Priceless

Sherrif Vasey was a worried man. His Master at Arms being his problem.

Gisborne was acting oddly. Yes that was it very oddly. In the past he could be relied upon to leave what emotions he had behind when going to work, resulting in cold terrifying efficiency.
In the past few weeks however, he had been looking very ill at ease, as if obeying orders was paining him. Dammit ! The last thing Vasey needed was Gisborne with a conscience.

Of course there could be only one thing behind this. A woman. Yes it was always a woman. Worse still, it looked as if Gisborne was falling in love.

Vasey was so glad he had little to do with the ladies these days, nothing but trouble, aside from his little Eulalia.

There was no doubt that it was a married woman, far too hole and corner to be above board. Once a week, at least Gisborne disappeared most mysteriously, so time to find out where he went and with whom.

Vasey gave the task to Eulalia. In a week's time she would be marrying Roderick of Somersby but was still mooning over Gisborne. He hated to give the girl shock therapy like this but it was needed.

Grumbling and most unbecomingly pouting, Eulalia followed Gisborne on horse back. He vanished into Sherwood forest and she plunged on after him.

Vasey had trained her well in tracking and stalking, so she was almost able to remain undetected.

She saw Gisborne dismount, damn ! A twig cracked under her horse's hoof.

A trained experienced solider, Gisborne had heard it and turned, just catching a glimpse of Eulalia vanishing behind a tree. He grinned, of course Vasey was going to have him followed, at least he was now aware of it.

He tied his horse loosely to a tree stump by a stream. They were in a clearing, Eulalia saw, dominated by a large old oak tree.

It was a suitably romantic spot. The sounds of a gentle breeze in the leaves, the babbling stream and bird song and the patterns made on the ground by sunlight and shadows.

A woman stepped from behind the tree into Guy's arms. Her dark red hair as good as a heraldic banner announcing her as Rosamond Countess of Bonchurch, soon to be Eulalia's sister in law.

Their kisses were soft and deeply intimate as they gazed into each other's eyes.
Rosamond unfastened Guy's jerkin and slid her hands underneath stroking his chest and around to his back. Guy's hands stroked over her back, hips and bottom, finally pulling her down with him onto a moss covered bank.

fascination. Her sense of envy heightened by the tenderness Guy showed to Rosamond. This was how she dreamed of him with herself.

Their passion satisfied, the lovers were sitting under the tree talking. This was more worrying than the physical act of love Eulalia had just spied upon.

Guy sat between the roots of the huge tree, long legs stretched out, Rosamond sitting between his thighs, leaning back against him. Her hands stroked his thighs, his hands her breasts. Guy's cheek resting on Rosamond's hair, giving her tender little kisses on her forehead.

This was not just a physical relationship. They were clearly in love.

***************************************************


They say that where there's a will there's a way. Guy and Rosamond were utterly set on being together.. It being summer meeting outdoors was fine for the time being. Guy had found a huge, old and very distinctive oak tree in a clearing. Rosamond could slip into the forest behind her house to meet him there.

'When' would always be more difficult. Rosamond needed to be able to come out free of her husband's watchful eyes and Guy needed to fit the trysts around his work.

Guy gave Rosamond one of the distinctive clasps from his leather jerkin, she gave him an ornate hair pin, these they sent to each other as tokens to say that they were free and able to meet.

They managed to meet once a week at their tree and contrived to bump into each other at every opportunity, even if it meant only time to say hello.

Guy could no longer deny he was in love and it was scaring him much less than it had at first.

He found making love with Rosamond deeply satisfying and realised that it was because there were more than just the physical sensations at work.

When they melted into each other's bodies it felt as though their hearts were melting together too. It left him feeling that he carried a little piece of her with him and she a piece of him.

He enjoyed conversing with her. This was a witty, charming, intelligent lady who was being stifled by a husband who valued her only for the beauty of her body.

Guy began to tell her his secrets, opening up his soul to her. He started with the attempted assassination of the king. She had been shocked and often saddened by his revelations but still she wanted and loved him.

Walking her back to Bonchurch was getting very hard, knowing what he was taking her back to. Kissing her good bye one day he had said ' I love you Ros ' for the first time. She had smiled at this, kissing his large nose that she adored before replying 'that's good to hear Guy, I love you too'.

********************************************

Vasey was sitting on the balcony outside his room with a goblet of wine.

So, he thought, Gisborne was playing with Bonchurch's Lady. Eulalia's soon to be sister in law had caught Gisborne's eye, with his heart to boot and she it seems was head over heels for him in return.

No doubt Eulalia could be persuaded to help in breaking up this very inconvenient pairing, The obvious course of action was to tell the Earl of Bonchurch that his Countess was having more fun with Gisborne than with him. The potential reaction to this made the temptation almost irresistible.

Practicality forbade however. What he needed was for the Countess to be unable to stand the sight of Gisborne, to want to avoid his company, that at present she could hardly get enough of.

Vasey's theory was that released from the Countess's wholesome influence, Gisborne could eventually be coaxed and manipulated back to his old form.

The question was how to achieve this . No easy task. However the mulling over of this question would have to wait until Eulalia was a married woman in just 4 days time.

***********************************************

The night before the wedding Roderick had asked Rosamond to stay at Nottingham with Eulalia. He hoped his sister might become a calming influence for his wife.

He himself had asked Guy to stay with him. The 2 men sat up late talking. Roderick had been very wary at first of Gisborne having only reputation to go on. No doubt the man could be dangerous and vicious but he was also a loyal friend for anyone willing to make the effort to look deeper into him.

Ros, was blossoming with this man's love and he had wanted to acknowledge the fact.

He gave Guy a small vial filled with a thick dark liquid. 'Poppy syrup.' He explained. ' My mother used it for her pain and it is also a powerful sleeping draft, in moderation. Give this to Ros tomorrow. If she puts it into Edmund's wine this amount will give him a very sound sleep for the night so the 2 of you can spend the night together'.

Guy thanked him profusely, then had to get something off his chest. ' Are you really sure about this marriage? I mean are you aware of what Eulalia can be like? Vasey has set her to spy on Ros and I. She still carries a torch for me and I'd be lying if I said I'm not worried'.

Roderick was touched by this honesty and openness. ' Thanks Guy. I really appreciate your concern. Ros could tell you though that I'm no fool.
I had to grow up very suddenly at 18. My Father had by then all but given up on running the estate. I had to take over or the place would have gone to ruin.

My wife won't find me so susceptible and malleable as her Father.'

He raised his goblet to Guy who raised his in return and they grinned at each other.

TBC