Chapter 2
Lucy: A Meeting of the Hoods
“Could this day get any worse?” Disgust filled Lucy’s voice as she glanced around the dim, grimy catacombs. Finding work in the city, as her father had told her to do, was one thing, but working for the Sherwood Company—
“Did you say something, red?” The broad-shouldered man leading her through the darkness looked over his shoulder. Thaddeus Wilde gave her a slow smile that made her skin crawl. “We can turn back if you wish. We wouldn’t want to offend your delicate sensibilities, now, would we?”
Lucy hesitated for a moment. Trusting Thaddeus, of all people, was almost certainly a mistake.
But… “No.” She squared her shoulders, picturing the state she’d left her youngest sister in.
Shiloh had been so small, so still…. She pulled the burgundy hood her mother had given her on her birthday more firmly over her head.
“No, keep going.” Something small and furry ran over her foot and she gave thanks she was wearing breeches and a tunic instead of the skirts she’d been wearing when she’d been looking for more reputable work.
Thaddeus gave her another creepy smile before returning his focus to the path he was leading her. “The Sherwood Company will not take kindly to any weakness. You need to act like wulfenkind, even if we both know that you’re defective.”
Lucy nodded, swallowing hard. “I understand,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. It felt odd to be speaking so quietly, but it felt wrong to be speaking any louder than a whisper. Who knew who could be listening?
Thaddeus sneered at her. “And don’t be surprised if they don’t want to send you out as a thief. Most of the time, we set the girls to watching the children. That is, if they don’t want to be—”
“Wilde!” A sharp voice echoed like a crack in the darkness. “Shut your mouth. The boss is here.”
To Lucy’s surprise, Thaddeus’s mouth snapped shut. He gave Lucy another sideways glance before leading her into a circle of light. On the outer edges of the circle, she could see several shadowy figures, though she couldn’t see their faces.
“Boss, you remember Thaddeus Wilde, don’t you?” the same gravelly voice asked. “He’s one of our newer recruits.”
“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,” a second, aristocratic voice came from the darkness.
One of the figures moved into the light, revealing a thin young man with short, curly hair and piercing blue eyes.
He moved with surprising grace toward Thaddeus and shook his hand.
“Welcome to the cause, my good sir. And who have you got with you?”
“Sir, this is the new recruit I told your lieutenants about. She’s a member of my pack,” Thaddeus said.
Lucy cocked her head, staring at her guide.
His tone…it was like the manner he used when he was addressing her father.
On the surface, it seemed respectful, but something about it reminded her of the way he jeered at Judah and Zion when he wanted to provoke a fight.
The curly-haired man frowned, as if he, too, had noticed the undertones. He studied her for a moment. “Remove the hood, m’lady. Let me get a good look at you.”
Lucy hesitated before obeying his order, lowering her hood to reveal her flaming red hair, so different from the dark locks of her brothers and sisters. The man’s eyes widened slightly, and he nodded. “Your hair…it’s very distinctive. I can see why you’re trying to keep it covered.”
“Yes, we could always see her coming when we were growing up,” Thaddeus said with a sneer. “And she’s only gotten more noticible since she came of age. I know you’ve got a thing for red-haired women. I promise, she’s a good fu—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Lucy had a dagger in her hand.
She whirled on him and held it against his throat, standing on her tiptoes to reach.
Her dark eyes sparked with anger. “Think carefully about how you want to finish that sentence,” she warned.
She knew she’d been a fool to trust him.
Thaddeus swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple prominent against the sharp blade. “They’re good fighters. That’s all,” he said.
Lucy narrowed her eyes, but a gentle hand on her shoulder held her back. “Peace, Lady of the Red Hood. I wish for no bloodshed today, if we can avoid it. Both you and this man are under the protection of Robin Hood, as long as you are in these halls.”
Lucy glanced back at the man. The way he carried himself, the way he talked…
it reminded her so much of her friend Oliver.
And, like Oliver, he was clearly ready for a fight.
He was standing on the balls of his feet, ready to spring at her if he needed to.
Something warned that she wouldn’t want to fight with him if she could help it.
Slowly, reluctantly, she nodded and stepped away from Thaddeus.
As one, everyone in the room breathed sighs of relief.
“Very well. But only because you remind me of a friend of mine,” she said, sheathing her knife.
“And who might that be, I wonder?” the man said, searching her face.
Lucy’s mind flitted once more to Oliver. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “Are you the Robin Hood you spoke of?”
The man smiled and nodded. “You are perceptive, my lady.”
Lucy’s chin lifted. “I’m not a lady. Yours or anyone else’s.”
“That remains to be seen.” Robin continued studying her. “And what’s your name, lass?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, Thaddeus stepped forward. “This is Red Riding Hood.” He tweaked the back of her cloak. “For obvious reasons.”
Lucy frowned at him. She hadn’t agreed to use a pseudonym and even if she had, she wouldn’t have chosen such a ridiculous name. Robin, however, smiled. “We seem to share a surname. Perhaps we’re related. Very well, within these walls, you will be Red, Lady of the Hood.”
Excitement shot through Lucy’s body. “You mean I can be part of the Sherwood Company?”
