And so he would ensure that she was bothered by no one this night.
He’d granted her a reprieve.
Marian slept poorly, but she did sleep.
She cared not to revisit the dreams that had haunted her slumber when at last she opened her eyes and found the sun streaming through the window slit. Instead, she tucked away the tendrils of images that had again left her body feeling skittish and yet expectant and called for Ethelberga.
After helping her mistress dress, the maid arranged her hair in two fat braids and twisted them into intricate coils over each ear while Marian chewed on a few mint leaves and some cloves.
When she entered the great hall to break her fast, she found the other ladies buzzing with news. A quick glance at the empty high table told Marian that John either had chosen to break his own fast elsewhere or had come and gone.
She was glad she did not have to face Will this morning. Yesterday had left her unsettled and discomfited, and he’d been a prominent part of last night’s dreams.
“Have you been invited, Marian?” Lady Joanna asked, her eyes bright with glee. “I have, and Catherine and Pauletta too. Poor Alys has not, but mayhap ’tis because she is a ward of the queen and not the Crown. He dare not overstep his mother.”
A prickle of unease trickled over her shoulders, though Marian didn’t know why it should. Mayhap simply because the prince’s name had been invoked. “Invited? I don’t believe I’ve been invited to anything.”
“To the prince’s gathering anight,” replied Lady Pauletta. Her eyes gleamed like those of a cat with its paw dipped in the cream. A mysterious smile tipped the corner of her mouth as she looked at Marian. “ ’ Tis too bad if you have not been asked. The prince is very generous to those who attend.”
“But even if you do not attend that, at the least you will be pleased to hear about the archery contest. The prize for that is a gold arrow, and ’tis certain that Robin Hood himself will make an attempt to win,” Joanna said in a placating tone. “We shall be able to see the great archer and how he handles his arrow.”
Pauletta and Catherine tittered along with Joanna, looking at Marian over hands covering their mouths.
“My, such a great bit of news this morning,” Marian replied. “What sort of gathering is the prince hosting?”
Pauletta’s feline smile widened. “ ’ Tis a very special night. I have attended in the past, for my lord has given such parties before. He calls it his night of living statues. There is a contest, and he is most generous to the winners.”
Now Marian understood the prickles at the back of her neck. Of certain, anything related to the prince would make her uneasy. But a night of living statues? Yet, mayhap her trepidation was misplaced. After all, Pauletta and Joanna seemed delighted at the prospect.
But then again . . . Pauletta’s smile had a wicked twist to it that reminded her of John’s depraved one.
Marian shrugged and took a piece of bread, examining it for weevils before breaking off a bite. “I do not know if I have been invited,” she replied honestly.
Rest well, my lady, for you will need all your strength on the morrow.
Had that been a warning? Or her invitation? Or both?
“ ’ Twill serve that fool Robin Hood well if he comes to the archery contest,” spoke up Alys suddenly. “He will be well and truly captured if he is so bold-and rightly so.”
“You would not say such a thing if you had met the man,” Joanna said, a dreamy look in her eyes.
“Indeed, you are mistaken, for I have met the arrogant ass.” The ladies all gaped at Alys, not only because her statement was so unexpected . . . but because her tone held such unusual bitterness.
“Did he not kiss you, then?” Joanna asked, a sly look coming into her eyes. “I trow if he had, you would not wish him ill. The man has a fine, sweet mouth.”
Alys merely looked at the other lady and replied, “He would not dare to do so. I find him arrogant and misguided. And I hope that he is caught by the sheriff and imprisoned for his crimes.”
Marian noted that Alys was not bloodthirsty enough to wish for Robin to be hung, and found that a bit interesting when coupled with the fact that Robin had obviously met her . . . but had not recalled her name. Or so he said.
She also noted the wash of pink over the fair-skinned girl’s cheeks.
“You had best hope that the sheriff does not capture him,” Pauletta said, her eyes slanted wickedly, “for he’ll do more than imprison the man. He’s as lief to tear him limb from limb with his bare hands as string him up with a black hood. I pray that he’ll attend the gathering tonight, for he’s one who fascinates me. So dark, so angry . . . I should love to be the woman who brings him to his knees.”
Catherine sniffed. “Not I. Every time I look at him, I vow, my blood runs cold.”
