The Lady Katherine Chronicles, Number 6

Lady Katherine And The Uninvited Guest

By Sazzy

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Codes:	uber J/7
Rating :	NC-17
Setting:	August 1191, Nottinghamshire, England
Thanks:	to MercyCroft 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

Katherine continued to stare mutely in utter astonishment as Mark slowly walked up the aisle towards her and Kirby, his steps echoing off the stone floor and reverberating around the hushed room as he did. She felt like her world had been turned upside down and then thoroughly shaken for good measure. One minute she had been in despair at the prospect of her enforced marriage to Kirby and the next instant she was left completely flabbergasted, as her supposedly dead husband appeared to interrupt the ceremony. The sight of him caused a myriad of emotions to tumble chaotically through her mind, competing for dominance. On the one hand she was shocked to see him alive, while at the same time there was an element of relief and happiness at the realisation that he wasn’t dead after all. Somewhere kicking around her brain was also worry about what this would mean for her and Anne. That last thought reminded her that Anne was still being held in the back room by Kirby’s men, unaware of anything that was unfolding out here in the main part of the church.

As Mark got closer, Katherine found herself unable to tear her eyes away from him, such was the incongruity of seeing him here now. She knew she was probably staring in a most undignified fashion but couldn’t seem to help herself. Upon studying him, she could see that he had changed somewhat since she had last seen him the previous July, when he had left in a blaze of glory to embark on the crusades with King Richard. He had always been a tall and stout man, but now he was much thinner, almost gaunt looking, adding to the impression of him being something akin to a ghost breezing up the aisle. His shabby clothes hung off his body and where once his hair had been flecked with a few silver strands, now it was completely grey. She wondered what had happened to him over the previous year to cause such profound physical changes.

His eyes bored into her with searing intensity as he approached and for once in her life she was speechless as he finally came to a halt in front of her. The rest of the church was deathly quiet too, all eyes fixed on the returned lord of the manor, the faces of the congregation showing a united expression of surprise.

“Katherine, Charles,” said Mark, nodding at the pair of them, his voice loud against the silence that encompassed the large room.

“Mark,” said Katherine, managing to find her own voice, “Is it really you?” she added inanely, unable to think of anything more sensible at that moment.

“It certainly is,” he confirmed.

“W-we heard you were dead,” stammered Kirby from beside Katherine.

“As you can see, I am well and truly alive,” said Mark, stretching out his arms to demonstrate that he was no apparition.

“But, how?” asked Katherine, still too stunned to formulate any longer a sentence.

“It’s a long story,” replied Mark with a sigh, “One which I will tell you, but what I’d like to know now is - what exactly is going on here?”

Katherine’s eyes flicked to Kirby, who met her gaze uncertainly. What were they going to say? Katherine could hardly tell Mark she was being forced into it, since then she would have to reveal her relationship with Anne. Suddenly she had an idea of how to shift the responsibility of explaining the current situation while at the same time giving her the opportunity to aid Anne.

“Ohhh,” she groaned, stumbling slightly and bringing her hand up to her temple.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mark in concern, extending his arms to catch her.

Katherine noted with alarm how strange it felt to have his hands upon her, almost like those of a stranger, despite the fact that he had held her a thousand times before. Now it just didn’t seem right and she quickly removed herself from his gentle grip, avoiding looking into his eyes as she did, in case she revealed anything untoward in her gaze.

“I just felt a little faint,” she explained, injecting a slight tremor into her voice for good effect, “It must be a combination of the shock and joy of seeing you again after all this time.”

“Maybe you should go and sit down for a moment,” offered Mark, “I’m sure Charles can explain things to me.”

Katherine smiled to herself – she had guessed right that Mark’s chivalrous side was still there despite any physical changes to him. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Kirby’s look of annoyance at her antics, but he could hardly speak up and counter the lord of the manor’s suggestion since he was going to have enough trouble worming his way out of this situation as it was without angering Mark in any way. Katherine had little doubt that he would somehow wheedle his way out of it, though - Mark always seemed to have had a blind spot when it came to Kirby. She couldn’t concern herself with that right now, though, since she had more important things to attend to.

“Thank you,” said Katherine, offering Mark a quick smile, “Beatrice,” she called over to the young woman who was sitting at the front of the congregation, starting the dark-haired maid out of her stunned perusal of Mark.

“Could you give me a hand,” said Katherine, glancing at her and trying to indicate that she had some sort of plan with her facial movements.

“Er, yes, of course, m’lady,” replied Beatrice, leaping up and coming over to take her arm, though her eyes barely left Mark the whole time.

“We’ll be in the back room,” commented Katherine, noting Kirby’s sharp intake of breath at this statement.

They hastily headed to the door, leaving Kirby alone to begin his explanation of what was occurring. As they entered the small room Katherine took a quick glance over her shoulder and noted with some satisfaction that the two men were already deep in conversation. Hopefully she would have at least a few minutes. Closed the door behind them, Katherine straightened up, no longer needing to maintain the charade of feeling ill.

“You can leave now,” she confidently instructed the two guards who still held onto Anne.

Katherine was relieved to see that Anne was looking more alert now despite the blow to the head she had received from one of the guards prior to the ceremony.

“The ceremony is over,” she stated authoritatively as they looked at her dubiously, “And your master did say she was free to go once it was, or are you going to go against his wishes?”

The two men still looked slightly uncertain as to whether they should be taking her word for it or not, but grudgingly let Anne go, persuaded by Katherine’s unwavering stare.

“So you went through with it then,” said Anne bitterly, rubbing her bare arms where the men had been tightly gripping them.

Katherine waited for the two guards to depart the room before she replied, “No.”

“What?” said Anne, her eyes flicking up in surprise, “But you said…”

“…The ceremony was over,” finished Katherine, “And it is, but I didn’t get married. It got interrupted.”

“Well, that’s great!” exclaimed Anne, smiling and coming over to Katherine, her pale blue eyes peering warmly down on Katherine, who swallowed nervously, knowing what else she had to say.

“Isn’t it?” added Anne uncertainly, catching Katherine’s expression.

“Not…exactly…” said Katherine tentatively, “Beatrice, could you go and stand guard while I speak to Anne. If anyone tries to come in, stall them…loudly.”

Beatrice nodded her understanding and left the two women alone in the room to continue their conversation. Katherine turned her attention back to Anne, taking a brief moment to watch the way the sunlight from the small window to their side played across her smooth features, enhancing the contours of her face, dappling her full lips. She wanted to allow herself this small moment of pleasure amongst all the turmoil of the day, however fleeting it might be.

“So what happened?” asked Anne, breaking Katherine’s pleasant study.

“The ceremony was stopped…,” disclosed Katherine nervously, “…by Mark.”

Anne looked at her in confusion for a moment, her eyebrows crinkling together as she tried to place Katherine’s reference.

“My husband, Mark,” clarified Katherine.

“Y-your husband?” repeated Anne in shock, stumbling back dazedly from Katherine, “But…but I thought he was dead?”

“So did I!” noted Katherine ruefully, perturbed by the stray thought that crossed her mind wishing that he actually was.

“I…I can’t believe it,” said Anne, sitting down in the only chair and rubbing her temple while staring dumbfounded at the floor, “So what does this mean?” she asked in a small voice, not turning her head up as she spoke.

“I don’t know,” sighed Katherine, “It certainly makes things more complicated, if that were possible.”

“I meant for us,” whispered Anne.

“For us?” queried Katherine.

“Well, now Mark’s back…” began Anne before breaking off. She gazed up at Katherine who could see the worry etched in her features, her eyes looking imploringly at the older woman.

“What? You mean…me and him?” said Katherine, unsure if she understood correctly.

