“Then I shall make certain if I do approach you that I shall keep that lovely mouth of yours otherwise engaged.”
And with that, he dropped down the rope ladder.
“After you, Lady Alys.”
Marian did not venture into the great hall for the midday meal. Instead, she sent Ethelberga to procure some cheese and bread for her repast while she sat in her chamber. Positioning a small table directly beneath the peephole, where she could not be seen by anyone looking through the hole, she took a piece of parchment from deep within her trunk. A bottle of ink and three quills followed, and she settled at the table to write to the queen. The foolscap had been scraped clean many times, but with care, so there was only a single hole near the bottom. As she wrote, Marian avoided the few thin spots on the parchment so that the ink wouldn’t bleed.
Although Ethelberga was aware that her mistress could read and write-an unusual feat for a woman, and, indeed, for most men who weren’t priests-Marian didn’t wish for her to know that she was doing so at this time. A simple mention of her mistress writing a letter could lead to questions or curiosity from others.
It was one thing for a woman to send and receive letters that, in most cases, would need to be dictated to, or read to her by, a priest or other learned man, but Eleanor preferred that her ladies be able to do such tasks on their own. Fewer eyes and ears to notice them. She’d come to trust Marian after noting that the younger woman could hold her tongue after assisting the queen in scribing personal messages. At first they’d been simple, unimportant ones, but as her confidence in Marian grew, Eleanor had used her for more-sensitive communications.
Marian had little to report to the queen other than her safe arrival at Ludlow, so her missive took little time to finish. She’d sprinkled sand over it to dry the ink, then folded and sealed it long before Ethelberga returned.
After eating her cheese and bread, Marian left her chamber in search of one of the messengers Eleanor had told her to use when communicating. Just as she preferred her ladies to compose their own missives, she also trained them well on the trustworthiness of messengers, teaching them which ones to use. And which ones to avoid.
Down in the hall, which had emptied of most diners after the meal, Marian managed to catch the attention of one of the messengers she sought. She’d murmured for him to meet her privately in the bailey when she felt something stir in the room behind her. Without looking, she knew Will had entered the hall, and tension crept over her shoulders, along with an uncomfortable tingling in her belly.
She avoided looking at him and walked purposely out of the hall through one of the side entrances, planning to take a circuitous route to her meeting place with Twilly, the messenger.
Out in the warm sunshine, Marian moved quickly to the apple tree at the edge of the herb garden. It had long since bloomed, and now boasted a myriad of small green apples.
Twilly was already waiting, fortunately, and she quickly gave him the missive, along with her quiet, terse instruction to deliver it into the queen’s hands only. There wasn’t much of substance to report yet, but Marian wouldn’t risk the security of future missives through carelessness. Satisfied that he understood the importance of discretion, she pressed a coin into his palm and turned to start back into the keep.
Her heart leapt into her throat when she saw Will standing there.
Praise God, he wasn’t close enough to have heard anything she’d said, and he wasn’t even looking in her direction . . . until now. As if her sighting him had been an invisible string that pulled at him, he turned and their eyes met.
Marian kept her face blank as she continued on her path and hoped that Twilly had gone on his way in a different direction before Will noticed that they’d been in the same vicinity. He would likely recognize one of the queen’s messengers, and was smart enough to wonder at her conversing with him.
She nodded to Will and would have walked past if he had not moved into her path.
“Marian,” he said. He looked at her, then glanced in the direction of the apple tree . . . where Twilly had been standing.
“Yes?” She couldn’t look directly up at him, for he was too tall and the sun too bright.
“Have you seen Alys of Wentworth since we returned this morning?” As he spoke, he moved slightly toward her into the shadow of the small herbary.
This allowed her to step out of the sun and look up at him, her fingers brushing against the rough wooden wall. “Nay,” she answered, recognizing something like concern in his face. “I’ve not seen her since we were separated during the hunt.”
“Her mount has returned, limping, and without a shoe,” Will told her grimly. “It appears she herself has not been seen by anyone since the hunt. I’m off to search the wood.”
He turned away, but Marian grabbed at his sleeve. Will’s muscles tensed beneath her fingers, and he turned back. “What is it?”
“Did you find those other bandits?” Marian asked, alarmed to hear that Alys might have been taken by the very men who’d nearly attacked her.
“Some. They’re belowstairs in the dungeon until I can deal with them. The hands of one of them were a bloody mess.”
Marian’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oh, aye . . . my arrow. I stabbed at him when he dared try and lift me off my saddle.”
“So he said. I do not think they’ll heal, and ’tis almost punishment enough for him, I trow. His fingers will be crippled forever, if they do not need to be cut off.”
Marian felt a momentary stab of conscience, but then pushed it away. The man had meant to do far worse to her.
“I’ve left three of my men to watch their camp for when the others return,” Will replied. “But if you will release me, I’ll be off to begin the search anew.” He looked down at her hand on his arm as if it were a particularly ugly spider.
