The Lady Katherine Chronicles, Number 5

Lady Katherine And The Errant Knight

By Sazzy

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Codes:	uber J/7
Rating :	NC-17
Setting:	August 1191, Nottinghamshire, England
Thanks:	to Trek and Jay for beta reading this for me :)
Disclaimer:	This is a work of fan fiction but uses characters that bear a striking resemblance to those that are copyright of Paramount Pictures.  No infringement on their copyright is intended by the author in any way, shape or form - this is just a bit of fun. This story includes an all female relationship, so if you don’t like that then look away now.

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Chapter 1

Lady Katherine Johnson smiled to herself as she gripped the reins of her horse tighter and spurred him into a fast gallop, hunkering down close to his chestnut neck as she did. Her forward movement caused her riding companion to follow suit and she felt the arms around her waist grip just that little bit tighter as a warm body pressed up against her back. She was only wearing a light shirt and she could feel two soft mounds rubbing against her spine sending strange flutters through her stomach and lower down her body.

“Not too fast for you?” She asked, craning her head round slightly to regard her passenger.

“No, no, but I think you should watch where we’re going,” replied Anne nervously.

Katherine laughed at the look of worry in the younger woman’s blue eyes as she hung onto Katherine for dear life, the wind whipping at her blond hair and dislodging a few strands from the ponytail that it was tied back in.

“Don’t you trust me?” asked Katherine, her brow crinkling into a mock frown.

“Yes,” said Anne anxiously, “But can you please turn round!”

Relenting from her teasing, Katherine turned her face back to the path they were cutting across the fields of the Markham estate. It had looked like it was going to be a gorgeous summer’s day when Katherine had picked up Anne from the arranged meeting spot earlier, and they had set off on their ride, with no particular destination in mind. It was reaching the hottest time of the year in England, with it being early August, and the sun beat down upon them as they rode with carefree abandon across the land. The grass of the fields was starting to take on a yellowish tinge after the prolonged dry spell of recent weeks and Delta’s hooves caused great puffs of dust to billow up from the parched ground as he sped along. Katherine briefly cast her eyes up to the sky and noticed the clouds bubbling up on the horizon – it didn’t look like it would be much longer before that dry spell was broken, she noted to herself.

Katherine allowed her thoughts to drift back to the woman behind her, grateful for the amount of time they had been able to spend together recently - ever since the dark witch, Bronwyn, had nearly killed Katherine and made them both realise how precious their time together was. That had been nearly three weeks ago and, luckily for Katherine, things had been quiet at the manor since, allowing her to devote much more time and attention to Anne. She knew that with the harvest due later that month she would once again be busy with various manor duties and responsibilities soon.

Sometimes she just wished she could leave Markham and run off with Anne, somewhere where they could be together all the time, instead of having to catch whatever moments they could. However, deep down she knew that Markham was her home and her sense of duty was too great for her ever to abandon the people there.

That didn’t stop Katherine’s thoughts inevitably drifting to ones of the young woman who had captured her heart, mind and soul whenever they were apart. When they weren’t together, it was almost as if a part of her were missing. Before meeting Anne she would have dismissed the notion of needing someone else so much to feel complete, yet with Anne that was exactly how she felt. She would find herself constantly wondering what Anne was doing, though that also brought her a fair amount of worry since Anne was an outlaw and led an inherently dangerous life. Katherine found herself overtaken by an irrational urge to try and protect Anne, though she knew that was futile. The only way to truly achieve that would be if Anne could somehow receive a pardon for her crimes against the state and live a life in regular society once again. Since King Richard was currently away on the crusades and had left his treacherous brother, John, in charge of the country, the chances of receiving any such pardon, even if it were forthcoming, was unlikely.

For the time being, she just hoped that she could continue to successfully juggle her life as lady of the manor and her one with Anne. Though how long she could maintain the balance between the two conflicting demands, she didn’t know.

She considered that things had been somewhat easier since she had taken her maid, Beatrice, into her confidence. The young woman had got over her shock at finding out the identity of Katherine’s secret lover surprisingly quickly. Beatrice’s face had certainly been a picture when Katherine had first told her by bringing out Anne and informing the maid that the blonde woman was the lover Beatrice had been speculating about. It had taken a good few seconds for Beatrice to recover the powers of speech, which Katherine thought must have been a record period of silence for her.

When she did find her voice, Katherine and Anne had been met with a barrage of questions as Beatrice wanted the details, and that included all the details. Anne had seemed more than happy to answer the interrogation, perhaps pleased to be included in a part of Katherine’s life. Katherine had actually had to stop her when it seemed she was willing to answer even the most risqué of Beatrice’s enquiries. Katherine thought Beatrice found it all rather exciting and romantic, including the whole need for subterfuge. Katherine had been forced to stress the need for discretion to the young maid – forbidding her to tell anyone, including her own sweetheart, Thomas. As far as she knew Beatrice had kept her word, and the only other people who knew of her secret affair were the captain of her guard, Tobias, and the priest at Markham Church, Friar Tuck.

However, she was starting to get an uneasy feeling that one of her knights also knew something about it. Charles Kirby had been acting strangely over the past month or so, in fact ever since the French Ambassador had come to visit back in June. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but he just seemed a bit too…cheerful. The burly knight was renowned for his dourness, so such happiness was certainly out of character. He also seemed to be spending an inordinate amount of time lingering around the manor house at Markham when there was no real need. He ran the lands around the village of Ollerton as one of her vassals, making him responsible for governing that particular part of the estate and had no real business in Markham itself, apart from when summoned by Katherine.

Her sense of uneasiness had been enough for her to speak to Tobias about it and she was starting to try and think of ways that she could perhaps remove Kirby from his current position. Ever since Mark had left for the Crusades the year before, Kirby had been striving to increase his power base in the estate. Though Katherine was the head of the manor, by virtue of being Mark’s widow, she knew that the fact that she was a woman would always count against her. She couldn’t allow one knight to become too strong in case he decided to somehow try and usurp her.

A few warm drops of rain suddenly splashed on Katherine’s face, disturbing her thoughts, and she realised that in her deliberation she had failed to notice the clouds closing in quicker than she had anticipated. The skies were now dark and it looked like they were in for quite a downpour. She pulled Delta up as she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“There’s a small wood if you follow the wall in that direction,” said Anne indicating to where she was referring.

Katherine nodded and turned Delta, geeing him into motion once more. Anne had obviously also realised that there was no way they would make it back to either Markham Manor or Sherwood Forest before they got drenched and was directing them to some nearby cover instead.

Just as the rain was starting to turn into a more concerted shower they came to the edge of a small copse of trees. They both leapt down from the horse and Katherine led him under the protective leaves, tying him to one of the trunks. They had just made it in time, she considered, as she could now hear the rain splashing intently on the leaves above, a few odd droplets finding their way through to impact on the woodland ground.

“Couldn’t you do something about this?” asked Katherine turning to Anne.

“Sorry?” queried Anne in confusion.

“The rain,” clarified Katherine, “Perhaps you could have a word with nature and get it to stop?”

Anne rolled her eyes and then suddenly leapt at Katherine, who collapsed to the ground in a fit of giggles under the relentless tickling she was receiving. When Anne finally gave her some respite from her remorseless attack, Katherine sat up and studied the young woman who had joined her on the ground. She was glad they had now got to the stage where they could even joke about Anne’s pagan heritage and her mystic abilities.

They had talked much over the past few weeks since Anne had rescued Katherine from Bronwyn’s clutches. Learning from her past abortive attempts, Katherine had made sure they had taken things slowly, never pushing Anne to reveal anything she was uncomfortable discussing. However, Anne was gradually opening up more and more to Katherine about her past, recognising herself the need to discuss it, and it pleased Katherine that she could be the one to help Anne, even if all that meant was being there to listen.

