Lady Outlaw

Chapter 14

Filey Manor, Filey, East Riding of Yorkshire

Roana flung open the door to the kitchen so hard that it crashed against the cabinet beside it. Pots and pans rattled and a ladle fell to the floor as she stalked in.
Laney, stood at the worktop mixing pastry in a bowl, looked up, startled. Her expression froze when she saw Roana, and she lowered her gaze quickly to the bowl, a flush infusing her face.
Roana glared at her, ocean-blue eyes flashing. "Are you Laney?"
Something changed in the young woman's face and this time, when she raised her eyes to look at Roana, she was composed, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Yes, my lady." Her tone was very faintly insolent, but not so anyone but Roana would notice. However, combined with the amused look in her eyes, Roana could sense that she was being disrespected.
She moved closer. "You were with Allan yesterday."
Laney raised her chin, nonchalantly, and blew a blonde lock from her face. "Yeah, I was. Me and Allan, we're friendly."
"He told me what happened. Exactly what happened," Roana said, her voice dangerously low.
Laney gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Yeah. What's the problem, my lady? He liked it, I could tell."
Roana moved fast, crossing the room and grabbing Laney by the arm. The bowl and spoon clattered to the floor, spilling pastry mix, as Roana pushed Laney forcefully against the wall, her forearm at the young woman's throat. "He told me he said no. He told me you forced yourself on him."
"Well, he would say that, wouldn't he?" Laney snarled, and grabbed a handful of Roana's hair, attempting to pull her off.
Without looking away from her, Roana reached out to grab the paring knife on the sideboard beside her, bringing it up so the tip of the blade was at Laney's throat. With a gasp, the blonde let go of Roana's hair, her eyes filled with alarm.
"My lady, I'm sorry!" she cried out, suddenly contrite.
"Tell me the truth," Roana insisted, her voice hard. "I know it anyway, but I want you to admit it."
The maid was staring at her in terror. "I just wanted a bit of fun, but he kept talkin' about you." She began to snivel. "So I kissed 'im while he was sleeping. He pushed me away. I'm sorry, my lady. What he said was the truth."
The kitchen door slammed open behind them and Robin and Much rushed in, alerted by the noise.
"Roana! What is going on?" Robin said, incredulous. He came over to place one hand on her shoulder, while the other took hold of knife.
Much was beside him. "This girl tried it on with Allan last night," he explained, glaring at Laney.
"What?" Robin started to laugh. Placing the knife to the side, he pulled Roana gently away from Laney. The young woman pushed herself off the wall as soon as Roana released her, and moved to the other side of the work counter, her cheeks pink and her eyes lowered.
"Is this true?" Robin said to her.
The blonde nodded, her mouth set in a miserable line. "I thought we could have a good time, but all he bloody does is talk about 'er."
Robin looked at Roana and shook his head, grinning. "Looks like we have more in common than I thought, Miss Jealousy."
"She disrespected me.." Roana began, hotly, but Robin cut her off, bundling her after Much. "Take her outside, Much. And you," he looked at Laney again, the amusement gone from his face. He indicated the fallen bowl and spoon. "Clear this mess up. And remember who employs you from now on. If I hear about anything else like this, you'll be out on your ear. Got it?"
Pressing her lips together, Laney nodded and bent down to clear up the mess.

Auden of Nettlestone was a shrewd man. The eldest son of a tailor and a cook at Nettlestone Hall, he had experienced a comfortable childhood, and was already in line to take over his father's small and profitable business. However, he had always dreamed of something more. When the opportunity had arisen to travel to Filey to protect Robin Hood's family, Auden had jumped at the chance to spread his wings, and hopefully bask in Robin's reflected glory. Nettlestone was but a small village, and Auden longed to experience life further afield before he was expected to marry and settle down to be a tailor. He craved adventure and notoriety, even while he was reluctant to expose himself as anything other than an upstanding citizen.
A self-seeker, but one who could charm the bird's out of the trees, Auden relied largely on his dark good looks and deceptively easygoing nature to get through life, while his mind constantly plotted and assessed, looking for his next break. He had spotted an in with Sir Robert straight away. The man craved a heir, and spoke often of his niece, Roana, who would provide him with one through marriage. It had got him thinking, and he set to work winning Lord Filey over. By the time Roana had arrived home, Sir Robert adored him, and Auden was already imagining their future together - his future as the new Lord Filey, by Roana's side. It was pure luck that she was a beauty.
The only thing that stood in his way was Allan A Dale.
For some unknown reason, Roana was in love with him, and he her. But it wouldn't last. Unfortunately, Laney had failed where many a wench hadn't, but Auden refused to give up hope when she broke the news to him. Allan had never been serious about a woman in his life, and, no matter how attractive Roana was, Auden didn't believe that he would change his ways for her. Auden was well aware that he had more to offer a lady than Allan could ever hope to. He just needed the opportunity to convince her, and, by a stroke of pure luck, he now had it. Allan was out of the way.
Strolling back up the track towards the house after watching Allan get taken, during which he had continued to hide away amongst the trees, he whistled a ditty to himself, pleased with the day's events so far. He imagined breaking the news to Roana, and taking her in his arms to comfort her. He could just imagine the feel of her against him. He would have to play this one carefully. It wouldn't do to show his pleasure at Allan's disappearance.
Sauntering into the courtyard, he noticed Robin, Roana, and Much stood beside the house and changed his gait, quickly rushing into view with a panicked look on his face.
"Robin!" he shouted. They all turned to him in alarm. He stopped before them and put his hands on his thighs, pretending to catch his breath for a moment. Straightening, he pointed back towards the gate. "It's Allan. He's been taken."
"What? What happened?" Robin demanded to know as Roana gasped and began to run across the courtyard, heading in the direction he had just come from.
"It was Vaisey and Bridlington," Auden said, the only part of his story that was truthful. "They took him by surprise, knocked him out. There were too many guards. I couldn't help."
"Don't worry. I wouldn't expect you to put your own life at risk." Robin placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder before taking off after Roana and Much.
With a small smile of satisfaction, Auden followed them.