William nodded.  "Sounds good to me."

Isabella nodded in agreement and with that Gavin was off.  

Moving into position, they waited - silent.  When the first cries of conflict went up, Gavin had killed two men just as he said he would.  Mentally Isabella kept a count of the men still standing.

8.

She began moving forward.  As expected the men turned their attention to the direction of the attack and happily were caught unaware as William ran one through and Isabella was able to make use of her daggers again. 

6.

The camp was utter madness.  Weapons in hand, the bandits were ready to fight until the death.  Isabella and her friends were outnumbered two to one but none of the men she'd laid eyes upon was the one they'd come all this way to find!  

Rolling to the left, Isabella popped up from the dirt just shy of where a boy younger than the Ranger swung his sword wildly.  A lucky miss that pretty much trimmed her raven locks but fortunately didn't take her face with it.  Falling back down she dragged her dagger across his hamstrings dropping the boy screaming to the ground before ending him as fast as she could - dodging another man who was clearly more skilled with his sword than this poor son of some farmer.

"What the fuck?!?"  Merrick roared just behind Bella.

Isabella, shocked by the bellowing tone of the well-known bandit, glanced away from the man who she was fighting for half-a-heartbeat.  A deadly error if ever there was one. 

Merrick had appeared from seemingly nowhere, a beautiful middle-aged red-head being dragged along in one hand, his sword being pulled with the other.  The crying and terrified woman was holding closed her torn shirt, leaves and other debris were tangled in her hair.  It didn't take much figuring to understand what he was busy doing away from the cap.  

Bella dodged the blow she saw coming as she looked back, but it wasn't good enough.  The steel bit into her upper arm and whether the force of the blow or from the shock of pain, she went to the ground.  The brigand raised his sword again, attempting to finish the rogue at his feet.  She rolled from one side to the other, dodging the icy hand of death again - putting her knife down into the top of her attacker's foot and using his moment of blind pain to flee.

Grabbing up a shortsword dropped by one of the other dead, Isabella took in the sight of the camp again.

Merrick and Will were locked in combat now, clearly Will had rushed him and stopped him from becoming involved in the fray nearest to him ... hers.  The red-haired woman was in fetal position on the edge of the camp, not a worry. The man with the foot injury was coming at her with murder in his eyes as was another man who was unharmed.  Across the way another man had taken an arrow to the throat just as Isabella made note of him and another was climbing up the rocks towards the place where Gavin was shooting from.

THIS was not how she liked to do things.  There was a reason she was an assassin and not an armswoman.  The short sword was far from her favorite weapon, but she'd have to make due. 

"Alright boys... I've got room on my dance card for both of you."  She swung wild catching the first only on his sleeve as she moved out of the way of his blow.  "Just one at a time, okay?"

Gavin had moved silently to the hill, and he lined up his shots carefully. He picked the two men closest to him, hoping their bodies would trip up the others. As the arrow split the skull of the first man, the others- weighed down by weariness, drink, and shock- seemed to move in slow motion. By the time the second one hit, they were facing him, running, and shouting as they brandished their weapons. 

William and Isabella struck quickly, taking down two more and leaving half a dozen visible. Still, they had the element of surprise. Gavin saw one man crouched behind a tent, peering out to see what was happening.

Gavin lined up the shot and dropped him- and then immediately heard someone yell "what the fuck?!" He turned to saw Bella on the ground; she'd been hit. Then Will was dueling Merrick, as two men faced down Bella. 

Processing in slow motion, Gavin saw the potential targets: Merrick, dueling Will. The two fighting Bella. The one climbing up to him. And one more rustling around in a tent.

Choosing quickly, he shot the healthier looking of the the two men fighting Bella, then threw himself backwards to avoid the sword of the man who'd been climbing toward him.

Isabella watched as one of her 'dance partners' took an arrow and the other suddenly was looking absolutely aghast at his odds.  Bella narrowed her eyes and came towards him saying, "This isn't about you, Friend.  You really wanna die for Merrick?"

