Maid of Sherwood (2 page)

“My father always tells me even a pebble can change the course of a river.” Marian tugged at a piece of grass until it came loose in her hand.

“Your father is a very wise man,” Robin said. “And his daughter adheres well to his teachings.”

“I…thank you,” Marian said.

Robin picked up his longbow and rose to his feet. “As much as I have enjoyed this interlude, I fear I have certain—duties—that demand my attention. But before I go, am I allowed to know your name? Or is it a secret?”

“M—Marian,” she stuttered. “My name is Marian.”

He smiled at her one last time, and his light gray eyes lingered in her memory long after he had left the clearing.

Chapter Two:

“You were in Sherwood again, were you not?” Mother frowned as she seated herself at the dining table.

“I finished all my chores,” Marian said. “The afternoon was mine to do with as I wished.”

“That agreement only held so long as you came home before dark.” Mother stated. She turned to Father. “Alan, talk some sense into her.”

Father shrugged. “Your mother is right, Mari. You violated the agreement.”

“By scant minutes!” Marian protested. “The sun was barely down.”

Mother passed the bread basket across the table to Marian. “I allowed you,
against my better judgment
, to learn swordplay. The only restriction I placed on you was that you respect my wishes. And now I learn you have violated them.”

“So now you are going to ban me from the forest?”

“It is three days until the May Festival, and you
are
its queen. I think staying in town until after Festival is a reasonable request.”

Marian’s jaw clenched. “The word ‘request’ usually implies the possibility of saying ‘no.’”

“Mari, enough.” Father said. “You will do as your mother wishes. It is not unreasonable, and you still have one more fitting for the gown, do you not?”

Marian sighed. “Yes, I do.”

Father ladled vegetable soup into his bowl. “Then it is settled. Bea, have you told Mari the news?”

“What news?” Marian asked, dipping her bread into her soup bowl.

“We received a summons while you were in Sherwood.” Mother smoothed a few stray blond curls away from her face. “After Festival, we leave for Nottingham Castle.”

Marian’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”

“Because we are royalty and we do whatever our prince requires of us,” Mother said sharply.

“But you never wanted me to go to the castle.”

“Our duties have nothing to do with our desires, Marian. We will be at the castle within two weeks. The sheriff is coming to escort us through the forest.”

Father’s low baritone cut through their conversation. “The prince himself wishes to hear me sing. It is a very great honor, and one I cannot refuse.”

“But,” Marian protested, “I’ve never been to court.”

“I am aware of that, Marian,” Mother said. “In truth, there is very little that will be required of you. We are going simply to show Prince John that the du Lucs are loyal to the throne. I do not want what happened to the children to happen to you.” Her voice shook slightly.

“They were hostages, Mother. We’re part of the royal family.”

“Never assume that keeps us safe.” The harshness of Mother’s voice startled Marian. “Those boys were royalty, too. That did not stop John from murdering every one of them.”

“Beatrix.” Father’s voice was mild, but Mother stopped speaking. She smoothed her already smooth hair again and leaned back in her chair.

“Eat your soup, Marian.” Mother’s voice was back to its usual honeyed tone.

Marian narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. For a split moment, Mother seemed unyielding and almost frightening. But that could not be right. It was only Mother, after all.

“Tomorrow I will summon the seamstress for your final fitting, then we can go into town and shop for more fabrics. The few gowns you have are wholly unsuitable for Prince John’s court.” Mother said.

Marian drew in a breath to protest, but released it at a glance from Father. She nodded her agreement instead.

“Well, since we are going to Nottingham, I need to finish my ballad,” Father said. “I am hoping the castle historian will be in attendance when I perform.”

“I did not know Nottingham still had a historian.” Mother said. “I know there was one when I was at Henry’s court, but it could not be the same woman. She was ancient when I knew her.”

Father shrugged. “According to what I have heard, she would rather live near the forest than in the castle itself. She is rumored to be rather eccentric.”

“Why did you leave King Henry’s court, Mother?” Marian dipped her bread back into her soup before eating it.

Mother glanced at Father before answering. “After Henry died, I had no desire to stay. I had grown tired of court and Richard allowed me to leave to pursue my own interests.”

“And marrying me was one of those interests,” Father interjected.

Mother blushed. “Stop it, Alan.”

“How did you two meet, anyway?” Anytime she had asked the question before, Mother had always deflected the conversation toward something else, but Marian hoped this time would be different.

Father laughed. “When I first saw your mother, she was standing knee deep in a pud—”

“Alan, this is hardly the time,” Mother interrupted. “Marian, rather than ask unimportant questions, maybe your focus should be more on the meal in front of you.”

“Yes, Mother.” What could Mother possibly have been doing when they met? It was obviously something she was not proud of, and absolutely did
not
want Marian discovering, which made the mystery of it all the more intriguing. She pushed her bowl aside, half empty.

“May I be excused? I promised Will I would meet him after supper.”

Mother raised her left eyebrow. “Not in Sherwood, I assume?”

Marian shook her head. “No. I am meeting him at his aunt’s.”

“Be sure you both stay in town,” Mother said. “It is not safe in the forest after dark.”

