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fellowshippers2004-06-16 01:52 pm
charlottemay.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2004-06-16 01:52 pm
Deep in the Forest (2/?)
Title: Deep in the Forest (2/?)
Author: Charlotte May
Email:charlottemay43@hotmail.com
Rating: PG13 (may be R in later chapters)
Pairing: Dom/Billy, Orlando/Elijah, mentions of Dom/Elijah and Billy/OFC in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. I intend no disrespect to Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd or anyone else mentioned in this story.
Warning: AU
Feedback: Always welcome!
Summary: There are some very familiar faces running round Sherwood Forest. Yes, folks, it’s a LOTRPS Robin Hood story! Do I really need to point out that it’s an AU? ;-)
Author’s notes: I live in Nottingham, so all the geographic and historic details are genuine – the Bell Inn is still next to the Market Square, and what passes for a castle these days is still on its sandstone cliff. However, Mansfield Hall is fictitious – I couldn’t think of a suitably ducal mansion near enough to Nottingham to suit my plot. And yes, we still have a Sheriff, though I believe these days he’s a perfectly nice man. :-)
Big hugs to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
red_moon_rising for the wonderful beta.
Part One
Cross-posted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
monaboyd, fellow_shippers and my lj.
Deep in the Forest
Part two - in which Billy gets recruited and Ian makes a bid for freedom
Dom watched Billy out of the corner of his eye. The other man was staring into the fire and chewing absent-mindedly on a chunk of venison. Dom took a long look. Green eyes, fair hair, a lean, well muscled body. He dragged his eyes away and swallowed hard.
If anyone had asked, he would have said he really wasn’t quite sure what had come over him today. He hadn’t robbed Billy, he’d brought him back to their camp, and now he’d given him something to eat. He winced. Of course, actually, he knew exactly what had come over him.
He was head over heels in lust with one William Scarlett, funny accent and all.
From the first moment he’d seen him, lying against that tree with his eyes closed, he’d just wanted to grab hold of him and kiss those gorgeous little lips until he couldn’t think straight. Then he wanted to take him home and fuck him senseless.
Of course, so far, Billy had shown no sign of reciprocating his feelings. For all Dom knew, the other man was straight and completely unobtainable. But, despite this, in the course of walking back to the camp and idly chatting with him, Dom’s feelings had intensified. Not only was Billy gorgeous to look at, he had a sunny disposition that got right under Dom’s skin… and he had no idea what to do about it.
Billy suddenly put his food down, stood up and looked around nervously. Dom pretended he hadn’t noticed and watched surreptitiously, waiting to see what the other man did. After glancing over his shoulder, Billy made his way over to the horses. Dom smiled. Oh no, he wasn’t going to get away that easily. He got to his feet and followed.
The Scotsman made straight for his horse, and by the time Dom caught up with him, he was patting it on the nose and talking to it quietly. “That’s mine, you know,” said Dom.
Billy swung round quickly and glared at him. “You could have my money.” He hesitated. “Well, you could have some of my money. Just let me keep the horse and I can be on my way.”
Dom’s heart lurched at the idea of Billy leaving. Somehow he had to find a way to get him to stay. He stepped forward and stroked the animal’s neck. “Does he have a name?”
“Pippin.” Billy looked at Dom suspiciously.
“Nice name. He’s still mine though.”
“Dom, please?” There was a begging tone in Billy’s voice that made Dom feel horribly guilty.
“All right, all right. Stay tonight and we’ll sort something out in the morning.” Dom snapped, trying hard to keep up his ‘tough outlaw’ persona. In the face of Billy’s pleading eyes, it was difficult. “You can keep the horse.”
“Thank you.” Billy smiled gratefully at him and Dom’s stomach did a neat little twist. Yes, this man had got right under his skin.
===
“What on earth makes you think I know what to do?” Dom’s exasperation came through loud and clear. Billy watched quietly from his vantage point at the back of the group, nibbling on a piece of bread he’d been given by Friar Astin for breakfast.