Isabella knocked him back and away from her.  As she hoped, he took the opportunity to sprint away from the fight which had clearly begun to turn against Merrick's merry band of thieves.  If there was anything Isabella knew about thieves it was this: dead ones couldn't spend their money and so no matter how much was being offered... once a real chance of death was on the table, many backed out.  After all, it was great to be a part of a team that was raking in cash and living the high life on the road, but most men had a very high bar on the sort of thing they'd throw away their lives for.  And a few gold coins usually didn't make the cut.

Rushing over she caught the guy coming out of the tent unawares, removing yet another threat from her friend's backs.  Will was still engaged with Merrick and another man just went over the rise going after Gavin. 

She knew he was good with a bow but she wondered how well he was capable of handling himself up close and personal...

Deciding not to roll those dice, sure that Will would end his exchange with Merrick soon, she made tracks following the asshole who was intent on finishing off the Ranger.  If she could sneak up on him, she'd have all the advantage, but she had to get up there and fast.

Gavin had had to throw himself backwards to avoid the swipe of his enemy's sword, but he landed and found himself gracelessly sliding and falling down the hill past his assailant; he tried to steady himself, but as Bella climbed over the ridge Gavin slid right into her. Trying to protect his bow with his left hand and his head with his right, he hoped Bella wouldn't reflexively stick him with one of her daggers. 

They both landed hard on the ground, Bella grunting in pain. Was she hurt?

The last bandit on the hill was running and sliding down toward them, sliding with a sword in his hand and screaming bloody murder. Gavin had time to go for his sword, but he elected not to. He stayed on his back, reaching to nock an arrow and line up his shot. When his assailant was six feet away, an arrow in his chest dropped him to the ground. 

Scrambling to his feet, Gavin readied another arrow; it seemed like only Merrick was left, but he had locked swords with Will as the two men circled each other. Both men were touched, although neither was  bleeding severely. Gavin hesitated and lowered his bow. If Will was truly a knight, as he'd been called, he may resent Gavin putting an arrow in his opponent's back. And, Gavin admitted, he couldn't guarantee to avoid hitting Will- not without getting closer and potentially entering Merrick's range. Gavin turned to ask Bella whether they should try to get to a better vantage point to help, but the woman was already in motion, throwing a dagger with deadly accuracy that glanced off of Merrick's back. 

Their target roared in pain and, in that split second, Will buried his sword into Merrick's chest.

Gavin shrugged, then moved to start collecting his arrows as he noticed red on Bella's non-throwing arm.

"Are you hurt?"

"A bruise or two... cut on my arm, nothing I can't survive. How about yo-"  She looked to William who wasn't just standing around, he'd grabbed a blanket from one of the tents and rushed over to the red-haired woman and leaning against a tree weeping.

She glanced to Gavin and then back to William who was wrapping the women up gently reassuring her she was safe now.

"You good Will?"  She asked the knight who was doing just what she expected of him:  being noble.

He looked back to his companions, "I'm good, but she has no shoes and she's ice cold."

Bella looked back to the beer, food, and fire - then to Gavin, "You think we're okay to camp here or should we put some space between us and this place?"  She looked over to Will, who was gently urging the woman to come nearer to the fire, and offered "I'll even take a watch tonight."

Gavin frowned.

"I know we'd probably be fine... but I think I'd feel better if we were back in that grove we spent the day. Won't take too long, and we'll be able to rest a lot easier knowing that we're not sleeping in a bandit headquarters."

He looked at the woman with pity.

"Of course, that doesn't mean we have to leave immediately. Let's get this fire roaring and get her warmed up- then we can decide?"

Gavin looked around.

"The thing that surprises me is that there're no horses here. You'd think there'd be at least a couple for scouts or messengers..."

As the group moved toward the fire, the woman sat on the log next to Will; Gavin knelt a fair distance in front of her and offered a small, reassuring smile.

"Good woman, can you tell us anything about these bandits? How long have you been here? Did any of them... scouts or messengers, perhaps... ride off?"