“You were married to him,” remarked Anne, “You are married to him. You loved him, maybe you still do. I mean, before you thought he was dead and now here he is…”

“Anne, stop,” interjected Katherine, kneeling down in front of the young woman, bunching up the skirt of her white dress as she did. She took Anne’s hands in her own, “It’s you I love, not Mark.”

Katherine maintained an intense regard of Anne, staring up at the young woman with all the love she felt deep within her heart on display in her eyes. Her breath caught as a small smile slowly crept across Anne’s face and the young woman started to rub her thumb across the back of Katherine’s hand where they remained entwined in Anne’s lap.

“Then come away with me now,” said Anne softly, “While we have the chance.”

“I…can’t,” said Katherine, glancing away, feeling the conflict tearing at her heart.

“You do still love him,” said Anne, her head bowing in resignation.

“No,” countered Katherine, emphatically, “But I feel I owe him something, an explanation at least, since he’s made it all the way back here from god knows where,” she tried to reason.

She reached out to tilt Anne’s head back up again so she could look her in the eye as she attempted to explain, leaving her fingers to cup her cheek as she spoke.

“I did love Mark once,” she began, maintaining eye contact with Anne the whole time, “But what I feel for you, now, is so much more than anything I ever felt for him. With Mark it was more like he was a companion, someone to share things with, but it was never a deep, passionate love like I feel with you. With you it feels like we were almost destined to be together, like my very soul is crying out to be with you. I know things have been difficult recently, with Kirby and his machinations, but I want you to know that those things I said to you in the forest were completely untrue. It tore me apart to have to say them, but all I could think of was protecting you from him. And seeing your face…”

Katherine trailed off as tears began to brim in her eyes upon recalling their conversation in the forest when she had been forced to tell Anne she didn’t love her.

“I’m so sorry,” she added, her voice thick with emotion, “I do love you, I’ve never stopped loving you and I will always love you.”

Anne’s fingers joined Katherine’s where they still rested on Anne’s face, before she took them in her hand and brought them round to her mouth to delicately kiss them.

“It’s all right,” insisted Anne, “I understand why you did it, that it must have been as painful for you as it was for me.”

“But can you forgive me?” asked Katherine uncertainly, her eyes searching Anne’s face.

“Of course,” said Anne simply and sincerely.

Katherine exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, relieved that she had managed to make her point to the young woman and that she had accepted it.

Moving her hand away from Anne’s mouth and back down to her lap, Katherine closed the small distance between them to place her lips softly against Anne’s own. As their mouths melded together in a sensuous kiss Katherine marvelled at how it felt so good to share this tenderness once more, after all the tension of the previous days, to finally be back where she was meant to be – with Anne.

When they finally parted, Katherine kept her fingers on Anne’s cheek, stroking the soft skin, to remind herself what it felt like. Even though it had only been just over a week since she had last been able to do so, that week had seemed like an eternity.

“Now, you have to get out of here for now,” said Katherine regretfully, “Before Kirby manages to extricate himself from Mark’s questioning and realises I’ve dismissed his guards.”

“What if he says something to Mark about us, though?” said Anne, “You could be in danger.”

“I don’t think he will,” noted Katherine with a shake of the head, “Knowing my secret is his one advantage as he sees it; his one little bit of power over me. I don’t think he’d be willing to readily share that, especially now his main plans have been thwarted.”

“I suppose you’re right, but I still don’t like the idea of leaving you here with him,” said Anne, concern edging her voice.

“I’ll be all right. Even if I don’t love him, I’m pretty sure Mark still cares for me and he wouldn’t let Kirby do anything to me,” explained Katherine, “Head up to the house and hide in the grain store – you shouldn’t have too much trouble with pretty much everyone being down here at the church allied with the confusion that is bound to erupt once Mark’s return becomes common knowledge. Come up to my room after dark, once I’ve had a chance to speak with Mark, to see how things lie. Though make sure you check first that I’m alone.”

“And you really think Mark might understand if you try and explain things to him?” asked Anne.

“Well, he always was a fair and reasonable man,” offered Katherine hopefully, though she thought he’d have to be more reasonable than god himself to accept that his wife was now in love with an outlaw woman instead of him.

Katherine was interrupted from saying anything further by the sound of Beatrice’s voice raised in argument outside the door. They both glanced frantically at it, before Katherine hastily got to her feet, pulling Anne up with her.

“Quick, you have to go now,” insisted Katherine.

Anne nodded and gave Katherine one last kiss before dashing out the back door. Katherine was smoothing down her skirt as the other door finally flew open to emit Mark and Kirby.

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Chapter 2

Katherine watched Kirby’s eyes quickly scanning the room before they shot to her. She responded with a not too subtle smug look and could see a muscle twitching in his jaw as he clamped it shut in impotent frustration.

“So did you explain things to Mark then?” she asked the tattooed knight nonchalantly.

“Yes,” replied Kirby through clenched teeth, “I told him how we were getting married to stabilise the manor. How unsettled things had been without a man at the head of the estate since his ‘death’.”

Katherine bristled slightly at that cavalier assessment of her time in charge - in fact Markham had never been better off - but she wasn’t going to question it right now. Instead she congratulated herself on her second piece of astute character observation of the day, having obviously been correct in her assumption that Kirby would have said nothing to Mark about Anne unless it was absolutely necessary.

“Indeed,” noted Katherine, rather enjoying watching Kirby squirm, “Thank goodness we had you to step into the breech, so to speak.”

“A good friend, for sure,” agreed Mark.

Katherine almost laughed out loud as she realised he was actually being sincere, whereas she had just intended sarcasm with her statement. It seemed time had done little to dim Mark’s questionable like of Kirby.

“Now, if you could leave us, Charles, I would like to speak to my wife,” said Mark.

“Of course, m’lord,” replied Kirby, bowing slightly as he exited back out into the church.

Now she was alone with Mark, Katherine felt decidedly nervous. It was ridiculous, she told herself, they had been married for seventeen years and spent plenty of time alone before. However, that was before she had thought him dead and fallen in love with someone else. Now she was worried about various things, not least of which was how she could ever tell him about Anne. Or, if she couldn’t, how could she stop him wanting to carry on where they had left off, as man and wife. Looking over at him, she noted he looked a bit unsure of himself too, maintaining a discrete distance, and shifting anxiously on his feet while avoiding making direct eye contact. She realised she was being uncharitable to not at least show him some affection - she did still care for him after all.

“It’s good to see you, Mark,” she said, crossing to him and kissing him lightly on the cheek before wrapping her arms around him to give him a hug. He perceptibly stiffened for a moment, before relaxing into the embrace.

“It’s good to see you, too, Kathy,” he said, pulling back to gaze at her, though she could sense he was still uncertain about something from the way his eyes were studying her face.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I was just wondering…you and Charles?” he enquired hesitantly.

“What about me and Charles?” she asked in reply, her brows knitting together in confusion.

“Do you…do you love him?” queried Mark.

Katherine couldn’t help herself at that moment. Before she’d had the chance to suppress it a laugh had erupted from her lips.

“No, no, I think I can categorically say that I do not love Charles Kirby,” she declared after the laughter had subsided.

“You don’t?” asked Mark again, obviously still unsure of where he stood, “You’re not just saying that because I’m the one asking?”

“No, I definitely do not love him,” she confirmed, “We were only getting married as an arrangement of sorts,” she added, skirting nicely around the truth, “But now you’re back there’s no need.”

“Well, good, great,” he said, a smile now spreading across his face, “I didn’t think Charles was really your type anyway.”

Katherine was just thinking to herself that Mark would probably be rather surprised as to what her type was, when he suddenly swept her back into his arms and pressed his lips to hers. She tried not to manifestly baulk at the kiss, though she would have liked nothing more than to push him off. She knew she had to try and maintain the illusion for the time being until she had figured out exactly what she was going to do about this whole messy situation. As if she needed any confirmation that she no longer felt anything for Mark in that way, then the lack of emotion she felt at the kiss was proof positive. She had to restrain herself from exhaling an audible sigh of relief as he finally broke away.

