he stood, staring into the dark, an image of tension and frustration.
As she approached, Alys tried to think of what she might say to him, to ease whatever it was that ailed the man. . but before she could, he looked up and saw her.
“Lady Alys,” he said, turning from the window. “What do you about this time of night?” His voice cut sharply, coldly into the silence, and if she had not had a grandfather with much the same temperament, she might have been frightened by his discourtesy. As it was, she felt a shiver at his unfeeling expression. He was a man one did not wish to anger.
“Good morrow, my lord,” she said, moving closer. “I seek my bed at last, though the sun is nigh ready to rise.”
“ ’ Tis not safe for a lady to be out alone in the night, even in the castle.” He stepped toward her, and for a moment her lungs seemed not to work. He was so large, and dark, and forbidding. . and even more so with naught to cover his chest and belly. He was broad and haired and scarred. . very daunting. He made no move to cover himself, nor did he seem to care that she saw him in such a state.
She swallowed and pulled her eyes away from his imposing chest. . and found her gaze snagged by cold eyes. “I had my maid with me, but I allowed her to stay behind. Her sister lives here in Ludlow-a freewoman, married to Frederick the fishmonger-and she had taken ill. Rose-my maid-knows of my skill with healing, and she begged that I might assist her.” She moistened her lips, aware that her voice trembled a bit.
“And so you came from your soft warm bed to help your maid’s sister.” His words came out more quietly, but only a bit. Frustration and impatience colored their tone much more strongly than empathy.
Alys shrugged. “I have oft been called from my bed at Wentworth for the same purpose. ’Tis nothing new.” She looked boldly up at him. “I am a healer, my lord. Will you not tell me what ails you?”
At this proximity, despite the wavering torchlight, she could see the lines etched on his face, the weariness in his eyes. A brittleness too, which she feared might crack.
“There is naught that ails me, Lady Alys,” he replied flatly.
She reached for him, touching his warm arm. “I would that you trusted me enough. If you are ill, you know where to find me. I. .” She felt a rising flush warm her face, but she continued. “I would have a care for you if you wish.” She drew in a deep breath. “I should very much. . like to.”
“A care for me?” Incredulity laced his voice. “Do not be a fool, Lady Alys. There are others for whom you should cast your heart in the stead of my black one. I am fit for no lady.”
She’d expected nothing less from such a man, and would have spoken again, but he drew aside, turning his face away. “Take yourself to bed, Lady Alys.”
Then, as if gaining control of some runaway emotion, a breath later he added, “If you have need of going to the village again at night, send for me and I will find a man to accompany you. ’Tis foolish of you to take such a chance. This is not Wentworth, and you are not the lady of this manor. And now. . I will escort you to your chamber to ensure your safety.”
She shook her head. “Nay. There is no need. I can see the steps from here, and there is no one about. . for you have just come from above, is that not so?”
Why that simple question should turn his expression even blacker, she did not know. But she did step back at the look in his eyes, heart thumping.
He said nothing, however, and turned away. “I will escort you to your chamber, Lady Alys.” And with that, their discussion seemed to be at an end.
But just as he gestured for her to accompany him-and she hesitated at touching his bare arm, so close to such a naked chest-there was a loud shout from the direction of the hall. Nottingham stiffened and listened, and when there was a similarly violent response, he cursed under his breath.
“I must investigate,” he said. “Yet I am loath to leave you to make your way alone.”
“I am in no danger of losing my way here, Sir William. As I have said, I can see the steps from here, and you forget-I have also made my way from the village across the bailey and through the hall. . all without incident. I am certain I shall find my way without mishap.”
A nasty crash from the hall pulled his attention from her, causing his lips to flatten even farther. “Very well, then. But make haste.” And with that, he turned and hurried off toward the hall.
Alys could not help but watch, noticing how gracefully and smoothly he moved, despite the bulk of his body. A man that large and powerful should not have the grace of a cat. . yet he did.
She turned and began to make her way toward the stairwell, the noise of whatever altercation had begun in the hall echoing behind her. A mere three steps away from her climb, Alys felt something behind her.
She spun, heart pounding, just in time to see a figure emerge from the shadows.
“Lady Alys,” said Robin Hood, moving toward her. “What a delightful surprise.” His smile was charming and a bit self-deprecating, as if he was encouraging her to join him in a bit of humor-but uncertain if she would. And mayhap. . mayhap that grin was a bit forced. “I hope I do not interrupt your t?te-?-t?te.”
He was comely to look at; that she could not deny. Though the light was dim, she remembered his sparkling blue eyes from earlier, and she could even see a hint of that gleam now. Though half his face was obscured by his beard and mustache, she could make out the strong lines of his jaw and sculpted cheekbones, and his elegant brows arched beneath the thick fringe of his dark blond hair.
“What are you doing here?” She stepped back, yet only a bit. Fascination and exasperation at the man’s foolish boldness kept her steady. She had no fear of him, of course. Naught but abhorrence for his imprudent ways. “And unless you caused the disturbance in the hall, the interruption was none of your doing.”
To her surprise, Robin smiled ruefully. “Alas, I am discovered. I have disrupted my lady about her business of wooing the cold, flat-eyed Sheriff of Nottingham.”
It took her a moment to comprehend, but then she did. “I did hear you earlier, then. I thought I felt as if someone followed me. You sneaked back and caused some fight in the hall in order to draw him away, did you not? You are indeed a sneaky fiend!” She would have pushed past him, but he stepped forward and blocked her way.
“My lady, I could not resist. ’Twas fairly painful for me to witness your attempt to seduce the man.”
Alys felt a flush begin to creep over her throat. Horrid of him to have seen Nottingham’s flat-out rejection. “You are beyond foolish to come inside his stronghold yet again when he hunts you so fiercely.”
He shifted toward her, crowding her toward a shadowy alcove. He smelled fresh and woodsy, like crushed pine needles. “I had business to attend herein.”
“Someone to rob?” She became aware of the shift of darkness over her face, enveloping her person as he edged closer. The stone wall brushed her hand and she realized that her heart had begun to pump a bit faster.
“Nay,” Robin replied. “But I would find it no hardship to steal a kiss from a lovely lady.”
“Ah. . so if your business was not to rob a slumbering rich lord, it must have been to visit some woman who sighs at the mere mention of your name. . and who sleeps with your green ribbon favor.”
“I don’t believe they sleep with my green ribbon favor,” he said, the corners of his eyes crinkling and his dimples showing beneath the beard, “but mayhap I ought to make such a suggestion. Alas, I cannot be everywhere at once.”
“And so your head grows the larger! Soon even the forest will not be vast enough to accommodate it,” she said, rolling her eyes in disgust. “I cannot fathom that the ladies swoon and gasp when they see you.”
“Do I sense a bit of envy that you’ve not received a pretty green ribbon, Lady Alys? Do not be ashamed to admit it.” He leaned closer. “For you are speaking to the one who can correct that situation.”
’Twas all she could do not to laugh in his face. . but the light in his eyes, a lingering intensity there, kept her from more than a scoff. “I have plenty of ribbons, Robin Hood, and several of them are green. I am in no need of yet another frill.”
“Come now, Lady Alys. A green ribbon would look very lovely twined in your honey gold hair,” he murmured. His eyelids had become heavy and he was looking at her in such a way as to make the insides of her belly flutter.
’Twas a feeling she did not welcome in the least.
“Robin Hood, I do not wish to have anything from you. . least of which a green ribbon, which was most likely stolen from some other lady,” she said, the wall very close behind her now, and the warmth of his person seeping into her awareness. “Did I not tell you most clearly today that should I be accosted by you, I should not hesitate to