Isabella watched as Gavin knelt down and talked to the traumatized woman who Will had been caring for.  The shock came as the woman actually nodded an said, "Two men left on horses last night."  

Of course, horses missing did seem odd to her, Gavin was right about that, but she hadn't thought terribly much about it.  Merrick was a man of the woods and Isabella was starting to think maybe all Rangers walked about as Gavin seemed to.  Miles and miles a day without need to rest.   

The red-head shook her head, trying to dismiss the horrible reality she'd become a part of,  "They took everything I had with them... I don't know how we'll make it through the winter without that coin."

As Will patted the woman's arms gently and as he opened his mouth to speak Isabella almost shouted at him to stuff it, to shut his damn fool mouth and choke on his noble ideas before he got them all into a fine mess they had no way to resolve - but she didn't.  And William did just what she feared he might, "Don't fret about that for now, Miss...?"

"I'm called Erin."

"Warm yourself by the fire, Erin.  Try to remember all you can so that we can find them."

Isabella sighed and threw up her arms, stomping her way over to Merrick's corpse making sure that William knew she wasn't happy.  All they had needed for the bounty was Merrick's hand and now William had hired them out to a poor woman who had no coin to pay them with, to track down men they didn't know, going Gods alone knew where!  THIS was why she worked alone most days!  Of course, it never once occurred to her NOT to refuse to come along on William's hair-brained side adventure.

The red-haired woman continued, "They... they were dressed nicer."

"Nicer, in what way?"  William asked.

"Well, their tunics were as bad as the other men and they had an unwashed look... but... they had fine shoes of good leather.  My father was a cobbler.  I know good shoes when I see 'em.  Those weren't no woodsmen's boots, that's for sure."

Will's brow furrowed.

"They had..."  Isabella picked up Merrick's arm and considered chopping off the hand right then and there but Erin's words stopped her dead in her tracks, "...something burnt into them."

"Excuse me?"  Isabella let Merrick's arm fall to the ground unceremoniously and she slinked back over to the men and their charge.  "You saw something burnt into their boots?  How did you see it?  What was it and where?"

"When I was on the ground after I was pulled from my horse, one of them walked past me.  I saw it then.  I don't know what it was, the top of his boot was pulled down."

Will looked to Isabella, "Izzy?"

"Was it very large this ... something?"  Isabella asked her.

"Well... maybe the size of a silver piece.  Slightly bigger maybe... not much."

"Round?"  Isabella asked.

"Roughly so, I guess."  The woman looked frustrated.  "I can't be sure though.  I think it was but I only saw the bottom half peeking out under the fold in his boot."

"What are you thinking?"  Will asked, standing up.

Isabella stood too.  "Calf high leather boots.  Nice ones.  Brands into them... she likely couldn't see the stud work."

Will's eyes widened slightly.  "Son of a bitch... that's why the bounty went up?"

She shook her head and sighed.  "He must have been working with Merrick all along, it's why they never caught the bastard.  I just want to know why the good sheriff of Dewsbury upped his bounty a few days back and decided to end his clearly profitable dealings with a highwayman."

"Maybe he thought someone knew?"  Will offered.

"Possible, but why not pay off, arrest, or kill the person who figured him out instead?"

Will's brow furrowed again.  "Good question." 

Gavin glanced at Will and Bella, confused. Obviously, he'd missed something.

"... can someone catch me up, here? I'm not an expert on boots. How do a man's boots reveal that he's a sheriff?

Bella shook her head.  "No, she didn't see the Sheriff - they were Outriders."

"The men in the boots work for the Sheriff.  They're men who visit the farming hamlets in the countryside surrounding Dewsbury and monitor travel on the country roads looking for problems ... ones like Merrick over there."  Will added.

"When appointed to their office, the Outriders are given special cloaks and boots with magical oil applied to them.  Helps keep the rain off their backs and their feet dry.  The oil can fetch a pretty penny on the black market because it's so damn hard to come by."

"Magic can't just be slapped on any old object."  Will added.

