Tabitha let out a deep sigh and clapped her book shut. She spoke evenly, like it was an effort to keep her annoyance in check. “Because you’re not fighting it this time. There’s no chance you’ll fly into a rage and hurt me or damage my portal. And staying awake is gentler on your body.”
That was probably an accurate assessment of what would have happened the last two times I’d moved through time, had I been allowed to stay awake. I edged down onto the beanbag, wriggling to get comfortable. Tabitha opened her book again. The deep breath she blew out her nose gave me the distinct impression the swishing of the moving beans was annoying her. All right. I’d keep quiet.
I stared at the four white walls, the white floor, the white ceiling. The room was deathly silent. I was tempted to hum, but given her reaction to the beans, I refrained. I had no idea how long this was going to take—a long while, judging by the textbook—and I couldn’t sit in silence the entire time.
To pass time, I looked Tabitha over. Her black hair was loose and fell halfway to her waist—longer than I’d imagined. Paired with her sparkly green top, tight cropped black jeans and strappy stilettos, it seemed as though I’d interrupted her evening. “You look nice. Were you on a date?”
She nodded, eyes still down.
“I’m sorry. I hope he…she…understands.” It was no wonder it took three knocks to get her here.
“Given it was our first date and I walked out straight after we ordered telling him I had an emergency to attend, but without having received a phone call about said emergency, it would seem certain he thinks I’m a flake and won’t be in touch again.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled again, watching as she read. Was this where she spent her life? In this tiny box, going on an occasional date with someone else who couldn’t enter this place? I’d never considered what life was like for Tabitha. All I knew was that she hated being away from her family.
“What?” she sighed, closing the book again, this time with a louder bang.
I shrugged. “Don’t you get bored, being in this place day in and day out?”
Mild amusement flooded her face. “I don’t spend all my time in here. I can leave, you know. I go to University.” She held up her textbook—Gray’s Anatomy for Students. “I go out with friends. Occasionally, I date.”
I lifted my eyebrows. She had a life. Who’d have thought? Clearly, not me.
“Don’t look so surprised.” Amusement still flickered across her face.
“I guess I expected you were as desperate to see Eliza again as she is to see you.” That’s how it had seemed at the Big Tree.
“Sometimes the only choice is to make the best of the situation. I might not be able to leave the portal for good, or return to my own time, but I can partake in anything else I want to, from any other time I choose.”
“You can go anywhere?” That sounded too awesome to be true.
She nodded.
“So, you could go back in time and meet Anne Boleyn? Or Cleopatra? Or Princess Diana?” I had a list as long as my arm of women from the past I’d like to meet. And a few men.
“I have, as it happens, met all three of them.” Tabitha was so calm when she spoke. Not emotionless exactly, simply stating fact. There was no bragging. “I’ve also met Robin Hood.” Okay, there was a hint of a smile in her voice that time.
“That is about the coolest thing I’ve ever heard.” I had no idea her life was so glamorous.
She shrugged, her smile turning sad. “It would be, I guess, but none of those places are where I want to be.”
“Because you’d rather be with Eliza?” In the twelfth century. Where I was going.
She nodded.
I suddenly felt sorry for Tabitha. She wasn’t mean like her sister, and she seemed so unhappy. I knew what it was like to be far from my family and know I’d never see them again. Just like Tabitha. “Do you want me to give her something? A message? Or…a gift?” I imagined I’d see Eliza Thatcher sooner or later—especially since I had Maud’s ring to give Gisborne—so giving her something from Tabitha wouldn’t be too difficult.
“Thank you, but no. There’s nothing else to say and I don’t have anything to give her…” Her voice was wistful.
She must have something. If Josh or Carrie could ever send me a gift, I wouldn’t care what it was, because it came from one of them. “What about the hairclip you were wearing the night you brought me back home? Or…or a photograph? Or a letter—”
Tabitha swung her legs onto the ground, then flicked to the back of the textbook. “I have a photo,” she said quietly, staring at the picture. “Would you take it to her? A letter’s just…there are too many things I can’t say.”
