||Kym|| I Have To Fake Delight

[Jon Brooke]

The spring sunshine made Jon's job all the more pleasant. The combination of the smell of wood and the warm sun made for a good working environment. It certainly beat some of the fowl looks the peasants just outside of the courtyard were giving. At least Jon now had a steady income, unlike most of them. Since he'd let Lord Mannering know where his loyalties lay, Jon had been getting a lot of work. Plus, it was also a way of proving to the whole of Nottinghamshire that his carpentry was better than the Scarletts. No outlaw would escape from his prisons.

Today he was renewing the gallows. Over the winter the wood had gotten damp and a little rotten. He was replacing bits here and there, making sure the structure could support at least four hanging men and the executioner.Some of the wood was so eaten away at though, he was beginning to think it would be quicker and easier to scrap the entire thing and rebuild it. Though, looking round, he didn't think he had enough wood for that.

He could suggest it to Lord Mannering, but Jon didn't want to step out of place so shortly after being put there. But if it broke on them, he wouldn't live to see stepping out of place. He decided to go for the quick fix, and then inform Lord Mannering that it could do with a total rebuild - and that he'd be willing to do it. It sounded like a plan. One that could potentially give him two lots of pay.

Whilst he worked his mind wandered to all the pretty faces he'd seen. Penny, various kitchen girls - Jon could see why Mannering didn't mind his reputation. There were a lot of perks, it has to be said. Not that Jon could get away with having a reputation like Lord Mannering's. For one, he didn't have anythingto flaunt. And also, Manner could see him as competition which needed to be removed. That wouldn;t be a pleasant outcome for Jon. But there was no harm in looking.

Around the courtyard he could see many of the noble women enjoying the sunshine whilst partaking in their afternoonly gossip and whatnot. The noble women weer very nice to look at, they were clean unlike most of the rabble he lived with. The jewels, the outfits; it was all very nice on the eye. Though, a couple ruined the whole look by scowling - that scrawny lady Merton for one - or looking overly important. Jon may be on the Sheriff's side, and possibly theirs, but there was still a little of the peasant/noble tension and jealousy in him.

[Kymberlee Jameson]

Kymberlee had taken to living in the castle not long after her deranged brother had decided to marry that ghastly woman. She couldn't take it from her any more - she had annoyed her before the pair had even been engaged and now it didn't make it any better. Now she was around more and an even bigger pain. Not that the company around the castle was much to go by either. The only person Kymberlee saw on her level was the Sheriff himself, and his bloody lap dog needed to learn to fight his own battles.

On having enough of the pathetic black haired fool, Kym had taken off out of the Great Hall where she had been dining with the Sheriff and making her route outside. It really wasn't that much better than the inside but the slight spring sunlight made her skin warm which was quite a nice feeling after the harsh winter.

Looking around the courtyard she caught a glimpse of a shaggy haired boy working on the gallows. The people the Sheriff would hired these days was certainly lacking in class. At least he was keeping the structure sound so he could use it with that divine feeling that it would hold out for it's purpose. That was of course until Robin flaming Hood showed up and ruined everything like he had the habit of doing.

Boredom rooted Kymberlee to her spot at the ledge of the corridor over looking the courtyard, she leant over the sill slightly as she spoke, "Make sure you replace the cross bar, boy. We don't want that snapping and giving Hood a run for his money," she remarked standing up to her full height again, her eyes trained to the blonde mop on the scaffold.

She wasn't expecting much more than a grunt from the boy as she interfered with his work, anything short of a 'Yes M'am' was all she would want from a peasant. Still, she watched him work, he may have been at least seven years her junior, but he wasn't exactly hard on teh eyes, like most of the miscreants in the area were.

[Jon Brooke]

When he heard the woman's voice, Jon's eyes immediately went to the gaggle of gossiping noblewomen but none were paying him any attention. He was a little surprised, but hid it as he looked round the courtyard for his distraction. He found the smug looking Lady Jameson of Nettlestone leaning against the sill which overlooked the whole courtyard. She was clearly looking down on him, which he despised, but he was human enough to appriciate how pretty she was. Despite her self importance and arrogance, there was no denying that her thin frame and brown hair worked very well with her face. The arrogance may have even enhanced the attraction really, but Jon was a sucker for power really.

