A Gypsy's Thief

by Titania Ladley

  She glanced up at John. “It smells heavenly. Thank ye for insisting I dine with ye.”

  “You are most welcome. Come.” He led her to the table and pulled out a chair. “Please, be seated.”

  The gesture warmed her soul in a most touching manner. She sat, though she forced herself to throw up a wall. It would not do to fall into this wizard’s trap of seduction and charm. Catriona, ye would do well to remember this mon, with all his allure and fascinatin’ aura, was truly nothin’ more than a dangerous sorcerer.

  “I beg to differ with you, milady.” The voice came from behind her near a door she assumed would lead to the solar above or into the kitchen. She screeched and twisted around, satisfying her curiosity to see who had intruded upon her thoughts. Her heart suddenly leaped up to choke her. One of the king’s sentinels come to haul her back to Scotland, perhaps? Had John trapped her?

  Despite the possibilities of danger coiling around in her brain, her mouth fell open, her derrière remained anchored to the chair. She could not help but scan the striking man, from the fair long locks, to the strong build clad in jerkin and braies, to the shin-high leather riding buskins upon his powerful legs and feet.

  She drew in a long breath of air. Eyes to match the green spring meadows of her Scottish Lowlands swept her seated form before coming to rest upon her stunned gaze. Catriona grappled for the edge of the table and managed to scoot far enough away to rise.

  “John, ye’ll be tellin’ me this verra instant… Who—who is this mon?” she demanded out of the corner of her mouth, never taking her eyes from the stranger.

  John chuckled, leaning forward in his seat to pat her arm. “Not to fear, Catriona. ‘Tis only Robin Hood.”

  “R-Robin Hood? Not to fear, ye say?” She did not even wait for John’s affirmation. Leaping to her feet, Catriona shuffled away from the chair and staggered back until her spine pressed into the cold stone wall. Oh, how she longed for a chamber pot. Yes, with the sudden nausea crashing through her stomach, and this blond giant—a bloody thief and executioner!—standing before her, she would definitely be in need of that blessed waste pot.

  Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, murderer, plunderer, wily bandit. And like a bloody whore, she had given her body up to one of his cohorts! Queasiness roiled through her gut. Catriona stumbled to a far corner and fell to her knees wondering how she had so easily forgotten John’s criminal status. She hugged her midriff as the fear and regret forced her to dry-heave the emptiness from her hungering stomach.

  Chapter Three

  Following an intimidating evening of supping with John, Robin Hood—or rather Falcon Montague—and his beautiful wife Salena, John had suggested Catriona bathe in the underground hot spring in the bowels of his home before departing. Now sated with a full belly, she luxuriated in the steaming water, and had found herself yet again tempted by the sinful lifestyle John thrust her into.

  “I do not wish to discuss this barbaric topic any longer.” Her nerves had somewhat calmed after meeting the infamous bandit, but the current topic of conversation had her ears perked and her heart thudding out of control. But in spite of her crisp tone and opposition, Catriona’s entire body went limp in the heavenly hot water.

  ‘‘The direction of the conversation—and the fact that the handsome couple had taken it upon themselves to join her and John in the pool—had Catriona feeling as if she had stumbled upon one of those rumored hedonistic, Greek bath parties from centuries past.

  “Barbaric?” Falcon returned with an amused tone as he sat upon the rocky ledge with his legs dangling into the steaming water. “What, milady, could be so barbaric about seeking pleasures of unfathomable intensity—and tripling or perhaps quadrupling your pleasure, at that?”

  Catriona did not know who this emerald-eyed rogue thought he was, or what he intended to accomplish, but she would not give in to this madness!

  “I tell ye, I will not engage in…relations with three other people!” Ah, but just sayin’ it makes me burn with both curiosity and wanton need! She sighed inwardly at the direction of her shocking thoughts. What sort of carnal black magic, pray tell, did I happen upon that fateful hour when me path crossed that of John Lawton’s?

  “Mmm, just what I thought…” Falcon said cryptically, his eyes never leaving Catriona’s.

  “Falcon,” Salena scolded as she floated naked atop the water, her flawless body glazed with a wet sheen. “Do not invade the lady’s privacy.”

