Dancing with Robin, Marian quickly told her husband what she had learned from the French king.
"He's using the opportunity of Prince John remaining regent to seize King Richard's lands."
"He swore an oath not to attack them, until Richard returned," Robin exclaimed, as outraged as Marian.
"He's horrible! He wants me to-"
"He's actually a very good king, Marian, except to the Jews. You can see yourself, all the building being done. And he's giving power to towns to self govern, bringing about prosperity. He's just not a good man. His word means nothing!"
"I wish you wouldn't interrupt. I was about to say-"
"Sorry."
"I was about to say, he wants me to be his mistress."
Robin was silent, surprised by Marian's revelation. Jealously, he said, "He works fast. You told him no, of course."
"Of course."
"How did he take your rejection?"
"Far better than Gisbourne did."
Robin began to relax. "I can't fault his taste. You look gorgeous tonight, Marian."
"It's back to my rough trousers tomorrow. At least our clothing's being laundered. When will we leave?"
"Right after breakfast. Queen Eleanor doesn't know any more than we do, where Richard is. But she approves my plan of meeting with your friend Count Friederick. Another man with excellent taste in women," Robin teased.
They enjoyed the remainder of the dance, almost forgetting their troubles for a few brief moments. All the same, Marian could feel King Philip's eyes never leaving her.
When the music ended, the king made an announcement. "Lords and ladies," he began, "in honor of our illustrious guest, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, We will host a joust tomorrow morning in the tiltyard. We insist that our other honored guest, Lord Robert of Locksley, Hero of the Battles of Acre and Jaffa, take part in the joust."
He looked to Robin for his response.
With Djaq translating, Robin's men looked questioningly at him. Robin responded back to the king, "I am honored, Your Majesty, but my men and I plan to leave early tomorrow morning."
"Nonsense," the king replied. "The joust won't last past noon. What are a few hours delay, after the hospitality We've paid you?"
"You really cannot refuse, Robin," Queen Eleanor insisted.
"Very well, Your Majesties," Robin agreed.
King Philip's mouth smiled, though his eyes remained hard. "Excellent. You shall be fitted with a hauberk, and choose your steed from Our royal stables. And of course, your lady wife will be given a fresh gown." Addressing Marian with warm gallantry, he asked, "What color would please you, milady Locksley?"
"He wants to dress me up like a doll," Marian whispered to Robin. Lifting her voice, she answered, "Green, if it please Your Majesty, with golden accents."
"Ah! But of course," King Philip said. "The colors of the Earl of Huntington."
Robin gathered his men around him. "Sorry lads," he said. "Tomorrow's early morning departure has been unavoidably delayed."
"Suits me," Allan said. "I could use a few more hours sleep, especially on that bed they gave me. Like sleepin' on a cloud! And in the morning, we get to watch you ride back and forth and point your lance at some Frog Knight. Not bein' funny, but I'll be scanning the crowd for something better to look at, like some shapely Frogette."
"Why do you call them Frogs?" Djaq asked.
" 'Cause they eat frog legs," Allan answered.
"I should call you 'Pig,' " Djaq teased him.
"Or 'Squirrel,' " Will added.
Much was so anxious he ignored their jokes. "Jousts are dangerous," he worried out loud. "King Richard's brother Geoffrey died in a jousting accident." He asked Robin accusingly, "When's the last time you jousted? It's been years! I don't care how good you once were! You're out of practice and you know it!"
"I'll be fine, Much," Robin assured him. "It's only sport."
"Dangerous sport!"
"That's why it's so much fun. Besides, what could go wrong, with you as my squire?"
"Nothing, except you dying."
"Much!"
"Alright, but don't come crying to me when you're dead."
Much was only partially appeased. Marian did not want to feel worried, but could not help herself. "It has been years," she reminded her husband, pressing a hand on his chest.
Robin smiled tenderly down at her as his gang departed. "Trust me, my love."
