CHAPTER 18
"Will! Wiiiiill!" I called out, breaking into a short run. Since I had stopped coming to our sword lessons, Will had been very cool with me when he had been at the black market, which was rare lately. This is the first I had seen him in a week and a half. He glanced up when he saw me hurrying over to his stall, and looked perturbed as he lifted up a pile of heavy metal work. "Nyssa, I'm really quite busy," he said, refusing to look at me.
"Too busy to talk with a paying customer?" I said charmingly. He continued lifting another pile on top of the one he had placed in his stall, and replied,
"Customers usually like to see their finished products. You haven't come by to see yours in two weeks." This pile of metal parts clanged down angrily on the one below it, one poker unsettling itself and pinching down on Will's finger. He started, hissing with pain, and glowered at me. "This is why I don't talk to people when I'm handling sharp objects."
"Oh Will, you were handling a sharp object the day you insisted on meeting me," I said winningly. "And now you don't have a moment to spare?"
"On the contrary," Will said drily, "I think you're the one without a moment to spare."
I heard the hurt in his voice, and immediately reached for his hand. He looked up at me, unsure of my next move. I gently took his hand and kissed the finger that had been injured, looking back at him. Will seemed momentarily placated, but then turned from me again.
"Well, that's a long way from explaining why you stopped speaking to me or coming to lessons, but I suppose it's a start," he said, sounding weary.
"Do you have time to walk with me this afternoon?" I asked, pressing on.
"I have to work, Nyssa, and then I'm to meet Hood afterwards. There are some political changes at hand, not that you would know."
His words pricked me, and I slowly began to turn away. I supposed it was only fair. I had been avoiding him, and now that I needed him I was acting just as Sir Guy had. Feeling sad nonetheless, I started back to my own stall, and said, "Of course, I understand, Will. You made a commitment, and you should keep it."
He made no reply, so I kept to myself for the rest of the afternoon. I saw Will leave two hours later, heading resolutely towards the forest. He neither spoke to me nor acknowledged my presence as he passed our stall, but called out to Father, "Master Edan, if you would like, you may take delivery of the sword. I have finished it."
Perplexed, Father called back, "I'm sure that's lovely, Will…I'll arrange it as soon as I can." He glanced quizzically at me, and I shrugged. "Hood," I said.
Father nodded. We continued our usual business through the rest of the afternoon until about four of the clock, though most of our best goods already had been sold, as winter was truly at its zenith. I had been making mittens and scarves that were almost always sold out in the first few minutes after we arrived, so there was little else to sell today. It had begun to rain, and while we had our small stall roof, the cold made the damp go straight to our bones. Father shivered.
"Shall we end early today?" he asked me. I nodded eagerly and we quickly packed the small items into the satchel on Gwynna's back. She nickered softly and butted her wet head against my cloak, letting me know that she was eager to go back to the warm barn and attempt to steal Jemma's alfalfa. I chuckled softly and stroked her large, donkey-sized ears. Father led her forward and down the secretive path, which eventually took us into the forest and out through the main road past Nottingham. As we walked, I heard the sound of trumpet heralds call, and then saw a crowd gathering in the main square of the town.
"Father, stop," I said, looking anxiously over my shoulder. We turned and Gwynna waited, less patiently now, since the rain was a downpour. The three of us walked over to join the crowd, and I as I watched, Vaisey, the Sherriff of Nottingham appeared, mounted on his big black steed and followed by two sets of guards. His eyes flashed malevolently at the waiting crowd. In another moment, he was followed by Sir Guy on Aomir and Lady Sabine on her white mare. I could vaguely hear her complaining under her breath as Vaisey surveyed the scene in front of him.
"Mon chere, I simply do not see why I have to be here in this wet and cold. My frock will be ruined!" Sabine whispered petulantly.
"Because you are to be Lady Gisborne, and a lady presents herself in times such as these!" I head Guy hiss back at her.
"Quiet, both of you wretches, " Vaisey snarled at them. Turning around he smiled winningly at the crowd. His smile was the most terrifying thing I have ever seen.
"People of Nottingham, my dear, devoted subjects!" he began theatrically. "We your lords and masters, have been summoned from our warm hearths this evening to bring you a message. Can you imagine it? We, are summoned to you?" He extended his hand, before clenching it into a fist. "I ask you. So heed it well, as I plan to be back in Nottingham Castle before nightfall. Gisborne?" He threw this back at Guy, who reluctantly strode forward on Aomir, and like Vaisey, surveyed the waiting crowd. His face was pale and solemn, and his eyes found mine as he said in his deep baritone,
"The King is dead. Long live the King."
A ripple of gasps went through the crowd and my own mouth fell open. Guy's eyes flicked away from mine, then back again. I heard voices around me stuttering in confusion. "King Richard?" "No, it cannot be!" "How can this have happened?"