“It’s good to be home,” he commented, stroking his hand down her face.

Again she had to actively stop herself from flinching at the touch. She realised she needed to sort matters out soon, before her real feelings betrayed her and especially before Mark wanted to take things any further.

“So what happened to you?” she asked, trying to divert the conversation.

She thought she saw something dark flash across his face, before the smile quickly replaced it once more, “Come on,” he said, taking her hand, “Let’s head up to the house, we can talk about it there.”

…………………………………

Some hours later, after Katherine had listened attentively and in some amazement to Mark’s story of his time away from the manor, she eventually managed to extricate herself from his company and head upstairs to her bedroom. She left him talking to various members of the household. Having already gorged himself on some of the cook’s finest meats, which had been prepared especially on hearing of the lord of the manor’s miraculous return, he was now happily regaling the assembled throng with tales of his exploits. The impromptu celebration was lubricated with generous amounts of wine and ale, adding to the party atmosphere that filled the great hall. The servants and peasants all seem to be enthralled and she hoped they would keep him occupied for a good while yet.

Katherine was grateful to be able to slip away from the busy hall and try and collect her thoughts. Her mind had been racing ever since she had seen Mark in the church and she’d hardly had a second to herself since to reflect upon it. The multitude of people wanting to speak to, congratulate or express their best wishes to her and Mark had made everything a bit of a blur since their return to the manor house.

Night had now fallen and the servants had lit the candles that illuminated the bedroom after dark. Katherine didn’t have to wait long after entering the room before she was joined by Anne, clambering in through the back window as usual. Katherine swiftly crossed the room and flung her arms around Anne’s slim body, hugging her tightly. Anne seemed somewhat bemused by the sudden embrace, but quickly overcame any initial surprise and readily hugged her back, stroking Katherine’s hair as her head lay against Anne’s shoulder.

“Oh, Anne,” sighed Katherine, “What the hell am I going to do?”

“I don’t know,” replied Anne softly and with some regret, pulling back slightly so she could look down at Katherine, “I suppose you’ll have to leave the manor, unless you want to stay here with Mark.”

Katherine shook her head, “Anne, I meant what I said earlier, I love you, not Mark. I don’t want to stay here with him, at least not in that way.”

“And is there any other way you can stay?” asked Anne, “Is there anything I can do to help?” she added as Katherine thought for a moment.

“Not that I can think of,” said Katherine ruefully, stroking her hand absently down Anne’s back, “Though thank you for the offer.”

“You know I just want you to be happy, wherever that is,” insisted Anne, “I know the manor is important to you. It’s so unfair that Mark can come back and just take over everything you’ve accomplished.”

“I know, but unfortunately that’s the way things are,” said Katherine, letting out another sigh, “As a woman I am supposed to be subservient to my husband. I just can’t help feeling that it’s wrong to leave, though, to abandon my duty my responsibility to the people.”

“Well, they do have their lord back now,” commented Anne, “Though it is…unfortunate that he came back at all,”

“In a way, I suppose,” agreed Katherine, “Not that I would wish him dead,” she quickly added, “I am glad he’s alive and he did save me from Kirby too, don’t forget.”

“That’s true,” nodded Anne, “So what happened to him anyway, where has he been all this time?” she asked, sitting down on the bed where Katherine joined her, close enough to allow their thighs to touch.

“Well, as you know he left last July to begin the long journey across Europe to Jerusalem,” began Katherine, “Some time around October last year they reached the island of Sicily, just off Italy, where they got waylaid. Apparently there was something of a civil war going on, in which King Richard’s own sister, Joan, was caught up. She was being held prisoner by the forces of Tancred, a bit of a tyrant by all accounts. So Richard and his forces joined in the fighting to free her and restore order to the island.”

Katherine paused for breath and to check that Anne was keeping track of the story, before continuing.

“Richard’s forces were eventually victorious and they decided to stay for a few more weeks to make sure that everything remained peaceful. It was in that time that Mark was part of a patrol of the island that was ambushed. Everyone else in his party was killed and he was taken captive by the rebel forces. Perhaps they hoped to ransom him back to Richard or extract information out of him, I don’t know. He was rather reticent when it came to details of his imprisonment. I got the impression that they didn’t treat him very well.”

“You think they tortured him?” enquired Anne.

“Most likely,” nodded Katherine, “I don’t think they were happy about the English turning up and interfering with things.”

“Anyway,” continued Katherine, “The rest of the English forces assumed that the whole of Mark’s party had been killed, including Mark, which was when word was dispatched to us to that effect.”

“Though that word didn’t reach here until January,” remarked Anne, mentally working through the relevant dates.

“Right,” confirmed Katherine, “The message had to travel across Europe before making it back to Markham. Anyway, back in Sicily, Richard and his army finally left to continue their crusade, unknowingly leaving Mark behind. Of course, now the English had left, he was of no real use to his captors and they decided it was time to dispose of him. Luckily for him he managed to escape before they could kill him and then began his long journey back to England.”

“How come it took him so long?” asked Anne, “If he escaped at the end of last year, then, even if he walked the whole way, he should have been back here months ago.”

“Well, he had a few other mishaps on the way, dodging robbers and various other ne’erdowells,” explained Katherine, “He was a lone traveller, after all, with no money or possessions. And I have a sneaking suspicion that he didn’t actually know where he was going half the time, he never did have a very good sense of direction.”

“But eventually he made it back here,” noted Anne, finishing the story for Katherine.

“Yes,” replied Katherine, averting her eyes as she came to the tricky part of the tale. However, she was determined to tell the whole thing, considering the problems various secrets had caused recently.

“He said that there was one thing that kept him going the whole way back,” she said quietly.

“Oh yes?” said Anne, raising her left eyebrow in query.

“Yes,” said Katherine, a slight blush creeping up her face, “He said it was the thought of seeing me again.”

“Oh,” remarked Anne simply, her hand dropping from Katherine’s leg where it had been resting.

“Indeed,” said Katherine, exhaling slowly, “Though my feelings may have changed, it seems Mark’s have not.”

“He’s still in love with you,” stated Anne evenly, though Katherine could detect the hint of jealousy creeping into the tone.

“So it would seem,” confirmed Katherine.

“Then you have to leave,” said Anne, turning to face Katherine, “If he still loves you, then he’s hardly going to be receptive to the idea of you being with someone else, especially not me.”

“You’re right of course,” agreed Katherine, “I just can’t help feeling sorry for him. He battles all the way back here through goodness knows what, only for me to leave him when he finally makes it.”

“I’m sure he’ll get over it,” said Anne, with a dismissive shrug, “He’ll have the manor to keep him busy.”

“I don’t know,” ventured Katherine sceptically, “Though he’s putting a brave face on it, I think there are deeper scars from his time away, things he’s hiding. I’m not sure how he would cope with any shocking news at the moment.”

Anne reached up to tenderly stroke Katherine’s cheek as the older woman looked down at her hands, contemplating what to do, how to resolve the conflict within her between her heart, her head and her duty.

“It will be all right, Katherine,” said Anne, “And remember, whatever happens, I’ll always be here for you, beside you. But you have to think of yourself for once. I know it’s harsh, but you need to do what’s right for you, not for Mark or the manor.”

Katherine titled her head up to regard Anne, offering her a warm smile, which Anne returned. As Katherine gazed up into the deep blue of Anne’s eyes she found herself inexorably drawn to the young woman, unable to resist the powerful urge to close the small distance between them and fuse their lips together in a sensuous kiss. Katherine ran her fingers down Anne’s strong arms, brushing the soft hairs of her forearms, as they sat locked together in a moment of pure bliss on the bed. They allowed all the troubles of the day to drift away as their tongues slid against one another, performing a tantalising dance of passion.

