The following day was as fair as the previous one had been nasty. It was a perfect day, Marian decided, to pay a visit to Matilda.
Marian approached the healer's cottage boldly, trying to banish the nervousness she felt. Matilda would be the first person she told about her pregnancy, and it ought to have been Robin. Of course, Allan had guessed it on his own, but Allan was worldy wise about such matters, though hardly a man of the world, as Count Friederick had been.
"Shh!" Matilda cautioned, when Marian knocked on her door. "Rosa's just gotten Alice down for her morning nap. Let me step outside with you, where we can talk."
Closing the door behind her, she gave Marian a quick all over glance. "Hmm," she observed, "you're looking peaked. Not half as well as you usually look. Is that why you're here?"
"Do I really look peaked? I feel well, most of the time."
"Your color's not as good as it was...less roses and cream, more ashen. Your hair looks good, silky and abundant, but I've never seen you so thin, and it's not healthy for your build."
"Robin said I was thin, too. I hadn't noticed."
"You're not doing it on purpose, I hope. Some women think the thinner they are, the better the men like it, but my experience is quite different. Look at my Rosa! She's always been a bloomer! You've always been, too, except for that time years ago when you were so ill after a certain someone went away to war. So what's wrong now?"
"Nothing's wrong, it's just...how long does morning sickness usually last?"
Matilda's exuberant cry was so loud, it woke baby Alice.
"The baby!" Marian cried.
"Ahh, let her cry! It's good for her lungs! No, Rosa will tend to her. Come here! Let me hug you!"
Marian stiffened at first under Matilda's embrace. She knew of the healer more than she actually knew her, never having directly consulted her except for that one time when Robin had brought her here. But she understood she was being loved because Matilda adored Robin and was happy for him.
"How far along are you?" Matilda asked, smiling delightedly while holding Marian's cheeks in both her hands, then giving her a big smacking kiss on her forehead as if she'd accomplished something wonderful.
"Not far," Marian admitted somewhat uncomfortably. "About a month. It happened at Loaf Mass."
" 'It happened,' " Matilda teased. "As if you were simply struck down from above, and you and Robin had nothing to do with it! Ha! But trust him to pick a day celebrating feeding others and harvesting wheat to sow his seed! I heard he spent that night in his house." She laughed approvingly. "Another little Lord Locksley, bred in Locksley! Let's hope he's born there, too, and Robin gets his home back for good, away from that snot nosed rancid faced pig's turd, Gisbourne!"
Even Allan did not speak as colorfully as Matilda, Marian thought. "I need some advice," she said. "What do I do, what do I avoid, and what will I need when the baby comes?"
"So, you're not asking for much." Matilda laughed again, overjoyed that Robin was to be a father. "Come inside, since I've woken the baby. Can you keep down some milk? You're going to want to drink a lot of it, to bring back the roses to your cheeks."
...
Returning to Nottingham, Marian felt happy, now that her secret was out. Well, partially out. The most important person of all still didn't know the news, but his birthday was fast approaching, and Marian was excited about her plan to tell him then.
She stopped in the marketplace to buy white linen lawn for baby clothes. Gisbourne did not allow her money, wishing her to be completely dependent on him as she had been ever since he'd burned down her home, and thereby grateful when he bought her things. But Robin had pressed a purse of coins in her hand yesterday when he'd left her. She was truly grateful for that.
Rosa had lent her some of Alice's newborn clothing. Although made of coarse fabric, Marian knew she could use the items, especially if her baby was born an outlaw rather than a noble. The clothing was especially useful to her now because she could carefully undo the seams to learn what pieces she needed to create new garments.
She chose to begin with a baby bonnet. She wanted it to be perfect for the christening of Lord Locksley's heir. She hadn't told Robin, but she'd stolen the nightdress she'd briefly worn in Leicester Castle, believing the princess would not want it back. She would never have stolen anything before the world had gone so wrong, but it felt no different to her now than when Robin had stolen Prince John's jewels. And with the princess and the earl proving so contemptuous, she was glad she had taken it. Especially since it was decorated with tiny seed pearls perfect for her baby's bonnet, as long as she sewed them securely on.
Carefully, Marian cut pieces from the new linen lawn to make the bonnet. She had never really enjoyed sewing, but now she felt an excitement deep within her.
A pounding knock on her door interrupted her. "Who is it?" she called.
Instead of an answer, Gisbourne flung open her door and strode into her room, followed by Allan.
It was too late to hide the baby bonnet. Guy had seen it, and so she knew she needed to immediately concoct yet another lie.
"A friend of mine is expecting a baby," she invented, not actually lying, she realized, since Robin had always been her friend, even before he was her sweetheart.
Standing behind Gisbourne, Allan lifted his eyebrows. Luckily, Guy accepted her story, caring nothing for babies, nor having the least interest in anyone who might be a friend to Marian. He alone, he felt, was more than sufficient to be everything to her.
Alright, then, she realized. At least now, she would have no need to hide the bonnet while working on it, even before him.