Thank you to partygirl98 for continuing to review. I hope this chapter pleases, as well. :)
The title of this chapter is meant in the literal French translation-"a household of three"-, not in the sexual, threesome way.
Chapter 19: Ménage à Trois
The woman strode determinedly through the castle, a plate of bread and cheese in one hand and a cup of water in the other. Her skirt swished around her ankles as she descended into the dungeons.
"Food for the prisoner."
The guard glanced at the only occupied cell. "Why? 'e looks hale enough t'me," he sneered.
"By order of the Sheriff," said Ajsa firmly. "However, if you prefer, I can go back upstairs and inform her of your observation. Perhaps she would reward you, as she has done her brother."
"Fine, girl," the man sourly acquiesced. "Give me the food an' I'll give it t'im."
"Actually, I would speak with the prisoner alone." The guard opened his mouth to protest, but Ajsa cut him off with a glare. She said darkly, "He is my former master, you see, and I have much to say to him."
The guard grinned, looking into the darkened cell again, and nodded. Ajsa waited until she heard his footsteps on the stairs, then rushed to meet Gisborne. The cup and plate were hastily set aside, and he gripped her hands through the bars.
"You shouldn't be down here, Ajsa," he admonished her. "If Isabella learns the nature of our relationship, she'll probably toss you in here, as well."
"I would be more concerned with your own fate, if I were you," said Ajsa. Guy furrowed his brows at her ominous tone. "Isabella means to execute you."
He paled, the healer's hands slipping from his slackened grasp.
"H-how do you know this?"
"I overheard her practicing her speech this morning. She intends to announce it this afternoon, when she addresses Nottingham," Ajsa replied gently. "I disagree with her choice of ally, but I believe she may yet be a good sheriff."
Gisborne raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"
"Your death would be regrettable, but you must admit it would not be wholly unexpected."
"Only you could say such things to me and emerge unscathed," he muttered. "But you're right. My sins are great, and I deserve the fate Isabella plans for me." He trailed off abruptly, cupping her cheek and bending his knees so that they were approximately the same height. "I know this, yet I am inherently selfish. I don't want to part with you, Ajsa."
She leaned into his touch, just for an instant. "And you shall not. When Isabella's attention is diverted, I will steal her keys and free you."
"No," he said firmly, shaking his head. "She would view your actions as an even greater betrayal than mine, and I won't allow you to be condemned to death on my account." His features darkened, and a haunted look crept into his eyes. "Too many have died because of me already."
"But you forget," said Ajsa, with a confident smile, "that I am now a friend of Robin Hood."
Guy snorted. "Hood and his outlaws won't help me."
"They will if I am with you," she assured him. "I need not even do anything, for Isabella plans to lure Robin Hood to Nottingham to capture him."
Against his better judgment, he smirked. Then he glimpsed Ajsa's reproving stare and sobered, though his satisfaction at having his old foe potentially bested remained.
"Like Vaisey and I haven't tried that," he said, scoffing. "But," Guy conceded, "Isabella has proven tenacious thus far. She may yet succeed."
The sound of trumpets in the courtyard above heralded Ajsa's imminent departure.
"I must go," she lamented. "Isabella expects me at her side when she addresses the people."
Ajsa turned to leave, but Gisborne caught her arm and pulled her back. Tilting up her chin, he kissed her through a gap in the bars. The encounter was brief and chaste, but much needed for them both.
"Be careful," he whispered, holding her gaze. The emotion she saw in his eyes sent her heart racing.
Ajsa swallowed hard and nodded mutely. Guy released her, watching as she hurried up the stairs to join his sister, her blue-gray kirtle billowing out behind her.
#
Meg was an opinionated and spirited young woman, particularly concerning the merits of men. After spurning all four of her suitors, her father had petitioned the Sheriff to force her to obey his will. To his dismay, Isabella had freed her instead and had promised to bring fairness and prosperity back to Nottingham. Her first act had been to help Meg; her second would be to execute her brother, an event that Ajsa could not allow to occur.
However, both Isabella's and Ajsa's plans were threatened by the arrival of Isabella's husband.