Groaning, Katherine pulled away, “Let me write Mark a letter,” she suggested, “Trying to explain things, then we can go.”

“If you’re sure it’s what you want?” asked Anne.

“Yes, I don’t think we have any other option for now,” declared Katherine.

Anne merely nodded as Katherine rose to go over to the desk, drawing out her quill and parchment.

“I suppose you could look at it this way,” she remarked, looking over her shoulder at Anne, “Things could hardly get much more complicated. I mean what more could happen now?”

“Don’t say that,” said Anne rolling her eyes, “I thought you would have learned not to tempt fate by now?”

Anne’s word proved aptly prophetical as the door suddenly swung open allowing Mark to saunter into the room.

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Chapter 3

Katherine quickly leapt up from her desk, discarding her quill and started towards the door to head off her noticeably swaying husband.

“Mark, I wasn’t expecting you up here so soon,” she said, “I was just talking with my maid, Anne.”

She cast her hand to the side to indicate the young woman when she noticed that Anne was seemingly frozen to the spot. She had risen from the bed on Mark’s entrance, but now stood stock still, her eyes fixed on the lord. Even in the dim candlelight of the room, Katherine could see that Anne’s face was deathly white, all colour having drained from it.

“Anne, what is it?” asked Katherine in concern, placing a hand on the young woman’s tense shoulder and staring at her, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Anne showed absolutely no indication that she had even heard Katherine. Her eyes remained locked on Mark, who was still looking unsteady on the opposite side of the room, fumbling around with his sleeve, which he had caught on the door knob. Luckily it appeared his wits were dulled enough from drink for him not to question what Katherine and her supposed maid had been up to in her bedroom this late at night or why the young woman was so oddly dressed.

“Anne?” tried Katherine again, shaking her shoulder slightly to try and get her attention, by now exceedingly worried by the young woman’s extreme reaction to Mark’s entrance.

Anne’s head slowly tracked round to Katherine who stood at her side, though her body remained rigidly rooted to the spot. As her pale blue eyes settled on Katherine, the older woman felt her breath catch at the expression of complete and utter shock on display on her face.

Anne didn’t speak, looking like she had lost the power to do so for the moment, her mouth hanging slackly open. Instead she just maintained her intense gaze, her eyes piercing into Katherine and actually unnerving her with their wounded look. Katherine removed her hand from Anne’s shoulder, suddenly feeling that its presence was unwanted.

Anne’s expression suggested to Katherine that the young woman had just found out something truly awful about Katherine, something she was having trouble comprehending. Katherine felt a painful tightening around her chest in response to the dismay in Anne’s features. Anne looked like she had been hurt in a most terrible way, though Katherine was at a loss to know what way that might be. She had told Anne everything there was to know about Mark hadn’t she? So why was she now looking at Katherine like she had kept something appallingly vital to herself?

While the two women stared at each other, Mark had managed to gather himself enough to stumble in their direction.

“I say, are you all right,” he asked with a slight slur, putting his hand on Anne’s arm, “You look awfully pale?”

Katherine saw a small muscle in Anne’s cheek twitch as the fingers gripped her arm and the young woman’s eyes swivelled to where Mark’s hand rested on her skin with a look of loathing evident in them.

“Remove…your…hand,” said Anne slowly, enunciating each word through clenched teeth.

“I beg your pardon?” he replied incredulously, too stupefied to pick up on her threatening tone and follow the suggestion.

Anne refused to elaborate further, her eyes still fixed on the offending hand as if she could make it burst into flame just by staring at it. Katherine was bemused by Anne’s sudden hostility, knowing that Mark was going to get suspicious if she carried on the way she was. All they needed to do was get him back downstairs to join the party again and then they could make good their escape. Anne’s bizarre behaviour was jeopardising everything and Katherine knew they were really in trouble when she sensed the temperature in the room start to creep up too.

“You really have been letting the staff get ideas above their station while I’ve been away, Katherine,” noted Mark drunkenly, “You need to be firm with them, you know, put them in their place.”

He turned his glazed eyes back to Anne, “You do know who you’re talking to in that insolent tone, don’t you, girl?”

“Oh yes,” said Anne her voice low and menacing as her eyes flicked darkly up to his face, “ I know exactly who you are.”

Suddenly Anne flew into action, the movement surprising Katherine in its quickness since the young woman had been so still before. She pushed Mark away from her with a strong shove in the chest, sending him staggering backwards. She then swiftly delved down into her boot and whipped out a dagger, holding it high and lunging in Mark’s direction. Fortunately he was just about aware enough to dodge out of the way of the impending strike, though he stumbled over a chair as he did and crashed to the wooden floor in an ungainly sprawl. Anne’s own momentum carried her forwards and her dagger lodged in the door of the wardrobe behind where Mark had been standing with a resounding thud. She forcefully yanked it out and whirled round to where Mark lay on the floor.

“Anne!” cried Katherine, quickly moving in between them, “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Get out of my way, Katherine,” seethed Anne, her eyes still on the prone form of Mark behind Katherine’s legs.

“No,” stated Katherine stubbornly, gripping both Anne’s arms at her biceps to try and shake some sense into her, “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

“As if you don’t know?!” exclaimed Anne, her eyes switching angrily to Katherine for a moment, “Did you really think you could keep it a secret from me, that I wouldn’t see him eventually and recognise him?!”

Katherine was taken aback by the vehemence in Anne’s tone and the fierce look she had caught in her eyes before they moved back to Mark.

“You’re scaring me, Anne,” remarked Katherine, dropping her hands off Anne’s arms.

“You thought perhaps I might have forgotten?” added Anne scathingly, ignoring Katherine’s previous comment.

“Forgotten what?” asked Katherine in confusion, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Anne!”

Anne’s head tilted back to Katherine again, her eyes narrowing as she regarded her quizzically for a second. Taking in Katherine’s obvious bemusement, her expression softened slightly.

“I guess maybe you might not have known about it,” said Anne, uncertainty creeping into her tone.

“About what…?” prompted Katherine gently, trying to get to the bottom of whatever it was that had precipitated Anne’s violent outburst, sensing she was wavering from whatever course of action she had been planning.

“Why are we wasting time debating whatever this crazy girl is rambling on about,” ranted Mark, clambering up off the floor at last, “I’m getting the guards!”

“No! I’m not letting you go now!” yelled Anne leaping across to block his exit from the room, her dagger back up in front of her.

“Out of my way, girl,” he ordered with annoyance.

When she showed no sign of allowing him past, Mark made a darting grab for the hand that held the dagger, managing to wrap his hand around Anne’s wrist before she could react and yanking her towards him. As he made to punch her, she parried his fist with her free hand and grasped his wrist too, locking them in a tussle for supremacy. Anne tried to force the blade towards Mark’s face and he gritted his teeth with the strain of holding off the enraged woman. Anne was a couple of inches shorter than him, but they seemed evenly matched in strength as they grappled for a few moments, spinning round several times as Anne tried to wrench free her hand that held the dagger to allow her a clean strike. Finally Mark lost his hold, stumbling away from her.

“I’m not letting you leave this room alive!” growled Anne pointing the dagger at Mark as he leant against the upright of the bed breathing heavily.

“Anne!” exclaimed a horrified Katherine, “What are you saying? You can’t just kill him in cold blood? Why would you want to?”

“Why would I want to?!” spat Anne incredulously, turning to look at Katherine in disbelief. “Why would I want to?!” she cried once more, her eyes locked on the older woman, “I’ll tell you why - because he killed my parents!”

Katherine was floored by shock, the colour draining rapidly from her face as Anne’s words hit her with the force of a raging storm. She could barely breathe, staggering slightly and bracing herself on the wall as sickness enveloped her.

