The two men had to approach the castle quite openly, which was not an easy task, particularly for the dark-haired of them. For years, he had led the kind of life where such an approach would very likely have cost him his life. But now he had to gradually get used to the fact that this life lay behind him. It had definitely ended with his death. It did not change even by the fact that he had not died in reality.
His companion, on the other hand, should not have had a problem approaching a castle so openly; after all, he had spent many years fighting to uphold the law. But the events of the last time had made him quite circumspect in this respect and now he actually felt a bit uncomfortable at the idea that he could be seen and perhaps recognized from afar. All at once he had to grin as he wondered if his companion had always felt this way in the past as soon as he left the cover of the forest.
"I would never have approached this place so openly when I was Robin of Sherwood", the other let himself be heard all of a sudden. "It' s strange to be able to do without it."
"Don't get used to it", the blond admonished him. "We can't rule out getting into situations like this in the future. Frankly, I don't feel very comfortable right now thinking about who all might see me. I'd rather it not be widely known yet that I've made my way to Huntingdon."
"Welcome to my world, Guy", Robin declared with a wry grin. But then he abruptly turned serious again. "You're right. In fact, it wouldn't be a bad idea to proceed more cautiously. Although I don't think the sheriff will get the idea that you're headed this way. And there's no way he'll give me a second thought."
Now his companion had to laugh, too. "I'm just imagining de Rainault's face when he meets you, Robin."
"Unlike you, I can be pretty sure of catching his reaction. At least, I hope I'll be able to." He grimaced. "I'd rather he didn't recognize me, though. That's why you have to stop calling me Robin. At least for a while."
"I don't know if I'll be able to do that, since I've only just stopped calling you Loxley, Rob of Nottingham." The knight grinned.
"Rob of Nottingham? Why not, that doesn't sound so far-fetched. And I'm sure I'll respond if you call me Rob. But will you think of it too?"
"You don't trust me with anything, do you?" Gisburne tried to give the impression of being offended, but he wasn't very successful at it, because he had to grin again.
As they continued to approach the castle, Robin inconspicuously regarded his companion from the side. Once again, he noticed how quickly his companion had undergone a change. At least he acted differently in his presence. Who would have guessed that he was even capable of making jokes? In the past, he would never have imagined that Gisburne could manage such a display. But then the former outlaw reasoned that he shouldn't be wondering about this. After all, he couldn't expect to know everything about the knight when he hadn't even known himself.
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"I am Sir Guy of Gisburne, and I wish to speak to the Earl of Huntingdon", the knight announced to the servant who received the two men after the stable hands had taken their horses from them and the knight had warned them not to touch his belongings on the packhorse - and in exactly the arrogant manner that was expected of someone like him.
The servant nodded to indicate that he had understood the knight's words, and then gestured for Gisburne to follow him as he preceded the two men to the castle's Great Hall. Robin and Guy had previously agreed that the former outlaw would remain at the knight's side, even if there was an attempt at the castle to separate the presumed servant from the knight.
It did not take them long to reach the hall, where they were met by Philip Camville, the castle's constable. "Sir Guy", he greeted the knight, "what an unexpected sight." His tone was neither particularly friendly, nor especially respectful. "Are you coming to see the earl on sheriff's business?" he immediately wanted to know.
Gisburne just managed to avoid frowning, for the constable's words struck him as if the latter was already aware that de Rainault had dismissed him from his service. He wondered whether this could actually be the case. Of course, it was possible for a messenger from Nottingham to have reached the castle before them, but only if he had been sent here on purpose. But what reason should the sheriff have for informing the earl of his steward's dismissal? The knight, at least, could think of none.
"No, my Lord", he therefore replied. "I'm not coming from the sheriff this day."
"Then I suppose it would be best if you would convey your message to me, and I can pass it on to the earl as soon as he has time, Sir Guy." Camville, however, did not give them the impression that he intended to notify David of Huntingdon anytime soon that Gisburne had arrived, and the knight immediately became aware of this. From the constable's first words, he had already reckoned that it would not be so easy to be let in to see the earl.
"I prefer to wait, my Lord", he responded to the constable with much more self-confidence than he actually felt. But he was aware he could not afford to fall out of character now.
At that moment the door to the hall was opened and the Earl of Huntingdon entered. When he caught sight of Gisburne and his companion, he stopped abruptly, as if surprised by their presence.