"You ran away. You deserted me!" shouted Thornton. He chased Isabella into one of the rooms off the main corridor, followed closely by Ajsa and Meg. The healer had never seen Isabella look so frightened. "I loved you, cared for you. We were so happy together," he said sarcastically.
Despite her fear, Isabella grabbed a knife and brandished it at her husband.
"How can you say that?"
There was a moment of tense stillness, then Thornton wrenched Isabella to him, relieving her of the weapon. Ajsa watched the struggle, while Meg called for the guards, who pried Thornton away from her.
"Take him to the dungeons," ordered Isabella, holding the knife aloft again.
"Do you want Prince John to know he has a criminal for a sheriff?"
"He appointed me. He trusts me," Isabella retorted.
"You abandoned your husband!" Thornton reminded her. "You broke man's law, and God's."
Ajsa scowled. "With a brute such as you for a husband, it is no wonder she would risk the law."
Thornton turned on her. "What did you say?" he snarled.
"Merely the truth," Ajsa replied calmly. Thornton's fists clenched as he struggled to reach her. She knew if the guards were to release him, he would assault her, but she had tolerated enough cruelty from men and could no longer quiet her tongue. "And what a position of power you are currently in," she taunted him. "You are at the mercy of your 'little wife', the Sheriff of Nottingham. I see no reason why she should obey you."
Isabella flashed her a wan, grateful smile. Seeing it, Thornton smirked and addressed his wife once more.
"No reason?" he inquired. "My men will ride to Prince John at nightfall, if they receive no word of my safety." Ajsa paled, as did Isabella, who stared, horrified, at her husband. "Release me, or it's over."
"Let him go," she said weakly.
Ajsa closed her eyes, resigned to the events that would transpire next. But before Thornton could punish either her or his wife, Meg intervened, with the promise of gold and jewels. Thornton considered only for an instant, then nodded.
"If you've told a lie," he warned Meg, "it'll be your last." Glaring at Ajsa, he ordered the guards to lock the two women in the dungeons, while he took Isabella with him to find the treasure.
On her way out, Isabella grasped Ajsa's and Meg's hands. "I won't rest until you're free," she vowed.
"Oh, look at them, boys," said Thornton, with a mocking laugh. "The ladies are getting a little emotional."
He yanked Isabella forward, and the guards led Meg and Ajsa to the prisons. The healer grimaced, mentally chiding herself. If she had only been more sensible, she would still be free and able to rescue both Guy and Meg.
As she was shoved inside the cell, Ajsa met Gisborne's surprised gaze. This was not the reunion she had envisioned for them.
#
Meg paced the cell, accenting each step with an angry stomp. She muttered under her breath, words that were not befitting a lady, but from her display in the town square, Meg was no more a lady than Ajsa was. And that made Ajsa like the young woman even more.
Meg did not appear to have seen Gisborne yet. He was lying silently on the stone shelf that functioned as a bed, and Ajsa wouldn't have noticed him either had she not already known he was there. She peered through the gloom, hoping to catch another glimpse of him. But with Meg's cell in between, she only saw the straw littering the floor.
"Do you have a husband, Ajsa?" asked Meg, pausing in her pacing.
Guy perked up at that. He had asked her the same question but, at the time, had not cared about the answer. His heart and thoughts had been occupied by Marian then. However, he listened intently now.
There was a rustle of fabric and a sigh that he recognized as Ajsa's. His brows creased in concern.
"I did," she finally replied.
"What happened?" Meg asked.
Ajsa's gaze flicked to the bars of Gisborne's cell. "As you may have noticed, I am not native to this land," she said stiffly. "My husband and I were...separated."
His heart plummeted. Ajsa was yet another unattainable woman. A year ago, Guy would have disregarded her marital status and continued his relations with her, but he was no longer that man. Sometime during his interactions with Marian and Ajsa, he had developed a conscience, fledgling though it still was.
Meg tilted her head, watching the healer curiously. "You love him."
"Yes," affirmed Ajsa, taken aback by Meg's deduction. Gisborne's spirits sank even lower, and he reckoned that perhaps his execution would be a mercy, instead of a punishment. "How did you know?"
