Heart of Sherwood Page 18

  "Shhh," scolded a less drunk soldier. "Don't be a blob-tale!"

  Prince John's tax revenue, it must be, Marian thought as Gisborne handed her up into her carriage. But is it already in the castle, or coming later? And when?

  "Sir Guy, you have been a wonderful companion this day, performing impeccably in accordance to the dictates of courtly love," she poured on the compliment. She was certain she saw a blush rise in his ruddy cheeks… or was it just alcohol?

  "I do try, milady," he replied with a smile. She hesitated for a moment. Was he drunk enough to grill about the archery contest and the Prince's tax money, or would she betray her true intent? Better to err on the side of caution, mother always says. At least I know they are laying a trap for Robyn and I can warn her. "May I call on you next week?"

  "I bear many manorial duties following harvest, but perhaps in a fortnight."

  "Until then." Sir Guy gave her a gallant bow and closed her carriage door. Marian breathed a sigh of relief as the wheels rattled through the gate. A languorous smile overtook her face as Marian turned her thoughts toward home and the smoky, succulent woman who would be waiting to meet her. Even as her mind was amused recalling their first attempt at love making–steeped in bashful uncertainty, then flame-broiled with raw desire–her body reacted with a tightening of her inner thighs and a pulling at her nipples. The anticipation was more arousing than she could have imagined!

  *~*~*

  Nearby, a large, shadowy figure loomed at the back door to the castle stables, shrouded in a charcoal cloak, his face hidden by its deep hood. He was met by a young fellow in common garb with raucous dirt colored curls.

  "Were you seen?" the hooded man asked in an uneasy baritone.

  "I don't think so," his companion replied with a glance over his shoulder.

  There was a moment of silence. Then the big man handed the other a small leather binder tied up tight. "You are the only one I can trust with this, little brother."

  His curly haired confidant took the package and tucked it snuggly inside his tunic. With a grave nod he declared, "You can count on me."

  The shrouded hulk placed a hefty hand on his brother's shoulder. "Make haste straightway for Windsor and do not stop. Speak to no one," his low voice warned. "The fate of England is now in your hands." The young man swallowed, his wide, guileless eyes betraying the burden thrust upon him. Speechless, he caught his brother in a manly embrace before making his retreat. "Godspeed," he voiced after the lad in a hushed farewell.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sherwood Forest

  Robyn sat on a log near the campfire whittling sticks into arrow shafts, anxiously trying to fill the day until she could strike out for Marian's. She proposed to arrive after dark–it was just simpler that way. What has she discovered? What will she be wearing? Will she be as excited to see me as I am to see her? A million thoughts poured through her head. Her musings were interrupted by a trio of small children running about giggling who plowed right into her. She immediately withdrew the knife so as not to hurt any of them by accident.

  Christina ran up behind them. "No! Don't disturb Robin, you silly gooses!" She grabbed one tow-headed boy by the arm and blushed with an abashed grimace. "I'm so sorry."

  "No bother at all," Robyn replied. Then she tilted her head toward Christina in curiosity. "What do you and the other youths do all day?"

  "Oh, well, I usually chase after the little ones and try to keep them out of trouble," she said as she shoved the threesome away from the fire site, "and help Mum with chores. Charles likes to go fishing, mostly so that he can feel important when he brings home something to eat. The two quiet boys are starting to do more than just sit huddled in blankets. What do you do all day? Important things, for certs," she added, her bright eyes scanning the area for her younger charges. Robyn followed her gaze and spotted them peering around oak trunks at each other, laughing and throwing acorns.

  Suddenly a thought dropped into Robyn's head like ripe fruit falling from a tree, and she sprang to her feet brimming with inspiration. "Thank you, Christina!" she said placing a hand on the youngster's shoulder. "You have given me a wonderful idea!"

  "I have?" Her eyes shone with pride.

  "Indeed. Now, see to your little brothers and you will learn of my inspiration shortly."

  Christina flashed a wondrous grin and ran after the urchins.

  Robyn's gaze swept over the camp until it rested upon Alan A Dale traipsing back from the privy. "Alan!" she called. "I need you a minute."