Anne was still somewhat reticent on the subject of her parents and Katherine guessed it would be a while before those deep wounds were healed. Anne still harboured much resentment towards them, blaming them for getting themselves killed.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Anne was not actively pursuing learning more about her mystic abilities for the time being, though they had talked about it. Katherine certainly wasn’t going to force her into anything – she knew it wasn’t an easy thing to embrace both in terms of the actual study involved to achieve anything and the personal ramifications for Anne.

However, she hoped that Anne would one day investigate it further – even if that just meant reading a bit more about it without necessarily utilising her powers. It seemed a shame to Katherine to be blessed with such a gift and ignore it. She knew that the past held a great deal of pain for Anne, but thought that once she had started to come to terms with that she may also embrace the reality of who she was.

It was certainly a useful gift to have and Katherine knew she would probably not be alive today without it. What Anne had accomplished that day when Katherine had been fatally wounded had been truly remarkable – using the power of nature to heal her. Katherine had been even more astounded when she had later learnt how truly difficult, and indeed dangerous to Anne, that had been. That was another one of the reasons Katherine was keen for Anne to learn more about her powers, so she could avoid any potential dangers.

Anne had told her about what Bronwyn had said, about how one way to access her powers was by using raw emotion. This is what Anne had done, both in the spirit realm and to heal Katherine. However, such use was fraught with danger and the possibility that the wielder would be consumed by the power they were attempting to harness, leading to madness and maybe even death. The alternative was intense and prolonged study to master the ability to achieve the right state of mind to become one with nature instead and access its many powers. Katherine was unsure what all of these powers were, and didn’t think Anne herself knew that much about it. No doubt they would learn together when the time came and Anne decided she did want to know more.

Until then Katherine was content to allow Anne to put such thoughts to the back of her mind, though every now and then hints at Anne’s innate mystical abilities would inadvertently be shown. Because of the link to emotions, there were occasions when the environment around her would respond to Anne’s moods, particularly when those moods were strong. Katherine recalled the argument they’d had about Pierre, when Anne had thought Katherine was having an affair with the French Ambassador. Katherine had not realised it at the time, but it was not her imagination, the room they were in actually had gotten hotter in response to Anne’s fiery mood. She guessed she would just have to be careful about angering the young woman again, at least in an enclosed space.

“I don’t think I will have that ‘word with nature’,” commented Anne in response to Katherine’s initial remark, breaking Katherine’s contemplative thoughts.

“Oh?” said Katherine, lifting her eyebrows in question.

“Yes, I think you need some of that rain to cool you off. We nearly crashed into obstacles at least five times on that ride thanks to your reckless riding,” said Anne with a sigh.

Katherine burst out laughing as the young woman regarded her seriously.

“You did look rather scared on the back of the horse, I have to say,” remarked Katherine, having composed herself.

“I was not scared,” said Anne indignantly, “Merely…concerned.”

“Whatever you say, darling,” said Katherine winking at Anne and patting her on the arm.

“Are you accusing me of lying?” asked Anne, raising her scarred left eyebrow in inquisition.

“Nooo,” replied Katherine, holding up her hands, “Heaven forbid, I must have been mistaken, you looked the epitome of cool naturally.”

“I’ll show you cool,” said Anne under her breath, getting up.

“Now, now, no need to…” began Katherine before she was suddenly hefted off the ground and straight over Anne’s shoulder so that her head was dangling over the young woman’s back.

“Anne!” cried Katherine, “Put me down!”

“Sorry, what was that, I didn’t quite catch it,” said Anne as she walked out from under the cover of the tress and into the torrential rain.

“I said put me down!” repeated Katherine, “This is most undignified and I’m getting soaked!”

“Ah, of course,” said Anne, “Right away, m’lady.”

Anne unceremoniously dumped Katherine off her shoulder and into a shallow puddle that had quickly formed in the steady rain.

“Oops,” said Anne, standing over Katherine with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face, “Looks like you got soaked anyway.”

Katherine slowly removed a sodden clump of auburn hair from her face and glared up at Anne who just sniggered at her expression as the warm rain lashed down on the pair of them.

“Oh, you’re going to pay for that,” said Katherine finally.

“Uh oh, now I am scared,” replied Anne, putting her hands to her face in an expression of mock fright.

“You should be!” said Katherine, launching herself from her soggy position and tackling Anne to the ground.

They rolled around on the slick grass as each struggled for the upper hand, Katherine momentarily finding herself on top of the young woman, pinning her hands to the ground.

“Looks like you have me where you want me,” remarked Anne, smiling up at Katherine as rivulets of rain trickled down her face.

“It does doesn’t it,” said Katherine huskily before dipping her head to capture Anne’s lips with her own.

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Chapter 2

Anne barely noticed the inclement weather swirling around them as Katherine’s warm body slid tantalisingly against her, the older woman’s lips pressed delicately to her own, her tongue performing a sensuous dance around her mouth. She made a token effort to move her arms from the other woman’s grip, knowing that she could easily break free at any time if she really wanted, but enjoying the game of being dominated. She groaned as Katherine slipped her thigh between Anne’s legs in response, pushing down against Anne’s feigned resistance.

Katherine kissed along Anne’s chin, moving with deliberate slowness to tease the young woman beneath her. As she finally reached Anne’s ear and sent a hot gust of breath fluttering across it, Anne arched up against the slender body above her, writhing against Katherine’s thigh as desire coursed through her.

Suddenly, in one swift movement, Anne slipped her hands free and wrapped her arms around Katherine before standing up, carrying the smaller woman with her. Katherine gasped at the sudden motion, but overcame her initial surprise and instinctively wrapped her legs around Anne’s waist, as she was held firmly off the ground in Anne’s strong arms. Anne pressed her lips eagerly to Katherine’s once more and easily bore her back towards the trees and the cover they provided. As much fun as it was rolling around on the grass in the rain, it was just a bit too stormy and muddy. Anyway, the wood had it’s own opportunities for fun, she thought to herself before the feel of Katherine’s fingers raking seductively down her back disrupted her conscious thoughts.

Anne eventually reached her destination, despite the difficulty of navigating the trees whilst her body was being filled with the most intense feelings of arousal. She pushed Katherine’s back up against the trunk of a sturdy tree and loosened her hold so the other woman dropped her feet to the forest floor. Odd droplets of rain still trickled down her face as she gazed down at Katherine admiring the way the drops splashed onto her classic features and tracked the fine contours of it. Katherine looked back up at her with a look of such wanton lust that Anne immediately captured her lips in a feverish kiss.

Anne slid her hands downwards, tracing the curves of Katherine’s body as she went. She slipped them under Katherine’s sopping top to caress the warm skin underneath, sparking a soft moan of approval from the older woman. Her fingers continued their upward exploration, her thumb and forefinger settling on one of Katherine’s nipples and gently squeezing it. The moan against her lips was slightly louder and more ragged this time, inflaming Anne’s own passion further.

There was something intoxicating about being out in the open air while the storm raged above them, the rawness of the weather somehow heightening the intensity of their emotions. Anne found she could control her naked desire no longer, so great was her need to touch Katherine. She undid the strings that held up Katherine’s trousers, which fell to the floor once freed from their bindings.

Anne herself groaned involuntarily as Katherine’s fingers reached up to loosen and tangle in her blonde hair and pull her close keeping their lips locked together. Anne revelled in the delightful sensation of each slender digit stroking softly through her hair while at the same time Katherine’s tongue probed her mouth.