"How indeed," Vaisey said, grinning from ear to ear. "It seems a mouse has felled your mighty lion, with an arrow of all things. Some say," he said gesturing to the forest, "that it might even have been your own Robin Hood that's done it. Clever thief!" he said, cackling. I heard Vaisey then begin one of his long speeches, which always ended up glorifying himself, so I mentally shut him off. My eyes wandered back towards Guy, who looked at me and held my shocked expression with his own steady gaze. He nudged Aomir towards Father and I. Still disbelieving, I stepped forward.
"Is it really true?" I asked him.
"It is." Guy's eyes were deeply serious as I regarded him. Charmaine had been right. He had lost weight, circles were drawn under his beautiful eyes and his handsome face seemed drawn. "I regret that I must bring this news to you. You knew my feelings for Richard, but to lose a King is a grave day for England." He looked back at Sabine, who was shooting daggers at me, before he leaned down and whispered,
"Did you receive my letter?"
"Yes," I answered.
A shadowy smile flitted onto his features. "Will you come, then?"
"Guy!" Sabine shrilled, urging her horse forward. Guy's face clouded and his brow looked thunderous as she whined at him, "I am freezing! Why are you consorting with les cochons?" I needed no translation to know she had called me an insulting name. He shot a look of fury at her.
"I was asking Master Edan and his daughter Nyssa, " he spat, "if they had finished your cloak yet. It appears there has been some holdup at the dyer, yes?" His eyes pleaded with me to answer, but Father stepped in seamlessly.
"Yes, Lady Sabine. Our deepest apologies to you and Sir Guy. Our dyer is quite unable to work for the rest of the winter, until the weather is warmer. His vats have frozen through and he cannot work under these circumstances."
"Ah, merde," Sabine replied. "In Paris, we have fires to keep them warm year round in a large building. Nothing is ever late."
"You are in Nottingham now, not Paris, my lady," I said, regarding her innocently. Sabine's mouth opened in shock at this insolence, but I saw a familiar smirk tug at the corner of Guy's mouth.
"Of course the wedding will have to be postponed now, with the news of the King's death, so this should not be much of an inconvenience, " Guy remarked casually, glancing at me again.
"Pouquoi, mon beau?" Sabine whined, pulling at Guy's arm. "I want you to give me a child soon…"
"It is not appropriate to make merry or to be married during a time such as this," Guy said in a low voice. I admired his respect, though I knew he had no great love for Richard. Some rumored that he had attempted to kill the King himself, but perhaps he had changed his politics since then.
"Perhaps my lady would prefer to have a summer cloak later on in the year rather than one like my own, " I suggested.
"You rotten little pig," Sabine snapped at me. "I didn't ask you anything! I would have my fiancé take the cloak you're wearing right now, if you had not make it stink first."
"My apologies, my lady, I sad, curtseying low. "I am so very flattered that you like my cloak and want one for yourself. It is new to me that anyone of your class should want what is mine" here I shot a smart look at Guy, "but I shall accustom myself to the idea."
"I don't want what is yours," Sabine sniffed. "You are a work animal, a donkey, just like your mount. You have no royal blood," Her eyes narrowed cruelly. "My horse is a purebred Arabian mare, prized by Saladim himself. My fiancé is the lord of these lands. He is like a proud stallion." She made eyes at and then reached out for Guy, who was motionless. Then he turned as she held out her hand to him. He regarded it, and made no move to touch her, his eyes becoming hard.
"That is a mule, Sabine, not a donkey. It's the offspring of a female horse and a male ass." Guy's razor sharp stare fell back on me, and I held it, if only to annoy Sabine. "And no female is ever safe from a determined male."
"GISBORNE!" Vaisey's shrill call jerked Guy back into awareness, and he clicked Aomir away from us and back to the Sheriff. Sabine shot me another wilting glance and flounced after him, pulling her cloak around her with exaggerated moves against the cold.
Father remained still for a moment, watching them ride away. "Well, I must admit, his behavior toward you was much more like a knight than it was to his fiancée."
I hid a small smile. "One wonders if he won't bayonet her before the wedding day," I snickered.
"I would volunteer for that job," Father said darkly. "What a soft, preening wench she is. Lady Sabine, indeed!" he huffed, then cocked an eye at me. "What was all that about a letter?"
"Oh nothing, " I said nervously, my hands twisting in my cloak, but Father put his arm on mine I could see he would not be put off. "Father, he apologized for his treatment of me. He asked me to meet with him at Gisborne Manor and said I could bring a chaperone if needed."
"It certainly is needed!" Father shot back. "And I will be going with you!"
"I'm still unsure if I will go or not," I replied. "But if I do, I will ask Will to be my chaperone."
"Is that wise?" Father asked after a beat.
"Probably not," I answered. "But if I ask and Will refuses, I will know his true nature. If I bring him to meet Sir Guy, I will also know Sir Guy's true nature. No matter what, I will have the answers I need."