  He perked up and quickened his pace. "Do you require someone handsome, talented, or brilliant, 'cause I'm your man," he said with a whimsical smile.

  She returned it with a mischievous gleam. "I have a significant project that needs doing, and you are indeed just the man to accomplish it." She draped an arm over his shoulders and walked with him around the camp as she explained. "You see all these children?"

  "Aye," he uttered with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

  "It has been brought to my attention that they need something important to do just like everyone else. It also occurs to me that winter is coming. Therefore, we are going to strike two birds with one stone, and you my friend, will be in charge of the operation."

  "Huh?" Alan stopped walking and gave her a puzzled look.

  "I want you to organize the children to become nut gatherers. There are plenty of walnuts, hazelnuts, and sweet chestnuts in the forest that can help sustain us through the winter months, and the mitings need an activity of import. You may fashion the chore into something fun… have them pretend they are squirrels, or," her brown eyes flashed, "turn it into a game and the one who gathers the most nuts wins. Wait," she amended as thoughts continued to cascade through her mind. "Separate them into teams with the littlest ones divvied up so it will be fair. Come up with a prize, create rules, use your imagination. You'll be brilliant!"

  Alan's green eyes widened like saucers. "Me? You want me to be in charge of children? Have you gone completely daft?"

  Robyn only grinned at him, her expression twinkling with delight. "Are children too much for you to handle? Is the challenge too great?" She slid her arm from his shoulders, taking a step back to give him room to breathe.

  "Nay, 'tisn't that," he answered frowning.

  "The youngsters all love you," she said. "They think you are amusing. Asides, if you keep running off to the tavern to see that girl of yours, you'll soon be having wee mites of your own."

  A look of utter horror consumed his features in an instant. "Shall not!"

  Robyn laughed in spite of trying not to. "Alan, mate, has no one told you where babies come from yet?"

  Alan's cheeks turned so red she could have sworn they had been rubbed with strawberries. "I know where they come from," he uttered in a flustered whisper. "I'm just not ready to be anyone's Papa."

  "Which is all the more reason you need to practice. Come now; all will be well," Robyn assured him. "It will be an adventure."

  *~*~*

  FitzWalter manor, that night

  Marian waltzed into her bedroom, latched the door behind her and lit a candle. Raising her chin with eyes closed, she took in a deep breath through her nose and smiled. "What is that unfamiliar odor that touches my senses?" she asked whimsically.

  "It's called clean," came Robyn's sarcastic reply. Marian turned a languorous gaze to Robyn who stepped out of the corner shadow. She had already removed her cloak, doublet, trousers, and boots, and stood like a tall drink of water in leggings and tunic. The corners of Marian's mouth bowed up in a radiant smile. "I wanted to, you know, not smell like an old shoe for once, so I rose before dawn to bathe in the brook." She eased toward Marian and the bed.

  Marian shivered as she tossed her own cloak onto the chair at her dressing table. "That must have been cold."

  "Indeed," Robyn replied huskily, taking another step.

  Marian shrugged, feigning indifference. "You could have waited until you arrived here and had a hot bath in my c
hamber."

  Robyn's eyes twinkled as she held her burgeoning laughter at bay. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt for you to scrub me down anyway; I might have missed a spot."

  Marian stepped in, her voice now more tinted with desire than humor. "You may rest assured that I will not miss the spot." Their lips met, jolting Robyn to her core, transforming fantasy into a reality almost beyond belief. Her arms wrapped around Marian as she was overwhelmed with a sudden and intense need to touch her, to hold her closer than breath. Pressed together, she felt Marian's heart beat against her own chest. Presently, the two drew apart for necessity of air.

  "You definitely found the spot," Robyn confirmed in a ragged voice. "My heart."

  She sensed the intimacy of Marian's unguarded eyes caress her face before she tugged Robyn in for another lingering kiss. Then, tilting her head, she mused aloud, "How do you do it? How do you live with all those men day after day without them ever finding out?" She unfastened the cord at her waist and proceeded to wriggle out of her gown and drop it into a circle of cloth at her feet.