I nodded.
She stared at it a moment longer before drawing in a deep breath, her words coming fast. “I saved Gisborne’s life. I know he’s a horrible person and he’s been awful to you, but he’s my cousin and he’s been good to my sister. And it was the least I could do for them.”
“He’s really not dead, then?”
She shook her head.
My shoulders drooped. I wasn’t surprised, just disappointed. I’d tried to put all thoughts of Gisborne aside since I decided to come back. I wanted him to be dead and I thought I’d seen him die. But. He was in almost every dream I’d had. Which meant he had to be alive. And still hunting Rob. “Did you save him with magic?”
“I wish.” She laughed. “No. My magic is limited to moving between times.” She gave me a wry glance. “And knocking out unruly travelers to keep my portal safe. With Gisborne, I used my own knowledge.” She held up her textbook. “And modern medicine.” She stood and placed her hand on the wall, opening three different drawers. One held cloths and bandages, one held an array of medical instruments and the other was filled with medicines.
“You’re like a full-on medical center.”
She lifted one shoulder. “You’d be surprised how many people are injured and running for their lives to reach the portal. Healing is a useful skill to have. And Gisborne was lucky his injury missed any vital organs. Otherwise, I couldn’t have helped him.”
“My dad was injured and running when he came back through time,” I said, my voice soft.
“Before my time, but yes. I believe so.” She closed the drawers. “I brought you in here and made you sleep, dragged him in, did what I could, then took him back out to Eliza. I have no idea how she got him home, but she did, and he’s still alive.”
I shrugged, trying to sound like I didn’t care. “I guessed as much. From my dreams.”
Tabitha drew herself up. “I don’t regret saving him, but he’s a very angry man, especially with you and Rob. You should watch your back when you get back to his time.”
“Noted.” I nodded.
She marched over to me and grabbed my wrist, her eyes begging me to hear her. “I mean it, Maryanne. That man is filled with hatred, you must be careful around him.”
I pulled myself gently from her grip. “Nothing’s changed. I’ve always had to be careful around him.” I appreciated her warning, but Gisborne’s hatred was nothing new.
She shook her head. “He would never hurt Maud Fitzwalter, and that’s who he thought you were when you were here last, right?”
I nodded, dread filling my gut as the reason for her worry dawned on me. “But now he knows otherwise.” He might have been fighting with Rob when Tabitha arrived at the Big Tree, but he would have seen her there. Eliza had probably filled him in on the rest. Including the details about me and Maud.
Tabitha lifted one shoulder. “I think you should keep pretending to be Maud around him. I think he cares for her enough to overlook the things he thinks he knows.” A frown settled on her forehead.
“You’re really worried.” I’d been able to handle Gisborne last time I was here, but perhaps things were different now.
“Don’t give him any reason to think you’re not her. If there’s any way to curl your hair, do it. If
not, keep it tied up and pulled off your face so he can’t see the difference. Soften your voice when you speak to him. Do everything possible to make him think you’re her.” Her voice grew urgent and she grabbed my arm again.
I watched her a moment, my mind working. Tabitha knew Gisborne better than I did. If she was concerned, then I guessed I should be, too. “I have Maud’s engagement ring with me. Do you think wearing it would convince him I’m her?”
“Yes!” Tabitha spoke before I’d even finished.
I bent and pulled it from the bag at my feet. Putting it on felt wrong—like I was cheating in a test. I’d wear it for a while, just until I figured out how much of a threat Gisborne really was, then I’d return it to him, the way Maud had asked.
Tabitha handed me some hair ties and I pulled my hair from my face. Once I was done, her shoulders fell as if she had released a deep breath.
“I think you should go and see my family.” I hadn’t planned to suggest it, but Tabitha seemed lonely, and I felt sorry for her.