"I do. It's just...I have nothing to give you as my favor."
Knights in the tiltyard always choose a lady before their joust, who would decline or else accept by tying a scarf or ribbon around the knight's lance.
Robin knew that Marian having no "favor" to bestow was not what truly worried her, but he tried to lighten her anxiety by solving her spoken concern. "I'll ask the Queen Mother. She'll have something green you can tie around my lance."
Marian nodded her head, then forced herself to be brave. She could tell that Robin was excited about the joust, and she remembered how outstanding he used to be in the lists. But she'd only watched him joust when her father was Sheriff, against knights from near home, not the experts at King Philip's French Court. She hoped he would not be hurt.
Robin was moved by her apparent concern for his safety. Wanting her happy and free from worry, he said, "Come on, let's go to bed. I for one can't wait to sink into that thick feather mattress."
...
The morning sky was cloudless. Paris was noisiest in the early morning hours, especially with the building being done on the Louvre Fortress Palace. All of Allan's plans to sleep in were ruined by a constant hammering.
All the same, Allan was glad he had awakened early. Leaving his room, he saw something that made him grin.
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, dressed in the same gown she had worn at supper last night, was slipping out of Little John's door. Coming face to face with Allan a Dale, she lost none of her dignity, and expected him to keep his.
"Whoa!" Allan said instead, laughing. "Looks like John musta got lucky!"
"On your knees, young man," she ordered. "I am the mother of your king."
"Of course." Allan got down on both knees. "Hope you had a good time," he said, trying to make small talk.
"A very good time," she answered. "You'll find Big Bear washed and dressed in proper attire. It's quite an improvement. See that he combs his hair in the future."
"Yeah. Sure, Your Worship."
"Majesty will do," she corrected him, before heading to her chambers.
Allan couldn't wait to tell Marian. He found her with Robin, as Much helped him dress in a hauberk of the finest Turkish mesh, provided by King Philip, and a green and gold mantle.
Marian was wearing a gown the king had also provided, a rich green damask with golden threads. Its low neckline made her uncomfortable, but she was not surprised. Why were men, including Robin, she wondered, so fascinated by her bust?
"I forgot how nice you clean up," Allan told her.
"You look nice yourself," she said, feeling much better this morning. She now looked forward to watching Robin joust, confident in his abilities.
"You look like a knight," Allan told Robin.
"He is a knight, Dunderhead," Much reminded him.
"And you," Allan told Much, "look weird without that dirty hat you always wear pulled on your head. You'd think you're going bald, like the King of the Frogs, or the Sheriff, but look! You got plenty of hair."
"Leave my hair alone. I like my hat," Much told him. "But I must say, I do like wearing clean, proper clothing."
"Speakin' of clean, guess who had a bath last night?"
"Not John," Robin guessed.
"Yeah, it was John. Guess who made him?"
"You?" Marian asked.
"It was Queen Eleanor! She probably climbed in the tub with him, and scrubbed his back."
"Way to go, Big Bear!" Much laughed, after his initial shock wore off.
Robin and Marian looked self consciously at one another. Allan didn't miss the meaning behind their looks.
"Everybody's havin' fun but me," he complained, laughing.
...
King Philip gathered his knights around him.
"Now, knights," he began, "We want you to give everything you have today. Hold nothing back, and We do mean nothing. Locksley's the best England has to offer, short of Her King. He will challenge you, but We demand you take him out. We don't simply mean out of the competition. We will reward whichever one of you delivers a death blow to the English lord. Do We make ourselves clear?"
"Yes, Your Grace," his knights agreed.
"Excellent." King Philip thought it a pity to kill such a valiant knight, but he couldn't let Locksley go free to rescue King Richard. With him dead, weak sniveling Prince John would destroy his rival nation, Philip could win Richard's French lands, and Queen Eleanor could raise the exorbitant ransom. And just possibly, as a small sweetener, Philip could console Locksley's beautiful widow, installing her as his official Mistress.