Elijah didn’t seem to accept this. “You’re only saying that because it’s Orlando in trouble. If it was anyone else, you’d be there in a shot.”
Billy really wished he knew exactly what was going on. A tired and dishevelled man named Viggo had turned up at the crack of dawn, after searching the forest for the outlaws all night, and had told them that ‘Orlando’ and ‘Ian’ were in trouble and needed rescuing from ‘the Sheriff’ and ‘Miranda’. A long discussion had ensued, during which every one of the approximately twenty outlaws present had said his piece – at great length and some more than once, to Dom’s obvious frustration – and absolutely no conclusion had been reached.
“Lij, you’re talking out of your arse.” Billy noted that Dom’s voice now had a dangerous edge to it. Hadn’t Elijah noticed it too? Or did he have a death-wish?
“No, I’m not. You hate him. You’ve always hated him.”
Billy didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone move so fast. One minute Elijah was standing upright, shouting at Dom, the next he was flat on his back with Dom sitting on his chest, pinning Elijah’s arms by his sides with his legs and with a hand over his mouth to shut Elijah up. When he spoke, Dom’s voice was surprisingly calm. “Lij, I know Orlando and I have… history, but I would rescue my worst enemy from the Sheriff of Nottingham if I could.”
Elijah glared at him and made some incomprehensible noises round Dom’s hand.
“Will you be quiet?”
Elijah nodded. Dom removed his hand. Everyone held their breath. To Billy’s surprise, Elijah stayed quiet.
“Thank you,” said Dom. “Now that it’s nice and peaceful, I can think.” Dom looked up, and Billy realised he was staring straight at him. The “up to something” mischievous grin spread across Dom’s face. “Billy and I are going to Nottingham,” he announced.
Before Billy could protest, Elijah yelled, “I’m coming too!”
Dom clamped his hand back over Elijah’s mouth and glared at him. “I have three things to say to you, Elijah. One,” he said, obviously struggling to keep his voice level, “I told you to be quiet. Two, if you went to Nottingham you’d get arrested. And three, I won’t be responsible for my actions if you come with us.”
Completely stunned by this turn of events, Billy blurted out, “Why me?”
“Ever been to Nottingham, Billy?” asked Dom, cheerfully.
“No.”
“Then you’re just the man I’m looking for.”
Billy opened his mouth, fully intending to say, “I don’t think so …” and was kind of shocked when what he actually said was, “When do we leave?” Billy shook himself. What had come over him? He didn’t really want to go on a probably dangerous escapade with Dom. Did he?
But before Billy had chance to say anything else, Dom grinned at him and pointed at the bread still in his hand. “We’ll go as soon as you’ve finished your meal.”
====
Ian stood on the chair, raised himself up on tiptoe, and strained to see out of the tiny, barred window. The view was restricted – he could only see the upper storeys of the buildings – but at least now he could see something other than feet and sky. When the Sheriff’s men had blindfolded him, he’d strained his ears to try and work out where he was going, but once they were inside the town walls, Ian had completely lost his bearings. He wasn’t sure what good knowing his location would do him, but it was something he just felt he needed to know, so he scanned the other side of the street, searching for something familiar. Then he saw it. An inn sign blowing in the wind. A large, golden bell. So that’s where he was! He was locked in a cellar across the road from the Bell Inn, right next to Nottingham’s market square.
The Sheriff had some nerve, he reflected, as he climbed down from his vantage point – kidnapping him and keeping him prisoner. He was the Duke of Mansfield, after all. Bean had no respect for titles. Actually, he thought, Bean had no respect for anything. It was high time someone taught him a lesson.
He sat down on the pile of straw in the corner of the cellar and wondered why Bean had sent his men to Mansfield Hall and taken him. Orlando’s face immediately popped into his mind. It had to be for leverage to get his son to do something. But what? Ian had the horrible feeling that whatever it was, Orlando would agree to it to save his life. And of course, as soon as he did what Bean wanted, there would be no point in keeping him alive.
