When the earl entered the Great Hall at Huntingdon Castle that morning, he discovered that his wife and his eldest son had already begun to receive the daily throng of supplicants. For this reason, he remained in the background for the time being and watched how the two of them handled the whole affair. As he observed them, he felt great relief, for the fact that both Gisele and David were so good at dealing with these people meant that he could well afford to occupy himself with other matters. However, this did not mean that he was not interested in the welfare of these people, for he took his responsibilities as Earl of Huntingdon quite seriously. There were just things he preferred to do rather than spend half the day in the Great Hall listening to the worries and complaints of his tenants.

He had been aware for many years that Gisele was much more adept at dealing with other people than he was. To his great delight, she had also passed this talent on to David, who had surpassed him in this respect years ago. If he himself were no longer here, the eldest of his sons would one day make a good earl and no one would have to suffer from this change. This was all the more important as he was aware that the time for this transition was getting closer and closer. This was something about which he was by now very certain.

But it was not yet time that day. After all, it was already obvious to him that he could not simply leave without having said goodbye to his spouse and children. This was not altered by the fact that there was someone in his life who was more important to him than his family and also more important than his responsibilities as an earl. But he respected Gisele far too much to leave her just like that. Ever since she had entered his life many years ago, she had always supported him. She had never complained, but had understood and also accepted from the beginning that he could not give her more than his respect and admiration. Nevertheless, she devoted all her strength and skill to making Huntingdon a place where the family he had given her could thrive. What he had done to deserve her staying by his side despite his faults, he had never been able to learn. When he asked Gisele about it, she only smiled at him. Probably she - like himself - was of the opinion that he would not understand this.

Although he had not married Gisele because he was fond of her - hardly any of the nobles were given the opportunity to marry the person they loved - he had, of course, not been able to avoid begetting an heir. When his wife expressed the wish for more children, he could not bring himself to refuse. Perhaps the fact that he himself would have liked to have a brother or sister when he was younger also played a role. When his brother came into his life, he was already too old to be able to appreciate this, whereby it also played a role that he had always regarded the other as an adversary.

His wife was just as devoted to managing Huntingdon at his side as she was to raising her offspring, so it was not surprising that he gave her more children, even though every pregnancy filled him with concern that she might suffer the fate of Mathilda of Huntingdon. Fortunately, that cup had passed them by, perhaps as whoever was watching over them had answered his prayers. David was three years old when Robert came into the world and he was followed by Margaret, Marthe, Osbern, until finally Ailric arrived. After the birth of the youngest son, they decided together that the family was now large enough.

But there was more for which he could be grateful. Not only did Gisele understand that there was someone in his life who was as important to him as his family, but she had also been able to pass that on to his children. Perhaps one reason for this was that as a child she had witnessed how her parents had made each other's lives hell. Even if she had not personally suffered violence - as he himself had - it had nevertheless made it plain to her that she did not want to live like that. Therefore, the man at his side, who was closer to him than anyone else, was also accepted and respected by his family. Over the years he had spent at Huntingdon, they had even come to love him. God - and Herne - had clearly kept his protective hand over him and Robin, saving them from a joyless fate.

Since Gisele had managed to carry out her resolution, his life was made immensely easier as a result. And the fact that his wife had never kept it a secret from the children that he would one day leave them, meant that his family was able to face that day with relative peace of mind. Gisele had made it clear to them that he had always done his duty to them, but that there would come a time when he would have to choose a different kind of commitment, but that they should not feel abandoned as a result.

David had understood years ago that he would never see his father living in the castle in his old age. But his siblings, too, had learned that their father had another life than that of Earl of Huntingdon, and that someday - when he had fulfilled his duty as earl - he would return to the very place where that other life had commenced. Nevertheless, none of them - nor their mother - had ever put him in a position where he would have run the risk of that other life becoming known. They had obviously understood that there were definitely people who would not only have resented him for it, but who would have tried to take Huntingdon away from him and his family. Therefore, the rumors that he would support his brother had never harmed him.

As the Earl watched his consort work with David to solve the petitioners' problems, he remembered that he had to say goodbye not only to his family, for there was also his brother Robert and his family. And of course, Robert's friends, at least those of them who had not already left him. In the small cemetery next to the church at Leaford Grange - where the former outlaw lived with Marion and their children after being pardoned - there were already three graves. Three members of the now-legendary band of outlaws - all of whom were still living close to their leader after their pardon - had already preceded the others. In a few years, then, the younger ones would be in charge on Leaford, just as they would on Huntingdon.

But then the earl would not be here a long time ago.

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The two men lingered at the entrance to the cave where they had made themselves at home, gazing out over the forest. They stood so close to each other that not only their hands touched, but here, in the heart of Sherwood, they did not have to fear discovery. The people they met here accepted them as they were and none of them would ever think of betraying them. And this had nothing to do with the fact that these people themselves had much to lose.

The two men did not need to talk to one another to understand each other, for they had spent a large part of their lives together. A life in which they had learned to communicate wordlessly and also a life in which they had come to know each other better than they knew themselves. By now it no longer seemed odd to them to be so close, yet they had retained the delight of having met their soul mates.

As they looked down the slope, they spotted three men sitting around a small fire outside the entrance to another cave. Even now in summer, it could be plenty cool in the early morning, and none of those who had settled in Sherwood would reject the warmth of a fire. Neither would they reject a warm meal.

As if sensing they were being watched, the three men turned and then grinned amicably at the others. They were certainly aware of what the two had been up to that night, but they had gotten used to it a long time ago, even if at first it had been a little hard for them to accept that the two men were lovers. But they had also had to get used to the fact that they didn't have to hide here anymore, and that's why they had first tried to keep from the others how they felt about each other. That had even led to some problems. But the realization that Sherwood had always been the place where they could show their love without restrictions had helped them get used to their new life.

The two men returned the grin, but made no move to join the others, and so the black-haired man's head, as well as the red-haired man's, turned away from them again just as the head with the tonsure did, and the men busied themselves with their breakfast instead. The fair-haired man was relieved when he no longer felt like he was being watched, as he had a harder time than his dark-haired lover in shrugging off the others' little jibes. But this could also be due to the fact that he had not always taken the same side as them. But now he was able to turn back to his friend without a care in the world, although at that moment he wondered again where the other's wrinkles, creases and gray hairs had gone. He had never expected that their return to the forest could cause such a change, but he did not want to complain, for he loved the look of the other man. In these moments, however, he regularly forgot that Robin had also marveled at not being able to discover any more silver in Guy's shimmering shock of golden hair, for he too had not expected this gift from Herne. However, this had led to the fact that he now once again used his strength for the forest and its inhabitants with great delight and enthusiasm. This was true for his lover as well as for the others who were already back here in Sherwood and were now waiting for the rest of their friends to join them.