With her passion raging hot within her, Anne slipped her hand between Katherine’s legs where they were immediately bathed in copious amounts of moisture. Anne felt a responding surge of wetness between her own legs as she eased her fingers between Katherine’s folds and inside the invitingly warm flesh beyond. Katherine moaned wantonly against Anne’s lips, inflaming Anne’s ardour even further and she hotly pressed them harder against Katherine mouth, needing a stronger connection, needing to almost consume the other woman. At the same time her fingers reached deep inside Katherine, twisting slowly within the slick walls.

Anne became lost in blissful ecstasy with the dual sensations of Katherine sensuous tongue invading her mouth and her pulsating sex enfolding her fingers driving her to distraction. It just felt so wonderful to explore Katherine like this and she could tell Katherine was obviously enjoying herself too if the amount of noise she was making was anything to go by. Her continued pants, gasps and groans at Anne’s intimate probing sent Anne wild with desire.

Anne started to build the speed of her inner fondling, flexing and stroking her fingers against Katherine as she felt the other woman’s body quivering against the tree trunk. She slipped her free hand around Katherine to help support her while she continued her thrusting with the other. The trembling sweeping Katherine’s body increased in intensity until she was shuddering uncontrollably under Anne’s touch and screaming out unbidden to the leaden skies above.

Then, like a fast moving summer storm, it was over and Katherine was leaning heavily against Anne, her breath coming hard and fast as the young woman held her tightly. Anne guided Katherine down to the ground, still holding onto her and stroking her auburn hair softly as she sat down, leaning back against the tree and resting Katherine’s head on her bosom.

It wasn’t long before the blue-grey eyes flicked up to regard her though, lust still evident in them.

“I hope you’re not trying to put me to sleep there,” said Katherine, “Not when there’s something I would much rather be doing.”

“And what might that be?” asked Anne innocently.

“Oh, I think you know damn well,” replied Katherine, shifting so that she was on her knees, her face level with Anne’s.

Anne just about had time to gulp nervously at the look of naked desire displayed on Katherine’s face before Katherine pushed her to the ground to give her a full demonstration of exactly what it was she would be rather be doing.

Later they lay contentedly in each other’s arms under the natural umbrella of the leaves high above, just listening to the sound of the drops splashing on the greenery. Anne actually found herself drifting off with the calming influences of the soothing sound and the warmth of the body next to her. She awoke with a slight jolt after an undetermined amount of time to find Katherine delicately brushing her fingers through the loose strands of hair that framed the young woman’s face. Katherine smiled down at her as she realised Anne was awake and Anne returned it readily. She didn’t know if there could be a more perfect moment than awaking to look into the eyes of the woman she adored beyond measure staring down at her with so much love in them.

“I wanted to thank you again,” said Anne, smiling as Katherine continued to gently stroke her cheek.

“What for?” asked Katherine distractedly, too taken with what she was doing to pay much attention at first.

“For putting up with me,” replied Anne with a sigh.

Katherine let out a small laugh, before her blue-grey settled warmly back on Anne’s own.

“Seriously,” continued Anne, “I know I’m not always the easiest person to get along with - my temper can get a bit out of control sometimes.”

“Well, that’s true,” agreed Katherine, her voice still tinged with humour

Anne flicked her eyes up to Katherine and crinkled her brow into a slight frown, though she knew that Katherine was just teasing her to try and make her feel better about her confession.

“Oh, darling, that’s all part of who you are,” said Katherine softly, cupping Anne’s cheek, “You wouldn’t be this intensely passionate person without a little bit of that darker side too. I guess you’re lucky I love you so much that I can take the rough with the smooth,” she added with a wink.

“And you know I love you too, with all my heart,” insisted Anne, gazing up at Katherine to try and impart how much she meant that from her look, “I’m sure that’s one of the reasons why I was so horrible to you a few weeks ago when you were just trying to help me. I think I was scared by how much I love you, scared of allowing myself to love someone that much and then getting hurt again. So I reacted by pushing you away to protect myself.”

“I can understand that,” nodded Katherine, “Though I hope you realise by now that I’m not that easy to get rid of.”

“Indeed, you are perhaps the most stubborn person I’ve ever met,” noted Anne playfully.

Katherine smiled again and Anne marvelled at how that smile never failed to send a warm tingle through her entire body. The tingles intensified at that moment, as Katherine pressed her lips to Anne’s and the young woman closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off on the bliss that the tender caress invoked.

“Well, I guess we should be getting off,” commented Anne regretfully once Katherine had pulled away, not really wishing to leave, but knowing they must, especially now it seemed the rain had ceased.

“I suppose so,” said Katherine reluctantly, once again stroking her hand down Anne’s cheek and showing no real inclination to move.

“At least we only have to wait until tomorrow to see each other again,” Anne reminded her, “You are sure it is all right for me to come early?”

“Yes, as long as you manage to sneak in before the early patrol you should be fine to stay the whole day,” replied Katherine, “That is if you want to?”

“Oh, believe me, I want to,” said Anne emphatically.

“Then I shall see you tomorrow morning,” said Katherine with a small smile before she kissed Anne one last time in goodbye.

…………….

Charles Kirby gazed out the window of his house at Ollerton, noting that the sudden summer downpour had finally ceased and that the sun was re-emerging from the dark clouds overhead. He was glad – he didn’t want the work-shy peasants to have any reasons for neglecting their duties on the lands for any length of time, especially with the harvest due soon. He wanted to make sure that everything on his section of the Markham estate ran smoothly and efficiently, even if that meant he had to literally whip the peasants into shape every now and then. Not that he was particularly bothered about such aspects of his responsibility as the knight overseeing Ollerton, in fact he rather enjoyed lording it over the serfs and was nurturing ambitions to increase the number of people under his control.

Continuing to stare out the window, he pondered his plan to become the lord of the whole of the Markham estate. The only person standing in his way was Katherine and things were going well in respect of his finding a way to discredit her and undermine her position as head of the manor. His French spy had continued to provide him with useful information on a regular basis and he thought the time was fast approaching when he would make his move.

However, he was starting to get somewhat worried that Katherine suspected something. He had a few people who were loyal to him at Markham Manor, and he was hearing troublesome rumblings from them about Katherine asking questions regarding her vassal at Ollerton. Katherine was still the lady of the manor, and it would be possible for her to at least arrange a transfer for him to another manor, if not something much worse.

He knew he couldn’t allow that to happen. He couldn’t let all his hard work go to waste and have Katherine beat him to the punch, not when he had gotten so close to that which he had wanted for so long. He had always harboured a secret desire to be rule the manor when Mark had been lord, but his friend had been too powerful and respected amongst his peers for Kirby to have any hope of usurping him. And there was the fact that they had been friends, or at least the closest thing Kirby had had to someone whom he would regard as a friend.

He had actually been sad when news of his friend’s death had finally reached England back in January, though not for long when he realised the opportunity it gave him at Markham. He had initially thought it would be easy - presuming there was no way a woman could cope with running the manor. He had assumed Katherine would soon be begging for his help. Only she had confounded him, and a great many others, and actually turned out to be better at it than Mark had ever been. The Markham estate was more prosperous now than at any time he could remember.

Luckily for him, though, it had turned out that Katherine did make some errors in judgement and her association with the outlaw woman would turn out to be a fatal one if he had his way. A knock at the door disturbed his thoughts and he swung round to face the room’s entrance.

“Come in,” he instructed.

The door opened to reveal the squat form of his spy, Leon, who slinked into the room in his typically furtive way.

“Good afternoon, monsieur,” he said in a thick French accent.

“Good afternoon,” replied Kirby, going to sit at his desk, “So what’s the latest on our two love birds?”

“They continue to meet on a regular basis at a number of locations which I have catalogued for you,” replied Leon, handing Kirby a piece of parchment.

Kirby perused the list for a moment, nodding to himself in quiet contemplation.

“Good, good,” mumbled Kirby to himself, stroking his chin.