Ian shuddered. He had to get out of here. He’d already tried banging on the window and shouting, but he’d not managed to attract anyone’s attention; the street outside was far too noisy. The window was barred, and probably too small for him to crawl through anyway. So he had to get out the way he’d come in – through the door.
He’d already tried the door and knew it was locked. Perhaps he could find something he could use to force it open? He looked round the cellar. There was a pile of junk in one corner, the usual detritus that always accumulated in a storage room. He went over to it and started searching. After a moment or two he found something. A large, heavy frying pan. Yes, that would do nicely. Now he just had to wait for someone to open the door…
====
Billy glanced sideways at Dom and wondered what on earth he was doing here. They were riding through farmland towards Nottingham, probably with the intention of doing something completely illegal, and he had no idea why he’d agreed to come. Some weird gut instinct seemed to have overridden his logical mind. A gut instinct that had something to do with Dom. He shook himself and decided that if he was going to be involved in this – whatever this was – he better have all the information. “Dom?”
“Yes?”
“Could you explain what exactly is going on? I don’t think I got the details back in the forest… I know we’re going to try and rescue some people called Orlando and Ian, but why does Elijah think you hate Orlando?”
Dom turned to him and smiled wryly. “He’s not my favourite person in the world, but it’s not really his fault.” Dom let out a long breath. “When Elijah first ran from Nottingham into the forest, he and I were…” Dom paused and looked into Billy’s eyes, as if gauging his reaction. “… lovers.”
Billy felt an odd little flutter in his stomach. A feeling that, at that moment, he didn’t care to analyse. “What happened?” he asked quietly.
“We were happy for a couple of months, then Orlando happened. He had a riding accident not far from our camp. Elijah found him, helped him… fell head over heels in love with him.”
“And he left you?” Billy felt indignant on Dom’s behalf.
“You have to understand, Billy, Orlando is perfection in human form. Tall, slim, dark curly hair, big brown eyes… and a nice guy to boot. Oh, and one day he’ll be Duke of Mansfield. There was no way someone like me could compete.” He suddenly seemed very interested in the stitching on his saddle. “So I let Elijah go.”
Billy had a sudden irrational urge to hug Dom. He reflected that perhaps it was fortunate they were both on horseback and he couldn’t. After all, he wasn’t interested in men in that way and he wouldn’t want Dom to misunderstand. Noticing how miserable Dom looked, Billy thought it was time for a change of subject. “Why would Elijah get arrested if he went to Nottingham?”
The question put Dom’s grin firmly back in place. “He was a thief. And a fucking good one. He stole anything and everything he could get his hands on and sold it on to the highest bidder. Because of those huge blue eyes, no-one suspected he wasn’t as innocent as a new born baby. He got away with it for a few years too, until he went too far.”
“What did he do?”
“He stole a horse and then tried to sell it back to the guy he took it from.”
Billy roared with laughter. “He didn’t!”
“It wasn’t intentional. He’d stolen it from outside a tavern and didn’t know who it belonged to. But after that, everyone realised just who the one man crime wave was. He had to get out of town. He’s been an outlaw ever since.”
====
Hearing footsteps approaching, Ian flattened himself against the wall by the door and gripped the frying pan firmly with both hands. He was probably only going to get one shot at this; he was going to have to make it count.
The door creaked open. Ian swung the frying pan with all his might, and, to his amazement, hit his target with bone-jarring accuracy. The man crumpled to the ground, a red mark already spreading across his forehead. Ian stepped neatly over his victim and headed up the stairs.
The stairs led up into a hallway, and at the far end, he was astounded to see that the front door was ajar. He hurried along the hall, pushed the door open and stepped quickly into the street. Wondering which way to go, he hesitated for a moment. It was a moment too long. He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Now, Sir Ian, what are you doing out here?” said a voice in his ear.