Robin continued studying her. “We certainly welcome all poor souls who find themselves cast out of polite society into the ranks of our merry band,” he said, after a moment, choosing his words with great care.
He glanced back at the shadowy figures before turning to Lucy.
“And if Scarlet and the Friar have done their due-diligence, I see no reason why we shouldn’t give you a chance, same as any of my men. ”
Lucy tried not to let her surprise show on her face. Thaddeus, however, let his jaw practically hit the floor. “You’re letting her in? After she threatened to kill me?” he squeaked.
“She’s got spark, and she’s not afraid to take chances.
We can all use someone like that.” Robin shrugged.
“Besides, the town guards are on the lookout for men. I have no doubt that they’ll see this little slip of a woman and dismiss her as harmless, same as you did.
” He cocked an eyebrow. “You’re bleeding, by the by.
Go find Nelle and have her examine you, to make sure that it doesn’t get infected. ”
Thaddeus opened his mouth to argue but seemed to think better of it. He nodded and disappeared into the darkness.
Robin watched him go, a frown on his face. Once Thaddeus was out of sight, he turned to Lucy. “One thing you should know: we only steal from those rich enough to survive the loss. Take nothing from those who would miss the coin.”
Lucy studied him as frankly as he had studied her. “I admit, sir, that’s not what I expected.”
Robin shrugged. “Well, I would hate to become predictable.” He stared off into the distance. “Besides, it isn’t what she—” He caught himself and gave himself a little shake. “But before we can officially accept you to our ranks, there’s one more step we must take.”
Lucy studied him warily. “What sort of step?”
“What do you think, girl?” the deep, gravelly voice came from the shadows. “We need to watch you work. See if you’re cut out to be one of the merry men, or a merry woman, as the case may be, or whether you’re better suited to the tasks in the camp.”
Lucy’s stomach flip-flopped. “You…you have to watch me?” she squeaked.
A gigantic man, easily 6 foot five or larger, emerged from the darkness, a smirk playing about his lips. “Well, yes. You didn’t think that we’d just let anyone walk in and send them out as a thief, did you? Even if someone in our ranks vouched for you, we have to be certain.”
Lucy nodded, her jaw clamped shut. Mentally, she kicked herself. She knew it couldn’t be that easy.
“Little John is right,” Robin said, clapping the taller man on the back. “Friar Tuck?”
A portly dwarf in a friar’s vestments stepped into the light. He smiled genially at Lucy before turning to Robin. “Yes, sir?”
“You’ll be Red’s shadow today. See what she can do.” Robin caught her eye. “Just don’t get caught, lass. We wouldn’t want to have to break you out of the dungeons on your first day.”
Lucy nodded. “I won’t get caught, sir. I can promise you that.” Inwardly, she prayed she’d be able to complete the task. She wasn’t particularly adept at staying out of sight, though she’d gotten better in the last two years.
Robin nodded and melted back into the shadows. Friar Tuck gestured for Lucy to follow him. “Come, lass. We have work to do.”
Lucy nodded, but before she could step away, the sound of her name—her real name—caught her ear.
It was difficult to hear the muffled voices, as if they were coming from very far away.
She snuck a peek at the Friar; he didn’t appear to hear the voices.
He was ambling back the way she’d come, oblivious to the fact that she wasn’t following.
She shook her head and pulled her cloak back over her head, before plunging back into the darkness, following the voices.
“What were you thinking, bringing her here? She’s going to ruin everything we worked for!” Lucy wracked her brain, but she didn’t know the voice.
“It wasn’t my idea,” a second voice replied. This one, she recognized as Thaddeus. She frowned at the lie; the werewolf had all but forced her to follow him. “I couldn’t put her off. It would make her suspicious.”
“Well, it’s going to make her even more suspicious when—”
“Shut up, will you,” Thaddeus hissed. “We just have to keep it together for a couple of days. By then, we’ll be in Umber and she’ll be here. No one will be the wiser.”
The owner of the first voice sighed. “Well…if you’re sure…”
“I’m positive. Don’t worry,” Thaddeus sneered. “By the time anyone has any idea about what we’re up to, we’ll—”
“Red Riding Hood? Where’d you go?” Lucy cursed at the sound of the cleric’s voice. She hurried back the way she’d come, lowering her hood as she did. It wouldn’t do for her to get caught eavesdropping.
She forced a smile on her face as she caught sight of Friar Tuck. “Sorry. I must have gotten lost,” she said. “I’ve got a horrible sense of direction, and all these tunnels look the same.”
Friar Tuck examined her face, looking for signs of deception, but apparently she passed muster, because he said, “Perfectly understandable. I keep getting lost myself. I liked it better when we were in the forest, but Scarlett and a few of the other leaders thought we weren’t being as effective as we could in the city.
So here we are.” He gave a little shiver.
“I hope now that Robin’s here, he’ll let us go back to the forest. It wasn’t as creepy. And not nearly as dark.”
Lucy nodded. “I completely understand.” She forced another smile onto her face. “Come on. Let’s go find some rich fool to rob.”
Friar Tuck nodded and, once again, began leading her out of the tunnels. After a moment’s hesitation, Lucy followed him, still playing the conversation back in her mind. What exactly was Thaddeus up to? And why did he think she could put a stop to it?