Leon remained standing before him, waiting patiently for his instructions.

“I’ve been thinking,” said Kirby after a few moments, glancing up at the other man, “I may have to act a little sooner than I might have wished. I have a few concerns about our good lady and may have to pre-empt any action she might be about to take against me.”

“Indeed,” commented Leon, his dark eyes revealing little.

“I presume I can count on you,” said Kirby, “Should I need your services in other ways?”

“Of course, monsieur, I am completely at your disposal,” replied Leon.

“Good,” said Kirby, an evil smile touching his lips, “In which case I think it’s time I took a trip to Markham, I believe I have some urgent business there.”

………………………………….

Katherine crossed the courtyard of Markham Manor heading towards the guardhouse as the morning sun poked out from behind one of the few clouds that dotted the sky above. Glancing up, she noted that it didn’t look like there would be a repeat of the rainstorm of the day before. However, she couldn’t guarantee that there would not be a repeat of other things that occurred yesterday, especially as Anne had already joined her at the house as they had arranged. Walking across the grass, a smile played across her face as she remembered her encounter with Anne in the woods, pleasant thoughts of strong hands playing across her fevered body swimming to mind. She had to mentally shake herself as she spotted her target near the guardhouse door.

“Tobias,” she called as she approached the captain of her guard who was in discussion with a couple of his men.

He gave them a few last instructions and sent them on their way, both of them making a small bow to Katherine as they passed her.

“All set for your trip?” she asked, as she came up alongside the tall knight.

“I believe so,” he confirmed, “The men have their instructions for their duties during my absence.”

“Good,” she noted, staring off absent-mindedly at the two departed soldiers.

“Is there something amiss, m’lady?” asked Tobias.

“Hmmm, not exactly,” she replied, turning back to face him, “It’s just our ‘friend’ Kirby again. I’ve been thinking more about his recent behaviour and what I know of his ambitions. I just have this feeling of unease,” she tried to explain, “It’s nothing tangible, just a sense that he’s up to no good.”

“Intuition?” enquired Tobias with a hint of scepticism, raising one eyebrow.

She made a small laugh, “You think I’m being paranoid?”

“I wouldn’t discount anything when it comes to Mr Kirby,” commented Tobias, “Do you wish me to cancel my trip to investigate further?”

Katherine considered this proposition for a moment - she could ask him to stay and send one of the other knights in his place. However, the harvest was of vital importance to the estate and the people on it and she didn’t want anything going wrong with procuring the necessary equipment. Which meant she needed to send someone she could trust and rely on absolutely and that someone was Tobias.

“No,” she finally said, “It’s important that you get the supplies from Cambridge now, in time for the harvest. I’m sure Kirby can wait until you get back.”

“If you are sure?” said Tobias.

“Yes,” she said, patting his arm in confirmation, “Go to Cambridge, we can work out what we are going to do about our errant knight when you return.”

He merely nodded to indicate that he would follow her instruction without question as he always did

“How long do you think you will be?” she asked.

“The round trip should take 9 or 10 days,” he informed her, “Depending on conditions and whether we get delayed in any way on the journey.”

“So hopefully you should be back by next Saturday,” she commented doing a quick mental calculation.

“Indeed,” he confirmed.

“Well, good luck,” she said, smiling up at him, “And all things being well, I shall see you at the end of next week.”

As he turned to go she had to shake off the sense of unease that still played across her thoughts regarding Kirby. She was sure she could cope with the man until Tobias returned and then they could set about finding some way to ease the knight off the Markham estate for good.

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Chapter 3

Katherine climbed the steps to her quarters, which lay on the upper floor of the manor house, trying to dismiss any residual thoughts about Kirby and concentrate instead on more pleasant things, like the fact that she would have Anne sequestered in her quarters for the whole day. As she reached the top steps she could hear two feminine voices coming from inside, recognising them immediately as those of Anne and Katherine’s maid, Beatrice. From their tones it seemed they were in a heated discussion on some subject and Katherine slipped quietly into the room, positioning herself behind a wardrobe so she could observe them unnoticed, curious to find out what it was that had sparked such debate.

“I am not putting that garment on,” said Anne with an edge of exasperation, folding her arms across her chest and staring obstinately at the smaller woman.

“Oh, go on,” pleaded Beatrice, holding up a pale blue dress, “I think you’d look lovely in it. And I’m sure Katherine would agree,” she added with a conspiratorial wink.

“I do not wear dresses,” insisted Anne steadfastly.

“But why ever not?” cried Beatrice in consternation, “I mean look at you, if anyone has the figure for it, it’s you! Those great long legs, that ample bosom.”

Katherine quickly put her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle as she noticed Anne blushing at the last comment.

“When the sheriff’s men are chasing you through Sherwood Forest,” explained Anne tetchily, “It is hardly practical to be worried about snagging your skirt.”

“Don’t you ever dress up?” asked Beatrice.

Katherine had to admire Beatrice’s dogged determination in trying to persuade Anne to do something she obviously didn’t want to do. She was interested to see what the outcome would be and who would win the battle of wills.

“Who for?” remarked Anne, “The other outlaws? I doubt they’d notice if I was wearing a sack or a skirt. Believe me, fashion is hardly foremost on their minds.”

“Ah, but you do have someone to dress up for now, don’t you,” said Beatrice, sensing an opening.

“I suppose so,” said Anne slowly

Katherine smiled to herself as Anne began to falter under Beatrice’s persistent enthusiasm – it seemed she was no match for the wilful little maid when it came to matters of sartorial elegance. She guessed she could save Anne from the badgering, but she was having too fun watching the unfolding tableau to interrupt it just yet. Anyway, she thought that Anne secretly liked the dark-haired maid and actually rather relished their lively discussions. They were of a similar age and background and Katherine often caught them having such conversations when she left them alone for any length of time. She also knew that Beatrice definitely liked Anne, since she didn’t mind expressing her opinions and had told Katherine on several occasions how lovely and great for Katherine she thought Anne was, even if Anne did always try to put on that hard front of hers. Beatrice had informed her that she could see right through that and knew Anne had a sensitive heart underneath that cold exterior, as if Katherine needed to be told that. Katherine knew full well what an intense and passionate woman Anne really was without Beatrice having to point it out.

“So you’ll try it then,” said Beatrice, attempting to push the dress into Anne’s hands.

“I don’t know,” said Anne nervously, her resistance crumbling fast, “I don’t know if it’s my colour,” she quickly added, perhaps trying to appeal to Beatrice’s sensitivities to extricate herself.

“Not your colour?” said Beatrice, rolling her eyes, “But you always wear black!”

“I like black!” said Anne indignantly.

Katherine couldn’t help herself at that moment and a laugh erupted from her lips, causing the other two women to swing their heads in the direction of her hiding place. Caught out, she stepped out into the room and made her way over to them.

“Katherine,” said Anne with no small degree of relief, “Quick, save me from your maid.”

“Oh I don’t know,” said Katherine, taking the cloth of the dress in one hand to peruse it, “I think Beatrice may have a point - you would look rather stunning.”

As she turned to smile at the young woman she could see her blue eyes shifting back and forth apprehensively between the other two women.

“Hey, that’s not fair, two against one,” said Anne, holding her hands up as if to ward off an attack.

“It’ll only take a minute,” said Katherine stepping towards her with pretend menace, “It’ll be quite painless.”

Anne backed up a couple of steps and bumped into a small table, glancing round nervously as she realised she had nowhere to go.

“Shall I get the arms while you grab the legs,” said Katherine to Beatrice in a loud whisper that was clearly audible to everyone in the room.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” agreed Beatrice conspiratorially.