"When you speak of him, your entire body softens and there's a ghost of a smile upon your lips," replied Meg. "Did your father choose him for you?"
Ajsa's eyes glittered with amusement. "No, I did."
Surprise colored Meg's features. "Your father must've been kind, then, unlike mine." She scoffed and gripped the bars of her cell. "If I had my way, men would disappear in a puff of smoke, and the world would be a happier place."
Gisborne raised his head, the movement finally drawing Meg's attention. "What are you staring at?" she snapped at him. In the dim torchlight, Ajsa could not see him, but she could imagine his expression.
"I know you. You're him, aren't you? Isabella's brother," Meg said, walking closer to his cell. "She's a friend of mine."
"Not that close, obviously," Guy remarked.
"Her nasty husband did this to me," Meg retorted.
"Thornton," murmured Guy, with a deep chuckle. "Is he here?"
"Yes, and she's terrified of him," Meg said softly.
"Well, she shouldn't have run off and left him, then, should she have?"
Meg's tone was acerbic again. "You always were a bit pleased with yourself." Guy turned his head to regard her with a bored expression. "I saw you once, the man in black on his black horse, the big 'I am'. Look at you now," she gloated, "dirty and miserable and small. And now you're going to be executed."
"By the look of you, you might not be far behind," said Guy harshly.
Meg was silent for an instant, her tough exterior giving way to fear, before she glared at Gisborne and spat, "I hope you go to Hell."
"I'm already there."
Meg, in her anger, did not hear his response, but Ajsa did, and the resignation in his voice frightened her.
"If the gold really is a lie," she pointed out, "it may be you and I, Meg, not Sir Guy, who are executed."
Nausea bubbled in his stomach, and he swallowed hard against the rising bile. If he knew Ajsa, she had likely tried to protect Isabella from Thornton, an act which had landed her in the dungeons and would probably lead to her death. Guy cursed her loyalty to her sex. Yet, he reflected, that same loyalty had also been extended to him, when she chose to remain in England rather than to return home. And in his selfishness, he'd acquiesced, thus making him ultimately responsible for her imprisonment.
Even Hell was too good a place for him.
"What gold?" he asked, his voice rough from emotion. Guy cared little for riches these days, but the conversation distracted him from more troubling thoughts.
"At Dead Man's Crossing," replied Meg. "Thornton was going to punish Isabella, so I made a deal with him that if he promised not to hurt her, I'd tell him where to find the gold."
A shadow of a smirk played upon Gisborne's lips. "Oh, that gold is very real," he quipped. "Vaisey hid some of his money there, then concocted a tale about the cache being haunted. Thornton will be rich."
"And he'll no doubt free you, good friend of his that you are," said Meg, her lip curling in distaste.
"Perhaps," agreed Guy. If Thornton released him, he could secure Ajsa's freedom, as well. But Thornton's continued presence in Nottingham would be disastrous for Isabella, and, for the first time since they were children, he felt a glimmer of brotherly affection towards her. He'd condemned her to misery once; he would not do so again.
"Robin Hood was in the crowd this afternoon," remarked Ajsa. "He witnessed Thornton usurping Isabella, and I am certain he would not allow another cruel, corrupt man to lord over Nottingham. Isabella may return victorious."
Gisborne snorted, but despite his irritation at the mention of Hood, she spoke the truth. That bloody outlaw was ever the people's champion, even if it meant restoring power to a woman who wanted him dead.
"Do you really think so?" asked Meg, brightening.
"It would be in Hood's nature," affirmed Guy. "In which case, you shall be free and I shall be awaiting death."
"Yes, well, you've done some terrible things," Meg reminded him, though she sounded less pitiless than before.
"Aye," whispered Guy, "that I have."
Staring at her shackled wrists, memories of bloody rope and chafed skin flashed through Ajsa's mind. She could not bear it any longer. She stood, pacing, wracking her brain for a plan. Ever since her arrival in England, she had been dependent upon others for survival. Her helplessness had become tiresome. Logically, Ajsa knew there was no escaping the dungeons, not without assistance, at least, but merely thinking of scenarios made her feel more in control.
It seemed that Meg, too, had grown weary of the shackles, for she rattled them in frustration.