Bella shook her head offering, "The items have to be of the finest quality and in good shape.  It's my understanding that's why the Outriders are given cloaks and boots rather than just having the oil put on ones they already own.  Of course, no one wants something they put that much money into just landing in the laps of any random thief... so... they're marked."

"The leather is branded and studded.  The marks denote their authority.  Izzy here thinks what Erin saw on the boot is most likely an outrider marking."

"And since she'd know an ill fit boot when she saw one, it's safe to assume either they ARE the owners of the boots and thusly Outriders working for the Sheriff - or - they are the luckiest thieves in the damn world that their feet fit into the same boots they stole."  Isabella smiled at Will.

Will nodded.  "My guess is that the bastards got careless and while bothering to change their clothes, didn't think much about the boots." 

Gavin blinked; this was all news to him, but they sounded sure of themselves so he was willing to go along with it.

"Okay, so the bandits are in league with the sheriff... and our plan is to help retrieve what they've stolen, turn in the sheriff to the local lord, and then collect the bounty? Or perhaps we make sure we get paid before we speak to the local lord?"

He shrugged.

"I'll leave the planning of how to navigate the local authorities to the two of you, of course."

Slinging his bow over his shoulder, Gavin glanced at Will and Erin.

"If we're not expecting anyone to return to this site, we'll probably be safer in the clearing where we spent the day. We can set out in the morning, and you can explain the plan as we head back to the city."

The four companions packed up their items and before terribly long, under the guidance of Gavin, they were back in the safety of the clearing.  William quickly went to the task of gathering wood for Gavin to make a small fire with and while the men worked Isabella stewed beside Erin who also had very little good reason to be social.

When the fire was finally going, William returned to his task of trying to make sure Erin was as comfortable as possible.  The rogue, however, kept her own counsel, moving across the way to sit near the ranger and not become wrapped up in the small talk of the Knight and his damsel.  Only after William and Erin were both asleep did she look at Gavin and speak, "I'm worried."  She admitted.

"In my experience, Lords and Ladies don't care much for the daily workings of the small cities and hamlets under them.  Justice isn't a noble ideal that everyone respects, like Will thinks. It's a lie they've sold to good men like Will.  A bard's tale made to keep the working class obedient and order in the realm.  The 'King's Justice' is just another tool used by the rich to make their lives more convenient and when it doesn't serve their needs, it's a burden they're forced to give nods to in order to keep peasants from rising up.  I've seen justice let women like Erin down more than a few times before."

She shakes her head.  "Your plan is a good one in an ideal world, Gavin, and it's why Will agreed... but me, I'm not so sure.  Of course, even if we do kill him ... he'd just be replaced by another money obsessed honorless dog, so what's the damn point?"  She looked over to the sleeping peasant, "We can get her coin a lot easier with guile than murder... and we don't need to annoy a Lord and risk him marking us for death later in the process.  I just... need a bit to think about how."

She looked to William, "He won't agree with my point of view." 

She shakes her head.  "Even though he left his station, even though he has more reason than anyone to not trust Lords, he's still a true believer.  Will sees the world he wants... not the one he lives in."

She sighed. "Maybe he will be happier as a farmer."   

Gavin listened to Bella as they both watched the fire die. 

On the one hand, what Bella was saying made a great deal of sense.

On the other hand, Gavin's father had a been a good king. His mother had been a good queen- seemingly. 

Gavin obviously didn't assume every member of the nobility was a saint; he'd met a few of his father's bannermen that seemed ruthless- or downright evil. But he'd also met many of them who were good, honest men who strove to take care of the people in their charge. 

"A compromise, then. Can we at least try to learn something about who this lord is? How he acts? If he's a good man, he may even reward us for making him aware of a situation like this. But if your cynicism is right this time, we can keep away from him and steal the money back from the sheriff."

Isabella tilted her head and looked at Gavin in a new light.  "You're a good man... like him,"  She looked towards William.  "But if you're willing to meet me in the middle, I suspect you've seen some injustice of your own."

She looks down into the fire, "Whatever it was... I'm sorry it happened."

Looking back up to him.  "So... how do you propose we learn about him?  Ask around?"  She chuckled.  "Put him to some manner of test?"