Before Anne had the chance to assess whether they were joking or not, Katherine and her maid leapt on her in their two pronged attack. Surprising Anne by the suddenness of it, they managed to wrestle her to the floor. Despite Anne’s continued protestations and a determined struggle they rose to their feet a few seconds later to survey their handiwork. Anne slowly clambered up off the floor, shooting them both a baleful glance as they sniggered under their breath.

“See, I told you I would look stupid,” she said with annoyance, looking down at herself.

“Oh, darling, I’m sorry,” said Katherine, between giggles, “We’re not laughing at how you look, but at the look of utter disgust on your face.”

Anne merely made a harrumphing sound and crossed her arms firmly, which caused Katherine and Beatrice to break out in fresh howls of laughter. Katherine finally managed to compose herself enough to speak properly, wiping away a few tears from the edge of her eyes.

“You actually look lovely, really,” she insisted sincerely, “Absolutely gorgeous, doesn’t she Beatrice?”

“Oh yes,” agreed Beatrice wholeheartedly, “Wonderful.”

Anne still resolutely refused to concede that they might have a point and maintained her glare, though it appeared to be weakening in its intensity.

“Well, I shall leave you two alone,” said Beatrice, heading towards the door, “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you, Beatrice,” said Katherine as the maid exited, closing the door behind her.

“Do you really think I look lovely?” asked Anne uncertainly now the other woman had gone, looking down at the garment she had been forced into as if it were something she’d find lining a privy.

“Most definitely,” confirmed Katherine, her voice dropping to a husky timbre as she surveyed the way the dress clung to the young woman’s nubile body.

Anne glanced up, no doubt catching the suggestiveness in Katherine’s tone and Katherine stepped closer, allowing her to reach out and stroke one hand down the soft material at Anne’s side.

“It feels rather delightful too,” commented Katherine, sliding her fingers back up the fabric towards Anne’s chest, “Especially here” she remarked gently squeezing Anne’s breast.

Anne let out a small gasp, “That is rather…pleasant,” she affirmed.

Katherine brought her other hand up to join the first one on the dress, cupping both Anne’s breasts and rubbing her thumbs across the material where her nipples pushed against it.

“Though there is something that I think would set it off just perfectly,” noted Katherine, dropping her hands for a moment and looking up into Anne’s eyes.

Anne regarded Katherine inquisitively as she made her way over to her dresser and sought out the item she wanted. Having found it, she crossed back over to Anne with her hands behind her back. The young woman still looked somewhat bemused, or perhaps she was just perturbed that Katherine had stopped her admiration of her ‘dress’ so suddenly.

“Why don’t you turn around,” suggested Katherine, smiling reassuringly.

Anne gave Katherine one more questioning look but silently did as instructed. Katherine reached her hands up to the smooth skin of Anne’s neck and draped a gold-chained necklace around it, the brilliant blue sapphire of the pendant sitting just above Anne’s cleavage. After Katherine had fastened the clasp, Anne slowly turned back round, looking down at the jewellery, her hand coming up to play across the gemstone as it rested against her tanned skin.

“It’s beautiful,” remarked Anne with notable awe in her tone, still studying the gem.

“I want you to have it,” said Katherine.

Anne’s eyes shot up to regard her, “Really?”

“Yes, really,” replied Katherine, smiling at Anne’s obvious surprise, “I’ve wanted to give it to you for a while actually, and today seemed like an appropriate moment, since you looked so breathtakingly gorgeous in that dress.”

Anne blushed slightly and looked down at the necklace again, as if she was mesmerised by its beauty.

“I don’t know what to say, no one has ever given me anything like this before,” she said quietly, “I don’t have anything to give you in return,” she added with a tinge of regret in her voice.

“I already have everything I want,” declared Katherine, “I have you.”

That comment received a warm smile in return and Katherine was even gladder she had given the necklace to Anne.

“I just wanted you to have something of mine, that you could keep with you when we’re apart,” explained Katherine softly, reaching up to twin her fingers with Anne’s as they brushed over the pendant, “It belonged to my mother, and her mother before that I believe. In fact, I’m not even sure how long it’s been in my family.”

“Thank you, Katherine, it’s the best gift I have ever received,” said Anne, her eyes soft as she fixed them on Katherine, “Especially knowing its significance to you. I shall treasure it.”

Katherine had to swallow the lump in her throat and blink a few times to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes at the sudden swell of emotion that had almost overcome her. She had never felt this way giving someone a gift before, so inordinately pleased and warmed by their reaction, though she supposed she had never been this much in love with someone before. Her emotions almost went into total meltdown at that point as Anne bent to place her lips softly against Katherine’s and she closed her eyes to revel in the sensation, her hand still resting against Anne’s chest where she could feel the pounding of the young woman’s heart.

Anne wrapped her free hand around Katherine to draw her closer, but kept the caress of her lips teasingly delicate. Katherine was content to be held in Anne’s warm embrace though she could feel her desire rising within her now she was pressed up the young woman’s warm body. She slipped her hand free of Anne’s so she could roam her fingers across the silken fabric of the dress once more, down Anne’s sides, over her hips and then round to fondle her bottom. The gentle squeezing elicited a small moan from Anne, which finally sent Katherine over the edge. She had been trying to control herself since she had first seen Anne in the dress but she could hold back her wanton lust no longer.

She quickly moved her hands up the back of Anne’s dress and expertly undid the series of clasps before slipping the garment off Anne’s shoulders. Anne obligingly slipped her arms out of the sleeves so Katherine could push the dress over her hips and onto the floor, leaving Anne gloriously naked in front of her.

“Katherine,” remarked Anne to the older woman who was rather distracted by the vision in front of her, “It seems rather pointless that you dressed me in that garment in the first place, if you were going to remove it so soon.”

Katherine’s eyes flicked up from their intense study of Anne’s body, “You’re just lucky I didn’t rip it off you, you looked so damn sexy in it.”

Katherine then pushed Anne back onto the bed and joined her, slinking up the lithe body like a predator intent on its prey.

………

Some time later both the predator and its prey lay exhausted on the bed, Katherine’s head nuzzled against Anne’s as the young woman brushed her fingers tenderly though Katherine’s loose auburn hair. Her other hand came back to distractedly touch the necklace which she still wore.

“Do you ever see your family?” asked Anne with genuine interest.

“There isn’t really anyone left to see,” remarked Katherine, not lifting her head from its warm home, “Apart from my sister and she’s off happily married to a nobleman in Yorkshire. My parents died a few years ago now.”

“I’m sorry,” said Anne, “I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” insisted Katherine, raising herself slightly and propping her head on her hand so she could look at Anne, “I like sharing things with you. Not that there’s much to tell, they just died of old age about 5 years ago.”

Anne looked like she was considering Katherine’s words for a moment, as if she wanted to ask something else but either didn’t know how to or was unsure how it would be received.

“What is it?” asked Katherine softly.

“Can I ask you something?” said Anne tentatively.

“Of course, anything,” declared Katherine earnestly.

“I just wondered if you’d ever thought about having a family of your own…with Mark,” asked Anne.

Katherine didn’t reply for a moment, she hadn’t quite expected the line of questioning that Anne had chosen. She had said that Anne could ask her anything, though, and she considered that she owed the young woman the truth, since she would expect no less from her.

“Yes, we did want a family,” she replied, “All nobles want someone to inherit their title and lands and we did try, but…,” Katherine paused again - she hadn’t realised she still had trouble with this subject until Anne had brought it up. She hadn’t thought about it for quite some time, not really since Mark had left on his fatal journey the previous July, “…well, it just never happened,” she finally added.

“I’m sorry,” said Anne gently, no doubt sensing Katherine’s unease. She took Katherine’s hand where it lay on Anne’s stomach and joined their fingers, brushing her thumb across the back of Katherine’s hand, “It sounds like you really wanted children.”