"Just leave them, will you?" snapped Gisborne.
"They hurt."
"That's why they do it," he said sourly. "Deal with it."
"Am I meant to deal with it, as well?" Ajsa retorted.
He softened, remembering the state in which he had found her.
"There's nothing I can do," he said weakly.
Ajsa didn't respond, and Guy felt even more like a failure. He had promised her that he would protect her, yet he couldn't even protect her from himself.
"I'm thirsty," declared Meg.
"Then save your breath and stop whining."
"You're a nasty piece of work, aren't you? No wonder Isabella wants you dead." After half a beat, she asked, "What did you do to her anyway?"
"Give me strength," he murmured. He tipped his head back against the bars and closed his eyes in exasperation. "It's almost worth dying to be spared your endless chatter."
Meg shrugged. "What else are we going to do?"
Guy considered her words, then sighed, relenting.
"I found her a husband, that's what I did." He scowled and glanced at the corner of his cell, where a rat was scurrying into a crack in the wall. "Good price, too."
"You sold her?" Meg exclaimed, outraged. "Your own sister?"
"It was her best chance in life," he replied. "It's not my fault she went and made a mess of it."
"Well, of course it is, all of it. You sold her to a monster."
Gisborne turned on her. "You stupid girl," he hissed. "You know nothing about it."
"I'm not stupid girl," she fired back. "I'm Meg. And I'm still thirsty."
"That stone around your neck." He nodded towards the pendant she wore. "Suck it. It'll make your mouth water."
Meg obeyed and observed him with a contemplative expression. Guy glowered at her scrutiny, wishing it were Ajsa in the neighboring cell instead. He felt disconcerted that she was so quiet, but he could not even see her to assess her well-being.
"Are you thirsty, as well, Ajsa?" he asked, in a much softer tone than he had used with Meg.
Ajsa stopped pacing, her companions' conversation distracting her from fantastical plans of escape. She stood by the door and glared uselessly at the prison guard.
"Yes," she replied, "but I do not have a stone to suck."
Guy banged his chain against the bars to get the guard's attention.
"Could you give the two women some water?"
"I could," the man said, with a smirk, "but then there'd be less wa'er for myself." He rummaged through his pockets and withdrew three pieces of old, crusty bread. "You can 'ave these, though." He tossed a chunk of bread into each of their cells, laughing, and crept back into the shadows.
Ajsa picked up her piece, glanced at it, then set it back down.
"How magnanimous of you," she muttered. Guy smiled, relieved that she still possessed her impertinence.
"Are you scared, Ajsa?" came Meg's question suddenly. "That Isabella won't be able to free us?"
"A little," she confessed. "But I have faith in her."
Guy turned his head in the direction of her voice, surprised.
"You do?"
She nodded, though only Meg could see the motion.
"I have faith that she despises her husband and will not rest until she is rid of him."
"Then I'm only a little afraid, too," said Meg, grinning. "And you, Sir Guy? Are you scared?"
"What of?"
Meg scoffed. "What of? Of your date with the executioner."
He averted his gaze to the floor. "Do I look scared?"
"Actually, no," said Meg. "Terrible, yes, but not frightened. It's as if you've got a clear conscience."
"Well, why shouldn't I have?" He shifted uncomfortably, unable to look at Meg.
"Because of all the awful things you've done in your life," she answered, with something resembling pity. "I mean, no one actually seems sorry that you're on the way out, do they? Does that not make you sad?"
"I can't help what people think of me," said Gisborne quietly, in a resigned tone that Ajsa was beginning to hate. "What's done is done. If I am to die, then so be it."
"You are mistaken," the healer said. "I am sorry he is to be executed. I have been treated ill by many men, but Sir Guy is not one of them."
His heart swelled at her words. While it was true that he did not care what the public thought of him, Ajsa's good opinion meant more to him than wealth and position ever could. A glimmer of hope danced before him that he may yet have the future he'd envisioned with her.
"Isabella says that you were his servant," remarked Meg.
"His slave," Ajsa corrected, to the other woman's shock. "He found me dirty and surly in the slave market and did indeed spare me a harsher master. I cannot excuse his crimes towards the people, nor his stupidity in aligning himself with Vaisey, but I can attest that he regrets them."
