He jumped to his feet and looked from Miller to me, then broke into a huge smile. “Lady Maryanne?” His brown hair stuck out in all directions, and his right hand was wrapped in layers of bandages that hid all but the tips of two fingers.
I grinned. “I would say ‘the one and only’, but…” Maud Fitzwalter looked too much like me to be able to say that ever again.
He laughed and lifted me off my feet in a one-armed hug, holding his injured hand to his chest.
“What’d you do?” I laughed as he put me back on the ground. “Burn yourself on the fire?”
He ran his good hand through his hair, laughing. “Need to learn to be more careful.”
Tuck came out of the cave and stood in the opening, watching. I nodded to him. Our relationship had never been close, though it had started to thaw before I left. After Maud’s information, I wasn’t sure what to make of him.
“Good to see you, Lady Maryanne.” He wandered out and perched on the log John had been sitting on and stoked up the fire.
I turned a full circle, unable to keep my question to myself. “Where’s Rob?” When I’d first seen Miller, I’d been sure he was alive, but doubt niggled at me. If he was all right, he’d be here. Wouldn’t he?
“He can’t be far away.” John sat and patted the log beside him, scooching over until Tuck had to slide across. “I assume you’re staying for dinner?”
I nodded and sat next to him, pulling my beanie off and warming my gloved hands on the fire. “You’re hard people to find. No one’s heard from you in months.” I shot him a judgmental stare. “Not even your sister.”
John looked at the ground. “Been meaning to visit her. Been busy.”
“Well, you should. She thinks you’re dead.” I sounded harsher than I intended. But Josephine had been worried and one quick visit would put her mind at rest.
“Who thinks who’s dead?” Rob stepped over the crest of the hill, a rabbit in each hand. He stopped short when he saw me. His mouth fell open and he dropped the rabbits onto the dirt. “Maryanne? What the…?” He took an unsteady step forward, shrugging his bow off his shoulder and letting it fall to the ground.
I stood up, a grin pulling at my lips. “Hi, Rob.” He looked good—thinner in the face than when I left—but still good. His blond hair was pulled to the back of his neck, and his green eyes were wide with surprised confusion.
He pinched himself so hard he winced.
I knew the feeling. I’d wanted to pinch myself since the moment I realized Miller had held a knife to my neck. “It’s not a dream, Rob. I’m here. To stay.”
“You sure? Because I’ve had some pretty realistic dreams since you left, and they always start with you standing in front of me telling me you’re back.” He shook his head like he still couldn’t believe it, but his eyes never strayed from my face.
I looked down at my clothes. Pants and a tunic, and a cloak pulled tightly around my shoulders. “Does this look like dream attire to you?”
Sudden amusement flashed across his face, tension, worry and confusion gone. Rob folded his arms over his chest and considered me for a long moment. “I don’t have a clue what you could mean.” Which meant he totally got it.
I glanced at John. This conversation could now go in a variety of directions, all of which made me uncomfortable with everyone listening. But sometime in the last few moments, he and the others had disappeared, slipping silently off to the cave. Rob and I were alone.
Okay, then. I took a couple of steps in his direction, then stopped, still too far away to touch him. “If you don’t understand, there’s no possible way I could explain it,” I said, innocently.
His grin grew wider. “Well, that’s…disappointing.”
I was so happy to be back. So pleased to be doing…this…with Rob. I hadn’t realized how dead I’d felt inside these past few months at home until I saw Miller, John and Tuck. And especially Rob.
A piece of hair fell from the tie at the back of his neck to rest in front of his eye. He batted it away and took another step toward me. “How…? Why…? I mean, I saw it happen. I thought you could never come back. How are you here?”
“Long story. Maybe I should tell everyone at once. I’m sure they’ll want to hear as well.” Not only did I want to tell it just the one time, I wanted to hear about them. What they had been doing, how they’d fared these past months, how they’d tried to defeat Gisborne.
He glanced around as if he’d only just noticed the others were gone. “They were quick to leave.” A slow and wicked smile grew on his face. “Must have expected me to ravish you up against the tree over there.”
My cheeks heated. He always knew exactly what to say to elicit that sort of reaction. I was pretty sure he expected me to bite back, and I didn’t intend to disappoint. Folding my arms over my chest, I lifted my chin. “Why? Do you do that sort of thing often?”
He laughed, surprise making his eyes widen, before he said, “Only with the most beautiful women.”
“And these beautiful women, they’re happy to be ravished by you?” A stupid question. I’d seen the way the women in carriages reacted to him. He had a way with words that made them giggle and stammer. If they were given the chance, I imagined many would take it. They weren’t ever given that chance, though.
He pointed to himself using both hands, his eyes dancing as though he relished this as much as I did. “Best archer in the forest. They are only human.”
“The best archer in the entire Sherwood Forest? That’s a very bold claim.” And likely correct. No sense in adding to his ego, though.
He shrugged, strutting over to stop directly in front of me. “It’s hardly bold if it’s true.”
“You know,” I said, enjoying the way he watched me. I’d missed just hearing his voice, let alone seeing his face. “I heard a story once of an archer who split an arrow in a target held to another person’s chest. That was a pretty good shot. Some would say one of the best ever made.”