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t,” conceded Katherine, looking down at their twinned hands, “But I guess it was just never meant to be.”

“There’s still time,” noted Anne.

Katherine gave a rueful laugh. “I don’t think it’s likely in my present situation now is it?” she suggested looking back up at Anne.

She immediately regretted her rather rash statement as she saw the look of hurt that passed across Anne’s face before she quickly disguised it.

“Anne,” said Katherine reaching up to caress her cheek while keeping her eyes fixed on the young woman, “It’s true I did want children and I guess a small part of me would still like to be a mother, but don’t think for a second that I would ever give you up to achieve that. I love you and my life would be nothing without you in it.”

Anne smiled back at her, the smile that never failed to melt Katherine’s heart, “And you are my life too,” she declared, “I never knew what love was until I met you.”

Katherine found herself grinning rather inanely at the simple words, so honestly spoken and she leant back down against Anne, snuggling into her embrace as they lay contentedly together.

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Chapter 4

Katherine watched from her back window as Anne slipped out into the warm night air, agilely crossing the kitchen roof and dropping to the ground at the back of the house. They had shared a lovely day together, just relaxing and talking and doing lots of other pleasurable things. As Anne crossed the short grassy expanse to the wall she cast one last look up at Katherine and made a small wave, the older woman returning it with a broad smile on her face.

“Saying a fond goodbye?” came a voice from behind her suddenly.

Katherine spun round to see Charles Kirby standing just inside the door, on the far side of the room, the candlelight flickering across his dark features.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” demanded Katherine crossly, “Get out!”

She subconsciously closed the gap in her robe just a bit more, feeling somewhat exposed just standing there in the thin garment in his presence.

“I only wanted a little chat with you,” he said, his voice soft and ingratiating.

“Didn’t you hear me – I said get out!” cried Katherine indignantly, striding over to where he was standing and fixing him with a deathly stare, “How dare you come into my room unannounced…”

She trailed off and looked at her door as something struck her. “In fact how did you get in here? The door was locked….”

“Did you break in?!” she said angrily, as realisation dawned, “I’ll have your knighthood for this!”

“You might want to wait a minute before you go screaming for the guards,” he said, interposing his bulky frame between Katherine and the door as she made to leave the room, “At least to give your ‘friend’ time to be clear of the house.”

Katherine stopped in her tracks and slowly looked back up at him, schooling her features into passive expression.

“What are you talking about?” she said icily.

“Don’t play coy with me, Katherine,” he said obsequiously, “I know all about it.”

“All about what?” asked Katherine, trying to feign innocence.

“You want me to spell it out to you?” he replied, “Fine. I know all about your sordid little affair with that outlaw woman, Anne. I have to say I was rather shocked when I found out - here I was thinking you were a good, respectable, god-fearing woman and yet I find out you’re having an illicit affair with some petty thief. Not only that but you’re risking eternal damnation by engaging in unnatural activities with another woman.”

Katherine just stared up at him, trying not to let the shock she was feeling register on her face. So it seemed she had been right to suspect Kirby, though she had never dreamed he knew so much. She berated herself for having been so careless as to allow this unctuous man to gain such knowledge about her.

“What do you want, Charles?” she said evenly, defensively crossing her arms across her chest.

“Ah, now you’re willing to listen to me,” he crowed, a nasty smile creeping across his face and crinkling the ugly tattoo above his left eye, “I have an offer for you, one that you should seriously consider.”

“Go on,” she prompted shortly.

“Well,” he began, “The crux of it is that either you agree to marry me, so that I become lord of the manor, or I’ll tell everyone all about your dirty little secret.”

Katherine immediately let out an incredulous laugh, “That’s preposterous, me…marry you…never in a million years!”

“You don’t think I would tell all the other nobles in the region about it?” enquired Kirby smarmily, “I have quite detailed accounts of all you’ve been up to you know, it makes very interesting reading.”

He quickly produced a set of papers from a small satchel he had slung across his shoulder and offered them to Katherine. Taking the parchment, she opened it to find a list of various dates, times and places detailing her and Anne’s meetings over the past two weeks.

“And that is just a small sample of my information,” he continued as she stared numbly at the writing, “How do you think your reputation would stand up to something like this being revealed? You’re on shaky ground as it is being a woman in your position. I think if this became public it would finish you off.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” said Katherine, trying to stall for time, pretending she was in deep contemplation of the text.

She quickly tried to consider her options. First of all there was the possibility she could agree to what he was suggesting which was utterly ridiculous. Not only did she loath Kirby and was unable to think of anything much worse than becoming his wife, but she was in love with Anne and would never give herself to someone else. That just left the choice of allowing him to tell everyone about what she had been doing with Anne. That could have two outcomes that she could see. Either the other nobles and knights would believe Kirby and she would be disgraced and lose her position, or they wouldn’t and Kirby would look a fool. However, she knew he held one great advantage – he was a man, as were all the other people of power apart from her. That meant he would most likely be believed over her, especially if his evidence included any kind of witnesses. So discounting the marriage option she was left with almost certain disgrace.

As she mulled that thought over, she suddenly realised that, despite the fact that she would be deeply aggrieved to lose everything she had worked for and dedicated herself to all her life, that was nothing compared to how she would feel if she lost Anne.

“You know what,” she said finally, looking up at him defiantly, “You can take you grubby attempt at blackmail and shove it!”

She thrust his papers back at him and noted with some satisfaction that he looked rather taken aback. She decided to try and play on his obvious surprise.

“Why don’t you tell everyone and see how far you get,” she suggested, “It’s just your word against mine. Who do you think the other knights and lords will believe, me - a respectable lady of this manor for 17 years who’s done nothing but bring wealth and prosperity to Markham, or you - a knight of dubious pedigree?”

“You’re bluffing, you wouldn’t risk it,” he said, though she could detect the uncertainty in his voice.

“Wouldn’t I?” she said, continuing to stare at him with stubborn determination in her eyes.

“You would really risk everything for that woman?” he asked in amazement.

“Yes,” she replied simply.

She could see him considering for a moment and she wondered if she could sneak past him and get out of the room while he was lost in thought.

“In that case,” he said, before she had any chance to move, “You’re forcing me to resort to my only other course of action.”

“And what might that be?” she asked, “Please tell me it’s that you leave Markham and I never have to see your face again.”

“No,” he replied, a sinister look now crossing his features, “Either you do what I want or I’ll have Anne killed.”

Katherine felt a cold chill sweep through her, penetrating her to the very core.

“The way I see it,” he continued, no doubt able to tell he had shocked her by her silence and the look of horror she had been unable to keep from her face, “I’d be doing society a favour anyway, disposing of a dangerous criminal like that.”

“Now you’re the one bluffing,” she managed to say with some semblance of calmness despite the fact she felt anything but, “Even if you wanted to, I doubt you could carry out such a threat.”

“Really?” he said, smiling wickedly down at her, “How do you think I came by all this information on you? I’ve had you followed for weeks now; I’ve got people loyal to me everywhere. I can even recite you details of the conversations the two of you have had if you like.”

Katherine desperately tried to organise her thoughts, but all she could think of was the prospect of Kirby killing Anne and that just made her sick inside. She didn’t really know how capable he was of doing it, but realised she couldn’t really take the chance that he could.

“You took a big risk, Katherine,” added Kirby, gloating now, “And now you’ve been caught out – it’s time to face the consequences.”

“The main consequence being that I surrender the manor to you,” she remarked, trying to take some deep breaths and fight down her anxiety.

“And yourself,” he said, “I would expect you to be a dutiful wife and lady of the manor.”

“You’d really want a wife that actively despised you?” she said shaking her head in disgust.