  "It is not easy," Robyn began as she drank in Marian's shapely form beneath her thin chemise. "I have to find odd times to use the privy, only chance to bathe or change clothes in the middle of the night, pretend to shave my face from time to time and never appear shocked or embarrassed when they so easily relieve themselves wherever." She shook her head with a little laugh. "There's a young girl from Loxley who recognized me, but she is good at keeping secrets." Marian lifted Robyn's tunic over her head and then sucked in her breath, her blue eyes blazing while a blush rose in her cheeks. "I unwrapped already–have been waiting quite the while. I was beginning to wonder if you were coming at all."

  "Rubbish! You knew I would be here." Marian regained her composure and raised her gaze to Robyn's face while she pulled off her own chemise.

  "Oh, and your maid? She is nothing if not thorough in her duties. I was obliged to duck into the wardrobe and under the bed as she continued to move in and out all evening." It was Robyn's turn to flutter as she cast a mesmerized gaze over firm, ample breasts that beckoned to her like Eden's fruit.

  Marian laughed warmly and stepped in to touch Robyn, languidly running a light stroke along her skin. Robyn's body responded at once, being seized in a tingling sensation. "But what do you do about the flowers? That has to be the hardest thing to hide."

  "Ah, yes." She chuckled and sat on the bed to remove her leggings. "I have to find excuses to disappear from time to time, and my brother taught me to make this scent disguiser from animal musk for hunting. It stinks to blazes and back, but you can't smell anything else. And trousers are much better for holding a rag in place than any feminine contraption." She stopped talking long enough to notice Marian sitting at her side, both of them now completely nude. Heat washed over her with tremendous force. "Will Scarlet almost found me out a short while ago. Very sweet boy, loyal to a fault, but none too bright."

  "What happened?"

  "He crept up while I was washing my bloody cloth in the stream. I made up some story about it being a sword cleaning cloth and he was so impressed he wanted one too." They both laughed before demanding need for each other seized control. Their eyes locked on each other's; Robyn raised a tender hand to cup Marian's face. "I have scarcely thought of anything but this moment since last I saw you."

  "Nor I," Marian echoed with a shameless sigh in her voice. The kiss took its time, patiently savoring every taste and sensation, a lingering and steady seduction. Robyn's hands, now rough and strong, made their way gently, exploring, stroking, giving and receiving elation at their fingertips. She reveled in the magic of Marian's smooth touch, which was surprisingly intuitive given her lack of experience. Falling back onto the bed, they melted into one another, as generous as they were demanding, whispering utterances of endearment and pledges of devotion. There were instances when Robyn had to bite her own lip or close hers over Marian's to keep from crying out as the waves of passion carried her to new and wondrous heights. And when they were sated and fully spent, they lay in each other's arms, drenched in the sweat of their pleasure, floating on a sea of bliss.

  "Well," Robyn offered once she found her voice. "I was clean… for a little while." A musky aroma hung in the air. "You'll want to perfume the bed before your maid comes in the morning."

  Marian, too drained to move, placed a kiss to Robyn's shoulder where her head rested. "You are so precious!"

  "This is like nothing I could have ever imagined," Robyn said dreamily staring at the ceiling. "It was as if for a little while there is no one else, nothing else in the whole world but you and me. And we could fly–like eagles, Marian–fly like eagles."

  "I know," Marian breathed in awe. "I felt it; I was there with you, Robyn. I have never been closer to anyone, nor do I ever care to be. This, you, are all that I ever want."

  Robyn's thoughts were arrested at that declaration. She ever only wanted Marian, but… "When this is all over, if we aid in getting the King back and protecting his throne from Prince John, we will be given a reward of some sort, but I'm not certs if he can or would help us to stay together. I mean, what would we say? What could we ask for? I love you Marian, with all my heart. And I want nothing more than to spend my life with you, only you. But what if that isn't possible?"

  Marian raised herself up on her elbow to peer down into Robyn's concerned expression. A familiar look of bemusement crept across her face. "That may not be as difficult as you think." Robyn's brow furrowed in confusion and her eyes gazed questioningly up into her partner's. "You are not the only one who keeps secrets, you know, or goes sneaking out of her room at night. I have learned a few things about my godfather that I wager few others are privy to."

