Chapter 28
In Symonton, Walter Fitzroy was sat at dinner when his messenger arrived. Walter's first inclination was to send him away. It was one of the first times in many weeks that he had sat at his own table and eaten a meal in peace. Catherine waited by the table for Walter to decide but still he said nothing.
"Please, my Lord. He may bring news of Lady Emelina."
Walter turned sharply towards her.
"I thought that I told you I did not want to hear her name mentioned in this house," Walter replied with more sadness than bitterness and Catherine could immediately tell that he did not mean a word that he said. She beckoned to the messenger who cautiously entered the room, having heard their exchange.
"My Lord, I bring news from Nottingham. The Sheriff has been injured in an attack. They are not expecting him to live," the man stuttered. Catherine nodded to him and he turned to leave.
"Wait!" Walter called out. The man stopped dead and slowly turned. "Do they know who attacked him?" The messenger shook his head. Walter waved him out of the room.
"I am sorry, my lord." Catherine said her disappointment barely concealed. "I hoped that it would be news of Lady Emelina." Walter chuckled.
"It is," he said, picking up his goblet and draining the contents. "That man has indirectly informed me that my daughter, the last remaining light in my life, is a cold blooded killer."
"No, my lord!" Catherine exclaimed, incredulously. Walter smiled and nodded his head.
"There is no turning back for her now. She has tried to kill Vaisey and, if he dies, she will be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people when Nottingham burns." Catherine frowned and shook her head.
"She would never…" she began, flatly refusing to believe it. Walter stood and slammed his fist down on the table, rattling the cutlery.
"But she has, Catherine. She told me of her plan but I was never convinced that she would be foolhardy enough to execute it," he yelled. "Not with the lives of so many at stake." He dropped back into his chair and saw the horror in Catherine's face.
"She will hang, my Lord. You must intervene. She did not know what she was doing," Catherine's voice caught in her throat as she spoke.
"She understood it perfectly," Walter replied but still Catherine shook her head.
She held out a folded piece of parchment. "But she did not believe it."
Emelina stared at Gisborne for a moment, a lump rising in her throat and tears pricking her eyes. Despite the heat of the room her blood ran cold. Suddenly her world seemed to be crumbling about her. Before her stood the man she had loved for so many years; the man for whom a fire blazed within her with such ferocity that she had allowed herself to be blinded by it and now she must face up to the consequences. Her eyes locked on his and she slowly reached for the chain about her neck. Withdrawing the key to her trunk, she held it out to him. He did not move, made no attempt to take it from her.
"Take it," she pressed. Gisborne released her and dragged his fingers through his hair. Turning from her he leaned heavily on the oak dressoir beneath the window, shaking his head.
"Are you afraid that you are right…or that you are wrong?" she whispered. "If my uncle dies you will be free of him - WE will be free of him."
"The people of Nottingham will be dead!" Gisborne cried as he finally turned to meet her gaze. Still she held out the key. Still he did not take it.
"Do you truly believe that Prince John will raze the town to the ground purely because his Sheriff is dead?" Emelina replied, simply.
Gisborne stared at her blankly for a moment, scarcely able to believe the words she spoke. "What?" he managed finally.
"He only cares to keep Nottinghamshire and as many other counties as he can, under his control in order to usurp the true King," Emelina replied.
"I have seen it with my own eyes, woman!" Gisborne shouted, his mind cast back to the day he had chosen to sacrifice himself to stand by Marian's side. The day he had begged her to marry him. The day he chose love over duty; so long ago now. The horror of what followed, what he did, still palpable. The agony of her loss still burning in his mind.
"No!" Emelina cried, jolting him back from the torture of his own memory. "He will install another of his Black Knights," Emelina asserted but her voice faltered as she spoke.
"You are wrong Emelina, and if you have killed the Sheriff then you have killed Nottingham. He IS the Black Knights!"
Emelina wandered slowly back to her seat and dropped into it, emotionally and physically exhausted. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She had been so sure of herself and her actions when she had arrived. She had told herself that it was for England. She had been sure she could detach herself from her actions but deep in her heart she had never believed the stories of the clause. She knew enough of Prince John to know that in his world people were expendable, quickly replaced by somebody even more obsequious. Why should her uncle have been any exception?
"It was just a threat, it had to be." Her conviction crumbled with each word.
Guy shook his head.
"I have never taken an innocent life. There must be something…" she began before a deep sob took her voice.
"There have been others?" Gisborne asked, perching on the edge of the table beside her. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his. His brow furrowed as he struggled to reconcile what he was hearing with the woman before him. Almost imperceptibly she nodded.
"Black Knights?" he continued. Again she nodded. "And where do I feature in this? Am I simply your escape plan? If you know about the clause then you must know that only the Black Knights will be permitted to leave. Did you think that I would protect you?" His voice became louder and colder as he fury grew. "How far down your list is my name?"
"No!" she cried, flying to her feet. "Never! Not you!"
"You killed your own sister, Ema! If blood means nothing to you then why should I?" he roared grasping her shoulders. Emelina steadied her breathing to calm herself before she spoke again.
"Because I love you," she whispered. "And I could not live without you."
"Ema…" he growled at her in exasperation through clenched teeth.
"Very touching," called a voice from the door. Guy spun around thrusting Emelina behind him, guarding her with his body. His hand quickly found his sword but he did not withdraw it. Robin leaned nonchalantly on the door frame, apparently unarmed.
"What are you doing here, Hood?" Guy demanded.
"I've come to offer my congratulations on your growing family," Robin replied with a broad smile. "You appear to have everything you wanted. A wife, a child…my home. How far are you willing to go to protect it?"
Emelina stepped out from her husband's protection, running her hand down his arm and gently squeezing his hand as she took a seat and offered one to Robin. The visitor hesitated for a moment before accepting.
"In two weeks Jasper will come here for the seal," Robin began. "I cannot protect the people of Nottingham on my own. You asked for my help once before," he continued, turning to Gisborne.
"And now I beg you for yours," Emelina interjected. Guy stepped forward and Emelina turned to him. "I am damned either way, Guy."
"I believe you told me that 'casualties were inevitable'" Robin replied waspishly.
"Yes I did, and I still believe that," Emelina replied flatly. "Not on this scale though. Not so many...I cannot live with their blood on my hands. Please Robin, help me."
Suddenly distracted, Robin jumped to his feet and indicated out of the window with a nod. A dust cloud on the road into the village heralded the arrival of a messenger wearing the Sheriff's livery. Robin hid himself in a dark corner of the room as the messenger entered the house and breathlessly addressed Gisborne.
"From the physician, my lord," he said holding out a piece of parchment. Tentatively, Gisborne took the note and broke the seal. Emelina watched him, scarcely able to breathe for fear of what it might contain. She saw the muscles of his jaw contract as he clenched his teeth. With a sigh he scrunched the note into a ball and with a wave of his hand he dismissed the messenger. He turned back to Emelina and tenderly cupped her face with his hand.
"Wait for me!" he instructed softly as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, seemingly forgetting the presence of their visitor. Releasing her, he threw the note onto the table before collecting his gloves and racing to the stables.
She watched him until he was out of sight and by the time she turned around again, Robin had stepped out from the shadows and had the note in his hand, his expression grave.
"It seems the Sheriff is awake," he said.
