Lady Locksley

Chapter 22

Tall Tales

The forest seemed too quiet as Roana followed Allan through the dense foliage, heading for the old farmer's track. There was an aura of anticipation that cloaked the trees around them, broken only by the intermittent chattering of a magpie perched in the branches of a tall oak. One for sorrow.
Roana shivered and hurried to keep up with Allan, recalling the age-old tales of woodland-dwelling spirits from her childhood. Allan had been adamant that she remain in camp while he investigated the tripped booby trap alone, but Roana had insisted on accompanying him.
On the one hand, she didn't want to remain in camp on her own. After the encounter with the guards on the farmer's track, she had been on edge, and only felt truly safe in the company of the other outlaws. Deep down, she still felt duty bound to William. After all, she had accepted his proposal in the first place. Well, maybe not accepted, but she certainly hadn't said no, and it felt like unfinished business, hanging over her head. She was starting to believe that the sooner she put him straight face-to-face, the better. And then she could move on with her life, unencumbered by guilt.
Which brought her to the second reason she had wanted to accompany Allan. She did not want him to face potential danger on his own. She was worried about him, and it was pointless trying to tell herself that it stemmed purely from a sense of comradeship. She liked him. A lot.
In fact, although she was no expert on matters of the heart, she thought that she may very well be falling for him. Which was ridiculous because she barely knew him. Only it felt like she did. And part of her wanted to explore that, but she was betrothed to William.
As they approached the farmers track in the same spot that they had been in a few days ago, Allan turned to Roana and put his finger to his lips.
"You need to wait here, and stay down. Robin'll kill me if you get caught."
Roana craned to see past him. "But who is it? You might be in danger on your own."
Allan put his hands on her shoulders to coax her down. "Roana. Seriously. Stay down." He looked back over his shoulder and edged away to peer through the surrounding bushes. "It might be nothing, but.."
There came the sound of a horse snorting and the muted jangle of bridle. Allan turned back to her in faint exasperation.
"It's Gisborne."
"What's he doing out here?" Roana hissed. "Is he alone?"
"It looks like it," Allan replied, preoccupied. "Listen - you go back to the camp and I'll deal with him."
Roana looked at him, suddenly suspicious. "Why?"
Allan lowered his voice and moved closer. "He trusts me, to an extent. He thinks I'm working for him. If he's out here looking for you, I can spin him a yarn and convince him that's he is in the wrong place."
Roana stared at him. Allan placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. "Trust me. Go back to the camp."
Caught in his gaze, Roana could see no sign of subterfuge in the brilliant blue of his eyes. She felt the tension leave her body, and nodded in acquiescence. Though she was at pains to leave him to walk into potential danger alone, it made perfect sense. She just hoped his plan worked.

******

Allan waited until Roana had disappeared into the trees, heading back to the camp, before he stepped onto the track. He had lied to Roana; Gisborne wasn't alone. There was no way he would venture into the forest on his own with the threat of an encounter with Robin Hood hanging over his head.
Allan hated to lie to Roana, but it had been for her own good. She would never have left if she had imagined he was walking into something he couldn't handle alone. Because he could, he told himself. Gisborne wouldn't harm him; Allan had him wrapped around his little finger.
He felt a tingle of worry, but pushed it aside.
Clearly on the hunt for something, Gisborne was riding slowly and peering into the greenwood, accompanied closely by two guards while two more scouted ahead, further up the track. He sat tall and proud in the saddle, his leather get-up as black as the horse he rode on.
Allan put his fingers to his mouth and gave a low whistle. Immediately, Guy and his guards whipped around, and the two closest to Allan drew their swords.
"Wait! Stand down," Gisborne snarled.
Dismounting, he handed the reins to one of the guards and strode towards Allan, glancing around furtively as he had second thoughts and drew his own sword.
"Are you alone?" He asked, harshly.
"Yeah, yeah. It's just me," Allan replied, wheedlingly.
Guy reached him and turned to indicate to the guards to search the surrounding foliage.
"Honestly, I'm alone!" Allan said. "Trust me."
"Trust you?" Guy snarled. "I'd rather die."
Allan shrugged, noncommittally. At least Gisborne hadn't attacked him. In all truthfulness, he did have good reason not to trust Allan, but what he didn't know right now wouldn't hurt him.
"You haven't been to see me for a while," Guy pointed out, as his guards thrashed at the bushes with their swords, intent on disturbing hidden outlaws. Allan watched them, wryly.
"No, I haven't. Sorry about that."
Gisborne gave a mirthless laugh. "You're sorry?" He glared at Allan. "We had a deal. Your life in exchange for information." He grabbed him by the lapels. "Do you remember that?"
"Whoa, Gis!" Allan put his hands up in supplication. "Of course I remember that. I'm not being funny but I haven't had much chance to get away recently, y'know?"
Gisborne continued to glare at him until the guards returned from searching the immediate forest, confirming that Robin Hood was not present. Reluctantly, he loosened his grip on Allan's throat.
"The men from the weaponry. Where are they?"
Allan backed away, dusting himself down. Robin had told them that the Sheriff wasn't looking for the men anymore, but maybe Guy hadn't been updated on that information. "They've gone. Left the area with their families."
"You expect me to believe that?" Guy said in incredulous rage.
Allan shrugged. "Believe what you want. It's the truth. Robin gave them money to leave and set up home elsewhere."
Guy cursed and began to stalk away, then advanced again. Allan had the grace to look nervous. "And what about Roana?"
Allan opened his mouth to reaffirm Robin's hostage yarn, and then thought again. William would carry on searching for her if he assumed she was just a prisoner. For some reason, this annoyed Allan. The thought of her being betrothed to that jumped-up idiot annoyed him, and having William hanker after her indefinitely, thinking she was being kept away from him by force, rankled.
Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance of confirming Robin's claim while, at the same time, changing William's mind about Roana. It would mean the story was still solid and Roana still blameless, yet she would be free of William's hold on her.
Mentally patting himself on the back for his ingenuity, Allan opened his mouth again, and, before long, Gisborne's expression had changed from anger to incredulity and a degree of glee.
William, it would seem, was not very popular at the castle at all.