  He gasped theatrically, his large hand slapping that thick chest of his. “Me? Invade one’s privacy? Nay!” Falcon leaped into the water with a splash and worked his way toward his wife. “Not once in my immortal life, my sweet, loving wife, have I done such a rude thing.”

  Immortal? That brought Catriona around. She stared at Robin Hood and knew he did not jest. So he too, was a sorcerer?

  Salena splashed and waved her arms until she stood up, the water lapping around her full breasts and ribs. She lifted a well-manicured hand and ticked off her fingers one at a time as she appeared to remember events foregone. Her gaze rose thoughtfully and fixed on the wooden beams crisscrossing over the stone ceiling of the cave. She smiled thinly, her blue eyes finally lowering to present Falcon with a level stare.

  “Call me daft but, as I recall—mmm, nearly three score years past—you did just that to me, oh wily fox I call husband.”

  Falcon grinned wolfishly and yanked her into his arms.

  “What? Eh, please, I cannot take these riddles any longer,” Catriona choked out as she trudged across the pool, her arms folded over her chest to hide her nudity. And I cannot deal with the temptin’ wickedness of bathin’ naked with others!

  “Salena speaks of Falcon’s ability to read minds…such as yours, for instance,” John offered, stirring the water nonchalantly around his nude torso.

  Catriona stopped dead in the pool, mere feet from the edge, from escape. She whirled on John. “Beg pardon?”

  From his place within Salena’s embrace, Falcon cleared a sudden frog from his throat. He rested his chin upon Salena’s head and fluttered one hand in the water. Through the random clouds of steam rising from the water’s surface, she watched Falcon’s gaze drop nervously, avoiding Catriona’s blazing eyes.

  “I—uh…I do apologize, milady. ‘Twon’t happen again.”

  Awe and mortification choked her. It was true! The man could read minds—had, in fact, read hers! Just like herself, just like John, it seemed Falcon possessed a form of supernatural abilities, as well. And why did that surprise her so? She had already accepted the truth of John’s powers. But another? Aye, as amazing as it seemed, it appeared to be so. Now that she thought of it, she could clearly recall Falcon’s words earlier this eve when he had entered the great hall. As bizarre as it seemed, he had apparently “overheard” her thoughts.

  I beg to differ with you, milady. Falcon’s words, which she had not comprehended at the time, had directly followed her own thoughts regarding her cynical feelings on John, on him being nothing more than a dangerous sorcerer. Oh, but it boiled her blood to learn that this man Falcon had read her mind—invaded her privacy—and known both sides of her struggling emotions where John was concerned!

  “I cannot bear these—these intrusions and this-this utter lunacy any longer.” Catriona spun back and pushed her way through the vaporous water. She started to climb from the depths of the pool, but turned and growled, “All of ye, I demand that ye turn yer backs at once. I tell ye, ye will not be seein’ the likes of me backside in the nude, not without a fight on yer hands.”

  Not one of them, not even John, protested. All three of them, including Lady Salena, turned their backs. Certain they all continued to obey, she finally rose from the pool. Catriona took the underwater stairs two at a time until she reached the stack of linens set within a carved-out shelf in the rock wall. Swirling the cloth around her, she gasped when the voice called to her.

  “Catriona, Catriona. Please, milady, I beseech you to allow me to come throug
h.”

  Catriona’s eyes snapped upward. Her body swayed and quaked as her vision blurred. A female spirit called to her making her groan. Of all the bloody times for her to be summoned from the other side!

  “Aye, but I ask, who are ye?” she demanded, clutching the linen towel to her chest.

  “Cat, what is it?”

  She heard John’s concerned tone behind her, but waved a hand to him. “Shh.”

  “I am called Maid Marian. For an eternity I have searched for a medium to reach my love, Robin. Please, will you inform him I am here?”

  Catriona slowly turned around. Her gaze found Falcon’s. “Do ye ken a maid by the name of Marian?”

  He blinked, a stunned look flashing in his eyes. “Aye. But she is long dead.”

  Salena gasped but did not say a word.

  “She has just called to me. She wishes to inform ye she is here.”

  “What?” Falcon swam to the pool’s edge and looked up at Catriona, his mouth hanging open. “Marian is here?”