Gavin shrugged.

"That'd be the hard part. We can ask around... if he's a monster or a saint, his reputation should pretty clear. The trickier part would be if he's in the middle, as most men are."

He grinned.

"You said you've been to gatherings of nobles before, no? Successfully impersonated one?"

Isabella narrowed her eyes at Gavin, "I like you... a lot.  So I'm going to not going to answer your question directly, and I'm not going to go into any specifics.  If I did... I might have to find my own way out of the woods and I'd have no one to go on misadventures with after William goes live the exciting life of a potato farmer or whatever..."

She smirked.

"Lesson #2:  Some secrets are dangerous to speak.  Some are dangerous to hear.   In this case, you're better off not knowing the details but let's put it this way... I have a comfortable bed to sleep in every Kingdom within a stones throw of this one.  If you choose to believe that means I've got someone in each Kingdom who thinks they know me as someone worthy of giving a very nice guest bed to... I wouldn't blame you for making that assumption."

"So... why do you ask?  Do you have a plan in mind ... cause if it's a good one then I might reveal a little more.  Tit for tat though."  

She dug into her bag and pulled out some of the whiskey she stole from the bandits.

"How about we continue this conversation properly with something to ward off the evening chill?"

Gavin was a bit thrown by the 'bed in every kingdom', but he was more focused on defending the question.

"I'm not a barrister examining you. I just asked vaguely because I was thinking that if the people in the streets can't give us our answers, we could try to get into a party- pass ourselves off as minor nobles or something. And regarding the evening chill- what did you have in mind?"

"Whiskey."  She said taking a swig and then passing it to Gavin, "There is never a bad time for Whiskey ... just bad times for too much Whiskey.  At least in my experience."

She smiled.

"Alright I'll concede that I have passed as a Lady once before in this area.  It wasn't very long ago and the whole affair was very low key ... I could probably break it out again - but you have to come with me.  No proper lady travel's alone and while Will could pass for a good soldier protecting me... that won't do us a lick of good in a social setting.  A lady with a man doesn't have to spend all night fending off would-be suitors or worse."  She shakes her head.

"We'll need to cook up a story and identity for you.  Nice thing about nobles is that they don't travel far from the safety of their homes much.  Generally speaking if you know the name and age of one - and you can find someone who reasonably fits their description and can play the part - it's an easy thing to do.  I mean, most folks know it would be certain death to say you're a noble if you're not.  So... nobles don't expect commoners to do it often.  And, well, if we're being honest here, many of the assume we're all so 'boarish' that we'd fail miserably trying to act like our 'betters' anyway.  If they only knew how many 'low-born' men have played at higher station to get into a well-bred lady's skirts."

She chuckled and hit the whiskey again.

"So, do you think you got the balls to play at being a noble for a few hours if we do this plan of yours?  It's not so much about skill as not losing your nerve.  I mean, clearly you can't go to a table and eat with your hands and scratch your balls, but ... confidence matters.  If you're at all worried you can't play the part of a some lordling, I'd rather we find another plan."

Gavin shrugged before grinning.

"You'd essentially said as much when you were teaching me to dance. And I'd be happy to escort you; I think I can manage a few hours of confidence- especially if I have you to show me the ropes."

Bella smirked and took another drink, keenly aware of Will's presence mere feet away but throughout the night, as she downed more and more whiskey her gaze implied she had more on her mind than the Sheriff and Erin's problems.

When morning broke Bella instantly fumbled for her bottle of whiskey hoping for just a nip to help battle the pain of her hangover, but found none left.  She sighed and tossed the empty container back into her pack and made for the river.  This hangover wasn't going to chase itself away and she had to be clear-headed and so it was Bella went down to the river and used nature to forcibly wake up.

When she returned a short time later, wet-hair and all, the others had begun to break down camp and prepare for the trip back toward Dewsbury.  On the walk, Bella explained to Gavin that Lord Alexander Lupton oversaw the territory of which Dewsbury was one of the largest concentrations of citizens.  And, as fortune would have it, he was in the city for the harvest festivals surrounding this period of increased commerce and tourism. 

