Robyn Hood: Fight For Freedom (16 page)

“140 men,” the Sheriff heaved, turning white.

“Don’t worry Sheriff, you’ll never see us all at once,” I said, uneasy with Maxine’s closeness.

I was thankful when Little John, riding one of the horses from the tiny band of mounted soldiers the Sheriff had brought with him, and Marian riding Nearly Dead, burst out of Sherwood. Right behind them was Much and Gilbert
, also riding borrowed horses.

I was relieved to see the extra men, and I’m sure it flashed across my face.

“So this is why you ran off. Is everything alright?” Little John asked, sliding off his horse. He seemed stoic.

“
All is well. Where is Sir Guy?” I asked Much, unstringing my arrow, returning it to my quiver. (Maxine would not try to liberate the Sheriff, whom he didn’t really like to begin with, in such a crowd of outlaws.)

“Back at camp. I had to drag him the
whole way back
! It took a long time. I left him with Tom and ten other Merry Men. But it doesn’t matter, he’s out cold,” Much shrugged, dismounting his horse.

“How?” I blinked.

“He insulted my chastity, so Ellen slammed him in the head with a stew pot. I hope he wakes up again,” Marian considered, innocently batting her blue eyes and winding a piece of blonde hair around a finger.

“That man lost his head.
I mean really, insulting Marian and wearing a horse pelt in front of Robyn?” Gilbert grimly shook his head.

I smiled and glanced down at the sweating sheriff. “Much, Gilbert, escort the sheriff back into Sherwood. Strip him
before sending him walking back to Nottingham. Leave his horse behind,” I ordered.

“Yes sir!” Gilbert smartly saluted, hopping off his horse.

Much rolled his eyes. “Right away,” he said in a mock bow.

“Marian, would you go with them?” I asked, rubbing my forehead.

“Why?” Marian demanded.

“Because I need you to decide what we should do with Sir Guy. Plus you need to pack your bags, you’ll be returning home soon,” I replied.

Marian shrugged and swung Nearly Dead in an arc, moving back to the forest without complaining.

I was both pleasantly surprised and suspicious.

“Come on Sheriff, up you go,” Gilbert pleasantly said, hauling the Sheriff to his feet with Much’s aid. The two escorted the Sheriff, each clamping down on his shoulder, back to the forest, dragging the horses behind them.

“What are we going to do with this one?” Little John asked, jerking his thumb back at Maxine.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted, biting my lip. I could always let him go… “Feel free to leave, Lord Maxine. Someone should notify the Prince that the mission has failed.”

Maxine leaned back against his horse. “Check the rest of the Sheriff’
s saddlebags.”

I shot him a cautious look before walking back to the Sheriff’s horse, flipping open another saddle bag.

My eyes practically popped out of their sockets. The saddlebags mounded on the backside of the horse were stuffed with gold and jewels, plates, and various regalia.

I quickly crossed myself as I stared at the vast wealth.

“It’s part of the collection of the Crown Jewels,” Maxine called, still leaning against his horse. Little John was seizing him up while standing in front of me.

Will Scarlet peered into the saddle bags of my shoulder. “For the love of—,” he cut off and blinked several times before rubbing his eyes.

I stalked away from the Sheriff’s horse and waltzed up to Maxine. “Why does the Sheriff have
the
Crown Jewels?” I hissed.

“He doesn’t have all of them. Just a few. Prince John gave them to him. He was supposed to use them to lure you out of Sherwood. Instead, by sheer dumb luck, we stumbled upon Will Scarlet and Little John, who worked as an even better lure,” he said, glancing at my Merry Men.

My thoughts raced. The Crown Jewels.
The
Crown Jewels?

“Why does Prince John have the Crown Jewels?” I asked, my mind racing. If I could get them to Queen Eleanor… but no. She wouldn’t hawk
the
Crown Jewels just to free King Richard!