She shook her head. “I don’t need a substitute family. I’ve got my own. I just never get to see her.”
“You misunderstand. I think they might be able to help you get out of the portal.”
Tabitha’s eyes widened and she sank down onto the edge of her chair. “You do?” She breathed out the words.
I had no evidence to suggest I was right; it was more of a hunch. “I’m not certain, but if you tell them the same things you’ve told me tonight, they might be able to find a way to get you out of here.”
She looked at me through narrowed eyes like she didn’t believe me.
I shrugged. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
Tabitha let me out of the portal without speaking another word. When I was ten steps down the trail, she called, “Three months.”
I pulled on a beanie and a pair of gloves, and wrapped my cloak around my body against the cold before turning to find her watching me with her arms crossed over her chest.
“If your father can help me, I’m going to need some time to say goodbye to my friends. Meet me back here in three months and I’ll tell you if I’m free. And bring Eliza.” She didn’t give me time to answer, just disappeared back into her portal with a flash of light.
I started down the trail toward Edwinstowe, wondering exactly how I was going to get Eliza Thatcher to do anything. Or if I even cared.
Right now, my thoughts were on Rob, and how to find him. And maybe there was the occasional stray thought about the color of his eyes, too. I had enough food to last me a week, though I hoped to find Rob and the others sooner. The new hiking boots I’d bought before returning here were far more comfortable than the Converse shoes I’d worn last time, and if it wasn’t so bitterly cold—even my twenty-first century thermals weren’t helping—I’d have felt like I could walk for days.
Edwinstowe was my first stop. The same place I came to on my first ever day in the twelfth century. I came here that day because I was drawn by the noise of the massacre. Today I was here because it was the closest village to the Big Tree.
If it could still be called a village. Where homes had once stood, there were now tents, the houses having burned to the ground.
I pulled my hood up and made my way to the closest man, one of three working in the fields. “Excuse me.” The man remained focused on his work. I had no time for pleasantries anyway. “Can you tell me where I might find the man known as Robin Hood?” There were places I could start looking for them, places we’d stayed last time I was here, but I was hoping to save myself the guesswork.
The man shook his head. “Never heard of ‘im.”
After so many months away from this time, I’d almost forgotten the way magic helped me understand their twelfth century English. What I heard and what he said were two different things. I was noticing it now, the same way I had the first time I arrived here, but it wouldn’t be long until I grew used to it again and forgot it even happened.
I laughed. “Of course you have. He brings gold to the villages that need it.”
He shook his head, shoveling out a pile of manure and working it into the land.
I tried again. “It’s very important I find him.”
“Aye. He was important to all of us, too. Until he disappeared.” The words were mumbled, and I thought perhaps I’d misheard.
I pulled my hood off, so it no longer covered my ears, and snatched my twenty-first century beanie off my head, too. “Disappeared?”
The man stopped his shoveling, finally looking at me, his mouth dropping open. When I was in the twelfth century last time, the staring had annoyed me. Now I understood why everyone thought I was Maud. “You’re her.”
I nodded, rubbing my gloved hands together against the cold. Might as well work on my act now so I had it perfected should I run into Gisborne.
“You’re his girl. Robin Hood’s girl.” He nodded, grinning and pointing at me. “I was there. In Nottingham, looking for work. I saw you shoot an arrow at the Sheriff of Nottingham.”
“I didn’t actually shoot at—”
“You ran right past me as you left. You and him. It was some mighty fine shooting.” He glanced behind him and I was certain he was about to call his friends over.
I didn’t have time for that. Nor did I want it. I had no doubt the Sheriff would be looking for me after my stunt at his tournament. The fewer people that knew where I was, the better. I put a hand on his arm, and he immediately stopped turning. “Do you know where Robin Hood is? It’s important I find him.”
The man shook his head. “Sorry, love. No one’s seen or heard from him in months.”
That wasn’t good. “Where were they the last time you heard about them?”
