Robin returned to Bonchurch with a sack of money, courtesy of Allan from his profits at the Trip.
"What's this?" Much asked, catching the sack when Robin tossed it to him.
"Payment for putting us up," Robin told him.
"You didn't...oh, Robin surely not!"
"I didn't steal it," Robin assured his friend. "It's a loan...from Allan."
"I have to pay Allan back? On what terms?"
"I have to pay him back...you're in the clear. And he won't charge you a penny, putting your books right."
Much heaved a sigh. "Well, I must say, I am relieved! Allan's turned businessman, and who knows how much money he'd make off me! He seems to think I've got it easy, being Lord Bonchurch! He doesn't know how hard it is, when your servants won't work for you, and others steal your money when you can't count!"
"You can do it, Much," Robin encouraged him. "Let Eve help you hire someone else to do your books. She seems a good judge of character."
"You know, that's the first good thing I've ever heard you say about her."
"Then I've been remiss. Maybe it's a good thing Marian and I are living under your roof. Gives us the chance to get to know your wife better."
Their conversation was interrupted by Much's three boys, together with Ellen and Grace, running into the manor, waving their arms about and screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Robin cautioned them, chuckling.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Robin's girls cried out excitedly.
Robin got down on his haunches, embraced both of his daughters and gave each a kiss on her forehead.
"You've been having fun," he said, approvingly, pleased by their rosy cheeks and mussed up hair.
"We're playing outlaws," Ellen told him.
"We are Wobbin Hood," Grace said in her Little John voice, making Much's sons roll onto their backs, kick their feet in the air, and hold their sides from laughing so hard.
Much held the sack of money closer against his chest, fearing the children would "steal" it.
Robin told the children, "It's alright to shout when you know the sheriff isn't after you, outside in the forest. But here, inside..." He lowered his voice and looked about him, capturing the children's attention, "you need to be very quiet, so you won't be caught."
His grin and the twinkle in his eyes assured the children he was playing, and they were safe. "Remember," he told them, placing a finger to his lips.
"Tip toe," Ellen whispered to Much's sons. "I love my daddy."
The children tiptoed away, shushing each other. Much's boys had so much fun shushing, their shushes grew louder and louder, making Much wonder what was worse...their screams or their shushes.
Robin watched them go, his face lit up with affection. "It's good to see our children play together," he commented. Then, looking around, he asked, "Where's Marian?"
"I'm here," Marian answered, coming down the staircase.
Robin took the remaining stairs two at a time, meeting her halfway up. He seemed to forget about Much, but Much was used to Robin forgetting him, whenever Marian was near.
"How was your day?" Robin asked, after kissing her more than once.
They took each other by the hand and walked down the rest of the stairs, then stepped outside the house to enjoy the lovely weather.
"I have something to tell you," Robin began, facing her. "I took a job, Marian."
"What?" She was astounded. "Why, Robin?"
"Much hasn't any money. I need to earn our keep, so we aren't a burden to him."
"We could go..." She stopped midsentence. She knew they could travel anywhere in England and stay with any number of wealthy friends who would be happy to host them, including Queen Eleanor in London. Neither she nor Robin knew that Prince John had tricked his mother and locked her up again in Pontefract Castle, just a few miles north of Nottingham. But what Marian did know was that Robin would never leave the shire with his people having to fend for themselves, after Prince John had displaced them from their homes. "What job?" she asked.
"I'm to be a guard at the castle," he told her. He put on his irresistible, sheepish grin. "Earning a weekly pay envelope."
She was dismayed, then proud of him. "You'll be captain, surely."
"I'm to serve under McClellan."
"Robin, no! You're a knight! You were Captain of the King's Private Guard!"
"It's only temporary. It'll do me good, Marian...teach me humility."
She sighed. McClellen! He had been Captain of Sheriff Vasey's guards, and had been pardoned by King Richard for carrying out the traitor sheriff's orders after Vasey was hung. Marian knew the man had no conscience, and she hated to think of her Robin taking orders from him.
But it couldn't be helped, she realized, and her heart swelled with love for her husband, who could humble himself for the sake of his family.
"I've kissed a few knights," she told him, putting her arms around him and letting her fingers play in the curls at the back of his neck, "several noblemen, and one very attractive outlaw. But I've never kissed a workingman before."
"Well then," Robin said, leaning in and enjoying a lingering kiss. "So, Marian," he asked, his voice low and alluring, "what do you think?"
She smiled teasingly back at him. "One seems much like the rest," she said, then softly giggled. "It's hard to tell the difference."
"Shall we try again?"
"I think we had better."
They kissed again. Then, turning serious, she asked, "When do you start? You'll be away a lot, won't you?"
"I start tomorrow. And I will be away, hours at a time. Will you be alright, here?"
She knew he was referring to the trauma she had suffered at Gisbourne's hands, here at Bonchurch. She readily assured him she was fine. "I'm glad we're here. The children are so noisy and rambunctious, even Ellie, they banish every shadow of the past."
"Good." He smiled deeply at her, enjoying their silences as much as he enjoyed their conversations. "Allan asked after you," he told her, changing the subject.
"I'd like to see him," Marian said, forming a plan of her own to help them during this time. "Do you think I could come with you tomorrow, when you leave for Nottingham?"
"I don't see why not, as long as Much and Eve and their nurse doesn't mind watching our children. But I'll be gone all day, Marian. You don't really want to stay in Nottingham eight hours, do you?"
"Allan can loan me his horse, if I get bored or tired."
"We can't keep borrowing horses, when we own a stable of them. Maybe I should go to Locksley tonight, and bring a horse or two here."
"Let me come with you. I'll bring Fauvel," Marian said, referring to her favorite chestnut.
"It's a deal," Robin said, kissing her again.
It was pleasant to be outdoors, kissing each other under a tree. Robin had no thought but Marian, but her head was full of plans. She didn't want to be outdone by Robin, working as he would be to support them, while she stayed at Bonchurch and did nothing. If Robin could get a job, she was thinking, then so could she.
Marian planned to ask Allan for a job as a serving girl at the Trip, and she wouldn't allow him to refuse her request.