"While his Lordship doesn't attend the commoner parties, he makes a few key appearances for proclamations and recognition.  We might get a bit of information about him at those but, as per our conversation last night, there is a social event which the gentry of surrounding areas is invited to - a masquerade.  It's a yearly event surrounding some old pagan holiday that use to be observed.  While the holiday surrounding the dead returning to haunt the living has fallen out of favor, the tradition of dressing up to ward off the restless remains." 

She shrugged.

"Any reason for a party, right?"  She smiled and then glanced to William who was helping Erin to trek slowly through the woods,  "I have a connection who can get us two invites to that party.  So after we turn this hand in for the bounty, you and I will visit a vendor to buy masks.  Will can watch over Erin at an Inn and we'll go see what we can find out.  If we like what we hear and see - well, we can approach him that night when he's drunk on expensive ciders and in a good mood.  If we don't like what we hear, you an I will dance a few dances and eat our fill of the best food you've probably eaten in your whole life, and then make a quiet exit with no one the wiser."

With no one objecting to her plan, they walked a direct route towards Dewsbury and split ways shortly after William took the hand in to claim the bounty.  Will was chosen to do it after it was agreed best the sheriff not see all of them in the case that they had to get near to him later.  That and, it was established Will didn't exactly trust Bella to skim off the top before returning to give everyone their cut.  Bella gave a mock shocked response but really didn't deny that she might.    

Coin finally in hand, she took Gavin across the city to a mask shop and the two began to look at the high-end masks, the cost of which would have set Gavin back a good deal of the money he'd just earned as his cut.  Surprisingly, Bella put down her own coin for the masks which resembled a doe and buck - a nod to their leshen encounter - and the clothing to help Gavin look the part of a noble land-owner.  

"I won't always pay so don't get use to it, Ranger.  I'm a modern woman and believe in each taking care of their own... but it's not your fault Will dragged us into this mess.  I won't have you risking your dream for Will's need to save damsels.  Besides, it's not like I have anything pressing to spend the coin on other than more whiskey... unlike you."

Bella's dress, however, did not need to be bought. As it turned out she had a trunk full of dresses and accessories in hiding on the edge of the city.  Her stash was something of a treasure trove of odds and ends which would have made a small fortune for whoever came across.  Granted, most folks wouldn't have gone looking in the abandoned barn of a long burnt out farmhouse on the edge of town for a trunk of stolen goods. It was here that she took Gavin to after their shopping was done. 

The dresses in the trunk were done in the local fashion in a variety of subdued colors.  She pulled out a dark red dress that looked the color of dying fall leaves and small pearl jewelry bits to match as well as a hair comb adorned with pearls.  

"Been a long time since I wore a corset for anything other than fun."  She chuckled.  "But I'm sure it still fits.  I haven't put on that much weight in the last year."

She looked at Gavin, "If this shit goes missing, I'll hunt you down the way you hunt deer, Ranger.  You're the only one who knows of this stash so don't get ideas to fund your future as a lord with the tools of my trade." 

Bella dressed in an old horse's stall, coming out only after she was ready to be laced up.  "I assume you know how to tie knots?"  She says.  "Just pull the strings tight, I'll tell you when it's good, then tie me in tight so it doesn't come loose while we're dancing." 

Bella turned her bare back towards Gavin, the corset hanging open from the base of her neck down to the curve of her lower waistline, just shy of indecent exposure.  While this was surely distracting, the eye-catching bit was a small tattoo on her shoulder blade - a bit of knotwork that was native to the wild people of Hibernia's countryside.  This one had the look of two hearts, interconnected, one right-side up and the other upside down.  As he stared for a moment Isabella, not knowing Gavin had any way of understanding what it was he was seeing, offered up an explanation as she knew it was his most likely reason for the delay in his lacing.