The man thought for a moment. “Clipstone, I think.” He nodded. “Yes. Clipstone. But that was before Christmas. They’re probably dead.”
My stomach rolled. It was the last thing I wanted to hear after making the one-way trip to find him. That he hadn’t been seen for over a month made it even more likely, but I refused to believe it. I was going to find him. “Thank you,” I said, pulling on my beanie and dropping my hood back over my head, before retreating to the relative safety of the forest.
I didn’t sleep a wink that night. It was too late in the day to make it to Clipstone, so I stopped at Frog Rock. It was one of the most beautiful places in the forest in summer. Now, toward the end of winter, it was bleak and cold. I built a fire beside one of the large rocks, hoping the rock would give some shelter and the fire some warmth. It did, but not enough for me to sleep comfortably. Plus, I’d forgotten how noisy the forest could be at night, so I sat awake, clutching my bow until the sun began to lighten the sky.
As soon as I could see, I gulped down the freeze-dried breakfast I’d brought with me and headed to Clipstone. No one there had seen them, either. Not even John’s sister. I tried to ignore the biting worry in my gut after hearing she’d had no news of her brother in weeks.
My next stop was Kings Cave. Even if they weren’t there, at least I’d have somewhere sheltered to sleep tonight. The walk to the cave took most of the day. With each step, I hoped I was drawing closer to them.
Just as I started up the hill that led to the cave, with darkness beginning to fall, branches cracked to my left. I reached for an arrow from the quiver on my back. Before I could get hold of it, a strong hand backed me up against a tree, and a knife pricked the skin on my neck.
SIX
A scream bubbled up inside my chest, but I knew better than to scream in Sherwood Forest. Screaming could bring something worse than whoever held the knife.
“Where do you think you’re going?” A hood covered my attacker’s head, hiding him from my view. His voice was unfamiliar, and he was taller than me. Scrawny, but strong.
“Looking for a friend.” I spoke loudly, hoping to disguise the wobble in my voice.
“What friend?” My attacker bent, looking for my face i
n the shadow of the hood and the growing darkness.
As he drew close to me, I shoved my fist into his solar plexus, striking hard and fast, before he saw it coming.
My attacker grunted and took a surprised step back.
That was all the space I needed. With no knife at my neck, I ran. Back along the trail. I dodged branches, jumping over roots and stones. All with my attacker just paces behind.
My knife was in my boot. No chance to get it now, and he was too close to use my bow.
“Stop,” he called, closer than I would have liked.
I ran faster, ignoring the stitch in my side.
“Lady…Maryanne? Is that you?”
Maryanne. Not Maud.
I stopped, pulling my knife from my boot and spinning around. The person behind me was no one I recognized. But he recognized me.
He pulled back his hood.
“M…Miller?” It couldn’t be. The person who’d held a knife to my throat was tall, his voice gruff. Yet when he spoke my name, I heard a trace of what used to be.
He wrapped me in a hug, his arms strong around my back. “I didn’t think you were ever going to overturn. Rob said you weren’t. He’s been so sad. We all have, even Tuck.”
I smiled. Definitely Miller. I hugged him tight as he towered over me. I’d missed him so much I wasn’t even going to bother correcting him. “You grew.”
He pulled back. “You noticed? I keep telling Rob and John that I’m nearly as tall as them and they say I haven’t grown since I was ten.”
“Do they now?” I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. They must be alive. Miller had used their names in present tense. I hadn’t realized how much I’d dreaded their deaths until that moment. “Well, as someone who hasn’t seen you in months, I can confirm, you have most definitely grown.”
Miller beamed and grabbed my hand, dragging me up the hill. “Come on. The others will be so excited to see you.”
The cave was near the top of the hill, with a rocky overhang to protect us from the weather, and a flat area out the front, perfect for a fire. It was beside the fire John was sitting when we pushed through the bushes and came out at Kings Cave.
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