caressed her cheek. She cast her eyes down as if she was embarrassed. He brought her eyes to his and leaned down to kiss her, but she cut him off.

"But I have nothing to wear to something like that," she stated plainly as a small smile dared to come out.

"I have gowns for you to choose from. Does that mean that you will come with me?" he asked in a soft whisper.

"How could any woman say no to any request when you put it like that?" and she kissed him. She rushed up to the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his. He pulled her chest to his, not wanting to break it.

Gisborne stood casually, well as casual as he can muster, in front of his front fireplace. He had been waiting for Charlotte to come down for some time now. He had offered her some of Marian's clothes for her to wear. He was nervous and he hated that feeling. It meant that he was scared to some degree and that he had no control. He had noticed that he had changed quite a bit since Charlotte had come into his life. He fought the urge to pace, but he did allow himself to gaze up at the stairs occasionally, hoping to catch site of her.

He stood in the doorway, staring out at the yard, his back to the stairs. He did not even see or hear her come down. She stood for moment at the base of the stairs, watching him. He shifted slightly from one foot and then the other and his arms were crossed in front of him. She fought the desire to laugh. She decided that a light cough would be more appropriate. Gisborne looked over his shoulder and caught his first glimpse of her. She looked perfect. She was wearing a gown of various shades of green with brown sleeves. The light green sash that rested along the top edge of her bodice set off the small bit of green in her blue eyes. Her hair had been tamed and pulled back into a intricate twist to expose her face and soft neck. From working in the garden and outdoors, her skin was lightly sun-kissed. She seemed to almost glow in the faint firelight.

He suddenly remembered the dress. It was the same one Marian had worn when she came to see him at Locksley when she said she had wanted to repair their friendship. A look of sadness went over his face and she saw this.

"What's wrong?" She inquired and lightly brushed at her bodice. She was beginning to feel awkward. He straightened up and walked over to her. "I don't look right do I? I can wear something else," she said quickly sounding flustered and she turned to go back upstairs. Gisborne caught her hand before she got too far away. She turned back towards him.

"No, you look beautiful," he said softly and to reassure her he lightly kissed her. He could feel her relax under his kiss. She let out a long breath and tried to smile. "Now, shall we?"

The entire ride to Nottingham, Gisborne was watching her out of the corner of his eye. They sat side by side in the small carriage and he could see her fidgeting with her gloves. He looked up from her hands and saw her lightly biting on her lower lip while looking out of the small window. He smiled to himself. She was really nervous and she was doing this for him. He felt his chest swell in admiration and appreciation.

As they got out off the carriage after entering the castle's inner courtyard, Gisborne turned toward her. She looked up at the dark stone building and immediately felt sick. She had never been so intimidated in her entire life and Gisborne could read that on her face.

"I don't think I can do this," her voice was so grave, almost ghost-like. He took her hands in his and put a kiss on the back of each.

"We will not stay long, I promise,"

"Don't you even dare leave me alone with any of them in there," she responded through gritted teeth. Gisborne laughed softly, tucked her arm through his, and led her inside.

"Into the lion's den," Julia thought to herself.

Julia doesn't exactly play nice at the party! But did we really expect her to?

Stay Tuned!