"Sir Guy!" he exclaimed. "What does de Rainault want of me?"
"Sir Guy does not come from the sheriff, my Lord", Camville interfered. "But I'll take care of him; you need not trouble yourself with him."
Huntingdon generously declined. "Now that I'm here, Camville, I might as well take care of the matter myself, whatever it is."
Then he turned back to the knight. "If you're not from the sheriff, Sir Guy, what else do you want from me?"
Gisburne wished they had exchanged ideas in advance about what pretext he should use to come to Huntingdon, for he was not particularly skilled at this kind of deception, even though he had watched the sheriff do it for years.
"My Lord Earl", he commenced somewhat uncertainly, "I am here today because I wanted to ask you if I could enter your service."
The earl raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, Camville snorted contemptuously. "The sheriff has dismissed him from his service, my Lord. He had to leave Nottingham."
Huntingdon turned to his constable. "Then I suppose it is indeed best that I attend to this matter myself, Camville. Thank you."
For an instant the other man gave the appearance of wanting to say something more, but then he bowed curtly to the earl and left the hall. Huntingdon looked after him thoughtfully.
Finally, he turned back to Gisburne. "Escort me to my chambers, Sir Guy!" He cast a questioning glance at Robin.
"This man has my full confidence, my Lord Earl. I would prefer he accompany me", the knight elaborated, whereupon the elder gave his permission with a nod of his head.
Without another word to each other, the three men made their way through the castle. Each of them was afraid that a possible conversation could be overheard and they wanted to avoid that at all costs. For this reason, they knew that they would have to wait until they reached the earl's solar. There they could be sure that they would be able to talk undisturbed.
The men who were keeping watch at the entrance to the solar were given the unequivocal order not to disturb their master under any circumstances. After the door was shut behind the three men, they were finally among themselves.
"My Lord", Gisburne began at once, for he did not want to waste any time. "Has a messenger come from Nottingham with news of my dismissal?" Camville's words had made him suspicious.
The earl shook his head. "I thought he would have heard it from you."
The knight showed a miserable expression. "It is not something I would tell anyone, my Lord. But your constable has definitely become aware that I am no longer in the sheriff's service." He looked puzzled.
"Perhaps Camville just hasn't gotten around to telling me yet that a message has arrived. The courier might have arrived only this morning, after all", the earl tried his hand at an explanation, for the constable had been in his service for many years and he had never had any reason to distrust him.
But this explanation was not enough for Gisburne, and when he looked briefly around at Robin, he saw that the latter also seemed concerned. "For what reason should the sheriff inform you that he has turned out his steward, my Lord?"
"Indeed, I can think of no reason for that, but the messenger may have delivered other news and mentioned your dismissal only in passing." The earl still refused to believe that Camville had kept anything from him.
"Then shouldn't he have told you about the messenger all the more?"
Huntingdon nodded, and now he couldn't help being annoyed. But then he suddenly shrugged his shoulders and calmed down again. "This is a mystery I could only solve by asking Camville, and I don't intend to do that. If he is indeed keeping something from me, then I would directly alert him with my question that something has come to my attention." He looked straight at the knight. "But that would be your first task in my service right away, Sir Guy. You are to keep an eye on Camville. The way he has received you, no one will be surprised if you are not particularly favorable to him. And until I have made it public that you are my son, I think it is better for everyone to assume that you are just another knight in my service. After all, I don't think we can rule out the possibility that the sheriff, and by extension fitz Edgar, will learn that you have come to me."
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Robin approached Newark with a sinking feeling in his stomach. The main reason for this, however, was that he could still remember the disastrous encounter with Richard the Lionheart in Nottingham, in which he had barely escaped with his life and had almost lost Marion. He shuddered.
"What is it?" the rider at his side wanted to know.
"I recalled the encounter with King Richard", the former outlaw admitted.
Now the knight also shuddered, for at that time he had almost perished as well. For him, it bordered on a miracle that he had been able to recover from his injuries. But the scars always reminded him that the sheriff had wanted to make him the executioner for the king. If he was honest, he had to admit that he had not resisted, something he could not understand nowadays. However, he could not forget that he had had no other choice after de Rainault had brought his name into play. Still, that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Then let's hope this meeting goes better, Rob", he expressed the hope of not having to fight for his life again this time.