“If that’s the only way I can have you, then yes,” he replied, “Though I’m sure after some time with me, you’ll find I’m not such an ogre. And if not, well, I’m sure there are ways I can make you see.”

Kirby slowly reached out his hand and trailed his fingers down Katherine’s cheek. She found herself unable to keep from shuddering at the touch.

“You can’t expect me to agree to such an offer,” she said in revulsion.

“It’s up to you,” he said with a shrug, removing his hand, “But either you do or your young lover dies, it’s quite simple.”

“You’re a bastard, Kirby, you know that,” she spat, her eyes flashing angrily at him, “I knew you were up to no good. I should have listened to my instincts and booted you off the manor the first chance I got. You were always after Mark’s position, even when he was alive. I don’t know what he ever saw in you in order to let you run Ollerton. How long after his death did it take you to come up with your little scheme to wed me and take control of the manor? Christ, we only heard that he died, what was it, seven months ago now? Yet here you are, ready to fill his shoes!”

“That’s harsh, Katherine,” said Kirby as if she had wounded his pride though she seriously doubted he had any, “And anyway, you’re a fine one to talk. How long did you wait before you started up your association with that woman? God knows how long it had already been going on before I found out! You know I was loyal to Mark. But I have always admired you from afar, and I wish I could have made you mine under better circumstances. But as I said, if this is the way it has to be, then that’s better than nothing. Anyway, you have only yourself to blame - before you started up your foolish dalliance my ambitions were merely a dream. By consorting with that woman, you played right into my hands.”

Katherine felt trapped – what could she do? And why couldn’t she think straight? If only she could get rid of Kirby somehow, put him off, she might have time to come up with an alternative. Only she didn’t think he was going to leave until he got his answer. Maybe she could give him one and then contact Anne in some way, let her know what he was up to, tell her to go somewhere safe.

“Oh,” he said, interrupting her thoughts, as if he could sense what she was thinking, “And don’t even think about trying to warn your outlaw friend in any way, remember I have eyes and ears everywhere.”

“And how do I know I can trust you?” she asked, “What’s to stop you killing Anne anyway, even if I do agree?”

“You have my word,” he insisted, “As long as you do what I say, she will be safe.”

“And I’m expected to go on your word?” she scoffed.

“That’s all you have, I’m afraid,” he replied.

She stared balefully up at him, knowing there was little else she could do for now, with no one to turn to for backup at the manor in Tobias’ absence. If there was any chance that Kirby could make good on his threat then the only real option was to play along with him and hope against hope she could find some way out of her predicament.

“So what is it you want me to do?” she asked with a resigned sigh.

“I knew you’d see sense,” he remarked, smiling down at her.

“I don’t know if I’d call it that,” she said obstinately, “But it seems you leave me no option but to agree to your terms.”

“Good,” he said with satisfaction, “Well, first we need to make sure your little friend knows things are over between the two of you, we don’t really want her popping by all the time. So I think you should pay her a visit where you can explain to her how it was all a big mistake and you never want to see her again. And just in case you get any ideas about warning her in anyway or telling her of my involvement in this, my men and I will be watching.”

“She won’t believe me, you realise,” noted Katherine.

“Well, you had better make her believe you somehow,” he said, moving his face closer to hers menacingly, “Because if she comes near you again it will be the last thing she does. We certainly wouldn’t want her turning up on our wedding day and ruining things now would we? I would hate to have to have someone executed at what should be a celebration.”

“You’re all heart,” she said sarcastically.

“In fact,” he said drawing back again having made his point, “I think we should get married as soon as possible, just to make sure you don’t try to wriggle your way out of our agreement.”

“As long as you keep up your end of the bargain and don’t harm Anne, then I’ll marry you,” she reassured him.

“Nevertheless, I think I would still feel more comfortable once I am the official lord of the manor – how does next Saturday sound to you?” he suggested.

“Next Saturday?” she cried disbelievingly, “Don’t you think that’s a bit soon?”

“No, I don’t think so,” he answered, “And it also means your little puppet Tobias won’t be back in time either, just in case you were getting any ideas that he might be able to save you. I think it’s perfect.”

Kirby reached down and took Katherine’s hand, bringing it to his lips to plant a kiss on her knuckles.

“Just think,” he said with an evil grin, “In a little over a week’s time you will be the new Lady Kirby.”

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Chapter 5

Katherine paced nervously back and forth across the grass of the small clearing in Sherwood Forest where she now awaited the arrival of Anne. She knew what she had to do was ultimately for Anne’s benefit, but that didn’t make it any easier to stomach. In fact her stomach was protesting most urgently as her anxiety built with each passing second.

She wished they had been more careful about their relationship - that somehow they had kept it from everyone. Sighing too herself, she realised it was too late for regrets now - they had been caught out and now they had to pay the price. She tried to reason to herself that at least Anne would be free to continue with her life, whereas Katherine would be trapped in a loveless marriage to Kirby. However, she knew she couldn’t really pretend that what she was about to do wouldn’t profoundly affect Anne. In all likelihood it would completely devastate the young woman and Katherine just prayed that she would be able to recover.

Though Katherine had resigned herself to her fate back at the manor house, now she was here waiting, she wasn’t sure if she could go through with it. She didn’t know if she was capable of doing this - of betraying the love they shared. Anne had given Katherine her heart, trusted her to take care of it and now Katherine was about to destroy it. It was tearing Katherine apart inside, slowly eating away at her like some insidious disease. On the one hand she knew that what she was doing was to protect Anne, but at the same time knowing she had to hurt her to accomplish that was almost too much to bear.

She glanced at the trees and could just make out where Kirby was hiding, bringing his threat to have Anne killed starkly into focus. That gave her the necessary resolve to continue - if the only way to make sure Anne could go on living was to push her away, then that was what Katherine would have to do. She would bottle up all her own emotion – her pain, her despair – and she would do it for Anne’s sake.

There was a nagging doubt in her mind that there must be some alternative to this, if only she could just stop and think for a minute, but her mind didn’t seem to be functioning properly. Kirby’s revelation that he knew all about Anne had blind-sided her and she was still reeling from that, unable to think logically, her worry for Anne’s welfare clouding her thoughts. It hadn’t helped that Kirby had been watching her like a hawk since the night before. She hadn’t even been able to speak to Beatrice let alone entertain any grander plans such as contacting Friar Tuck at the church in order to get word to Anne.

She didn’t know if Kirby could make good on his threat or not or how many men he had in his employ, spying on her. For all she knew, his men could be surrounding her right now, all with their bows trained on where Anne would be standing in a few moments. She wished that Tobias were here - he would help her order her thoughts and think things through properly. Only he wasn’t, and there was no hope that he would be back any time soon. It was up to her to make the decision on her own, and all she could see was the option Kirby was presenting her.

Katherine’s stomach complained once again at the amount of nervous strain being inflicted upon it and she suddenly felt the bile creeping up her throat. Dashing to the side of the clearing she retched into the bushes, her body continuing to heave in great spasms long after anything solid had passed her lips. She leaned heavily against a tree for a moment, trying to compose herself as a cold sweat broke out on her forehead, despite the fact that it was a warm summer’s day.

She took a few shuddering breaths to try and calm herself, knowing she had to collect herself enough to present a convincing argument to Anne. The young woman was hardly likely to believe Katherine’s abrupt change of heart if she detected anything untoward. And Katherine knew that it was imperative that Anne did believe her, her very life was at stake. With that reminder, she reaffixed her ponytail and smoothed down her hair, gathering herself as she walked back out into the middle of the clearing.

Thankfully she didn’t have to wait much longer as she spotted the familiar black-clad figure emerging from the forest in front of her. Katherine’s heart made a small flip as it always did when she caught sight of the young woman, but she forced down those feelings – she had to remain hard, stay focused on her unpleasant task.