"Of course Ma'am. I only provide the best service." He gave her a broad, cheeky grin. He could possibly have a spell in the stocks for speaking out of turn, but the Lady Jameson looked terribly bored. Part of his sevice was a cheeky chappy to entertain, if she so wished. He turned to face her, arms crossed over his chest - tools still in hand. "What makes you think I've purposefully rig the gallows to break? Do I look like a Hoodie?" Hoodie in reference to being a Hood fan. Jon hated Hood almost as much as Scarlett. Scarlett had only got so well known because of Hood, which was reason enough to hate him. But also because he paraded around like a peasant but expected noble treatment. Hypocrite much?

Jon was pulling a face at the thought of being associated with those spineless peasants who hero worship Hood and his men. He could almost understand the women admiring Lady Marian or that Saracen, for the girl power and whatnot. But the male population at least should have their heads screwed in! He felt truely let down. But the whole of Nottinghamshire had been letting him down since they chose Scarlett carpentry over Brooke carpentry. He was clearly the better carpenter. "Ma'am I assure you that these gallows will be outlaw proof once I'm done. Otherwise, Lord Mannering wouldn't have hired me."

[Kymberlee Jameson]

Kym couldn't help but cock and eyebrow at the boy, he dare speak out of line like Hood did, "Speaking like that, boy, and you'd do well not to be," she glowered slightly, staring him down. Kymberlee pushed herself off of the wall in front of her and made her way towards the courtyard, in a few short strides she was at the top of the stone steps looking down over the gallows.

Mannering? That would explain the peasant. The guy was a certified idiot, what with that Merton girl and buttering up Gisborne and the Sheriff. He was a slimy idiot who needed teaching a lesson, "Mannering is an imbecile, anybody hired by him deserves to be watched like a hawk," she finished as she reached the bottom of the steps and folded her arms across her chest at she looked up at the shaggy blonde.

"If there is any hint that these gallows are not up to scratch you can assure that both you can your master will both be left hanging from them," she added authoritatively, her glare stern and unwielding. The light breeze was ushering the loose hair that hung down her back over her shoulders. The top half that was securely fastened tried to defiantly come loose. This was why Kym hated the Spring, you got the heat but with it came the wind and the rain. Not something she enjoyed hiding from.

[Jon Brooke]

Going on her tone, Jon would have guessed Lady Jameson was being deadly serious. But the eyebrow, that threw him. He adopted a more polite manner, but was still rather cheeky about it. "I'm sorry m'Lady." He said with a bow. "I can assure you it won't happen again." He might have been believable, had he not had the stupid grin on his face. His eyes followed Lady Jameson as she walked to the stone steps. She was surprisingly graceful, which was odd, for she had no reason to be ungraceful. He just didn't expected her to float the way she did. But that may have just been his eyes playing tricks on him. Maybe he was dazzled.

What was more surprising was her reaction to Mannering, his face even mirrored his surprise. Jon was under the impression that Mannering was loved by all women, and possibly that Spanish noble. There was only one person he knew who didn;t sing Mannering's praises - and that was Kate. But she didn't like many people, especially those who's wronged her precious Lady Marian. "If you have such high standard, m'Lady, maybe you should be the one watching me like a hawk?" He would not mind that at all. He liked to look at pretty things whilst he worked.

Jon held her glare as she ordered him to do an average job on the gallows. "As I said before, Ma'am, these gallows will be completely outlaw proof." Jon loved Spring for the reasons Lady Jameson hated it. It was warm with a cooling breeze, so chances of over heating were reduced. Over heating whilst working was the worst thing, especially when he didn't have any water - be it because there was none or he'd run out. "Though, I'm sure you'd love to see Mannering swing, m'Lady." He gave her another cheeky grin, which would surely put him in the stocks. " My only problem with that is I'd be out of work."