"Do you think the sheriff is here too?" Robin wanted to know suddenly. He wasn't afraid that the king would recognize him as Robin Hood, but it was a different matter with de Rainault, whom he had met several times. But he had taken some precautions. He had grown a beard during the weeks they waited to travel with the earl to the king's court. Although Gisburne had not been enthusiastic about it, he could well understand the reason behind this decision. Robin had also cut his hair, which had fallen down to his back during the time he was Robin Hood, annoying the sheriff. Now it only reached the nape of his neck, and the knight didn't like that either. He could not really get used to the fact that his lover now had such short hair, but even in this case he did not speak out against his decision, because he could understand the other man. Gisburne, too, of course, preferred Robin not to be recognized, and if the sheriff remembered him, it would be as he had appeared back then.
Besides, both men hoped that the sheriff - should he also be in Newark - would not imagine that anyone could return from the dead. And in this case, Gisburne knew de Rainault remained convinced Robin Hood had perished four years ago.
"Nottingham is so close that we must expect his arrival at any time", Gisburne explained to his companion, as they rode in the midst of the posse following the earl. They were careful not to cause a stir, for no one should get the idea that this knight was the reason David of Huntingdon requested an audience with his sovereign. However, they had not completely succeeded in doing so, for Gisburne had discovered that he had gained a certain notoriety through his unsuccessful fight against Robin Hood. A fame he would have gladly done without.
Robin sighed. But he was aware that he had no control over who came to the king's court. He could only hope and pray to Herne that all went well. Most of all, of course, he hoped so on account of Guy, for he would be much more in the public eye once the earl announced his decision to make him his heir.
"It's too late now to question our decision anyway", Gisburne interrupted the former outlaw's train of thought.
"Our decision?" Robin snorted in amusement. "And then if everything turns out all right, it was your decision, wasn't it?"
Gisburne had to stifle a laugh, but only for the fact that it didn't fit the image his fellow travelers had formed of him. And humor was just not part of it. Unfortunately, he thought now.
"Don't make me laugh!" he instructed Robin in a low voice. And then he went on, "Besides, we'll be right there."
"Thank you very much for pointing that out, my Lord. I certainly wouldn't have noticed that on my own." Obviously, Robin had no intention of complying with Gisburne's instruction.
The knight, however, refused to pay any further attention to his companion, though this was mainly due to the fact that they had just reached the castle gates. Robin, of course, had not missed this and he had already dropped behind Gisburne. In no case did he want to give the impression that his relationship to the knight was different from that of a soldier to his superior, even if they had already indicated to the earl that he was exclusively responsible for Gisburne's safety. But no one was supposed to know this yet.
In the meantime, the whole entourage had arrived in the castle bailey and had already dismounted from the horses. While the stable hands took care of the animals, the earl's soldiers were instructed to immediately find themselves a place in the castle's garrison. Quite obviously, the king did not intend to have armed men running around the castle who were not in his service. Huntingdon had already anticipated this, however, and had discussed with Gisburne in advance that he and his man Rob should be the only ones to stay with him, not counting the servants. From the beginning, the earl had not intended to keep the other armed men close to him, as he did not want to incur the king's wrath in any case, and especially not before he had the opportunity to request an audience. He was aware from the start that the whole affair would be very difficult. He was also aware that it would, in all likelihood, also be very expensive. But he had already come to terms with that.
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What they had also reckoned with in advance was the possibility that the king would keep the earl waiting before he found the time to receive him. At first it even looked as if William Brewer, the sovereign's steward, wanted to prevent Huntingdon from being allowed to see the king at all. But eventually the man realized that he could not keep a nobleman of the earl's rank - who had also proved his loyalty not so long ago - from his liege lord. Probably Brewer had just wanted to clarify to everyone that access to the king had to be gained through him, but he was still unable to do more than keep the earl waiting for two days. Perhaps Huntingdon would have been let in sooner if he had been willing to bribe Brewer, but the earl would not stoop to that under any circumstances. He already knew that he would have to pay something to the king, but it was not his habit to spend more money than absolutely necessary, and to give in to Brewer in this respect he considered unnecessary in any case. Therefore, he was quite willing to wait.