His lips flickered as he tried not to smile. He inclined his head. “I agree. It was a good shot.”
“I’m confused, though. I’m sure it wasn’t you, the best archer in all of Sherwood Forest, who made that shot,” I said, with mock seriousness.
“Sadly, that is correct.” He pressed his lips together, perhaps to keep from smiling.
“I also heard that same archer then made a shot that trapped the Sheriff and Gisborne under an awning.”
Rob gave a slow nod. “I believe you are once again correct.”
“And that shot wasn’t made by the greatest archer in all of Sherwood, either, was it?”
He stepped closer; his smile not quite so well hidden now. The strength of his stare made my heart hammer. I’d missed him so much. “Are you suggesting you might be a better archer than me, my lady?”
I was, but only in jest. Rob was a million times the archer I’d ever be. “Current examples would suggest that to be the case.”
His eyes went to my lips and he took another step toward me so there was no longer any distance between us. He leaned in to speak in my ear. “If you want that title, Lady Maryanne, you’ll have to fight me for it.”
The tone of his voice and his breath on my ear brought all sorts of images to mind, not all to do with archery, and I was grateful he couldn’t read my thoughts.
He laughed, a deep sound that traveled along my spine. It made me wonder if he did, somehow, know what I’d been thinking.
My cheeks heated and I moved away. I needed space between us to clear my head. I could never think straight with him so close. “Would that be before or after you ravish me against that tree?” I managed to keep the wobble from my voice, but not the breathlessness.
He raised his eyebrows. His grin, if possible, grew more mischievous than before. “After, of course.”
How I wished I could just once say something he had no response for. Instead, it was me groping for words as he fixed me with his intense st
are. Besides, no matter how good it sounded, there would be no ravishing against a tree or anywhere else when there was an audience of boys in the close vicinity. Or before we’d had the chance for a proper conversation. “As tempting as that sounds,” I said, dryly, “I very much doubt you will have any idea how to get into my twenty-first century clothing.” My current attire had zippers rather than buttons. And…had I really said that out loud?
He looked at his feet, then back at me with a grin. “I’m a quick learner?”
A giggle bubbled from me.
Enough.
This conversation was going places I wasn’t prepared for.
He must have decided the same thing because the laughter left his face and he held out his arms. I stepped into them, resting my head on his chest. If I thought I felt like I was home when I first saw him, I was wrong. This was the place I belonged, where I felt safe.
“Missed you,” he said, quietly.
“I missed you, too.”
SEVEN
After the cold night I’d spent in the forest last night, I was pleased our fire was so hearty I could strip off my gloves for the first time in two days. Even happier there was warm food to fill my belly.
There was a weird vibe around the fire as we ate. It felt different than when I first arrived, but I couldn’t put my finger on what the problem was. The boys talked and laughed, the way they always had. But something was off. Or I was tired and seeing things where none existed.
I caught Rob watching me as I moved closer to the fire to warm my hands. I smiled, feeling like this was a dream: I’d never expected to have his eyes on me again. But he looked away and started a conversation with John.
A few minutes later, the boys stood and slid their bows over their shoulders and belted on their swords. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“We’re going to kill my little brother.” Rob looked up from his buckle. “Come. If you want.”
“You’re what?” They couldn’t have mentioned this sooner?
“We’re going to kill Gisborne, milady,” said Miller, as if I truly hadn’t heard.
“Okay.” I stretched the word out, looking at the moonlit sky above us. “But why right now?”
“Because he’s nearly recovered, and he isn’t expecting us.” Rob paused for a second. “Because he’s at Woodhurst.”
Rob’s home. Or the home that should have been his, had Gisborne not stolen it from him.
I was totally onboard with killing Gisborne. In my opinion, it couldn’t happen soon enough. I just wasn’t sure doing it where he lived was the best idea. “Won’t he have the advantage if we go into his home?”
“I know that place as well as he does,” Rob snapped.
I watched him carefully. He usually only spoke that way when something else was going on. Like when he was worried. Or scared. I tilted my head, my question—what’s going on?—unspoken, but understood.
Rob shrugged. “Things are different now. We’re like prisoners. We can’t do anything in case Gisborne hears of it and takes his anger out on an innocent village. See how skinny Miller is?” He threw his hand out in Miller’s direction, his voice hard with anger that almost seemed directed at me.
I turned to look Miller over by the light of the fire. He was skinny. Maybe I could have put it down to all the growing he’d been doing these past few months, were he the only one of them to have lost weight.
“Last time Miller killed a rabbit in the forest, a soldier saw him. Gisborne used it as an opportunity to burn a village down in Miller’s name. Now Miller doesn’t hunt. No one hunts, in case that happens again.”
“You do.” He’d had two rabbits with him when he arrived here earlier tonight.
“Only because he won’t take his own advice,” said Tuck, shifting his bow on his back until he was comfortable.
“Meaning?” I had a pretty good idea and looked between Tuck and Rob for confirmation.
There was silence for so long, I didn’t think anyone was going to answer. Finally, Rob drew in a breath. “Meaning it’s safest not to hunt. I only do it when we’re so hungry we have no other option.” He slid his quiver over his shoulder.