“I’m going home!” he yelled as loud as he could and swung the frying pan again. Unfortunately, this man was more prepared and wrestled it from Ian’s hands, by which time another man (with an alarming bruise on his forehead and murder in his eyes) had joined them.
Knowing he was outnumbered, Ian stopped struggling, but was pleased to note that his escape attempt had drawn a small crowd, who were presumably hoping for some more impromptu entertainment. “You can’t do this to me!” he shouted at the top of his voice. “I’m the Duke of Mansfield!”
“Yes, mate, and I’m King Richard,” said the man with the bruise, loud enough for the crowd to hear. “He’s a bit funny in the head,” he added, tapping his temple with his forefinger for emphasis. “Isn’t allowed out.”
Ian looked pleadingly at the crowd as he was dragged away. He only needed one of them to believe he was telling the truth, and someone might come to rescue him.
===
“So, Billy, you know my dark secret. What’s yours?”
“What?”
“Why are you on the run? What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, right. Pull the other one, it’s got bells on.”
Billy looked at Dom. In a twisted way, he deserved to know why he was here. “It was a woman,” he began. “We were to be married, then she met someone else. I couldn’t stand seeing her with him, so I left.”
“Sounds familiar,” said Dom, ruefully. “Except I didn’t leave.”
“Yeah. I worked on a farm, he owned three counties. He’d studied at Oxford, I can just about read and write. He was tall, dark and handsome, I’m…well… um.” Billy shrugged. “I couldn’t compete.”
They looked at each other. An indescribable something passed between them. Billy tried to put it down to empathy with each other’s experiences but in reality, he felt something else, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“He wasn’t called Orlando was he?” asked Dom, his face the picture of innocence.
Billy burst out laughing. The tension was broken, for now at least. “No,” he answered, when he got his breath back. Dom pulled his horse to a stop and Billy followed suit. They were on top of a hill, looking down on a town. It sprawled between two small hills, the castle clearly visible on one, a church on the other. “Nottingham?” queried Billy.
Dom nodded. “I’d better tell you the plan, hadn’t I?”
====
Author: Charlotte May
Email:charlottemay43@hotmail.com
Rating: PG13 (may be R in later chapters)
Pairing: Dom/Billy, Orlando/Elijah, mentions of Dom/Elijah and Billy/OFC in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. I intend no disrespect to Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd or anyone else mentioned in this story.
Warning: AU
Feedback: Always welcome!
Summary: There are some very familiar faces running round Sherwood Forest. Yes, folks, it’s a LOTRPS Robin Hood story! Do I really need to point out that it’s an AU? ;-)
Author’s notes: I live in Nottingham, so all the geographic and historic details are genuine – the Bell Inn is still next to the Market Square, and what passes for a castle these days is still on its sandstone cliff. However, Mansfield Hall is fictitious – I couldn’t think of a suitably ducal mansion near enough to Nottingham to suit my plot. And yes, we still have a Sheriff, though I believe these days he’s a perfectly nice man. :-)
Big hugs to
red_moon_rising for the wonderful beta.Part One
Cross-posted to
monaboyd, fellow_shippers and my lj.Deep in the Forest
Part two - in which Billy gets recruited and Ian makes a bid for freedom
Dom watched Billy out of the corner of his eye. The other man was staring into the fire and chewing absent-mindedly on a chunk of venison. Dom took a long look. Green eyes, fair hair, a lean, well muscled body. He dragged his eyes away and swallowed hard.
If anyone had asked, he would have said he really wasn’t quite sure what had come over him today. He hadn’t robbed Billy, he’d brought him back to their camp, and now he’d given him something to eat. He winced. Of course, actually, he knew exactly what had come over him.
He was head over heels in lust with one William Scarlett, funny accent and all.
From the first moment he’d seen him, lying against that tree with his eyes closed, he’d just wanted to grab hold of him and kiss those gorgeous little lips until he couldn’t think straight. Then he wanted to take him home and fuck him senseless.
