Chapter Thirty-five: Return to the Cave

It had been so easy to slip out the gate—thanks to Allan and his cover story, she'd even had a horse ready for her at the stables. Riding into Sherwood, she'd made sure she wasn't being followed before turning the horse's head toward the cave where she and Allan had met so many times last spring.

The horse was not her beloved Alemah, but that couldn't be helped. A guard riding out on Deirdre's favorite horse would have aroused too much suspicion. She made her way to the cave and found it as Allan had described it, well stocked with food and blankets and dry firewood. She brought the horse to the back and hobbled him, then took complete stock to see what, if anything, she would need. Finding nothing amiss, she made herself a small fire, then sat before the warmth and let her head fall to her knees. Within seconds, she was sobbing.

At the castle, Guy knocked on Deirdre's door. He heard no answer and thought that Deirdre was just being contrary. He knocked again, calling her name, but still received no answer. "Deirdre, please open the door." No answer. "Deirdre, open the door. The priest waits for us. You will become my wife this morning. You cannot fight it." Still no answer. Guy looked at the guards in consternation; they shrugged, looking at him wide-eyed. "Has anyone been in or out of this room since I brought the Lady Deirdre here yesterday?"

The taller of the two guards stammered, sensing the danger in his master's voice, "N-no Sir Guy. N-no one's been in or out, I swear."

Guy growled low in his throat before wrenching open the door; if Deirdre was changing, it wouldn't matter as she would be his shortly anyway. The sight which greeted his eyes had his stomach clenching in anger and loss—the maid, Betsy, tied and gagged in a chair by the fireplace, her eyes wide in fright. The rest of the room was empty. Guy strode past the bound maid to the back wall and opened the secret door, expelling a breath in anger as he saw the equally bound and gagged guard in the hallway. He reached for the cowering guard to un-gag him.

"What happened?!"

"I don't know, Milord. I was standing here, guarding the door like you said to, and then someone must've hit me. Everything went dark. I'm sorry, Milord Gisbourne."

Guy punched the guard in pent-up fury before stalking from the room, yelling for Allan.

Allan heard Gisbourne screaming his name and flinched, half-wishing he had gone with Deirdre after all. He steeled himself for the confrontation to come, knowing it would be ugly even if Guy did buy that Allan had had nothing to do with Deirdre's disappearance.

Guy practically ran down the stairs and out the door to the courtyard, still yelling for Allan; as he passed the sheriff, Vasey couldn't resist a dig as his second-in-command.

"Something wrong, Gisbourne?"

Guy turned with a snarl, barely remembering himself in time. "Nothing I can't handle Milord." He turned back to the door as Allan walked in.

"What's goin' on?"

"Outside." Guy's command brooked no refusal.

"Yeah, yeah, all right." Allan knew it was best to be obsequious when Guy was in this sort of mood. He followed Guy out to the courtyard and over to the stables. Once inside, Guy looked for and found Alemah. At the mare's stall, he turned on Allan.

"I went this morning to Lady Deirdre's room to bring her for the ceremony. She was not there. What do you know of this?" Guy's voice was measured, steady, deadly.

"What do you mean, Guy? Her 'orse is 'ere. Maybe she went to the priest. You know, for confession or somethin'."

"Her maid, and the guard I placed…at her door… were both found bound and gagged. She may need confession, but that's not where she is. She's run from me." Guy's anger was edged by pain; Allan almost felt sorry for him—almost.

"She's probly hidin' out somewhere in town. Weddin' day jitters. I admit, it's a little extreme to tie up your maid and all, but…"

"It's not jitters Allan. She's not hiding out in town. She's run away, and if I find out who helped her…" Guy's feral growl left no doubt as to the fate of any accomplices.

Allan swallowed nervously, looking at Guy in wide-eyed innocence. "Look, Guy, I'll tell you what. I'll look around town for you. You just relax. We'll find 'er."

Guy strode off, visibly seething. "See that you do," he threw over his shoulder as he went to question the maid and the guard further.

Allan heaved a sigh of relief as Guy left. He would set up a search party to look for Lady Deirdre. They would never find her, but at least it would help her trail in Sherwood to go cold.

All that day, Allan sent guards around Nottingham town, to Locksley, and the surrounding towns; he even sent some on the four day journey to Dun Aisling to look for Lady Deirdre. Of course, they came up empty-handed, but it wasted time and that was an important part of the plan. If he made it look like he was innocent, then perhaps Guy would buy that he was; the most important part of a con was appearances, playing the part. If you played the part well enough, the mark bought it and you were home free; if not, you were caught and in this case, dead.

By nightfall, Guy was frantic. He was angry that Deirdre had escaped, angry that he had been made to look a fool again, angry that they couldn't find her so that he could punish her. To make matters worse, every time he passed near the sheriff, Vasey's sardonic looks and sarcastic comments sent Guy's nerves further over the edge. If he didn't find Deirdre soon and bring her to heel, he'd never hear the end of it.

His interrogations of the maid and the guard had brought him no results—the maid had insisted that her lady had tied her up; the guard had maintained that she had had help from someone on the outside. Deirdre must have known the person who had knocked out the guard, but who could it be? He had thought at first that it was Allan, but the man was looking high and low for Deirdre. He thought that maybe it was Martin, sneaking back into town to rescue his lady; in fact, the more Guy thought of it, the more Martin became his main suspect. They would find out more when the guards that Allan had sent to Dun Aisling returned, but that would not be for over a week.

Guy decided to ride to Locksley, to wait for word there—at least at his manor, he wouldn't have to endure the sheriff's snide remarks.