Robin found Isabella standing alone in the corridor, as if she were waiting for him.
"It's hot, isn't it?" she asked casually, tearing off her nun's wimple and shaking down her hair. Then, looking wickedly at Robin she added, "So hot." Languidly, she raised both arms and lifted her hair off the back of her neck, then let it fall again. "Now, if I could only tear off the rest of these garments, I might be able to cool off. Perhaps you could tear them off for me? But no. I'd only certainly grow hotter, wouldn't I? Wouldn't we?" she amended, sidling up to him.
Robin scowled down at her. "Save your attempts at seduction for Prince John," he said angrily. "I'm immune to them. I know what you did, Isabella, and it's time you paid for your crimes."
"Immune? Don't be so sure, Robin."
"Put your hands behind your back and turn around and face the wall."
"My, my, your tastes have changed, haven't they, since you married? Has Marian initiated you to-"
His anger exploding, Robin did not wait for Isabella to finish. Seizing her by her wrists with one hand, he used his other to furiously undo his scarf from around his neck then wrap it tightly, binding her wrists together.
"How exciting," Isabella cooed, "yet not how I remember you. Your lovemaking, as I recall it, the few times we indulged, was all about aiming to please, or more precisely, heighten my pleasure. And you were so good at it, too! None of this roughness. But go ahead, Robin. With your inventiveness, not to mention how sexy you are, I'm eager to see where this leads."
"It leads straight to the king," Robin snarled, "for that's where I'm taking you. You're about to face justice, Isabella, so spare me your nasty implications. I don't want you, rough or otherwise."
The king? Isabella couldn't let Robin see how interested she was in his plan. By leading her to the king's army camp, she would learn whether Guy had succeeded in shooting him. Even if her arrow had only grazed him, her poison would do its work, and Richard would be dead within days. If only Guy hadn't mucked it up and failed, again!
She wasn't afraid to face King Richard. She was a woman, and knew he wouldn't kill her because of it. At worst, he would imprison her, and then, if Guy hadn't failed, he would die and Prince John would free her. And if Guy had failed, she would claim "benefit of clergy" and be released. There were benefits, after all, to being a "nun."
"Alright, Robin," she said, squaring her shoulders, "take me to your beloved king. I'm ready to face him."
Robin, hating her, had to admire her courage. "Don't waste your breath, Isabella, trying to allure me along the way," he warned. "I told you before, I'm not susceptible. But before we go, I have to see if you're concealing any weapons."
"And just how do you propose to do that?" she asked. "Djaq isn't here to frisk me. Neither is Kate. I suppose you'll have to frisk me yourself. Go slow and take your time, so we can both enjoy it. "
Isabella was pleased to see Robin grow uncomfortable. His hands began patting her down, quickly. She grew excited at his touch, and hoped he was excited, too. Because he hesitated to search too much, he failed to find her weapons, and Isabella began to laugh at him, increasing his discomfort.
"You'll have to look harder than that," she said, tauntingly. "If you must know, I have two weapons on my person, in two rather obvious places. Care to search me again? What a fun game!"
"This is no game. What are you hiding, and where?"
"It's no fun if I tell! You used to be all about fun, Robin! What happened to you? Does Marian not let you play?"
"You've got something strapped to your thigh, don't you?"
"A dagger. Very good guess! My inner thigh, on my left leg. Or is it my right? You'll have to reach way up my skirts and feel around. Let your fingers tease me, Robin, the way they did before. You say you like a challenge. Well then, let me ask you, do your hands still hold the magic they once held? Prove it to me. Touch me now and I'll tell you."
Furious and embarrassed, Robin turned away and held out his hand. "Unstrap it, Isabella, and hand it here."
"How can I? You tied my wrists. I'm helpless! Or is it you who's helpless now?"
With a single fluid movement, Robin whipped around to face her, unsheathing his sword. He used its point to lift her skirts, then sliced her garter holding her dagger. Garter and dagger dropped to the ground, and Robin bent down to quickly retrieve the weapon, leaping back before Isabella's kick struck him.
"You said two weapons," he smugly reminded her. "Where's the other one?"
"Where do you think?" She smiled archly up at him.
If she wasn't bluffing, he assumed she'd hidden something between her breasts, but he didn't want to say so. He noticed she was wearing a chain around her neck, so he reached under her hair, broke it, and pulled forth a small vial.
"Poison," he said, pulling out the stopper and lifting the vial to his nostrils. "I should have guessed."
"Give it back," she snapped, dropping her act. "Believe me, you don't want a drop of that to reach your lips. It's instant death."
Robin at first suspected it was the same potion Djaq had used, to burn through metal. But that had sent up vapors when unstopped, and this didn't. "Is this what you used on my wife, to kill our child?" he demanded.
"I told you...it's instant death. Did Marian die? No, and neither did her brat. That was just a mild poison, to make her uncomfortable and upset her. This, I tell you, is deadly. Remember Joseph, Sheriff Vasey's poisoner? I found his notes while living in the castle, and prepared a batch of his poison, in case my husband ever found me again. I would rather die than have to endure the tortures he inflicted on me. Give it back, Robin."
Robin poured the liquid onto the floor, then spread it around with the sole of his boot. "No one has the right to kill themselves, or others," he insisted. "And anyway, your poison isn't instant, but slow and painful. And it isn't fool proof. There's an antidote, Isabella."
Isabella was angry, and turned snippy toward him. "Are you going to take me to the king, or not?' she demanded.