My hope.
But that weren’t really the way of it, and that were the worst part. I still had hope. Cruel, bitter, steadfast hope crushed my chest that still hurt for breath; I didn’t want it. I wanted to give up, to leave my mind and heart in a bailey in Nottingham Castle as my body went south. I wanted to feel nothing but the blanket of pain and hate swallow me up. I wanted to run backward and lay on the snow with John and stay there, still and frozen and never moving forward again. That would be easy, and lovely, and dark, like the cold woods of Sherwood at night.
The awful thing were faith. Because with everything gone, after a day of horror and hurt, after years of horrors and hurts, the thing I couldn’t shake were faith.
I remembered a story that I had heard about the Angevins when I was a girl, and I shut my eyes, trying to remember the pieces of it. It weren’t just some legend of the king now, it were a story about my father. About my family.
Richard loved to boast of his devil’s blood, begat when one of his ancestors had unknowingly wed a serpent. She bore him eight ugly children, and his curiosity got the better of him. He followed his wife into her weekly bath where he had promised never to disturb her, and found her secret form revealed.
When he confronted her, her heart broke, and she transformed into a dragon and flew above the castle she had built for her husband with her magic. She clung to the spires with her talons and shrieked until the skies grew dark and rained down the tears that she couldn’t cry.
For all time she stayed atop the tower, screaming and trembling the earth when the Angevins were born or died, never resting, never failing. Protecting her blood.
That were my blood. The blood of a dragon, a beast, a devil. A woman with supernatural abilities to continue on in the face of pain and betrayal.
The blood that led my father, the Lionheart, to the Holy Land to wage a war for his faith—his vengeance. Vengeance were the darkest side of faith, the thing that claimed violence and fury as holy arrows.
I were lionhearted too. My faith were just as strong.
And I would learn this new side of faith that Eleanor and Richard and the rest of the royal lions claimed. My faith would bring me back to Nottingham. My faith would bring Prince John to his knees before me.
As the carriage pitched and tossed, and the place I were promised to protect faded and the man I loved disappeared, I prayed for faith.
And I vowed vengeance.
Acknowledgments
Writing a sequel is equal parts evil and exhilaration, and there are many people without whom Lady Thief would never have made it over the finish line. First, to my agent, Minju Chang, you’re SO amazing. Thank you so much for helping me through the frustrations and difficulties, and always being there to cheer me on. I always feel like we are a team, and that means a lot to me.
Thank you to the entire team at Walker Books. To my editor, Emily Easton—I am so grateful for your insights and for your keen editorial eye. Thank you for making Scarlet who she is today. Thank you to Mary Kate Castellani, for jumping in when needed and providing another very thoughtful perspective on Lady Thief. To Laura Whitaker, Beth Eller, Katy Hershberger, Bridget Hartzler, Erica Barmash, and all the people at Bloomsbury/Walker who have championed Scarlet and allowed her adventures to continue in Lady Thief—I am so grateful. Thank you for all that you’ve done and continue to do.
The weirdest thing about a debut novel is that it goes from being this somewhat manic dialogue between you and a computer, and becomes this public commodity that so many people experience. It’s amazing and it never ceases to astound me, so thank you to the bloggers who helped get my secret little novel out to the world, to the readers who are so passionate about Scar and the idea of a strong girl in fiction, and to the librarians who continue to pass my book to their readers. There wouldn’t be a Book Two without you!
Debut year was a crazy thing, but in getting Scarlet out there and writing Lady Thief I’ve met some of the people I consider most dear and most crucial to the act of continuing to write. Thank you to the Class of 2k12 and allll of the Apocalypsies, but I have to say there are a few people who need more thanks. Cory Jackson, thank you for reading a super-early draft of LT and jump-starting me when I was stuck. Tiffany Schmidt, I owe you my firstborn child for the comments you gave me on a later draft that wasn’t working. To Katy Longshore, your books are inspiring and your friendship is more so. To Gina Damico, Gina Rosati, Diana Renn, Kate Burak, and Lynda Mullaly Hunt, for being my Boston authors crew and making visits of all kinds easier. To Hilary Graham for being so cool and being the best partner in crime I could ask for.
The past few years have been really hectic for me, and I wouldn’t have made it through without a lot of support from my workplace. Thank you to Meghan, Amy, Paloan, Keith, Alex, Stevi, and especially Paul—you’re the best boss ever. Thank you for being so supportive. To Risk, especially Mike and Matt, who have kept me sane on overnights for years. I’ll even thank the guys from Engineering (Jason, Scott, and Ermin)—just don’t let it go to your heads. And of course, Andrew, we’re going to have ants.
There are workplace families, and then there are families that come from working together without money—which I think is more meaningful. To my GLOW girls, you have proven to me that we can do anything (like, literally, anything) and that we can turn around and show young women that they, too, are capable of greatness. Emily, Jenna, and especially Leah, thank you for inspiring me to dream greater, to achieve greater—in a word, glow. (And, you know, for ignoring those 6 a.m. e-mails when I decide to communicate mid–panic attack.) And since I can’t miss an opportunity for nonprofit promotion,
www.bostonglow.org.
Then there are friends who have always felt like family. Ashley, I would not have survived without that week in Montana, and Gisbourne wouldn’t be half the man he is today. Renee, Nacie, Iggy, and Alex, I would cut off my fingers for you. But please don’t make me, because they’re helpful with the writing.
To Mikey, who wanted to call this Scarlet 2: Scarleter, or Scarlet 2: She’ll Cut You. I’m sorry we didn’t go with your titles, but you’re the best brother ever. And Kev, who still buys a new copy of my book every few weeks just because. You’re the best brother ever. (See what I did there?) I love you both so very much!
Daddy, you’ve given me everything—including your awful sense of humor. Thank you for hoisting me up on your shoulders and showing me what the world looks like from such a height. I hope this book is a small gesture of my love and gratitude.
To my mum, you and I probably have a little too much fun together. Thank you for always being there for me and for listening to me rant and cry and rant some more. I love being your daughter.
Also by A. C. Gaughen
Scarlet
Copyright © 2014 by A. C. Gaughen
All rights reserved.
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
First published in the United States of America in February 2014
by Walker Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
E-book edition published in February 2014
www.bloomsbury.com
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Walker BFYR, 1385 Broadway, New York, New York 10018. Bloomsbury books may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at
[email protected] Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gaughen, A. C.
Lady thief : a S
carlet novel / A. C. Gaughen.
pages cm
Sequel to: Scarlet.
Summary: Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed and she has been forced to marry Lord Gisbourne and participate at court, acting the part of a noblewoman in hopes of helping her beloved Robin Hood’s cause and forging a future with him.
1. Robin Hood (Legendary character)—Juvenile Fiction. [1. Robin Hood (Legendary character)—Fiction. 2. Courts and courtiers—Fiction. 3. Love—Fiction. 4. Adventure and
adventurers—Fiction. 5. Middle Ages—Fiction. 6. Great Britain—History—Richard I,
1189–1199—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.G23176Lad 2014 [Fic]—dc23 2013024938
ISBN: 9780-8027-3615-4 (e-book)
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A. C. Gaughen, Lady Thief
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