While waiting to be admitted to the king, they had no choice but to be ready day and night. They could assume that John would be busy most nights with other activities than giving an audience, but it could not be completely ruled out. Therefore, they could not rely on not being called in the middle of the night. Even a man of the earl's age was not exempt from such matters, and it wore on his nerves, because he was aware that he should not keep his sovereign waiting long, as soon as he was willing to receive him.
Fortunately, it was evening - and not night - when they were allowed to see the king, and when the time came, David of Huntingdon, with Gisburne in tow, went to see his liege lord, the knight again not leaving behind the man who had not left his side since the two had arrived in Huntingdon. The earl was as yet unsure what to make of this arrangement, especially after learning that the two men shared a chamber. However, he also told himself that it was not surprising for a personal bodyguard to want to stay as close as possible to his charge. Still, the whole affair seemed a bit odd to him because the two men were very familiar with each other, yet the earl had previously not experienced the knight as someone who would let another person get so close. On top of that, he had never seen this man near Gisburne before. Therefore, the earl already wondered where he had come from, then, and since when he had been protecting the knight, but so far, he had received no answers to these questions - yet.
Of course, the three men had to hand over their weapons before they were allowed to enter the king's chambers, but this did not surprise any of them. John was not very popular with the people, nor with the nobles, and he had to be quite cautious, for there had already been several attempts on his life. After complying with the demand, they were allowed to step over the threshold. As soon as the door was closed behind them, they went down on one knee and bowed their heads to the king, who, however, made them wait before he deigned to pay attention to them. However, he focused only on the earl for now, ignoring the other two men.
"Huntingdon, come here to me!" he allowed the older man to rise. "What is so urgent that you come to me in Newark?"
"My Liege", the earl started, "for some years now there has been the problem of succession to the title of Earl of Huntingdon ..."
He did not get to finish the sentence, for the king could not restrain himself. "You mean since your son has been giving the outlaw in Sherwood!" He obviously found this quite funny, for he laughed cackling.
The earl, however, had had much practice in dealing with his liege lord, and so he was not put off by this interruption. With due seriousness, he continued. "I was hoping, of course, that Robert would remember his duty as my heir." He would do the devil to enlighten the king about the fact that some days he could certainly understand why Robert stood up for these people, even if he thought someone else could do it. But his son was no less stubborn than his mother, and by now he had given up trying to change his mind.
"But now I have decided that I cannot wait any longer. It is my duty to you, my Liege, to have an heir at hand", he continued his explanation.
"Where are you going to get an heir all of a sudden, Huntingdon?" the king wanted to know, eyeing him suspiciously from beady eyes. "Don't come to me with one of your Scottish nephews. That side of your family is powerful enough already."
"No, my Liege, I do not refer to one of my nephews. Instead, it is another son of mine whom I have not acknowledged until now. But which I will now make up for. And then this son can be recognized as heir."
"Another son?" The king suddenly began to laugh. "I wouldn't have thought you capable of that, Huntingdon." Suddenly, however, he stopped laughing again, only to glance immediately afterwards at the other two men kneeling near the door. He immediately dismissed one of them as a soldier, but the other looked familiar. And then, all at once, he knew who it was.
"Have you brought your other son with you straight away?" shouted King John. He didn't sound thrilled.
"Yes, my Liege", the earl confirmed.
"That one?" John pointed to the knight. "Gisburne? That's your son?"
The earl nodded.
"How long have you known that?" Now the king sounded curious.
"Already for some time. The notice came from his mother, and since the timing fits, I know she was telling the truth." It hurt the earl to the core to speak of Margaret in this way, and in front of her son, and he hoped Guy would not believe his words were actually true. Perhaps he should have talked to him about it in advance, however, he was not in the habit of conferring with others and especially not of justifying himself. This was a habit that had also repeatedly brought him into conflict with Robert, as he now suddenly recalled.
"And since when has he known that?" The king brought this question forward with a certain spitefulness.
"Only for a short time. The idea came to me only after Sir Guy came to Huntingdon a few weeks ago to enter my service." 'Forgive me!' In his mind, the earl begged his son's forgiveness.
"Was that after the sheriff kicked you out for being drunk, Gisburne?" Now the king definitely sounded spiteful.
