17
Nagging guilt prevented Joanna from enjoying the spectacle of the archery tournament. Should she have accepted the escape plan? Jill had probably gone to great lengths to plot it. What if Joanna’s choice to remain with Guy meant she had lost her chance to go home? What if something happened to Jill?
Sirsalon positioned Joanna near the grandstand so she, Elaine, and Sirsalon would be easily visible. Joanna shuddered to think of what might have happened to Elaine or Sirsalon had she run away with Jill. Guy had nodded in her direction once, so she knew he saw her. However, his attention was focused on the archer Errol Flynn. Joanna smiled at the joke. Robin wouldn’t understand the irony of what they were calling him, but then, he had more pressing matters to tend to, such as not getting captured. Surprised Guy didn’t rip Errol’s hood off right now and expose him, she wondered how Robin would elude capture while surrounded by the sheriff’s men.
Watching the contest felt like being caught up in an exciting football game. The reaction of the crowd was so infectious that Joanna couldn’t help but get into the competition. She hollered with the rest of the fans as the archers made one excellent shot after another. Errol Flynn maintained remarkable composure as his competitors were eliminated one by one. Joanna hoped her sister and Will got away safely, especially since Guy and the sheriff were about to spring their trap.
When Errol won, the sheriff stood and applauded politely, Gisbourne at his side.
“Congratulations, Errol Flynn!” the sheriff proclaimed when the crowd had quieted down enough for him to speak. “Your aim is exceptional. Please approach to receive your prize.”
As the archer walked toward the sheriff, soldiers fell in behind him, boxing him in. The sheriff nodded to Guy who stepped down from his seat and stood before the archer.
“No man approaches the sheriff with his face covered,” Guy declared.
In a swift motion, Guy pulled the hood off the archer’s face, revealing a gangly boy with messy, shoulder-length brown hair. Guy recoiled. The sheriff sat down in shock, and a murmur swept through the crowd. Apparently Guy and the sheriff weren’t the only ones who had expected the hooded man to be Robin Hood. So, this was why Jill had been so confident! Robin wasn’t even in the contest. Joanna could tell from Guy’s face that he was having difficulty controlling his rage. Remembering the sheriff’s threats if Guy failed today, Joanna wondered if her choice to stay with Guy would put her in even more danger. It was too late to change her mind, though.
The sheriff was the first to recover. “You shot well, young Flynn.”
“That’s not my name. I’m Lester.”
Elaine sucked in her breath.
“Who is that?” Joanna asked.
“He’s a new addition to Robin’s band,” Elaine whispered. “I’ve heard he can shoot as well as Robin himself. Now I believe it.”
Guy looked as though he wanted strike Lester. “Sheriff, a great treachery has been played upon us. If this is not Robin Hood, then that means the real man is somewhere else gaining the upper hand.”
“You assured me he would be here, Gisbourne. You said you knew him.”
“I do,” Guy assured him. “He’s here, but he must be after something he considers more valuable than a golden arrow.”
“You said he would compete in the archery contest.”
“Yes, when I believed the golden arrow was the most valuable thing he could obtain. Is there something more valuable you have that he might want?”
The sheriff turned pale. “The tax money!”
Guy and the soldiers dashed toward the castle, while the crowd started to laugh.
Sirsalon rubbed his hands together. “If you wouldn’t mind excusing me, I’d like to see how this plays out.”
“We’ll be fine,” Elaine assured him. “I’ll expect a full report when you get back.”
Sirsalon trotted off after the soldiers. Joanna turned to where Lester was standing but the boy had disappeared.
“Lester is lucky he didn’t get arrested,” Joanna said.
“Guy wouldn’t dare. Lester could implicate him in stealing you away from Sir Horace.”
As they sauntered away from the crowd, Elaine told Joanna what she learned from Gripple and Will about how Guy had substituted Lester for Joanna in the dungeon that first night.
“One thing I don’t understand, though,” Joanna said, “is why the sheriff would trust the word of some boy off the street over Guy’s?”