Meg stared at her, a calculating glint in her eyes. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you care for him."
Gisborne listened to the exchange, curious about Ajsa's reaction. But she remained calm and collected.
"Perhaps I do," she said simply. "But that is between Sir Guy and me."
Meg observed Ajsa for another instant, then picked up the bread the guard had tossed her. But when she discovered little, white creatures wriggling in it, she gasped and threw it away in disgust.
"Maggots," she explained, crossing her arms petulantly. "I'm starving."
Guy brushed off the dirt and larvae from his piece of bread and offered it to Meg. Taken aback by the kind gesture, she watched him with thinly veiled interest before accepting it.
"There must be some good in you yet."
"You don't know me," he said, shaking his head. "Besides, I thought you hated men."
"I do," she insisted between bites. "I do."
In her dark corner, Ajsa leaned her head against the bars, smiling fondly at the exchange. A plot had been brewing in her mind, and now that Meg seemed to feel more sympathetic towards Guy, the two of them could work together to free him. That was only possible, of course, if Isabella were sheriff. But she was confident that Robin and Isabella would stop Thornton.
"Aren't you hungry, Ajsa?" asked Meg.
"After glimpsing that bread, not particularly, no," the healer replied. "Though I suppose I have eaten worse."
Meg's face fell. "As a slave, you mean."
"Yes. The journey to England was...," she trailed off, searching for the word, "trying."
"You were so thin when I found you," said Gisborne. "I crouched down to see you better, and the way you glared at me behind that veil of brown hair was like a small, wild cat about to pounce on its prey."
Despite the painful memories, Ajsa laughed. "I had pounced on Thomas."
"I know it," he affirmed, with a smirk.
She raised her eyebrows. "How?"
"He was unduly wary of you," explained Guy, "considering your emaciated state."
"True, I attacked him towards the beginning of my capture, when he attempted to force himself on me." Gisborne's hands balled into fists, his knuckles turning white from fury. Ajsa saw the younger woman's concerned expression and gave her a half-smile. "Fear not, he did not succeed."
"What'd you do to him?" Meg eagerly asked.
"I broke his nose with the base of my palm," Ajsa answered, "like my husband had taught me."
Meg giggled, which Ajsa indulged with a grin. "I think I understand why you loved your husband," she said. "If I found a man who would teach me to defend myself, I'd love him, too."
"He would need to be stout indeed to be worthy of you," teased Ajsa. "But you hate men, of course, so even should you encounter such a man, he would be gravely disappointed."
Meg blushed in pleasure. "Of course," she echoed.
Gisborne was mulling over what to say, when the door to the dungeons flew open and a flustered but unscathed Isabella rushed in.
"Release them," she ordered.
"Isabella, thank goodness you're back," Meg exclaimed happily.
"I'm not sure my brother would feel the same," Isabella said.
Ajsa shared a furtive glance with Guy, while the guard unlocked and removed her shackles.
"I would disagree," she said, giving him a pointed look. He ignored it. The two women were free, which was all that mattered. He refused to beg for mercy he did not deserve.
"Ajsa, you're no longer his servant," scolded Isabella. "You don't have to feign loyalty to him anymore." She stroked the healer's cheek and smiled. "We don't need men. We will protect each other now." Taking both women's hands, Isabella pulled them forward. "Come on, let's go."
Meg hesitated. "Won't you release Guy, too?"
"What, are you mad? He's our enemy," Isabella retorted. "Do you see now? Do you see how they manipulate us?" She squeezed Meg's hand, her gaze flitting to her brother. "A few hours in a cell with a cold-hearted killer and even you lose your wits. That's the poison of men, Meg. None of them can be trusted." Her tone turned malicious as she said, "My brother will get exactly what he deserves. Now come on."
Meg looked helplessly at Gisborne, before Isabella led her up the stairs. With a parting nod, Ajsa followed, and he caught a glimpse of the determined set to her jaw. She was still intending to free him, then. A mixture of fear and affection churned in his heart. If he had learned one thing in his time with Ajsa, it was that once she decided something, very little could sway her from it.