“No, no, it can’t be true,” gasped Katherine, her eyes flicking frantically from Mark to Anne and back again, “Mark?”

“The girl is obviously delusional,” he scoffed with a shrug, seemingly oblivious to Katherine’s distress due to his drunken state, “In case you’ve forgotten I’ve been out of the country for the last year and hardly had time to be going around killing the servant’s parents, even if I was so inclined.”

“It wasn’t this year,” snarled Anne, “It was fifteen years ago, at the shrine of Gaia,” she took a couple of steps towards him before adding with threatening clarity, “And it was you.”

“Fifteen years ago?” asked Mark stupidly, “Well, then you’re obviously confused, I’ve never even heard of this shrine place.”

“A green gemstone was kept there,” clarified Anne, looming ever closer to him, “Which you also stole! Ring any bells now?”

“Ah, I do remember a stone of that description,” he admitted, “Pretty thing, the Sheriff gave it to me I believe, though he neglected to mention its origin at the time.”

“No! You liar!” shouted Anne, her dagger hovering dangerously close to him now, “You took it – I saw you!”

“Anne,” said Katherine stepping over to intervene with her hands up, wishing she were somewhat taller in stature at times like these as the two potential combatants towered over her on either side. However, what she lacked in height she generally made up for in her confident and authoritative demeanour and she hoped she could inject some calmness to the situation now, since it seemed she was the only one who could with Anne being furiously angry and Mark somewhat inebriated. Inside she was in turmoil, though, not knowing which of them to believe. Anne seemed convinced of what she was saying, but Katherine just couldn’t comprehend that Mark would have done something so horrific and that she wouldn’t have known about it. One thing she did know was that they wouldn’t be able to determine anything if Mark was dead.

“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Katherine asked Anne, “It was a long time ago and I thought you said it was the Sheriff’s men who attacked the shrine.”

“Most of them were. I guess I must have assumed they all were,” admitted Anne, slight doubt crossing her face for a moment, before an expression of grim resolve settled on her features once more, “No, no, it was him,” she added determinedly, shaking her head to clear any residual doubts, “I told you that those faces were etched in my mind - he was the one who killed my parents.”

“I don’t have to listen to any more of this rubbish,” declared Mark heading for the door again, since Anne had dropped her guard whilst speaking to Katherine.

He didn’t get far before Anne lunged for him once more, slashing her blade across his arm and drawing blood.

“You little bitch!” he yelled, flinging himself at her, his judgement impaired by alcohol.

His uncoordinated actions were surprising enough to catch Anne off guard, his flailing form knocking her to the floor, with him landing heavily on top of her. They rolled over a couple of times, the dagger flashing between them as it remained the object of their struggle. Katherine realised she had to do something before one or both of them got hurt, intentionally or otherwise. In Mark’s current state, god knows what he might do, and as for Anne - Katherine had little doubt she sincerely wanted to kill Mark.

“Stop, both of you,” she shouted over the sound of the scuffle, trying to reach down to separate them.

Anne was back on top of Mark now and Katherine grabbed at the young woman’s arm, to stop her plunging the dagger downwards.

“Get off!” yelled Anne furiously, yanking her arm free

The momentum of the movement was enough for the dagger to slice across Katherine’s right hand as her fingers slipped from Anne’s arm. Katherine jerked back at the sudden pain in her palm, clutching her damaged hand to her as blood started to ooze from the clean cut.

“Katherine…,” said Anne as her eyes fell on Katherine’s hand, her voice trailing off.

Katherine’s eyes glanced up from their study of the wound in her hand to see the mortified look on Anne’s face. The young woman slowly clambered up off Mark, the bloodied dagger dropping listlessly from her fingers to clatter noisily on the floor, but she didn’t move towards Katherine, stepping uncertainly to the side instead.

Mark got up off the floor too, coming over to Katherine and gently taking her injured hand in his as concern etched his features.

“It’s all right,” said Katherine dismissively to him, trying to take her hand back, “It’s just a slight cut. It’s nothing, it doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does!” exclaimed Mark angrily, “You’ll pay for this, girl!” he added, turning his attention to Anne.

“Guards!” he yelled in the direction of the door.

Anne didn’t move for a moment, dazedly looking at the pair of them. Katherine tried desperately to catch her eye, to try and impart to her that it was all right, that she knew Anne hadn’t meant to hurt her. However, Anne seemed too stunned to focus properly, in fact she was in danger of getting caught at any moment if she didn’t pull herself together and get out of there, thought Katherine. The sound of several pairs of feet dashing up the stairs appeared enough to remind her of the situation and she quickly turned and sprinted for the window, flinging herself out into the night air just as the guards thundered into the room with their swords drawn.

“Out the window!” instructed Mark, “Get her!”

A couple of the men obediently followed out the window, while the others went back out the door, no doubt to pursue from ground level, leaving Katherine and Mark alone once more.

“Well, I can’t say as I approve of your choice of maids,” remarked Mark, wearily rubbing his hand across the back of his neck, “I think I need another drink now!”

Katherine just stared dumbfoundedly at the window, as he stumbled back downstairs, trying to resolve in her mind all that had happened, the pain from her hand forgotten against her inner torment. One question remained pre-eminent in her mind - was she married to a murderer?

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Chapter 4

The questions from the night before remained unanswered the following day as Katherine awoke from her fitful sleep to see the sun’s rays filtering into her bedroom and lighting warmly on her cheek. She sat up in her bed and noted the sound of snoring that filled the room. Glancing over at the slumbering form next to her, she could see Mark’s mouth dangling open as he lay on his back, permitting the low rumbling noise to emanate from it. She studied him for a moment, trying to resolve the image Anne had painted of him as a ruthless killer against the one she possessed. No matter how hard she tried, though, she couldn’t reconcile the two disparate views. She just couldn’t see Mark as capable of such a thing as cold-blooded murder, or maybe she didn’t want to. There was a nasty little nagging thought prodding away at the back of her mind that if he had done it, then she herself was somehow culpable, by virtue of being married to him at the time. That maybe she should have known about it and stopped him somehow.

To the best of her knowledge, though, Mark had always been fair, kind and considerate. He had also permitted her to assist him in the running of the manor as an equal, which few other lords would have even considered let alone allowed.

And yet Anne had seemed totally convinced that Mark was the one who had killed her parents and Katherine could think of little reason why the young woman would make such a thing up. That just left the option that either Mark was lying or Anne was somehow mistaken in her identification of him as the killer. She guessed Anne could be confused - witnessing her parent’s murder had certainly been traumatic and perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her now after all these years. Though Katherine considered that her reaction upon seeing Mark had been instantaneous and nearly deadly, not really hinting at any doubts in her mind that she had the right man.

Katherine realised she wasn’t going to get any further sitting there and ruminating on it by herself. She needed to delve into what exactly had happened fifteen years ago and try and establish the truth. That meant she really needed to see Anne and talk to her. Luckily Anne had managed to make good her escape the night before, eluding the guards, but Katherine felt a sick fluttering sensation in her stomach as she thought of her, worrying over where she stood with the young woman. They had finally managed to resolve the issues surrounding Kirby when Mark had popped up and thrown them for another loop. From her initial reaction, it appeared Anne thought Katherine was somehow in league with Mark, that she had known all along about his killing her parents, if indeed he had. Of course, Katherine was actually completely in the dark, totally stunned by Anne’s accusations. She hoped that Anne had sensed that, she would hate for her to think that Katherine would be a willing party to such a secret.

A dull throbbing issuing from her right hand reminded her of the other result of last night’s altercation. The friar had bandaged the cut in her palm for her, since he had been in the hall with most of the other Markham residents at the time of the incident, but it still ached now. He’d informed her in his usual nonchalant way that he didn’t think there would be any lasting damage, though she wasn’t sure the same was true of her relationship with Anne.