Smiling as she approached, Anne went to kiss Katherine, but the older woman turned her head away causing Anne to pull up short and regard her quizzically.

“What is it, what’s wrong?” asked Anne, genuine concern in her voice.

If only she knew, cried Katherine to herself, she wouldn’t be asking.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she lied, avoiding Anne’s eyes, “I just have something to tell you.”

“That sounds serious,” commented Anne, slight worry now creeping into her tone, no doubt brought on by Katherine’s demeanour.

“It is serious….” said Katherine slowly, gathering all her courage to continue down the path she knew she must follow despite the fact that it was like walking over hot coals, “It’s over, Anne.”

“What? What’s over?” asked Anne in confusion.

“Us, we can’t go on like this,” clarified Katherine harshly, “It’s finished between us.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Anne staring at her in bewilderment trying to form some sort of response and Katherine felt her heart clutching painfully in her chest.

“No…you…you can’t mean that,” stammered Anne, “I…I don’t understand.”

“It’s simple,” said Katherine, making herself turn to face Anne to emphasise her severe words, “I don’t want to see you anymore and please don’t try to come and see me or I will be forced to have you arrested.”

“What?!” cried Anne, her brow crinkling as she struggled to grasp what it was Katherine was telling her. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she studied Katherine’s face, the older woman hoping she was managing to keep her features suitably impassive despite her inner turmoil.

“No, this isn’t right,” said Anne shaking her head, “What’s really going on? The other day you were telling me how much you loved me and now you suddenly don’t want to see me anymore – it doesn’t make sense.”

“Look,” said Katherine, trying desperately to feign exasperation, “I’ve actually been thinking about this for a while. I’ve known for some time that there could be no future in this but didn’t really know how to bring it up.”

“I suppose I was also enjoying myself a bit too much to make any real effort to end it, so I just played along. However, things have been getting too serious for what is just some stupid fling. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was exciting for a while, running around behind everyone’s back, having a secret affair.”

“And maybe I needed something like that after the shock of losing Mark so suddenly. There was a space in my heart and you were a convenient, temporary stop gap for that.”

Katherine was amazed that she was able to utter such blatant lies with any semblance of sincerity. She was steadfastly keeping from looking Anne directly in the eye, maintaining a gaze somewhere just about her forehead instead. She knew that she could well come undone if she looked into those azure pools and saw the pain in them.

“But it’s over now, “ added Katherine, “I’ve had my bit of fun and now I have to get back to my real life, my life at the manor, my life as lady of the manor. I don’t have time to engage in silly little associations like this any more.”

“I mean, honestly, did you really think there could ever be anything real between us?” said Katherine incredulously, throwing her hands up and turning away from Anne again since it was getting too hard to continue while facing her, “You’re an outlaw and I’m a respectable member of the nobility – it’s ridiculous!”

“No! I don’t believe you - I can’t believe you! Something else is going on!” insisted Anne, grabbing Katherine’s forearms and spinning her back round to face her. “Tell me the truth!” she demanded.

As Katherine stared at the ground she realised with a horrible gut-wrenching feeling that she was going to be forced to say the words she never thought would ever pass her lips. But how could she? How could she do that to Anne? And yet she knew she must, for Anne’s sake – it may hurt the young woman now, but it was the only way for Katherine to protect her in the long run.

Katherine took a few deep breaths as she steeled herself to utter the unspeakable, to push the words out, even though they went against the very core of her being and would tear her heart asunder. She knew she had to make it convincing, say what she had to say as if she really meant it, though inside she would be screaming. She tried to console herself that it would be just a few moments and then this arduous ordeal would be over. Though she knew that then the real agony would begin – a life without Anne. That prospect did little to ease the path of the words from her mouth.

She tried to draw an image to mind that would help her speak the devastating untruth and she settled on Kirby – thinking of him sent an icy chill through her body and pitched her mood just about right.

Katherine balled her hands into fists, feeling the nervous sweat on her palms, and finally drew her head up to look Anne directly in the eye, keeping the picture of Kirby in her thoughts and trying to ignore the imploring look on Anne’s face. With all her strength of will she kept her face schooled in its impassive mask, her eyes cold, as her mouth opened to deal the fatal blow.

“The truth is…I don’t love you.”

At that moment, Katherine wondered if it was possible to die from a broken heart - the trauma of seeing the look of absolute shock and dismay on Anne’s face as Katherine’s words registered was surely enough to accomplish such a task. She forced herself to keep her eyes fixed on Anne, knowing she couldn’t waver now, that this was the crucial point in making Anne believe her. Their gazes remained locked for what seemed like an excruciating eternity and Katherine could feel her resolve beginning to falter as a million tiny daggers stabbed at her heart. She was barely breathing due to the tension that gripped her body. Her mouth was dry and she didn’t know if she could even speak again such was her silent anguish at seeing Anne in pain like this and knowing she was the one who had caused it.

Please, Anne, just go! Don’t make me hurt you anymore! pleaded Katherine internally as she kept her jaw clamped tightly shut.

“No…no….,” said Anne, her voice small, uncertain.

She dropped her hands from Katherine’s arms and took a couple of faltering steps backwards, but still remained looking at Katherine, a beseeching longing in her eyes. She searched Katherine’s face for some sort of confirmation of what she had just heard as if it was too unfathomable to believe.

Oh god, thought Katherine in dismay, I’m going to have to say it again – is there no end to this torment!

“I’m afraid it’s true,” said Katherine, somehow managing to keep her voice even and emotionless, “It was a silly infatuation, but it’s over now. I don’t love you, Anne, I never have and I never will.”

Total devastation finally washed over Anne’s face, as she at last comprehended what the older woman had told her. Katherine felt like her very soul had been ripped from her body and shredded into a million pieces as she noticed a few tears starting to well up in the corners of Anne’s blue eyes. Then suddenly the young woman whirled round and ran into the forest, leaving Katherine as a lone, forlorn figure on the grass.

Katherine bowed her head and sank to the ground, allowing her own tears free rein to slide down her face. Her heart felt like it had shrivelled up and died in her chest, to be replaced by a cold, icy lump. Consumed by her misery, she failed to notice that she had a new companion until a voice came from above her.

“Well, who would have known you were such a great actress,” remarked Kirby, a hint of triumph in his tone.

Katherine tried to ignore his words - she just wanted to go somewhere, curl up and die right now.

“It’s for the best anyway,” continued the odious man, “She was never right for you, you need a real man to look after you.”

Katherine could take no more of his taunting and leapt up suddenly, swinging her arm round, meaning to smack him across the face. Only he caught her wrist before her hand impacted on its intended target and he gripped her arm firmly. He sneered down at her and she thought he was actually trying to hurt her, so tight was his grasp. She resolutely refused to let anything show in her face as she felt his fingers digging painfully into her slender wrist. Instead she maintained a steely glare, allowing her anger at him to take over from the wretchedness she felt at what she’d had to do to Anne.

“Now, now, Katherine, is that any way to treat your future husband?” He said mockingly.

“It is if he’s a total bastard,” she spat.

Kirby tipped his head back and laughed before his face came back to regard her with a more menacing look on his features. His hand darted out to grab her free wrist so he could haul her closer. His eyes were dark as he brought his face close to hers, his breath hissing out warm across her cheeks.

“Don’t forget,” he said, his voice low and threatening, “You belong to me now…and forever.”

“You may have my body, but you will never have my heart or my soul,” replied Katherine stubbornly.

“What, because they belong to that woman?” crowed Kirby, tilting his head towards where Anne had departed, “Well I don’t think she is going to be wanting to see you again any time soon, I think you did a great job of breaking her little heart. So I would start getting used to your new life, your life with me.”

As Kirby roughly dragged her away, Katherine pondered