“Because you refuse to allow anyone else to take the risk.” John held his bandaged hand against his chest, his other hand clutched his staff.
Rob swiveled to face John. “Neither you or Miller are in any state to hunt, and Tuck’s time is better spent in the towns, talking to people he trusts and finding out what Gisborne’s next move will be. Don’t try to make it sound like I’m some kind of martyr. I’m doing what I must for us to survive. The same as you. And Tuck. And Miller.” His words were sharp. I’d never heard him speak this way to John. Tuck, yes. But never John.
“I’m not making you out as a martyr,” John said quietly. “I’m grateful for all the risks you take for us.”
“We all are,” interrupted Tuck.
“We’d follow you anywhere, including into Gisborne’s home. But we just want you to know, we can help you. As far as hunting goes, I’d be happy to try it, injured or not. As for everything else, you don’t need to carry it all on your own shoulders.”
“Carry all what on your shoulders?” There was so much tension in the air, I wasn’t sure if something had happened between the boys or if it stemmed from something else entirely.
“Rob thinks everything is his fault.” John watched Rob as he spoke, and I wondered if this was the first time he’d voiced such a thought.
“Don’t.” Rob shook his head but said nothing more. His eyes flicked my way then away so fast it was like he’d never looked at me.
“He’s wrong of course,” John added.
“I’m not.” Rob’s jaw jutted.
“Everything, what?” I asked.
John continued to watch Rob. “The last time we stopped a carriage, not long after you left, soldiers came to the village where we handed out the gold and lined all the men up in one of the fields. They shot them in the back and told the women they’d be next if they ever took anything from Robin Hood again. Rob tried to help the women who were left behind.”
“Fat lot of good I was.” Rob kicked at a stone on the dirt. “They all preferred to starve to death than take anything else from me.”
John’s eyes shifted to me. “And starve they did,” he said quietly.
I drew in a breath. How awful. From every angle.
“I don’t even know why we’re talking about this. I’m sure Maryanne doesn’t want to hear.” Rob’s voice was harsh, and he still wasn’t looking my way.
Something was wrong, and I couldn’t figure out what. Of course I wanted to hear about it. I’d never given them any reason to think I wouldn’t be interested in what was going on in their lives. “I do. I’ll always want to hear. What’s changed? Since I was here before?” And why would he think I wasn’t interested?
Rob turned away; his lips clamped shut.
I glanced at the others. No one met my eyes. I didn’t understand what was going on. It was as if a huge wall was sitting between me and them. “Rob? Talk to me.”
Rob spun to face me. “Gisborne.” He spat his brother’s name. “It ends tonight.” Rob’s jaw set in a hard line, and I doubted anyone could talk him out of what he had planned.
Not that I wanted to. But it would help to know what I was walking into before I got there. “Why now? What makes you suddenly think killing Gisborne is a good idea? Surely he’ll have guards who will come after you the moment you try to touch him.”
“I’ve always thought killing my brother was a good idea.” Rob’s voice was soft. “It’s just that now we have the perfect opportunity. He arrived at Woodhurst Manor yesterday from Nottingham. He’s there to finish recuperating.”
“You mean he’s been doing all these horrible things from his sickbed?”
Rob nodded, his jaw still tight. His eyes barely rested on me before he looked away again. The easy conversation we’d shared before dinne
r was gone, and instead it felt as if Rob was holding back. “We’re going tonight whether you like it or not. There are fewer soldiers there than when he was convalescing in Nottingham, and I know that place like the back of my hand. If we ever had a chance to succeed, it’s there, tonight.”
If Gisborne was still recovering, this really might be a chance to be rid of him for good. And with Gisborne gone, what I’d seen in my dreams couldn’t happen. “Better get going, then.” I shot him a grin. “As if I’d ever let you go off and do this without me.”
It was late when we reached Woodhurst Manor, easily one in the morning, maybe later.
I’d never seen Rob’s home before. I’d heard a little about it from him, and a little more from Dad. A stab of anger went through me that Rob would never again live here.
The house itself was a simple rectangle shape. It was three stories high with a timber roof and beautifully kept gardens, from what I could see in the moonlight.
We watched from the forest for a few minutes, checking for guards. Rob clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides, his jaw stiff. We were waiting for Rob’s signal because it was obvious he needed a moment. I could imagine he had mixed feelings about going back into his old home. He’d been a child the last time he set foot inside it.
Our plan was to go in silently, kill Gisborne, and get out as fast as possible. There was no time for anything else, not if we wanted to live. We pulled our hoods over our heads and followed Rob through a back entrance he’d once used when sneaking out to the forest as a kid. He said it was the best way to by-pass the guards. He took us straight to the staircase and up two flights of stairs to the master chamber. Gisborne’s room. Rob really did remember everything about this place.
My heart pounded. This was it. The end of Gisborne, and therefore the end of everything that happened in my dreams.
Rob drew his sword slowly, barely making a noise, then pushed open the door. I craned my neck to see inside. Firelight lit the room and dim moonlight shone in through the window. The room contained an empty bed, two empty chairs and a desk.
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