Marian’s thoughts roamed back to the man she’d met; Robin. No, in this case, Mother was right. The forest was not safe, though not for the reasons she was likely thinking of.

“We will not leave his aunt,” Marian promised. She cleared her bowl off the table and carried it into the kitchen. Leaving it on the long wooden table, she hurried out the kitchen door before Mother could change her mind.

“So,” Will leaned against the doorjamb of his aunt’s home. “You met a man in the woods, too. Did he invite you to a secret meeting, or am I the only one the outlaws are interested in?”

Marian sighed. As much as she loved Will, sometimes she detested his sense of humor. “I met one of the outlaws, as I told you. He did not say anything about secret meetings or—or much of anything else.”

“Did he tell you he was one of Hood’s?” Will picked a piece of wood off the edge of the door.

“No, but he did not say he was not, either.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, he did not actually
say
much of anything.” Except for learning his name, she did not know much about him, other than the fact that he lived in the woods. The prospect of finding out more was suddenly more important than learning Mother’s secrets. “When did Little John want you to come back?”

Will narrowed his eyes. “What are you planning?”

Marian smiled. “I think Little John deserves a little ‘surprise’ for startling us, do you agree?”

“You and I have been friends since birth, Marian,” Will started. “And how many times have you gotten me into trouble with Aunt Constance?”

“More times than I can count,” Marian admitted. “But this is
important
, Will. I cannot tell you why, but I just know it is. Please let me tag along. I will be as silent as a grave. Little John will not even know I am there. I promise I will not get caught.”

Will lowered his head for a minute as he thought. Looking Marian in the eyes, he finally spoke. “Be sure you do not. Neither of us knows what that man wants. What
either
man wants,” he amended.

Marian released the breath she had been holding. “Thank you, Will. You will not regret it.”

“I am pretty sure I already do,” her friend said ruefully.

Marian smiled. “It will be fine,” she promised. “Little John wants the same thing we do; freedom from the sheriff and Prince John. I doubt he will be angry at my intrusion, even if he finds out.”

“Is that why you came over?” Will asked. “To get me to let you tag along?”

“No, actually I came to tell you about Mother, but I got distracted,” Marian said.

Will frowned. “What about your mother? What’s she done now?”

“That is it,” Marian said. “She has not
done
anything. But we received a summons to court this afternoon and she began acting differently afterward.” In a few succinct sentences, she told him of the incident at the dining table. “She was terrifying, Will. For a split second, I was sure she was not my mother at all, but someone completely different.”

“I do not know of a single person who was not mad when Prince John hanged all those children. I am sure your mother’s reaction was normal. I think your imagination is getting in the way of reality.”

“You do not have to believe me,” Marian snapped. “But it is not just my imagination.” She turned her back to him and crossed her arms across her chest.

“Marian,” Will spun her back to face him. “Please, do not be angry.”

 She sighed. “I am frustrated. Something is going on, but I have no idea what.”

‘Then we will solve what we can,” his brown eyes stared earnestly into hers. “Little John and your mystery man first; your mother afterward.”

“You are always so agreeable,” Marian grumbled. “It makes it very difficult to stay mad at you.”

Will grinned. “That is the point.”

“How are you ever going to find a wife if all you do is wander the forest with me?” Marian was only half serious; she knew Will’s heart lay in discovering what had happened to his mother at the sheriff’s hands.

He shrugged and refused to meet her questioning gaze.

“You have found someone?” She knew she sounded eager, but she could not help it. This was Will, her best friend, and if he had found a measure of happiness, then she was happy, too.

“There is someone in town,” he mumbled under his breath. “Can we please not talk about this? Aunt Constance doesn’t know and I am not ready for her to find out.”

“You have not told her? Why not?”

Her friend looked uncomfortable. “I want to find out about my mother first, that is all.”

Marian squeezed Will’s hand briefly before letting it go again. “I will see what I can learn at Nottingham.”

“Marian, is that you?” A woman’s rasping voice came from deep within the room at Will’s back.

“Yes, Ms. Constance,” Marian said. “I just came to ask Will a question.”

“It is after dark, dear. Why are you not home and in bed?” The querulous voice continued.

Marian rolled her eyes before answering. “My mother knows I am here, Ms. Constance.”

“Well, you are far too young to be out so late. I do not know what Beatrix is thinking.”

“Yes, ma’am, I am about to go home now.” She touched Will’s arm again. His aunt had not been right in the head since his mother, Dulcina, had vanished from the castle.

“Come by tomorrow, at a more decent hour.” Constance said. “Will can come out and play then.”

“Good night, Mari,” Will said. “Come by and play tomorrow!”

“Shhhh…” Marian stifled her laughter. “That is unkind. It is not your aunt’s fault she is the way she is. Besides, I cannot come tomorrow. Mother wants to take me shopping. She claims I need more gowns.”

“You do.” Will shrugged when Marian wrinkled her nose at him.

“Good night, Will.”  Marian walked down the nearly empty street. The only people left were a few shop owners, locking their doors behind them as they left for the evening. It always amazed her how quickly the town turned silent once night fell, but she knew that would change within the next two days, as people from surrounding towns and villages gathered to celebrate May Day.