[Kymberlee Jameson]

”Be sure that it doesn’t,” this peasant was definitely one of Mannering’s. He was rude and grating on Kymberlee’s patience. Much like the Lord of Knighton was. He seemed to share that same arrogance as the Lord and like most of Mannering’s peasants he spoke out of turn and with an air of defiance.

Mannering was not loved by all women as most people seemed to believe. He certainly wasn’t loved by Kymberlee Jameson. HE was arrogant and believed he could win women over just by fluttering his eyelashes and that was that. No. That was not the way Kym worked, and certainly not for that good looking cocky bastard, he was nearly as bad as Avaline.

”I can assure you, boy,” Kym started in her usual grace, firm and unwavering, ”That I have far many better things to do than watch you work up a sweat. And quite frankly there are a million things I would rather do than watch you sweat. I can not imagine it is a nice sight to see,” She finished un folding her arms and placing one hand on the wood of the gallows, ”If you are as good as you say you are, I am assuming I will not be required to watch you. Any doubt and I shall arrange for somebody to keep an eye on you at all times. You can never be too careful with you peasants, you tend to be Hood loving imbeciles,” she said whacking her hand down lightly on the damp wood beneath her fingers.

”Be sure that they are, boy,” she ordered firmly.

”You speak out of line, peasant,” she argued, ”One more comment like that I shall see the Sheriff put you in a noose the moment your work is finished,” she took her hand from the wood work at this moment and turned away from him slightly.

”As I say, if you are as good as you say you are, I am sure work will not be that hard to come by,” she smirked at him and turned from him fully, heading back up towards the main castle, the chill of the breeze was starting to get to her.

[Jon Brooke]

Jon liked this woman. She had the right balance of snooty and attitude. Most of the noblewomen with ideas above their station couldn't pull it off. Jon had no doubts about Lady Jameson. "I'm sorry to have upset you, ma'am." To be honest, Jon was just digging at her to get a reaction. He liked to wind people up sometimes, though he usually kept it to his brother or villagers. Never before had he tried to wind up someone who could arrange his death with a click of her fingers. It was fun though, dicing with death.

As a person, Jon didn;t really like Mannering much either. But he always suspected it was just because he was a guy and not because Mannering was actually a ponce. Jon had always disliked him on a sort of primitive, territorial level - in that he was a new guy and stuffs. Not that Jon thought he was in the same sort of league as Mannering, though he wouldn't mind a slice of the life style. Girls, girls, power, money and more girls. Mannering knew how to live. No wonder Lady Jameson hated him...

Jon watched Lady Jameson as she rambled on about sweat and a million things and whatnot with a smirk on his face. He dropped the tool he was using and picked up his cloth to wipe his hands. "Why did you come over in the first place then, m'Lady?" He jumped down from the gallows, cloth still in hand as he rooted around under the structure looking for the packed lunch he'd hidden there. It was a couple of simple sandwiches, but it was what he needed. In keeping with his promise to be polite, he offered some to Lady Jamesone. "Care for a cheese sandwich, ma'am?" He asked, holding out the possibly slightly stale bread. He may have a better pay check, but that didn;t mean his source was any good. Jon was going to have to look outside of Knighton for food soon. Mannering got all the good stuff.

The smirk didn't fade from his face as she continued to rant. "I'm having trouble believing that you have complete faith in me and my handiwork, m'Lady." He really would earn a spell in the stocks for this, but it was comepletely worth it. "And I'm hurt that you think I'm a Hood loving imbecile." To say the truth, he wasn;t entirely sure what imbecile meant, he guessed it wasn't good though from the tone she used. "But if you feel I need supervising, I will co-operate. Just for you." What he was saying was polite, but he was finding it hard to keep the flirt out of his voice. Something about her manner just egged him on.

Jon gave Lady Jameson a saulte after he order. "Yes ma'am!" But he had trouble keeping a straight face as she threatened the noose. Somehow he didn;t think she'd follow through with the threat. It just seemed a little empty. That or he was over confident, and that would be why by this time tomorrow he'd be a goner. He was riding on his first theory. It bode better for him and his life span. "A comment like what, ma'am? People tell me I need to work on my cheek but never tell me how." He wasn't expecting her to turn away. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, sandwich still in hand.