  "Oh, now you must tell me," Robyn allowed, her curiosity piqued.

  "Well," Marian began, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a broad grin. She played her fingers across Robyn's belly as she relayed the story. "As you are aware, my father is a true and loyal vassal to King Richard, and among his closest friends. On occasions, the King would stay at our manor while traveling through the region. One night while I was spying about the house after I was supposed to be in bed, I peeked into the guest room to see what the King was about." She paused for dramatic effect.

  "And??" Robyn insisted.

  "Let us just say that you will find King Richard to be quite understanding of our situation, and he and my father are far more than mere friends."

  Robyn's eyes grew wide and her mouth fell agape in amazement. "Your father–and the Lionheart? Really??"

  Marian's melodic laugh warmed Robyn's soul. "Yes, really. I suppose that is why he is my godfather, and why the King has no children of his own."

  "Forsooth!" Once the revelation had sunk in, another thought began to haunt Robyn and her jovial countenance quickly faded causing Marian to frown.

  "What's wrong?"

  Robyn was aware of Marian's soft caress on her breast, a sensation that warmed her soul, yet threatened to undo her. She swallowed and then turned her face to look Marian in the eyes. "But you would want children. If you stay with me, you will not be able to have children of your own and you will grow to resent me for it. I cannot give you what you need to be complete, and for that my heart breaks."

  "Oh, Robyn, no," Marian immediately consoled moving her hand to stroke her cheek. "That is not so. One does not require a man to have children, not while England is filled with orphans in need of mothers. Do you think there not enough love in my heart to give it to a child born of another?"

  "Never," Robyn affirmed. "You overflow with love and kindness, grace likened to a saint."

  "Then understand that if at some point I become desirous of children, we can assuredly adopt and give love to those who have none."

  In that moment tears welled in Robyn's eyes as an intensity of love, joy, and acceptance that she had never known consumed her such that she could not express. She tenderly cupped her hand around the back of Marian's neck and drew her in to a revere
nt kiss filled with emotion that knew no words. Silent gratitude hung in the air until Robyn said, "T'were I to die this night, t'would be as the most joyful and blessed person to have ever lived. Marian, I truly do not deserve you–but if you will have me, I shall do my best to see that you enjoy the life you desire."

  "If?" Marian smiled playfully. "I have already had you twice, and I think I should want to keep you. And that reminds me…" she began her energy renewed.

  "Ah, yes," Robyn said as she recalled the reason she had come to see Marian tonight–well, the other reason. "What did you learn at the feast?"

  "Not as much as I had hoped, but something that will prove highly useful."

  "Tell me all!"

  "It seems the Sheriff is planning to trap you with an archery contest at the Martinmas Fair. He has determined you will not be able to resist showing off your skill in front of all of Nottinghamshire, and his guards will be ready to arrest you on the spot the moment you win. Oh, yes, and I get to present the winner's prize of a golden arrow."

  "Say you do, do you? A golden arrow?" Robyn teased.

  Marian nodded. "Resting on a silk pillow."

  Robyn chuckled. "Better than a golden apple, I suppose." She gave Marian's breast a teasing squeeze and winked. Marian's mouth dropped and a little squeak spilled out before she teasingly slapped at Robyn's hand. "So the Sheriff is banking on my pride, is he? Then he will be sadly disappointed when I fail to enter the contest, for I have no vanity that needs tending."

  Marian smiled broadly, dazzling eyes beaming into Robyn's. "Precisely." She brushed a light kiss across her lips. "And then there is the matter of Prince John's tax collections, somewhere upward of twenty thousand German marks."

  "Whew," Robyn sighed. "That would go a long way toward the King's ransom."

  "And you can be sure he has other plans for it, but that's the part I missed. Giffard, Gisborne, the Prince, a couple of bishops and three other barons met in private in the Sheriff's office. Then they kept exchanging knowing looks all day, and if any were conversing when I neared, they would suddenly stop or change the subject. I overheard some guards gossiping about it, but I have no idea if the cache is there now, or if not when it will be coming through Nottingham–if it is even coming through Nottingham. I also couldn't discover what they plan to use the money for. My first guess is bribing other nobles to join their little revolt and try to steal the crown."