“Some of that is inheri
ted from his grandmother. Others are a part of his personal collection,” Maxine shrugged. “The Crown Jewels aren’t just the crowns the king wears.”

Maxine hesitated as Will Scarlet gaped in the saddlebags. Little John didn’t move an inch.

“Your orders Robyn?” Little John asked.

“I don’t know. We need Friar Tuck. We’ll have to transport them,” I said before remembering Maxine was still there and listening.
I turned back around to face him. “Maxine, I am not taking you captive. Please return to Nottingham,” I stiffly said.

“Robin Hood,” Maxi
ne paused. “I’m taking a gamble. I really shouldn’t reveal this but… I’m a spy.”

In an instant an arrow was fixed in my bow
again
and I coldly faced Maxine.

“It’s not what you think!” Maxine protested. “I’m King Richard’s man! I’m one of his spies!”

“Explain,” I ordered.

Maxine released a whoosh of air. “
When King Richard went on the Third Crusade he appeared to take his most loyal men with him. However, he knew he had to leave some behind to keep Prince John in line. My family support King Richard, but none of us could enter the Crusades. My eldest brother is the heir, my second brother had already entered the church, and I was too young to go. Instead I became a spy for King Richard. I am in contact with those who work to raise the ransom to free King Richard. Rumor has it that you work for that very same goal.”

I tilted my head, considering Maxine. It didn’t feel like he was lying…

“I have evidence. Written letters from the Queen and letters from knights on the crusades with King Richard,” Maxine said before his eyes lit up. “I know a lass who is one of yours. Lady Mary Gamwell, although I’m not sure if that really is her name.”

I made a strangled noise in the back of my throat and Little John and Will Scarlet, who had finally finished admiring the jewels, froze.

“Who?”

“Mary Gamwell. She was sought out by your men, Little John and Will Scarlet
, directly before they were arrested by George and the Sheriff. I had a bloody hard time getting George off her scent. He was convinced she was their court contact in addition to Lady Marian.”

This made Will Scarlet laugh.

Little John wasn’t long behind him.

“Shut up!” I hissed, although I was relieved to hear Little John laughing.

“You
really
must have done a stellar acting job,” Little John said, slapping his knees.

I raised
my eyes to the sky. “Thank you for practically
giving
my identity away in front of a stranger.”

“He’s no stranger, he’s King Richard’s man,” Little John hummed.

“Plus you got along with him
oh so well
at that masquerade party,” Will Scarlet sniped.

“Wait… what?” Maxine asked, his eyes traveling back and forth between my men and I.

“ENOUGH!” I bellowed, silencing Little John and Will Scarlet. I turned to Maxine, clearing my throat. “Maxine, if you can indeed procure evidence that you are one of King Richard’s men and you can be in contact with the Queen my men and I will do everything we can to aid you.”

“He’s one of the King’s alright,” a voice called out from Sherwood.

I glanced up to see Friar Tuck waddling out of Sherwood Forest, panting and turning red.

“Whenever you cause a stir you have to situate yourself as far away from me as possible, don’t you?” the Friar complained, stopping to breath.

“Hello Friar Tuck, are you a soothsayer?” I teased.

“No,” Friar Tuck grunted. “Or I would have seen you coming
miles
away at that river. I heard you blow your horn and went to investigate it. By the time I arrived I was told you went chasing after the Sheriff with some of your best men. I ran into Much and Gilbert on the way back, they told me to continue on,” Friar Tuck shrugged.

“I’m glad you found us,” I smiled.

“What did you say about Lord Maxine?” Will Scarlet asked, glancing at Maxine.

“I put the word out among the church and received several confirmations. Queen Eleanor is
confiscating some of the gold and silver church artifacts and is hawking them for King Richard’s ransom. Additionally land taxes were raised,” Friar Tuck said.

“But what about Lord Maxine,” Will Scarlet repeated.

“Patience man, I’m getting there!” the Friar huffed. “A friar in Yorkshire confirmed my suspicions. King Richard has men spread through England who act as his spies. Maxine is one of several who shadow Prince John and follow his movements.”