Of course, so far, Billy had shown no sign of reciprocating his feelings. For all Dom knew, the other man was straight and completely unobtainable. But, despite this, in the course of walking back to the camp and idly chatting with him, Dom’s feelings had intensified. Not only was Billy gorgeous to look at, he had a sunny disposition that got right under Dom’s skin… and he had no idea what to do about it.
Billy suddenly put his food down, stood up and looked around nervously. Dom pretended he hadn’t noticed and watched surreptitiously, waiting to see what the other man did. After glancing over his shoulder, Billy made his way over to the horses. Dom smiled. Oh no, he wasn’t going to get away that easily. He got to his feet and followed.
The Scotsman made straight for his horse, and by the time Dom caught up with him, he was patting it on the nose and talking to it quietly. “That’s mine, you know,” said Dom.
Billy swung round quickly and glared at him. “You could have my money.” He hesitated. “Well, you could have some of my money. Just let me keep the horse and I can be on my way.”
Dom’s heart lurched at the idea of Billy leaving. Somehow he had to find a way to get him to stay. He stepped forward and stroked the animal’s neck. “Does he have a name?”
“Pippin.” Billy looked at Dom suspiciously.
“Nice name. He’s still mine though.”
“Dom, please?” There was a begging tone in Billy’s voice that made Dom feel horribly guilty.
“All right, all right. Stay tonight and we’ll sort something out in the morning.” Dom snapped, trying hard to keep up his ‘tough outlaw’ persona. In the face of Billy’s pleading eyes, it was difficult. “You can keep the horse.”
“Thank you.” Billy smiled gratefully at him and Dom’s stomach did a neat little twist. Yes, this man had got right under his skin.
===
“What on earth makes you think I know what to do?” Dom’s exasperation came through loud and clear. Billy watched quietly from his vantage point at the back of the group, nibbling on a piece of bread he’d been given by Friar Astin for breakfast.
Elijah didn’t seem to accept this. “You’re only saying that because it’s Orlando in trouble. If it was anyone else, you’d be there in a shot.”
Billy really wished he knew exactly what was going on. A tired and dishevelled man named Viggo had turned up at the crack of dawn, after searching the forest for the outlaws all night, and had told them that ‘Orlando’ and ‘Ian’ were in trouble and needed rescuing from ‘the Sheriff’ and ‘Miranda’. A long discussion had ensued, during which every one of the approximately twenty outlaws present had said his piece – at great length and some more than once, to Dom’s obvious frustration – and absolutely no conclusion had been reached.
“Lij, you’re talking out of your arse.” Billy noted that Dom’s voice now had a dangerous edge to it. Hadn’t Elijah noticed it too? Or did he have a death-wish?
“No, I’m not. You hate him. You’ve always hated him.”
Billy didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone move so fast. One minute Elijah was standing upright, shouting at Dom, the next he was flat on his back with Dom sitting on his chest, pinning Elijah’s arms by his sides with his legs and with a hand over his mouth to shut Elijah up. When he spoke, Dom’s voice was surprisingly calm. “Lij, I know Orlando and I have… history, but I would rescue my worst enemy from the Sheriff of Nottingham if I could.”
Elijah glared at him and made some incomprehensible noises round Dom’s hand.
“Will you be quiet?”
Elijah nodded. Dom removed his hand. Everyone held their breath. To Billy’s surprise, Elijah stayed quiet.
“Thank you,” said Dom. “Now that it’s nice and peaceful, I can think.” Dom looked up, and Billy realised he was staring straight at him. The “up to something” mischievous grin spread across Dom’s face. “Billy and I are going to Nottingham,” he announced.
Before Billy could protest, Elijah yelled, “I’m coming too!”
Dom clamped his hand back over Elijah’s mouth and glared at him. “I have three things to say to you, Elijah. One,” he said, obviously struggling to keep his voice level, “I told you to be quiet. Two, if you went to Nottingham you’d get arrested. And three, I won’t be responsible for my actions if you come with us.”