Just as she released him, a shout from the bailey entrance drew her attention. Will pulled away, heading toward the sound of the turmoil. Marian followed, watching his tall figure navigate quickly through the crush of hounds, rushing men-at-arms, busy serfs, and playing children.
By the time she reached the cluster of people, she understood that Alys had returned, presumably uninjured, and on foot. When she caught sight of Marian, her friend pushed away from Will and the other men-at-arms who’d met her at the gate.
“I am unhurt,” she said in a tone that implied it wasn’t the first time she’d made such a statement and that she was weary of doing so. “My horse threw a shoe and I was a bit lost in the wood until I found my way back. Now, there is Lady Marian. I am certain she will see that I’m taken safely to the chamber where I can change my clothing.”
Marian needed no further suggestion. She moved forward and linked arms with Alys, drawing her away toward the keep.
After ensuring that her friend was indeed unscathed from her experience wandering about in the forest, Marian left Alys to the other ladies. She walked back out into the bailey, glad to find herself out of the smoky, dark keep.
The herb garden was large enough to offer wandering paths that would keep her occupied for a time. She brushed past the silvery sage and lavender leaves, the brilliant orange calendula growing in low clusters, the dark blue green woad, basil, thyme, and others. As her feet wandered, so did her mind, and Marian couldn’t help but feel apprehensive about the night ahead. Would John invite her and Will to his chambers again? What would happen this night?
Though the sun burned warm, Marian shivered, remembering the knowing lift of Will’s hands at her breasts, the feel of his mouth on the tender skin of her neck. That tingling, unsettled feeling returned to her stomach and she drew in deep breaths scented with rosemary and lily.
She knew, understood, that it was only a matter of time before Will coupled with her. And though ’twas Robin who’d made her tremble and sigh earlier today, Robin whose smile she saw when she closed her eyes, Robin who risked his life to do what was right for the people of Nottinghamshire . . . she also felt a deep tug in her belly when she thought of Will touching her, kissing her, settling his big body over hers.
Her mouth was dry; her heart pounded steadily. Her cheeks felt warm.
But she must remember she was here with a duty to the queen. Mayhap tonight she would find the chance to look about John’s chambers and discover evidence of treason he planned against his brother. The last thing the prince would expect was a woman who not only could read but also would be looking for something.
If indeed John was plotting with the French king, Philip Augustus, to overthrow Richard, there must be some planning, and some negotiation. Philip wouldn’t assist John without some compensation. Eleanor claimed he would require the return of all of Normandy, leaving John only England to rule. But now that Richard had wed and could produce an heir, the chances of John ascending to the throne without a bit of help were less than before.
Thrusting those thoughts aside-there would be time enough to deal with any suspicious evidence later-Marian left the herb garden and made her way back into the keep. She would be expected at the evening meal, and much as she would prefer to remain closed up in her chamber, hiding would get her no closer to learning whether John was indeed planning a threat to his brother’s throne. She must be out and about, listening and speaking to the barons and lords-the ones John trusted and the ones who hated him and loved his brother. And if that included visiting his private chambers and overhearing pertinent conversations with Will, or anyone else, then that was what she must do. Even if it meant submitting as she’d done to Harold.
Once back to her chamber, Marian ordered Ethelberga to arrange for her bath. As she watched the serfs carry in bucket after bucket of steaming water, slopping their contents into the generous tub that had been rolled in on its side, she glanced briefly at the horse-eye peephole. The garderobe door had been open when she returned to her chamber, but someone could be in there now.
Or not.
’Twas unlikely that the prince would be spying on her during the midafternoon. Not that he would be praying at Nones-John didn’t strike her as a particularly devout man-but he was likely holding court.
Thus appeased, Marian dismissed the serfs, who left several buckets of clean water for rinsing, and allowed Ethelberga to disrobe her. Sinking into the steaming water, on which floated crushed violets, gillyflowers, and lavender, Marian rested her head back against the edge and allowed herself to relax. And to think about how she might direct a conversation to get her the information she wanted.
Ethelberga might be skittish when it came to being stopped by highwaymen, and have a poor sense of direction when in a new building, but she had magic fingers. The tight, heavy braids uncoiled from Marian’s hair left her scalp loose and relieved, and Ethelberga’s strong fingers massaged and scrubbed until her mistress groaned with pleasure.
The length and weight of Marian’s unusually colored hair was such that the maid had kept a smaller tub nearby, also filled with warm violet water, so that she could more easily wash the long tresses in their own water.
By the time Ethelberga had finished soaping her hair and rinsing it with the extra buckets, Marian had decided that Lord Burle would be a worthy candidate to pretend to flirt with. She might loosen his tongue and learn whether he was still loyal to the king or lining up behind John.
Just as Marian had settled this plan in her mind, there was a loud knock on the door of her chamber. Ethelberga squeaked in surprise and Marian sat upright in the tub.
“See you who is there, but close the inner door so that I cannot be seen,” she ordered. “Tell whoever it is I will attend them in a moment.”