Rising early the following morning, Marian smiled at the sight of an arrow protruding from a beam opposite her window. She climbed from her bed and gingerly stroked the striped fletching, then grew even more pleased when she noticed a small note attached.
Unfolding the message, she grew excited as her eyes recognized the familiar script. She read, "Thank you for your help. What do you say to a swap? Your dagger for some soap. Leave it in the hollow of the elm by our bridge. -R-"
She smiled brightly while her heart seemed to sing. Of course he needed soap!
Not even bothering to eat, she dressed quickly and was on her way to the forest before her father had even awakened.
Everything near the stream over the spot where their log bridge had once spanned the water seemed peaceful and still so early in the day. A gentle breeze caressed the air, a few dragonflies darted over the top of the water, a frog hopped from the mud into the stream, birds warbled their merry songs back and forth through the treetops, but otherwise, all was quiet.
Marian reined and secured Vesper, then cast her eyes about through the dappled sunlight, trying to find the elm with a hollow in its trunk. Believing she had located it, she nearly jumped from her skin when a head popped up suddenly from under the water and gave a great gasp for air. Her anger shot to the surface when she heard Robin's laughter ring out, amused at how he had startled her.
"Don't you ever do that again," she scolded.
"What? Come to the surface for air? You can't mean you'd prefer me to stay under and drown!" He dove back under and quickly emerged, shaking his head vigoriously, sending water droplets sprinkling everywhere.
"I take it you got my message," he called to her cheerfully. "Did you bring the soap? You're looking in the wrong tree, by the way. I could've sworn I told you an elm...not an ash. Don't you know enough to tell the difference? The elm's over there, Marian." He pointed, still grinning at her, water dripping from his naked nicely muscled arm.
His cocky attitude infuriated her, and she let him know it. "How anyone can be so smug after smelling worse than a barn is beyond me," she haughtily replied.
"Toss me the soap, if you find me so offensive. I'll scrub myself clean. Or better yet, come join me for a swim and I'll let you scrub me yourself."
That was way over the line of respect! How dare he?
She glared into his laughing eyes, took careful aim, and hurled the soap straight at him. It struck him hard, squarely on his nose.
"Ow!" He threw her an injured look, then broke into a smile again and seized the bar of soap floating on the surface of the stream.
"That reminds me...I've been meaning to compliment you on your perfect aim ever since your hairpin hit the sheriff's guard in his shoulder, the day I saved Allan and Will from hanging."
"The day I saved you, you mean," she corrected.
He chuckled. "That, too." He rubbed the soap vigorously into his hair, ducked under the water again, then reemerged and shook out his hair, spraying water everywhere. "Now I know how you spent all those lonely winter evenings without me, while I was away at war. Practicing your aim."
"Of course," she replied sarcastically. "I practiced every day, imagining I was aiming for your heart, just in case the Saracens missed."
"No need. You struck it years ago, and conquerred it, too."
They froze, both equally surprised by the words which had escaped his mouth.
She waited expectantly for him to further declare his feelings. Her mouth was dry, and she hoped he couldn't hear her heart pounding so wildly in her chest. "Tell me, Robin," her thoughts implored him. "Tell me the truth."
When she didn't seem to respond, he covered his embarrassment with merry laughter, as if the whole thing had been a big joke. She frowned.
Of course! Everything was just one grand joke to him! He was lucky she had thrown the soap at him instead of her dagger!
He grew upset with himself for his confession, and her cold response to it made everything so much worse. He dug himself a deeper hole by his next words.
"Of course, practicing your aim wasn't the only activity you engaged in while I was gone. Aylesbury tells me you were quite busy getting to know him better, as well."
Marian rolled her eyes and fumed, "Oh, so you enjoy listening to his gossip, do you?"
"Can't say I 'enjoy' it, but I find it fascinating, especially the tale of how you dragged him away from the Christmas festivities into the chilly night air so you could have a few private moments alone." His voice grew angrier. "How you could kiss such a fool is beyond me, Marian."
"One doesn't need to be wise to be an outstanding kisser. Besides,I have a bit of practice kissing fools."
Her words, condescending tone, and lofty self satisfied expression were too much for Robin to bear. He wanted to swim straight to her, climb from the stream, and cover her mouth with his, to kiss her memories of Aylesbury away and reclaim her as his own. But he couldn't do that, clad in nothing. Instead, he reacted by slapping his hand across the top of the water, sending up a tremendous splash, which soaked the front of her gown through to her skin.
They were both surprised, and he was immediately sorry. He quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry, Marian. I shouldn't have done that. I didn't think I'd make you wet."
She looked down at her dress, and blushed when she noticed how tightly it clung to her figure, clearly displaying what was hidden beneath. She pulled the fabric from her form, but it only clung again as soon as she released its folds.
Robin had seen, and he really liked what he saw, but he was still ashamed of himself for her sake.
As for Marian, she was so angry and embarrassed she couldn't say a word. Without looking at him, she untied Vesper's reins and climbed aboard her horse to head back home.
After she had gone, Robin was torn between being ashamed for what he had done, and delighted by what he had seen. Remorse won the day, and he thought as he scrubbed the clinging stench from his body of a plan to make it up to her.