Before the knight had a chance to respond, the earl spoke up again. "De Rainault was just looking for an excuse to make his new favorite a steward. Since Sir Guy has been in my service, I have detected no signs of drunkenness in him. If the sheriff were right, I would not have missed it."
King John looked disappointed that he had been unable to lure either the earl or the knight. "His new favorite? Do you mean that fitz Edgar?"
"That is the name I have heard, my liege", the earl confirmed.
"Just booted out after so many years of loyal service, Gisburne, eh?" John laughed again. "But I suppose I should get out of the habit of calling you that, Lord Guy, since you'll be fitz David from now on." He turned away from the knight and back to his father. "I could well be persuaded to recognize your elder son as your heir, Huntingdon", he then opened up the negotiations.
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"Lord Guy fitz David? I'll have to get used to that", Robin mused as he leaned his head against Guy's shoulder. The two men were lying side by side in bed, but that wasn't surprising since it was the only bed in the chamber they shared. Although their hosts probably didn't expect Guy to let a soldier sleep in his bed.
The two men deeply regretted not being able to romp in it, despite sharing the bed. But even before they left the forest, they had realized that they would have to be very careful and would not have very many opportunities to make love. Robin, of course, had told Guy about his successor's offer, and they had both realized that Sherwood would probably remain the only place where they could make love without fear of discovery - with all the consequences that would entail.
"You'll have to get used to it?" Guy snorted. "And what about me? I've been a Gisburne all my life, and I've taken that name as mine, even though I've known for a very long time that it's not really. And now I'm having a hard time with the name actually being mine. But of course, I can understand why you would struggle with it, Rob of Huntingdon." He kissed the other man.
For a time, the two lay side by side in silence, then Robin straightened up on one elbow and looked down at Guy. "Was it worth it?" he then wanted to know.
Guy knew immediately what the other meant. "I don't know that yet, Robin. But I was aware beforehand that the king would try to make me look like a fool. He would have done that even if the earl hadn't declared he wanted me to be his heir. But he sold the right to do that in the future, for now I am more than a mere knight. Now he cannot insult me as easily as before. Of course, that won't stop him from quitting altogether. After all, he insults quite a few other men."
Robin thought about these words for a moment, but then he asked another question. "How long do we have to stay here, anyway?"
"That depends on how much longer the king wants the earl here." Guy didn't give the impression that he thought that was important.
"Why does he want him to stay here at all? He hasn't spoken to him since the first audience, has he?" the dark-haired man wondered.
"It's not like he wants to keep him here for that reason. He just has an interest in making sure we're still here when de Rainault arrives."
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"De Rainault, join us", the king called out to the man who had gone down on one knee in front of him. The sovereign was seated with William Brewer and the Earl of Huntingdon at the table that stood on the platform at the end of the hall, which clearly set it apart from the other tables that stood in the hall. At those sat those people who were currently either not among the king's favorites - which changed daily - or who were far too low in rank - which would not change anytime soon. Except in a few exceptions.
"There are still seats up here for you and your steward", the ruler announced in a patronizing manner, pointing to the two empty seats next to Brewer. As the sheriff complied with the request, he cast a wary glance at the Earl of Huntingdon, who was seated on the other side of the king, but also at the vacant seat next to the earl. He probably wondered who would be sitting there.
Guy stood with Robin in the shadows at the side of the hall. From there he had watched de Rainault's arrival, not particularly eager to meet the sheriff. However, he also knew that he could not avoid this encounter, nor could he take too much time now to take the vacant seat next to the earl if he did not want to incur the king's anger towards him - and Huntingdon. He sighed.
"Is it time?" his companion wanted to know, to which Guy nodded and the two men started moving. Of course, Robin would not join them at the table, but since he was now officially considered a personal bodyguard for the earl's son, no one would say anything if he was in close proximity to his friend. Guy would have liked to manage to get to his seat unobserved, but he had not seriously expected to succeed.
To Guy's chagrin, de Rainault had wanted to say something to Brewer at the very moment - and had turned to him for that reason - when Guy sat down next to the Earl. And because the sheriff was now looking in the earl's direction, of course he couldn't miss it. At the sight of his former steward seated at the king's table, he was momentarily stunned before he could recover from the surprise.
"Gisburne!" hissed de Rainault, also drawing the attention of his new steward to the knight.