"Oh you'd be surprised m'Lady. Those Hood loving imbeciles would rather that Scarlett kid to fix their things. Not an honest worker like me, they want outlaws." Though she'd turned, he didn't see her walking away until she actually did it. He thought it was going to be an empty threat again, which kind of made Jon doubt the emptiness of the noose before. But he couldn't stop. If he ws going to hang for this, he may as well enjoy himself. "Hey, I thought we were getting on!" He had a smirk on his face ready for if she turned back.

[Kymberlee Jameson]

This peasant was not impressive, he was rude and spoke so far out of line, in fact, that she was pretty certain that he had never been in the line to start with, ”You would do well to keep your mouth shut in future,” Kym couldn’t help the scowl that planted itself on her face. This boy was not impressive and she didn’t care much to like him. He was only a peasant at any rate, and not a decent one at that. Even if he was digging to wind her up and annoy her she was trying her best not to let him succeed, if he got to much she’d just have him hung – life was just that simple.

”One must assure that those who are doing work for them are doing it correctly, and if Mannering will not do it then I guess it falls to me. The Sheriff is too busy and Gisborne too stupid,” she probably shouldn’t be divulging said information to the peasant, knowing what she really thought of the people she was surrounded by probably wouldn’t do them the word of good, or her for this idiot cold use it against her.

”I’ve eaten, thank you,” she said eying the sandwich with so much disgust the curve of her mouth fell downwards. Looking back to the boy, ”Eat it all up yourself, it’s most like the only meal you shall see until this job is done. So maybe you should get back to work sharpish, she clapped her hands pointedly and indicated towards the rotting structure, ”Get it done.”

”You shall finish your work, and it shall be done properly. Any hint of funny business and you shall be hunted like fox, you hear me?”[/v] she warned continuing on her way.

She could help him improve hi cheek, she would leave him with a red mark on it in a moment, ”You shall speak when spoke to, you shall not hold eye contact with anybody above. You shall never speak to me in that tone again, or I will have you hung. You listening to me, boy? You call yourself honest but we are all liars in this world. Nobody tells the truth, the truth gets you murdered.”

Getting on? Now he really was getting out of his depth, ”You will do well to stop speaking to me like that. Wipe that smile off your face and stop looking up at that idiot master of yours for pointers. It will get you nowhere. Understand?” she bit finally and continued on her way back up the steps. This infantile worker deserved to be watched like a child in the playground, now that was something she could arrange.

[Jon Brooke]

Jon couldn't help himself. The more irritated the woman got, the more he wanted to wind her up. She was so easy though! He smirked as she scolded him again. "Now's the present, so can I keep my mouth open, m'Lady?" He hadn't actually meant to say that, it sort of slipped out as he thought it. Well, at least no one could say he wasn't having fun when condemmed to death by Lady Jameson of Nettlestone. But Jon really did doubt that she would end up having him killed. Lady Jameson looked like the sort who was all mouth and no action.

Listening to Lady Jameson rabbit on about her opinions of her peers, Jon raised his eyebrows. He loved it when nobles slipped and accidentally admitted how they felt about each other. Jon was fairly sure he'd heard Mannering bitch about Merton to his manservant Cumberland, though which Merton he wasn't sure. Last Jon knew, they were both still alive though the whole of Nottingham knew they were on their last legs. "Lord Mannering trusts that I'll do a good job. I rebuilt his house, and it's not fallen on him yet." Jon didn't redo the entire house, his Pa, brother and various villagers helped. But nevertheless, he'd partaken in the rebuilding of Knighton Hall. "Though I have to agree with you about the Sheriff and Gisbourne." Adding that possibly wasn't his best move, but he hadn't really taken a good move yet. Maybe agreeing with her on this might save him. Who knows! Jon had lost control of his mouth by now.