"I wasn't a slave if that's what you're thinking.  I paid for that mark."  She says flatly.  It was a sensible assumption that Gavin might be worried she was an escaped slave.  Most people who had tattoos anywhere in this area were slaves or criminals, and the mark was certainly not obvious enough to be a criminal's brand.  It was small, subtle and easily hidden beneath clothing. 

Before Gavin could come up with an excuse for hesitating, she continued, "It's knotwork from the wild people who live in the south of Hibernia.  They put it on their warriors and on the women claimed by their warriors."

She sighed.

"It's not a big deal Ranger.  I was very stupid young girl who had traveled much further than home than I should have - getting involved in things that I had no business even knowing about."

She dropped her voice slightly, "We hardly knew each other."  She chuckled dryly - sad.  "Barely spoke any shared language really.  He was just a very pretty brute with a kind heart and a lovely voice.  He died a pointless death fighting people who only saw him as a savage, people with far more money and superior weaponry."

After another moment she cleared her throat,  "It's getting chill... can you?"

And for Bella that was the end of it.  As soon as Gavin had her locked away in her dress, she was out the door and walking as if she was running way from the topic left behind in the bar. 

"We could steal horses, but they'd see the saddle and tack were poorly made, it would give us away.  And trust me, buying it isn't an option.  I'm not spending every copper I have on Will's skirt chasing."  She shook her head.  "Besides... a noble might walk on a night like this, leaving a carriage a distance from their destination.  Better we let people think that rather than risk someone seeing us getting out of carriage or horse that appears beneath us.  Let's just keep an eye out so I'm not jumped for these pearls?"

And with that, the two began their long walk to the Dewsbury residence of Lord Lupton.

Gavin fell asleep that night with far too many thoughts in his head, not the least of which was Bella. Beyond the obvious, he'd never seen a woman drink like that before. The fact that she was able to move around the next morning at all impressed him.

Lupton was a name he hadn't heard before- or if he'd had, he'd forgotten it. He knew just about every important noble in Hibernia, of course, but that didn't help him here. Still, he was obviously familiar with harvest festivals, and he suspected he could blend in just fine. And a masquerade? Perfect. 

When Bella paid for him, Gavin thanked her, but he was curious as to why. He certainly didn't want to spend his own reward; saving up to buy an army would take long enough without blowing his winnings on a party. Still, he thought he began to understand her more as she took him to her secret stash outside the city. She had enough trinkets in there to sell for plenty of money to pay off Will... but she'd still settled on this Merrick job as her preferred solution. He'd initially thought of her as a pure- perhaps the wrong choice of words- mercenary, but it appeared that her chief interest was adventure. 

The dark red suited her; he'd see similar at his father's court... although he'd never seen that particular color with pearls. Still, she certainly looked the part. When she emerged from the horse's stall and turned her back, Gavin suspected that he gave her the exact reaction she wanted. He knew he could lie, especially if he had time to prepare, but he had to work to cover his initial reactions. There hadn't been many opportunities for that in the last decade, living with Viggo. Still, he tried to cover himself well.

"If you're sure you don't want it to come loose while you're dancing... we could always save that if we need a distraction for an escape plan, no?"

He tied the corset skillfully, curious about the tattoo. He was thankful when she gave him an opening.

"You'll have to tell me about the wildlings later. I hear they mostly stick to the mountains in the south, no? Pushed out by settlers, raiding occasionally. Seems like an interesting life, but one far away from the city."

As she hurried away, Gavin caught up and they both strolled into the city. 

They could hear the celebrating long before they could see it. This was one of the few times of the year when the commoners and nobles could both rejoice: the harvest festival usually lasted for a week, and everyone celebrated in their own way. Gavin walked unhurriedly next to Bella, trying to seem like he belonged. Old habits came easy to him: the way he set his eyes imperiously as he moved through the crowd, only glancing at people rather than staring, the straight back, the way he held Bella's hand to escort her. As they walked, he spoke low enough where only she could hear him.

"Makes sense to hit the masquerade first, no? We're not dressed to get information from any of these people, unless we find a very drunk one. I doubt most common people would start gossiping anything negative about their lord to other members of the nobility."