“The sheriff has been looking for an excuse to be rid of Guy for quite some time,” Elaine explained. “He wants Locksley for himself.”
Joanna grimaced. “What would happen to you, then?”
“Gripple’s old enough that he could join Robin if he wished, and he probably will soon. I suppose I could live in the forest, too, if it came to it, but I’d rather sleep in a real bed with stone walls around me. Besides, if the sheriff were to take the castle, Robin would need someone to spy for him, wouldn’t he?”
Since Sirsalon did not return quickly, Elaine suggested they get something to eat. Elaine bought bread at a baker’s stall and roasted drumsticks from the butcher. She and Joanna sat down on the grass and ate their food, all the while talking over the murders, although no new information or interpretations came to light. Eventually, Sirsalon returned and while munching on the food Elaine had saved for him, shared what he had seen.
“When he left here, Guy and twenty soldiers ran into the castle to check on the treasury. When they opened the door, they discovered that four bags of tax coins had been taken. Guy was furious because he knew the sheriff would have his head for this. Believing Robin had gone out through the doors, Guy went to the gate of the castle only to find it locked. When they found the key and opened the gate, Guy chased after Robin but only caught a glimpse of him as the outlaws escaped into the forest. Guy found a horse and followed them, but I don’t think he got very far. The forest is Robin’s territory.”
“Time to change the subject.” Elaine’s expression warned of someone approaching. “Here comes Roger.”
Guy’s man at arms, looking more sour than usual, strode over to the three and eyed their leisurely meal with disdain. “Picnic’s over.”
“We’re on our way,” Elaine assured him.
As Roger walked toward the paddocks, Sirsalon helped Elaine and then Joanna to her feet. “We’ll have a gloomy ride home,” he predicted. “Guy will be in one of his black moods.”
Guy definitely was in a terrible mood. He seemed to radiate anger and gloom. Even Roger looked uncomfortable and rode behind Guy as opposed to beside him. No one spoke much although Joanna and Elaine exchanged concerned glances periodically. Joanna noticed with some relief that Guy did not take control of her reins this time but left her to guide the horse herself, which she managed without too much trouble given the slow pace. A few hours later, when they arrived at the castle, a soldier jogged up to Guy as he dismounted.
“What is it, Agrub?” Guy demanded.
“It’s Walter.” Agrub trembled as he spoke. “When I brought him his breakfast this morning, he must have taken the key from my belt. When I realized it was missing, I went back to look for it only to find the door open and him gone. He stole a horse from the stable, too.”
Joanna cringed. Given Guy’s dark mood, she knew the soldier’s punishment would be severe. But nothing prepared her for what Guy did next. He drew his dagger and in a swift motion stabbed Agrub in the abdomen. The soldier wheezed, moaned, and collapsed. Joanna and Elaine gasped in horror.
“Roger,” Guy ordered, his eyes dark with anger, “clean this up.”
No one, not even Roger, moved until Guy had stomped alone across the courtyard into the keep. Then, when everyone seemed assured he would not reappear, the grooms led the horses away and Roger lifted Agrub’s body onto his shoulders and carried it toward the keep. Maude would have another dead body to prepare tonight. The first floor of the keep was turning into a morgue. Joanna had never been surrounded by this much
death before. The fragility of her own existence was clearer to her than it had ever been. Afraid to return to her room since it was so close to Guy’s, she accepted the invitation to stay in Elaine’s room until the excitement died down.
Silently, the two women climbed the stairs in Marian’s tower, turned right on the second floor to the corridor under the wall walk, and slipped into Elaine’s tiny room.
“Guy is a cruel man,” Joanna declared once they were behind closed doors. “A murderer.”
“He is,” Elaine agreed. “Only the Lord knows how many ghosts stare back at him from the shadows in the night. No wonder he’s had so many affairs. He probably can’t sleep.”
“Maybe he really did kill Bess and Gwen. Maybe I’ve been making this too complicated.”
“We’re women,” Elaine said with a sad smile. “It’s what we do.”