She knew in her heart that it had been an accident - that Anne had been so intent in her pursuit of Mark that she barely realised what she was doing, her judgement clouded by the degree of hatred she felt for the him. Katherine could hardly blame her for that hate if her accusations were true. Seeing the man who killed your parents again after all that time, just casually wandering round the room acting like an oaf, would be enough to drive anyone over the edge. Not that Katherine herself believed in that sort of retribution - an eye for an eye - but it was a popular opinion amongst many other people and men were hanged for much less than murder.

Katherine thought that Anne had been more horrified by her getting inadvertently hurt than she herself, if the look on her face had been anything to go by. That was another reason why she had to see Anne soon, before the young woman beat herself up too much with guilt over what had happened.

“Good morning,” came a gruff voice from beside her suddenly, starting her out of her thoughts.

Mark was looking blearily up at her, a half smile on his craggy face. Fortunately he had been so drunk the night before that he had not attempted any repeat of the kiss he had given her at the church, merely collapsing onto the blankets and immediately falling into a sound sleep when he finally came back upstairs. She could smell the alcohol wafting up off him from where she sat and prayed that he wasn’t about to try anything now. It had been decidedly odd and not a little uncomfortable to have to share her bed with him and she had made sure she had put on her longest and least revealing nightgown to sleep in. Lying next to him had felt like a betrayal of Anne, even though Mark was the one she was actually married to.

“Good morning,” she replied, returning the smile as warmly as she could manage, “How do you feel?”

“Like a herd of cows trampled through my brain,” he sighed, gingerly rubbing his hand over his temple.

“Well, you did have rather a lot to drink,” she noted.

“Ah, come on, Kathy,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, “It was a celebration of my miraculous return, it would have been rude not to, and after that little bit of trouble with your maid…”

“Yes,” she interjected quickly, “I don’t know what got into her.”

“All I can say is she better not show her face around here again,” he declared, “The damn cheek of it, accusing me of all sorts.”

“So it wasn’t true then?” asked Katherine, not really expecting him to make a sudden confession, but thinking she might just gauge his reaction.

“What, that I killed the poor unfortunate girls parents? Of course not!” he replied incredulously, “Total poppycock! I’ve never killed anyone in my life, apart from on the battlefield. Why, you didn’t believe it did you?”

“No, no, of course not,” Katherine assured him, “I was just wondering where she got the idea from.”

“Don’t ask me, she must have got me mixed up with someone else,” he said dismissively, “Or maybe she’s just insane. Anyway, enough about crazy maids, where’s the good morning kiss for the returned hero?”

Katherine groaned to herself as it appeared her prayers had gone unanswered. She bent down to lightly brush her lips against his, recoiling from the fumes originating from his mouth.

“Is that it?” he asked as she made to straighten up, “I’m sure you can do better.”

His arms shot up to envelop her and pull her back down on top of him, his mouth pressing hungrily against hers. She tried to lever herself away but he held her firmly to him, his tongue worming its way into her mouth. As her leg fell against his groin she suddenly felt another unwelcome reminder of his arousal and quickly shot up off him, managing to break his grip at last. She stumbled off the bed, trying to disguise her distaste as best she could with coyness.

“Oh Kathy, why are you teasing me so!” he cried desperately, making a great show of bringing his hands to his chest as if she had wounded him.

“I don’t want to wear you out, that’s all,” she lied, “You’ve had an extremely arduous journey back here, I want to make sure you’re fully recovered and yourself before taxing you too much.”

“True, true,” he agreed reluctantly, “We want to make sure I’m at my peak, eh?” he added with a sly wink.

She smiled falsely in return. She really needed find the answers to her questions soon - she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold off his advances before he got suspicious and there was no way she wanted to surrender to them.

“So, how about a bit of breakfast and then you can show me the manor, so I can see how you’ve been keeping things?” he suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” she replied, relieved that he seemed to have dropped his amorous intentions for the time being.

………….

A couple of hours later, Katherine and Mark exited the manor house into the warm sunshine to make the short walk across to the stables. They’d enjoyed more sumptuous food for breakfast and Katherine wondered where exactly cook had been hiding all these treats that he was suddenly producing now Mark was back. Some activity over by the guardhouse caught Katherine’s attention and she immediately spotted Tobias amongst the throng of knights.

“If you’ll excuse me for a minute, I just need to check on something,” she said to Mark, “I’ll join you over at the stables in a moment.”

“All right,” he replied, “Don’t be long.”

She hurried over to the gathering, relieved to see that Tobias was finally back from his trip to Cambridge. She had missed his counsel the past week or so, when she had desperately needed it, and hoped that he would be able to offer her the benefit of his wisdom now. Though she had to consider the possibility that, with Mark’s return, Tobias may not be as loyal to her as he once was. After all, the first duty of any knight was to the head of the estate and that was Mark right now. She knew that Tobias was a proud and honourable man and she didn’t want to place him in a difficult position or ask him to betray his principles.

“Tobias,” she said as she approached, “It’s good to see you back, I hope the trip went well.”

“Yes, m’lady,” he replied, “We procured everything we needed for the harvest.”

“Good,” she said, nodding distractedly, “Can I talk to you alone for a moment?” she added.

“Of course,” he replied, handing the box in his arms to one of the other knights and joining her as she walked with her hands behind her back across the courtyard, leading them out of the earshot of the other men.

“I presume you’ve heard about all that’s been going on since you left?” she asked

“I have,” he acknowledged with a barely perceptible nod, “A most unexpected turn of events.”

“Indeed,” she agreed.

“I admit I was rather…surprised to hear about you and Mr Kirby,” noted Tobias

Tobias was surprised? Katherine realised things were obviously bad if they were enough to surprise the normally unflappable knight.

“Well, there was a little more to that then most people know,” disclosed Katherine, “I don’t really have time to go into it all right now, though. There’s something else more important that I need to entrust you with.”

She stopped walking and turned to face him, his steps ceasing in time with hers.

“But I need to know something first,” she added, gazing up at the tall man with her blue-grey eyes, studying his darkly stoic face, “There’s a problem I need you to investigate for me, but it has to do with Mark. So I wanted to know whether asking for your assistance in this would place you in an awkward a position. It’s all right for you to decline, I shall understand that you are duty bound to follow the lord of the manor and we’ll say nothing more of it.”

“But this is important to you?” asked Tobias.

“Very much so,” she replied earnestly.

“Then I shall do whatever it is you ask of me,” he answered simply as if that was all he needed to know.

“Thank you,” she said, exhaling slowly in relief

“It was you who gave me the chance as captain of the guard,” he reminded her, “Without your backing of me, I doubt I would ever have made it out of the ranks of the regular troops. Though I could never do anything to actively go against the lord of the manor, know that my allegiance will always be to you first and foremost.”

“I am grateful to hear you say that,” she said, smiling at him, “It’s seemed like everyone has been against me this past week, that I didn’t have anyone I could call an ally here.”

“So what is this problem?” he enquired as they started walking again.

“Well, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just come out with it,” she revealed, “Anne claims Mark is the one who killed her parents.”

“Really?” remarked Tobias, his eyebrows flickering upwards briefly.

“Yes, shocking, I know,” she agreed noting the just perceptible reaction, “The thing is, I’m not sure of the veracity of her claims. Of course he denies it, while she’s adamant that it’s true and I’m stuck in the middle not knowing which way to turn.”

“And you want me to look into it, find out who is telling the truth,” he deduced.

“Yes, I know you have a knack with these sorts of things, with that logical mind of yours,” she said, “I’m sure whatever the truth is, you’ll find it. The only problem is, it was so long ago.”

“When exactly was this supposed to have happened?” he asked.