"Ah, de Rainault!" the king made himself known, "you haven't heard anything about that, have you?" He grinned with obvious glee, indicating that he was looking forward to the spectacle he assumed he would now be allowed to observe.
"It had been known to me for some time that Gisburne had entered the earl's service, my Liege", the sheriff replied, showing the men who had come from Huntingdon to Newark that there was indeed a connection between Nottingham and the earl's seat of power of which they were unaware, for the elder had informed no one that he had taken the knight into his service. He had indeed assumed that there were people in his castle who were spying for his enemies and rivals, but nevertheless news had been exchanged very quickly between Nottingham and Huntingdon, and he therefore had to assume that it was no different the other way around. For him, however, there was still the question of whether the constable of Huntingdon was actually actively working with the sheriff. Or perhaps with this fitz Edgar.
"You are indeed always well informed, de Rainault", the king replied, and then he laughed, irritating the sheriff. "But you are not so well informed as you would like others to believe." Now John sounded really spiteful again. "No one seems to have informed you that your former steward now goes by the name of fitz David."
Apparently de Rainault was indeed unaware of this, as those present could easily tell from his reaction. For a moment, one could see that he did not want to believe the king's words. He glanced once briefly at his new steward, who also seemed very surprised and could only shrug his shoulders. Obviously, he had nothing to say about it.
"Fitz David? Why fitz David?" Rarely did the sheriff let himself be caught so off guard and he absolutely did not like it. If he wasn't sitting at the king's table right now, fitz Edgar would probably have to endure one of his infamous tirades right now, which Guy was all too familiar with. Now, however, he had to make quite an effort to hide his satisfaction at the fact that the man who had chased him from his position with de Rainault was faring no better than himself.
"Why fitz David?" the king mimicked the sheriff, then started laughing again. "My God, de Rainault, can't you guess?"
At these words the sheriff blushed deeply, but in the presence of his sovereign he dared not throw one of his infamous tantrums. He just stared at the earl, but also at his former steward, while next to him his new steward had turned pale. Apparently, he, too, had understood what the king had meant.
"How ...", stammered fitz Edgar, for that was all he could get out, making the king laugh again.
"What do you mean, how, idiot!", John mocked the young man.
The Earl of Huntingdon, however, apparently didn't fancy having to listen to this any longer, for he now interfered - unrequested - in the conversation. But it could also be that he considered it was up to him to comment on it anyway, since it was a matter of his family.
"I finally got around to acknowledging my older son, de Rainault. And the King thought it would be well if there were an heir to Huntingdon. My son, of course, has a right to bear the name fitz David."
"Your son? That one?" the sheriff now suddenly became agitated, and then he snorted contemptuously. "No wonder he couldn't catch that Robin Hood, he's his brother. Probably the two of them have been working together from the beginning."
"My Lord", Guy protested, no different than if he were still working for the sheriff. Old habits were hard to break, but perhaps he thought it would be a good thing if de Rainault continued to underestimate him. "You are insulting me. You seem to have forgotten who pointed out to you that Robert of Huntingdon is the new Robin Hood." This was something he still resented the sheriff for.
"Oh, don't tell me, Gisburne", the sheriff returned, forgetting for a moment that he was sitting at the king's table and not his own in Nottingham. "That was probably a set-up to reel me in."
"As if you ever let me reel you in, my Lord!" retorted Guy, defending himself.
"Enough, de Rainault!" the earl intervened. "When Guy came to me at Huntingdon, he did not yet know that he was my son." That was not quite true, but the sheriff could not - and was not allowed to - know that. "So, don't accuse him of working with an outlaw! I'll take that as a charge against me, sheriff, so watch your step." The earl did not hold back and showed his anger at de Rainault's words quite openly. However, he had not forgotten - like the other - that the king was sitting next to him. He had intervened as he had to protect his son from the mistrust of the ruler, who would see treason in any collaboration with Robin Hood.
And before anyone else could comment, the older man was already carrying on. "I have heard a curious rumor in recent weeks, my Liege. It came to my ears that there was a man claiming to be my nephew, the bastard of my late brother Edgar, and that this fitz Edgar would try to capitalize on this supposed connection to me. I just wanted to warn you, my Liege, in case this man appears at court."
And then Huntingdon turned once more to the sheriff. "It is probably only coincidence that your new steward bears the name of fitz Edgar, de Rainault, is it not?"