  “Hush one moment.” Catriona held up a finger. “She speaks again.”

  “Tell him I am proud of all he has accomplished as a vigilante. Convey to him as well that I approve of his beautiful wife and am so delighted that he has found happiness and no longer mourns my passing. Up until Salena came into his life, I had been in constant misery for him.”

  “Oh, God help me,” Catriona groaned. “Do I have to?”

  “Please?”

  Catriona sighed, feeling more and more uncomfortable standing in front of three virtual strangers in naught but a towel while held hostage by an insistent spirit. “She says she is proud of all ye have accomplished.” Her gaze moved to Salena’s stricken face, and emotions of joy for Salena came to the forefront. Emotions Catriona did not expect to feel. “And she declares she approves of yer beautiful wife. She is happy, Falcon, that ye no longer mourn her passin’ and have found happiness.”

  Falcon spun toward John even as Salena began to sob in delighted relief on her husband’s behalf. “Is this a cruel joke, man?”

  John shrugged. “Is it a joke that you can read minds, my friend? Nay, ‘tis not. By the same token, I believe this demonstration is not in jest either. But if skepticism plagues you, why not focus on Catriona’s thoughts and see what comes of it? See if you can disprove her claim…”

  “Oh, bloody hell.” Catriona moaned her displeasure at this untimely interruption to her escape.

  “‘Tis fine!” Marian exclaimed in elation. “I welcome the opportunity to speak with him.”

  “May I?”

  She found it laughable that he asked her permission for something he had apparently done without asking before now. “Farthing stars above, I do not believe I have a choice, now, do I?”

  “Cat, you do have the option to deny him,” John supplied, hauling his naked body up to sit on the far ledge. “At least this time you do,” he said arching his brow in warning at Falcon. “Does she not, my good man?”

  “Aye, I will bend to her desires and honor her privacy if she so wishes. But if ‘tis true and is all right with my wife, I would very much like the opportunity to speak with Maid Marian.”

  “So be it,” Catriona said on a sigh, waving a hand. “Do yer thing, mon, but get on with it, would ye?”

  “Salena?” Falcon turned to his wife, a look of hope in his eyes.

  “Oh yes, my love, yes!” She nodded vigorously. “I am pleased you have been given this occasion to speak with her. I accept your lasting love for one another and would never deny you this.”

  “Thank you, my dove.” Falcon choked it out with an edge of warmth and adoring love to his voice. He turned back to Catriona and narrowed his gaze on her. She watched as his eyes sparked with something powerful.

  “Marian?” Though he spoke aloud, Falcon’s voice entered her thoughts as well, right within that space in her brain where she always spoke with the dead. The prospect of it had her gasping in surprise. Never before had living people been able to enter the cusp in her mind that allowed her to see into the afterlife. But then again, Falcon was a wizard by all accounts.

  “Falcon!”

  “Gods alive, ‘tis true. Our Catriona does speak to the dead,” Falcon replied in astonishment.

  “Aye, ye lout, now get on with it. I have a journey to embark on verra soon.”

  “Falcon, I have attempted to find a conduit to reach you ever since my passing. My soul cannot rest in peace unless given the opportunity to tell you the one thing I never could…”

  “I cannot see you. Please, Catriona, can you allow me to see Marian?”

  “‘Tisn’t me decision. Marian?”

  “Nay, my handsome bandit, nay. ‘Tis best this way. You now have an adoring, beautiful wife who loves you beyond measure…as do I. Yes, I have loved you always, Falcon. I know I never conveyed that sentiment clearly enough to you, but ‘tis high time I did. And I thank your Gypsy lady here, for allowing me the juncture to do so.”

  “Yer so welcome. Now can we get on with it? Och! I must go.”

  “Ah, Marian.” Falcon ignored Catriona’s plea. “I never doubted your love. Aye, ‘tis true you did not speak it. But I knew that to be an attempt to further protect me and my Merry Men from the Sheriff of Nottingham. In spite of that, your love was very apparent.”

  Catriona heard the soft release of sobs and her heart went out to this dead woman.