Completely stunned by this turn of events, Billy blurted out, “Why me?”
“Ever been to Nottingham, Billy?” asked Dom, cheerfully.
“No.”
“Then you’re just the man I’m looking for.”
Billy opened his mouth, fully intending to say, “I don’t think so …” and was kind of shocked when what he actually said was, “When do we leave?” Billy shook himself. What had come over him? He didn’t really want to go on a probably dangerous escapade with Dom. Did he?
But before Billy had chance to say anything else, Dom grinned at him and pointed at the bread still in his hand. “We’ll go as soon as you’ve finished your meal.”
====
Ian stood on the chair, raised himself up on tiptoe, and strained to see out of the tiny, barred window. The view was restricted – he could only see the upper storeys of the buildings – but at least now he could see something other than feet and sky. When the Sheriff’s men had blindfolded him, he’d strained his ears to try and work out where he was going, but once they were inside the town walls, Ian had completely lost his bearings. He wasn’t sure what good knowing his location would do him, but it was something he just felt he needed to know, so he scanned the other side of the street, searching for something familiar. Then he saw it. An inn sign blowing in the wind. A large, golden bell. So that’s where he was! He was locked in a cellar across the road from the Bell Inn, right next to Nottingham’s market square.
The Sheriff had some nerve, he reflected, as he climbed down from his vantage point – kidnapping him and keeping him prisoner. He was the Duke of Mansfield, after all. Bean had no respect for titles. Actually, he thought, Bean had no respect for anything. It was high time someone taught him a lesson.
He sat down on the pile of straw in the corner of the cellar and wondered why Bean had sent his men to Mansfield Hall and taken him. Orlando’s face immediately popped into his mind. It had to be for leverage to get his son to do something. But what? Ian had the horrible feeling that whatever it was, Orlando would agree to it to save his life. And of course, as soon as he did what Bean wanted, there would be no point in keeping him alive.
Ian shuddered. He had to get out of here. He’d already tried banging on the window and shouting, but he’d not managed to attract anyone’s attention; the street outside was far too noisy. The window was barred, and probably too small for him to crawl through anyway. So he had to get out the way he’d come in – through the door.
He’d already tried the door and knew it was locked. Perhaps he could find something he could use to force it open? He looked round the cellar. There was a pile of junk in one corner, the usual detritus that always accumulated in a storage room. He went over to it and started searching. After a moment or two he found something. A large, heavy frying pan. Yes, that would do nicely. Now he just had to wait for someone to open the door…
====
Billy glanced sideways at Dom and wondered what on earth he was doing here. They were riding through farmland towards Nottingham, probably with the intention of doing something completely illegal, and he had no idea why he’d agreed to come. Some weird gut instinct seemed to have overridden his logical mind. A gut instinct that had something to do with Dom. He shook himself and decided that if he was going to be involved in this – whatever this was – he better have all the information. “Dom?”
“Yes?”
“Could you explain what exactly is going on? I don’t think I got the details back in the forest… I know we’re going to try and rescue some people called Orlando and Ian, but why does Elijah think you hate Orlando?”
Dom turned to him and smiled wryly. “He’s not my favourite person in the world, but it’s not really his fault.” Dom let out a long breath. “When Elijah first ran from Nottingham into the forest, he and I were…” Dom paused and looked into Billy’s eyes, as if gauging his reaction. “… lovers.”
Billy felt an odd little flutter in his stomach. A feeling that, at that moment, he didn’t care to analyse. “What happened?” he asked quietly.
“We were happy for a couple of months, then Orlando happened. He had a riding accident not far from our camp. Elijah found him, helped him… fell head over heels in love with him.”
“And he left you?” Billy felt indignant on Dom’s behalf.