“It was some time around March 1176, over fifteen years ago,” she explained, “I have to admit I have trouble remembering what I was doing then, so how much you’re going to be able to find out from anyone else I don’t know. I guess the first thing to try and determine is exactly what Mark’s movements were for that month.”

“I will do what I can,” he declared.

“Thank you, that’s all I can ask,” she sighed, “I’m sure I don’t need to impart on you the need for discretion in this matter.”

“No,” he confirmed, “I will be careful in my investigations.”

“Good, now I must be getting back to Mark,” she noted, “Let me know when you discover anything.”

…………………..

Even the ride out across the estate did little to ease Katherine’s mind. She tried to pay attention and respond intelligently as Mark asked her various questions about the people and villages they saw as they went, but she kept finding her mind wandering to thoughts of Anne and what she had claimed. Fortunately Mark didn’t seem to notice her distraction, too caught up in the excitement of seeing his home again. She barely even noticed when he pulled his horse up, having spotted something of interest.

Suddenly he leapt down from his mount and started marching across the ground to the side of the track. Katherine quickly clambered down to follow him, almost having to run to keep up as they brushed through the stalks of the field. The wheat rippled gently as the warm summer’s breeze brushed over it, the sun adding the final ripening touches to the crop.

“Mark, what is it?” asked Katherine as she finally managed to catch up with him.

He ignored her query and continued to walk determinedly across the field stopping only when they came to a small clearing in the middle in which three peasants were sitting happily sunning themselves and quaffing ale. Katherine watched in astonishment as Mark grabbed the nearest man round the scruff of the neck and hauled him to his feet.

“What are you doing?” demanded Mark angrily of the man.

“M’lord…,” stammered the frightened man, “We..we…was just having a rest, m’lord.”

“A rest?!” cried Mark, “It looks more like a party to me. Enjoying yourselves were you?”

The other man and the woman with him nodded dumbly from where they sat on the flattened corn, too stupid to realise when sarcasm was being used on them.

“Not on my bloody time you don’t,” fumed Mark, flinging the man he held roughly to the ground and kicking the other man in the side.

“Get up and get back to work, you lazy bastards,” he shouted as they frantically scrabbled away from him, “That includes you,” he ordered, eyeing the woman who remained.

She seemed petrified and frozen to the spot, cowering as he loomed threateningly over her.

“Didn’t you hear me?” he exclaimed, his face now red from rage, “I said get up!”

Mark drew back his hand to strike her when Katherine quickly grabbed it to stall him. His eyes darted to her and for the briefest of moments she thought he was actually going to hit her instead before all the anger seemed to dissipate from his face and his arm went slack.

“Go on,” said Katherine gently to the scared woman, “Get after your menfolk.”

The woman didn’t need to be told twice, clambering up off the floor and hurrying after the two men who’d already made a hasty retreat.

Katherine turned her attention back to Mark who was breathing heavily and wiping the sweat from his brow.

“I’m sorry,” he said apologetically, rubbing his temple, “I don’t know what came over me. I spotted them lounging about and just saw red.”

“Are you all right, Mark?” she asked in genuine concern.

She had never seen him act like his towards the people on the land before, nor lose his temper so readily over such a small matter. And as for striking a defenceless woman - she was aghast that he had even been contemplating it.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he remarked with a dismissive wave of the hand, “I guess I’m a little out of sorts after my journey.”

“Perhaps we should head back to the manor,” she suggested, still rather taken aback by what she had just witnessed.

“Maybe that’s a good idea,” he agreed, turning to head back to the horses.

As Katherine followed she pondered over his odd behaviour, worried for his sanity. She wondered if it really was a side effect of his time away as he claimed. He certainly had been subjected to a harrowing ordeal, particularly his brutal imprisonment in Sicily, so goodness knows how that may have affected his mind. She considered that it was also possible that he had always had this dark side, though, but she had either never noticed it or deliberately ignored it.

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Chapter 5

Anne sat on the fallen log staring out over the lake, though its calm waters did nothing to settle the storm brewing in her mind as she contemplated the events of the night before, or more precisely contemplated who she had seen the night before. She had been utterly astounded when Mark had stumbled into the room and she had seen his face for the first time. Not in her wildest nightmares had she ever conceived that Katherine’s erstwhile husband might turn out to be the very man who had murdered her parents. The sight of him bumbling around that room had made her blood boil and when he had touched her…The very thought of his fingers upon her skin disgusted her and she shook off the shiver that passed over her as the image flashed through her mind. She was just sorry that she’d had to leave before she’d been able to finish him off, pay him back for all the pain he had caused her and give him what he deserved – a painful death. At least she had managed to cut him once before she left.

Thinking of that caused her mind to switch to what had happened shortly afterwards. She hadn’t meant to hurt Katherine, somehow the knife had just slipped in the tussle and accidentally caught her. When she had turned and seen what she had done, she had been horrified, feeling immediate remorse for her actions and a gnawing pain in the pit of her stomach that refused to go away, even now.

“Here you are,” noted a voice from behind her and she swivelled round to see Robin emerging from the trees of the forest and walking down to the lakeside to join her.

“I didn’t get the chance to talk to you yesterday when you got back – how did things go at the church?” he asked as he sat down, “I’m guessing not too well from the look on your face,” he added, noting her stony expression.

“Oh, it went all right at the church,” she admitted ruefully, “Well sort of…”

“Really?” enquired Robin raising his eyebrows as if to prompt for further details, “So you did sort things out with Katherine then?”

Anne sighed heavily and bowed her head, “Yes…no….oh, it’s all such a bloody mess!” she cried in exasperation, throwing up her hands.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” suggested Robin gently, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Anne stood up from the log to pace around in front of him as she tried to think where to begin, rubbing her brow anxiously as she did, while the outlaw chief waited patiently on the fallen tree for her to compose herself. Finally she stopped in front of him and launched into an explanation of all that had happened at the church with Katherine and Kirby, including how the wedding ceremony had been unexpectedly halted by Mark. She could see Robin itching to ask more about Mark, no doubt alerted to something untoward by the vicious tones Anne used when speaking of him, but Anne continued on with her story, not allowing him to interrupt. Eventually she got to the description of what had occurred in Katherine’s bedroom and watched the surprise flash across Robin’s face as she revealed that Mark was the one who had killed her parents.

“My god,” he commented, too stunned to say more.

“I know,” said Anne, “I couldn’t believe it, after all this time, there he was, standing right in front of me.”

“You don’t think Katherine knew do you?” asked Robin in bewilderment.

Anne regarded him for a moment, considering his question. It was one that had been bothering her too.

“No,” she finally announced after pondering over it for another minute, “At first I thought she must have known, but having seen her complete shock and dismay when I said it, I think she was just as surprised as I was.”

“So where is she now?” asked Robin, “She’s not still there with him is she?”

“Yes, she is,” said Anne, a hint of bitterness in her tone, “She may have been surprised, but she was also somewhat reluctant to believe me,” she revealed, “Though I was rather…angry and out of control at the time, and not my most lucid,” she confessed.

“Well, that’s understandable,” said Robin sympathetically, “But you are sure it was him?”

“Absolutely, there is no way I would ever forget that face, he may have got older, but it was him, Robin,” stated Anne earnestly.

“I believe you,” said Robin, his dark eyes soft as he looked up at her.

“I just wish Katherine would,” sighed Anne, “Maybe she does still have more allegiance to him than she claims.”

“And maybe you should give her a bit of time to let it sink in,” offered Robin, “Don’t forget, she’d already had the trauma of seeing her supposedly dead husband risen from the grave, not to mention the near wedding to Kirby. Then you come out with your revelation…well, it may have all been too much to take in at once.”

“I know, you’re right,” agreed Anne, “I just don’t like the thought of her being stuck there with that murdering bastard. Goodness knows what he’s capable of.”

“You don’t think he would hurt Katherine, though,” asked Robin.

