She doubted that not a whit.
Yet he hadn’t forced her. He hadn’t even attempted it.
Even though in John’s chamber Will had had his hands all over her-despite the fact that she’d felt his own heart slamming in his chest, his breathing harsh in her ear. . and the unmistakable bulge of his cock beneath her-he’d left her untouched in the chamber.
He’d left her still burning with a need she hadn’t, until now, really understood how to resolve.
Marian looked through the gap of ill-fitting bed-curtains and glanced at the tapestry on the wall, where the telltale horse’s eye peered over at her, black and empty. He’d warned her about the peephole.
And he’d just as likely gone back to join the prince in the rest of his salacious activities. Ones that she would be forced to witness again. Perhaps even join.
A pang tingled in her belly as she thought of Will rearing up and over her, his large body covering her, piercing her. His mouth and hands on her bare skin. Her eyes closed and she swallowed, her stomach swirling like a swarm of butterflies.
She could endure it. It would be no different from submitting to Harold; he had been her duty because he was her wedded husband, and a coupling with Will would also be in the name of duty. Duty to her queen, and ultimately to her sovereign.
Marian could think of worse ways to be dutiful. Like being imprisoned. Or feeling a noose around her neck. Or going off to war, where her life was at stake, and it was kill or be killed. Nay, this fate was not of her choice, but it would be proof of her loyalty. And mayhap she might even be able to help Robin if she got close to the sheriff and the prince.
It occurred to her then that she’d been kissed by two different men yesterday-two enemies, two men on opposite sides of the law, two who had very different perspectives.
Dashing Robin, laden with arrogance and charm. . with the dancing eyes and sensual, smiling mouth. And Will, with a darker, different sort of fierceness about him. As though he was almost. . unwilling. Even angry.
And yet, both kisses had left her breathless and weak.
A knock at the chamber’s inner door drew Marian from her disturbing musings, and she bade Ethelberga to enter.
The maid had returned to Marian’s chamber shortly after Will left, apologizing that she’d gotten lost in the unfamiliar building. After assisting her mistress for bed, she’d closed the door that separated the antechamber from the rest of the room, and settled on her pallet to snore the night away.
Now she was here, wide-eyed and well rested, ready to help Marian dress for the hunt that John had arranged for the day.
Marian would attend Mass and break her fast with the other ladies. She then planned to participate in the hunt in hopes that she might see Robin again, though she realized he should be prudent enough to stay far from the lords and ladies who would roam the woods. Yet, for some reason, she didn’t think he would.
In fact, knowing Robin. . she suspected he’d be in the thick of it, simply for the thrill of doing so.
CHAPTER 5
The ferocious black horse belonging to the Sheriff of Nottinghamshire caused the villeins and serfs of Ludlow Village to scuttle from its path. Eyes peered from behind shutters as Will navigated the beast through the narrow streets of the town, his expression as black as his mount’s.
As Cauchemar clip-clopped along, Will’s sharp eyes missed nothing: the sagging roof of the smithy, an abysmally small pile of wooden bands outside the cooper’s, the scrawny chickens that scattered into the road ahead of him.
A small boy dressed in thin clothing dashed out after the chickens to chase them from beneath the destrier’s hooves, nearly getting himself trampled in the process. A scream from his mother, restrained from rushing out after her son by an older boy, broke the silence, swallowing Will’s own curse as he hauled back on the reins. His beast reared high, wheeled to the side by his rider’s demands, then slammed back to the ground in a loud, forceful jolt that shook the shutters of the nearby leatherworker.
The boy escaped unscathed, but Will dared not stop to ascertain whether any of the chickens had had their brains smashed by a hoof. The Sheriff of Nottinghamshire’s presence was not appreciated in this town, nor in any of the other twenty-some villages of the county for which he was responsible.
His reputation was as black as the clothing he favored, the warhorse he rode, the expression on his face. When he approached, the villagers stayed away from him, cowering behind their shuttered doors in fear of being dragged away for some criminal offense-real or invented.
Will knew this and did nothing to lessen those fears. He was an agent of the king and, through him, of the prince. The king had a holy war to finance, and it was the sheriff ’s charge to oversee the collection of taxes-regardless of whether the people claimed they could afford them-and the imposition of justice where necessary. If some of his peers thought it odd that a landless knight had been named sheriff of this lush green shire that was home to one of the king’s most fertile hunting forests, few dared to comment on it.
Those did were told the truth: the king had chosen to reward William de Wendeval for his father’s, and his own, years of unwavering service-the specifics of which remained unspoken.
But today, on this bright and sunny morning in late September, William de Wendeval was particularly aware of the fear and dislike emanating from behind doors and stable walls, for he saw it through the eyes of those who rode with him.
Most of the ladies of the court were intimidated and avoided him. Some of the men respected his father and had known Will himself before he became sheriff, but since his association with John they’d become cool and reserved. Will felt their defection more acutely than the coolness of the women, for some of the noblemen that had withdrawn their friendship were men that he’d particularly liked. And as for women. . well, there were plenty of maidservants willing to part their legs for a bauble or coin, and they were far less likely to have possessive husbands or a need to be wooed.
The hunting party had ridden from the keep’s stables through the bailey area, which was enclosed by massive, high walls topped by crenellations, and then over its surrounding moat. That had brought them to the narrow streets of the little town that sprawled beyond, protected by its own walls.
Now, as they neared the raised portcullis of the village’s gate, the sound of hunting horns filled the air. The horses pricked up their ears and increased their gait as the dogs began to bay in enthusiasm.
Although he’d arranged the activity, John had declined to join them this morning. He’d been lethargic of late (as evidenced by the early end to his night last evening), and sent them off without him with the instruction to bring back a boar and some harts for dinner.
For a moment Will had expected to be asked to stay behind as well, but John was distracted by a traveling metalsmith who claimed to have word from the king’s army in Jerusalem. Will suspected the man merely wished to show the prince his wares, but he took the opportunity to slip from the morning meal before John could speak to him.
Now that they were leaving the town, Will let Cauchemar loose, ready to feel the wind on his face. They were the first to cross the bridge out of town. For a man trained to battle-and one who preferred riding, jousting, and hunting to indoor activities-the role of sheriff during a time of relative peace could be stifling. Today, he meant to unleash the energy and frustration that had been building inside of him, particularly for the last sennight.
He hoped Robin Hood wouldn’t be so foolish as to make an appearance today, for it would truly try his patience.
Cool shadows and the pleasant smell of damp soil and leaves enveloped him as he entered the woods, and not for the first time he envied Robin Hood his freedom to roam the forest. Mayhap “freedom” was a poor choice of word, for the man was a wanted outlaw. . yet despite that, he did have liberties denied Will, who must fulfill his duties and retain his honor.