“You have to understand, Billy, Orlando is perfection in human form. Tall, slim, dark curly hair, big brown eyes… and a nice guy to boot. Oh, and one day he’ll be Duke of Mansfield. There was no way someone like me could compete.” He suddenly seemed very interested in the stitching on his saddle. “So I let Elijah go.”
Billy had a sudden irrational urge to hug Dom. He reflected that perhaps it was fortunate they were both on horseback and he couldn’t. After all, he wasn’t interested in men in that way and he wouldn’t want Dom to misunderstand. Noticing how miserable Dom looked, Billy thought it was time for a change of subject. “Why would Elijah get arrested if he went to Nottingham?”
The question put Dom’s grin firmly back in place. “He was a thief. And a fucking good one. He stole anything and everything he could get his hands on and sold it on to the highest bidder. Because of those huge blue eyes, no-one suspected he wasn’t as innocent as a new born baby. He got away with it for a few years too, until he went too far.”
“What did he do?”
“He stole a horse and then tried to sell it back to the guy he took it from.”
Billy roared with laughter. “He didn’t!”
“It wasn’t intentional. He’d stolen it from outside a tavern and didn’t know who it belonged to. But after that, everyone realised just who the one man crime wave was. He had to get out of town. He’s been an outlaw ever since.”
====
Hearing footsteps approaching, Ian flattened himself against the wall by the door and gripped the frying pan firmly with both hands. He was probably only going to get one shot at this; he was going to have to make it count.
The door creaked open. Ian swung the frying pan with all his might, and, to his amazement, hit his target with bone-jarring accuracy. The man crumpled to the ground, a red mark already spreading across his forehead. Ian stepped neatly over his victim and headed up the stairs.
The stairs led up into a hallway, and at the far end, he was astounded to see that the front door was ajar. He hurried along the hall, pushed the door open and stepped quickly into the street. Wondering which way to go, he hesitated for a moment. It was a moment too long. He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Now, Sir Ian, what are you doing out here?” said a voice in his ear.
“I’m going home!” he yelled as loud as he could and swung the frying pan again. Unfortunately, this man was more prepared and wrestled it from Ian’s hands, by which time another man (with an alarming bruise on his forehead and murder in his eyes) had joined them.
Knowing he was outnumbered, Ian stopped struggling, but was pleased to note that his escape attempt had drawn a small crowd, who were presumably hoping for some more impromptu entertainment. “You can’t do this to me!” he shouted at the top of his voice. “I’m the Duke of Mansfield!”
“Yes, mate, and I’m King Richard,” said the man with the bruise, loud enough for the crowd to hear. “He’s a bit funny in the head,” he added, tapping his temple with his forefinger for emphasis. “Isn’t allowed out.”
Ian looked pleadingly at the crowd as he was dragged away. He only needed one of them to believe he was telling the truth, and someone might come to rescue him.
===
“So, Billy, you know my dark secret. What’s yours?”
“What?”
“Why are you on the run? What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, right. Pull the other one, it’s got bells on.”
Billy looked at Dom. In a twisted way, he deserved to know why he was here. “It was a woman,” he began. “We were to be married, then she met someone else. I couldn’t stand seeing her with him, so I left.”
“Sounds familiar,” said Dom, ruefully. “Except I didn’t leave.”
“Yeah. I worked on a farm, he owned three counties. He’d studied at Oxford, I can just about read and write. He was tall, dark and handsome, I’m…well… um.” Billy shrugged. “I couldn’t compete.”
They looked at each other. An indescribable something passed between them. Billy tried to put it down to empathy with each other’s experiences but in reality, he felt something else, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“He wasn’t called Orlando was he?” asked Dom, his face the picture of innocence.
Billy burst out laughing. The tension was broken, for now at least. “No,” he answered, when he got his breath back. Dom pulled his horse to a stop and Billy followed suit. They were on top of a hill, looking down on a town. It sprawled between two small hills, the castle clearly visible on one, a church on the other. “Nottingham?” queried Billy.
Dom nodded. “I’d better tell you the plan, hadn’t I?”
====