“I don’t know,” admitted Anne, “But I don’t want to leave her there long enough to find out,” she declared adamantly, “I need to see her try and explain things more calmly, that is if she wants to see me,” she added warily.

“Why would she not?” queried Robin.

Anne averted her eyes from his, looking down at the ground as a fresh wave of guilt swept over her.

“Well, there was something else that happened last night,” revealed Anne tentatively, keeping her eyes trained downwards.

“Go on,” said Robin.

“During my fight with Mark, I…,” she took a deep breath to force the words out, “…I accidentally cut Katherine with the dagger.”

“Ah,” remarked Robin.

“It was an accident, I didn’t mean it!” implored Anne desperately.

“Oh, Anne, when are you going to learn to control that temper of yours?” sighed Robin, shaking his head.

“I couldn’t help it,” she insisted, “Seeing him - all I could think about was killing him!”

“Indeed,” noted Robin, “I understand how you want to pay him back for his crimes, but maybe you should consider exactly how you want to do that before you speak to Katherine.”

“What do you mean?” asked Anne, stopping from the agitated pacing she had resumed.

“Anne,” said Robin, motioning for her to sit down next to him again, “Even if she does believe you, I hardly think she is going to condone killing him as a valid form of justice,” he explained, turning to her, “Not everyone shares the outlaw’s black and white views on retribution, especially considering she was married to the man and no matter what he might have done she probably still has some residual feelings for him.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” admitted Anne, pursing her lips in thought, “Not that I was really thinking of much when I saw him. You’re right, of course, knowing Katherine she would want to consider less extreme forms of punishment.”

“So you need to ask yourself,” he remarked sagely, “Are you willing to consider those too?”

Anne stared at him as the question hung between them, realising she didn’t know the answer. She had waited so long for this opportunity to get revenge and finally ease the burden she had carried all these years. It had been the main driving force behind her life as an outlaw, after all, everything she had done seen as a small contribution towards the ultimate goal of avenging her parents. Her burning passion for retribution had actually grown stronger with the passing years as she had witnessed the many other injustices of the world. Only in the past few months had that been tempered somewhat, having met Katherine and finally allowed love back into her life. Now, however, she was at last being presented with that which she had desired for so long – a chance to kill the man responsible for her parents’ death - and she didn’t know if she could settle for anything less.

…………………………………

Charles Kirby stormed into his quarters at Ollerton and promptly slammed his sword down on the stout wooden table in frustration. How could it have all gone so wrong? he wailed to himself. He had been on the verge of victory, with Katherine about to become his bride and her outlaw friend safely under lock and key, when Mark had turned up and ruined everything. It had galled him no end to have to attend the welcome home celebration and watch Mark lording it over everyone when it should have been Kirby himself in that position by then.

He angrily swiped the papers from the top of the desk, sending the sheets flying haphazardly round the room, before grabbing a random ornament and flinging it at the wall where it shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. He finally slumped down into his chair, putting his head in his hands as he bemoaned his bad luck.

“Feeling better now?” came an accented voice from the corner of the room.

His eyes shot up to see Leon emerging from the shadows.

“No,” said Kirby bitterly, “I can’t believe that Mark turned up! Of all the things I thought might scupper my plans his return was not one of them. Why couldn’t he just stay dead, eh?”

“He could always be made dead again,” offered Leon.

Kirby looked at the man in shock - even he couldn’t contemplate killing his friend…could he?

“No, I couldn’t…” said Kirby, baulking at the idea.

“Very well,” said Leon as if it mattered little to him one way or the other, “Then I guess my services are no longer needed.”

“Maybe not,” noted Kirby cryptically

“You still have other plans, monsieur?” asked Leon, intrigued.

“Nothing concrete,” he admitted, “But I have a feeling that there is still more mileage to be had from Katherine and her association.”

“You wish me to continue my surveillance?” asked Leon with a hint of surprise.

“Yes,” confirmed the burly knight, “For the time being, until I decided exactly what I want to do about Katherine’s little secret. Though I’m thinking it may be getting near the time to share it.”

………….

Katherine wandered out into the grassy expanse of the courtyard at Markham Manor, thankful that she had successfully diverted Mark onto another task once again. Somehow she’d managed to keep him sufficiently busy over the past two days since his return for him not to have attempted any more romantic overtures, though she figured her time was fast running out. She just hoped that Tobias had some news for her now as she headed over to the guardhouse on the opposite side of the yard.

She supposed it was a bit too much to wish for, that he would have uncovered anything so soon, but she prayed his investigations had turned up at least something of use. She knew she was playing a dangerous game remaining at the manor, especially if what Anne claimed turned out to be true. Not to mention the fact that Kirby may yet tell Mark about her and Anne. Despite all that, she just had to know the truth - the stubborn streak in her wouldn’t let her leave without knowing whether she had been fooled all these year into thinking Mark was something he wasn’t.

Entering the guardhouse her eyes adjusted to the gloom within the low-ceilinged room, the dimness contrasting sharply with the blazing sunshine that filled the yard. She observed Tobias in a corner, talking with his page Isaac, no doubt giving the lad his duties for the day. The young man listened in rapt attention and Katherine waited patiently for them to finish their conversation, maintaining a discrete distance. Finally Isaac hopped up and hurried out past her, making a hasty abashed bow upon realising she had been waiting there. Katherine went and took the young man’s place, sitting down next to Tobias, her eyes sweeping the room to check they were now alone.

“So, how are things?” she asked, turning to him and speaking in a low voice despite the fact that she had verified that they were indeed the only occupants of the room.

“I presume you are referring to my investigation of Mark?” he enquired in response.

She let out a small laugh, “There’s no preamble with you, is there?” she noted.

“Such things are inefficient,” he replied evenly.

“All right,” she conceded with a dip of the head, “So how are things with your investigation?”

“I have discovered that Mark did visit Nottingham Castle during the time in question,” he disclosed.

“Really,” she remarked, sucking in a breath.

“And he also joined several of the Sheriff’s parties that were carrying out tasks under the Sheriff’s direction, including the…religious purging that was going on at the time,” added Tobias.

Katherine nodded as she digested the information presented to her, though the idea of this “purging” was unpalatable.

“So it is possible that he was there,” she deduced, “At the shrine at the time in question.”

“Yes, it is possible,” he agreed, “Though we still do not have conclusive proof either way.”

“So basically we’re not much nearer the truth,” she concluded with a rueful sigh.

“Unfortunately not, though I do have other avenues to pursue,” he revealed.

“Hmm, though I’m not sure I can wait much longer,” noted Katherine, quickly trying to process the options available to her in her mind, “Have you noticed anything strange in Mark’s behaviour since he got back, by the way?”

“He does seem to be rather…volatile,” commented Tobias, choosing his last word carefully.

“I’d say that was an understatement,” claimed Katherine, “He seems to have changed so much while he’s been away and I don’t mean physically. I think something’s happened to his mind.”

“You think he has gone mad?” enquired Tobias sceptically.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it mad,” countered Katherine, “But he does strike me as somewhat deranged. Mark was always so calm and placid, but now it seems like the smallest thing can cause him to fly into a rage. I don’t know, maybe it’s a temporary thing as he adjusts to life back here.”

“Possibly,” allowed Tobias.

“Anyway,” said Katherine, “Getting back to the problem at hand - I need to see Anne, I can’t leave that any longer. I just hope she’s calmed down by now and is slightly more reasonable.”

She neglected to mention to Tobias that she also wanted to see Anne because she had been desperately missing her for the past two days. Katherine rose from her chair, relieved at having made some sort of decision even if she still didn’t have all the pertinent facts.

“I’m going to see the friar now,” she informed Tobias, “To get him to arrange a meeting with Anne, you carry on with your investigations for the time being.”

He nod