“How
do you know that?!” Maxine yowled, startled.

“You under estimate the power of the church, my boy,” Friar Tuck chided.
“It was two abbots who discovered King Richard’s location in the first place.”

“Lord Ma
xine, how far down the chain are you from Queen Eleanor?” I asked.

“Not very far. I could easily ride to her court if I had to. Why?”

“My men and I have raised a decent chunk for the ransom. If you could deliver it to Queen Eleanor, along with Prince John’s ridiculous bait, I would be in your debt,” I said.

“Of course, I would be glad to help in any way I can. Although I might need a day before I leave
Nottingham. How much have you gathered?” Maxine asked.

“I bel
ieve we’re up to approximately 34,000 marks. Not including the treasure in these saddlebags,” I said, glancing at Little John and Will Scarlet to confirm my guesses.

“That sounds about right,” Little John agreed.

“Knights have been lured to the forest by promises of a reward from Marian’s father. It’s been a busy two weeks,” Will Scarlet acknowledged.

“34
,000 marks?” Maxine uttered, his mouth hanging open.

“Yes, I know. It’s
only a fraction of the ransom,” I sighed.

Maxine laughed. “It is a tidy sum. You have no idea how much it will be appreciated. I will ride to Queen Eleanor as soon as possible.”

“That’s no good,” Will Scarlet flatly rejected. “If you ride off alone it’s practically announcing you’re linked with us or King Richard.”

“What do you mean?” Maxine asked, bewildered.

Little John rolled his eyes. “It’s fair obvious. If you leave our forest, unarmed, that apprentice fellow of the Sheriff’s will be immensely suspicious of you. Especially when the Sheriff reports you told us Prince John’s crown was bait for us.”

“It will be even worse when you prance in, unhu
rt, while the Sheriff goes in his underclothes and George and the rest are injured and bruised. I could have some men drop you off at the gates, but I’m not willing to go any farther than that to make the façade complete,” I warned. “No, we’ll have to give you a
reason
to go.”

“Send Marian,” Friar Tuck shrugged. “She was at Queen Eleanor’s a year ago. It is not
preposterous that her father would whisk her off to that location once she returns home.”

I stared at the portly churchman. “How did you know that Marian stayed in Queen Eleanor’s court?”

“It’s common knowledge,” Friar Tuck said, waving it off.

“No it’s not. I didn’t know that,” Little John said.

“It’s a good idea. If Marian tells her father she wants to go to Queen Eleanor’s courts he’ll cry with joy, and of
course
she’ll need a male escort with some courtly standing in addition to all of her maids,” I said, rubbing my chin. “And we can always spread the rumor that Lord Maxine was blackmailed by Robin Hood into journeying with her, and that was his price to return safely to Nottingham without us seriously harming him,” I decided.

“If we snag a few pieces of his clothes
and ruff him up a little it will work perfectly,” Little John agreed.

“Let’s do it,” I decided. “If you’re willing, Lord Maxine.”

“I am. But will Marian be?” Maxine asked.

I snorted. “If we tell her she’s accompanying our
monetary donation she’ll be more than willing. She’ll be demanding,” I laughed, walking past Maxine to collect Crafty. “Please return with us to our camp in Sherwood and we’ll start planning, Lord Maxine,” I invited, swinging up onto my wicked horse.

Lord Maxine was staring at me as though he were seeing me for the first time. “…Lady Mary?” he asked.

I gripped Crafty too tightly with my legs, so he threw his head and hopped in protest.

“You didn
’t get Will and Little John’s obvious hints but when you see me on a horse you instantly recognize me?” I sighed.

“Tha
t’s Nightmare, Lady Mary’s horse. He wouldn’t let anyone touch him except for her. Plus you do sound a lot like her,” he said, squinting up at me through narrowed eyes. “So Robin Hood’s a girl?”