He chuckled at the look of disgust on Lady Jameson's face. To him the sandwich was pure gold, despite being a little stale. But to her it must have looked like pig slop or something. He took a large bite out of the sandwich, laughter dancing in his eyes, with a grin on his face. Lady Jameson was priceless. Once he swallowed his mouthful, Jon said, "Well if this is my only meal, shouldn't I make it last? I may need it after lugging around all that timber." When she clapped her hands, as if it would make him get to work quick sharp, Jon fought the laugh back that so wanted to burst out. He knew he should be taking her seriously, but there was something about her which made him just want to laugh. He guessed it was the arrogance, and the fact she was a woman. The only woman that could get him to do anything was his mother.

Deciding to be a good boy now, Jon listened intently to what Lady Jameson had to say. His mistake. He could think of no reply that wouldn't completely mock her. He bit his lip, wondering whether he should answer. It looked like she wanted one. He fought every temptation to mock her and just said, "Yes ma'am." Jon suddenly realised what he was doing. He was flirting with the Lady. It had only taken him this long to realise as he didn't normally flirt with the 'pulling pigtails' method. Normally he was a bit more forward than that. Oh well, he supposed it was one thing to tick off from the list of things to do before he died, 'Flirt with a Noble'.

Jon went on acting like the golden peasant who always does what he says, but since his revelation he wanted to be nought but cheeky. Without even meaning to, he was already defying her by trying to make eye contact with her. She had those nice blue eyes that looked about as cold as she acted. "Everything is duly noted ma'am. I will get to work on improving my behaviour quick sharp." He nodded with his arms crossed, acting very serious. "Though, if you don't mind me say m'Lady, when I said 'honest' I meant that I was on the right side of the law. I lie, everybody lies. It's like you say you tell the truth, you die." He pulled a face as if to say, 'That's life,' expecting a slap to come his way any second.

Her irate behaviour cracked him, and Jon was laughing again. She was so easy to wind up! Jon was having a whale of a time, when he really shouldn't be. Nobles, they were so entertaining. But trying to be serious again, Jon literally wiped the smile off his face, though there were still traces of a smirk as he looked at the scowl his Lady was giving. "No more pointers from Lord Mannering. Can I take some from you? I really do need to get my behaviour in check."

[Kymberlee Jameson]

Kymberlee took a long intake of breathe and let it back out slowly, clenching her jaw in her frustration. This boy was really pushing the boundaries, if she had the back up of the Sheriff she would have had the boy punished then and there, but this kid clearly thought of her as a simple woman. He wasn’t about to take her threats seriously. She knew that, hell she’d spent the last twenty six years living in a sexist world, she didn’t see it changing any time soon. Even the strongest willed women got belittled and ignored.

”In every moment from this second forward it would serve you well to not speak unless you are spoken to first,” she stated clearly moving back towards the teenager. She raised her arm again, tracing her fingers delicately over the wood as she made the final steps towards him. ”Your arrogance will get you nowhere.”

Kymberlee listened to him as he spoke, the boy was an exaggerator to the highest degree. He may have had a helping hand in rebulilding the Hall, but Kymberlee knew as well as he next person that the Hall wasn’t built by one teenage boy on his own, the entire village had chipped in to rebuild it all to its former glory. Why must he insist on lying to her? Was he trying to impress her?

”Agree with me all you desire, boy, it will not get your work done any faster,” she scowled picking up one of his tools and weighing it in her hand, soon placing it back down where it had been and diverting her gaze back to the blonde.

His ‘smarts’ were certainly as impressive as his spinning, Kymberlee tutted and rolled her eyes, ”Once you are done here you will have money to buy yourself more food. So saving it for after would be stupid when you shall be able to get yourself some more bread from the market by the end of the day anyway. That is, if you finish your work,” she paused, leaning towards him, ”Correctly.”

Kymberlee frowned. This boy really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut and just do what he was paid to do. She didn't retaliate to him, he just stood her ground and took her own advice and kept her jaw clamed closed. she didn't retaliate until he reall annoyed her, without thinking it through she raised her hand and caught it sharply across the peasant's jaw, "Do your work, like you are supposed to. Keep your smart mouth shut and to yourself. I do not want to hear another word from you, understand?" Kymberlee had gotten incredibly close to the carpenter in her little speech, in his face.