Hearing Robin's news, Marian sat straight up in bed. "Gisbourne, alive? No, it's impossible. I killed him."

"I saw Isabella," Robin explained. "She told me-"

"Isabella? Just now? Where?"

Robin sat up beside her. "She was lurking at the edge of Locksley, outside Will and Djaq's house."

"I hope you, Djaq, and Will threw her down the well! Not really. But I hope you forced her away."

"She's gone, I think. She told me Gisbourne didn't die when you shot him, Marian. She said he wore a thick wooden plate under his clothes, and only pretended to be dead."

"I don't believe her."

"I do."

"Because she's so truthful? Just because she poses as a nun, doesn't make her one."

Robin heaved a sigh. "She isn't, believe me. But there's one thing I never told you, Marian. Much and I never buried Gisbourne."

"What?"

Robin's face looked sorry. "You remember how shaken you were afterwards, when you told me what you'd done."

Marian nodded her head, reliving in her mind what she had felt that day.

Robin's voice was gentle. "I wanted to spare you having to see him again. You were brave to have killed him, but I know how it feels, killing a man. And your feelings toward him were complicated, so I knew you were suffering."

Marian realized what an act of love it had been for Robin then, understanding how she'd felt and wanting to spare her. She was grateful, but she couldn't help suspecting him of leaving Guy's body above ground as a final act of vengeance. It wasn't like Robin, but then, he wasn't always himself when it came to Gisbourne. "Please don't tell me you and Much didn't go to the place I told you," she said.

"We went there. We fully intended to bury him. But his body was gone."

"Gone?"

"We thought he'd been taken by animals. There were signs."

"What animal living in Sherwood could drag a man the size of Gisbourne, Robin?"

"Wild boar grow pretty large, Marian!"

"Were there boar tracks?"

"No, but there was blood, and bits of black leather, and signs of dragging."

"So you lied to me."

"No! We never spoke of it. If you'd asked me, I would have said."

Marian threw herself back down on the bed. Robin, lying down beside her, tried to wrap her in his arms. She struggled for a moment and he released her. Then, relenting, she put her arms around him.

"So," she said, resting in his embrace, "Gisbourne's either dead, his body eaten by boar, or he's alive, as Isabella claims. If she's telling the truth, our family's in danger."

"She says he's in France."

"Good." Marian rested her head on Robin's chest. It never failed to thrill her, no matter what their circumstance, to hear his heart beating. She lifted her face to kiss him, then pulled away, a sudden thought terrifying her.

"You're not going to follow the king to France now, to look for Guy?"

"No, Marian. If Gisbourne's alive, my place now, more than ever, is here with you."

"To protect each other and our girls. Together, we're stronger."

They sealed their promise with a kiss. His lips were warm and tender, his mouth eager.

"Mmm," Marian said, reaching behind her neck to untie the ribbon holding up her sleeveless nightdress. "I thought I wasn't supposed to feel this way, being with child."

"Who told you that?" Robin chuckled.

"Matilda. She knows everything there is to know about having babies."

"Not everything, it would seem."

They melted together in another kiss.

...

In the morning, while Robin was meeting with Thornton, Marian was in her daughter's nursery dangling Grace on her lap.

The children's nurse was having difficulty combing Ellen's hair. Ellen was trying to be good, but the tangles hurt and she kept moving her head to avoid the pain.

"Here," Marian said, putting Grace down. "Let me try."

Tears stood in Ellen's eyes, eyes so like Robin's, Marian believed, though wide and innocent. Rather than beginning with the comb, Marian showed Ellen how to first gently pull her fingers through the tangles.

"That's better," Ellen said. "Mama, why does my hair get so many spiders?"

"Spiders? There are no spiders, Precious. It's tangled is all. It's just a story, but some say the fairies come at night and try to dress your hair, so you may attend their fairy ball."

Ellen smiled. "I like that story."

Grace, rubbing her own fingers over her sparsely covered head, watched as Marian began to slowly pull the comb through Ellen's hair.

"All finished," Marian said. "Would you like me to plait it?"

"Yes, please! And may I pick out a ribbon?"

"Of course! You're going to make Daddy's eyes pop out, looking so lovely."

Ellen chose a pink ribbon that didn't match her gown, and Marian tied it to the end of her braid. The nurse objected. "With respect, milady, shouldn't she wear a ribbon that matches, as you're going to mass this morning?"

"I like her choice," Marian said.

"Now it's Gracie's turn to have her hair combed," Ellen decided.

"Me, me!" Grace cried, hopping up and down.

Marian picked Grace up and set her on her lap. Very gently, since Grace had very little hair, Marian moved the comb over Grace's head. She enjoyed fluffing the tiny curls growing on the back of Grace's head, curls like Robin's just above the neck. These were new, and Marian found them adorable.

"Choose a ribbon, Gracie," Ellen said.

Grace selected a red ribbon, and Marian, not knowing what else to do, tied it around her head.

"Let's show Daddy how pretty we look," Marian said. "And let's use our very best table manners."

Marian walked between them down the stairs on their way to breakfast. Ellen held the railing and walked carefully down, but Grace had to scoot down backwards, and Marian watched her carefully in case she might fall.

Long gowns were ridiculous on active little girls, Marian thought, wishing she could dress her girls in trousers, at least some of the time. But it couldn't be done. Every move they made was watched and talked over by their village.

Robin was gallant to them, though he shot Marian an amused look, seeing Grace with a ribbon around her head. "How lovely you all look," he said, grinning.

"Mama said your eyes would pop out, like Uncle Much's," Ellen giggled.

Robin widened his eyes, making both his little girls laugh.

After breakfast, the family walked to church, not suspecting what awaited them there.