  “Thank you, my love, thank you. You cannot know the anguish and frustration of needing to express this to you, of not knowing if you had been aware of my love and then being unable to find a way to inform you. Now, ‘tis time for me to finally pass to heaven. Go forth, be happy and love your wife beyond even that which we had.”

  He turned so that his gaze raked his naked wife, her body slick with steam. “Aye, I will. That I will.”

  “Goodbye, my wily thief Robin Hood. I love you.”

  “Farewell, my love.” He said it with half an ear on Catriona’s conveyed thoughts, his attention now on Salena.

  It was at that moment Catriona experienced the lessening of both Falcon and Marian’s energy. Relief flooded her body and she relaxed, glad to be rid of her burden.

  “Thank you, Catriona,” Marian murmured, as her voice faded into nothingness.

  “Yeer most welcome. Go forth and rest in peace.”

  Falcon only had eyes for Salena. He spun in the water and swam across the distance to her. Catriona caught one last glimpse of him as he took his beloved wife in his arms and kissed her with thorough, robust passion.

  In all his nude glory, John hauled himself up and started around the edge of the pool toward Catriona. Avoiding his hot stare, she fled up the curved stone stairs, running as fast as her damp feet could safely take her.

  Behind her, she heard John’s expletive and a rustle of water followed by Salena’s stern tone. “No, John. I’ll go. This is clearly a time for a woman-to-woman conversation.”

  * * * * *

  Like the bloody fires of hell, “woman-to-woman” Catriona thought as she hurriedly donned her male clothes. This was utterly absurd. She had heard of such hedonistic behavior whispered among her Gypsy friends and rumored to be practiced at court. This joining with multiple partners was complete lunacy—but never had even her own free people engaged in such bizarre practices! It was unheard of—as far as she knew. Mostly fairytales told to stir the blood and entertain.

  But not within the circle of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, apparently.

  A knock sounded upon the thick oak door.

  “Begone with ye, I say, whoever the bloody hell ye are.”

  The door swung slowly open leaving Lady Salena’s small but curvaceous frame outlined by the portal. She stood proud, her chin up, dressed once again in her man’s braies, jerkin and stark-white linen shirt. Her deep auburn hair hung loose in long waves over her shoulders and down her back. The shirt had been left unfastened to well below her impressive cleavage. A fascinating blue stone—a stone that matched her pur
e blue eyes to exactness—nestled in the valley of her creamy-toned chest.

  Catriona felt a stirring of—what? Envy? She supposed that was what it was for the woman’s voluptuous body could not be denied. Certainly John too had noticed…

  “Do ye not have ears?” Catriona stuffed her own man’s shirt into her braies. “I said begone with ye.”

  “Aye, I have ears,” Salena agreed, stepping into the room. “And I have eyes, as well.”

  “And what, may I ask, is that supposed to mean?”

  “John.”

  “Ah, so the lady can see John. I applaud yer good eyesight,” Catriona sneered as she turned her back and fastened her codpiece around her waist.

  “No need to spread your claws, Cat. I am but here to help you, to hopefully make you see things it seems you cannot see for yourself.”

  “Ha!” Catriona whirled and faced this breathtaking woman with what she hoped was her best look of hatred. “Ye do not ken what ye babble about, do ye? I have seen things nae one else sees! I see the dead, Lord God help me!”

  “I am very aware of that, based on what just occurred belowground. And I do, by the bye, thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving Falcon the gift of speaking with his long-dead lover. Though I know he loves me more than his immortal life itself, he has expressed concern in the past that his relationship with Marian was never quite resolved. He did not know what the unresolved issue was, but it was a vague sensation of something needing to be settled. Apparently, he could sense her angst but did not know how to solve the mystery. You have helped to make him the happiest, most fulfilled man in the world. And for that, we both thank you.”

  “Eh, I did not do it of me own good heart. I did it out of nothin’ more than curiosity.”

  Salena took another step closer, her hands folded primly before her. “You heard a plea from a trapped soul and did what you had to do. Curious or not, to me, the deed speaks for itself.”

  “Speaks? Aye, ye can say that again. I hear their bloody tormented voices too much to count the many times. Their longin’ to be back on the other side with their beloved ones tears at me heart and frustrates me to no end.”