"Daddy, when can we go home again?" Ellen asked the following morning, as Robin was preparing to leave again for Nottingham.
"Soon, Ellie," he told her, his face kind. Then, knowing he would cheer her, he added, "If we go home now, you'd miss all the fun of Uncle Much taking you fishing."
"Fishing?" Much repeated, aghast. "You know I hate fishing!"
Robin gave him his most appealing look, and Much relented. "Fishing! Alright! You know what it means, don't you? Getting your freshly shone boots muddy by standing all day on the riverbank holding a pole, knowing your sons are scaring the fish away with their noise, then wishing Djaq was near to pull the fishhooks out of your crying sons' thumbs, and probably fishing your little squirrel out of the water when she falls in! And I haven't even mentioned the wailer!"
"Squirrel?" Robin asked.
"It's what Marian said this one's like, climbing trees."
Robin grinned. "How do you like being compared to a squirrel, Boo?" Robin asked his daughter. "They used to call me a fox, you know."
"The Fox of Sherwood," Much said proudly. And then, jokingly, "Among other names."
"What animal can Gracie be?" Ellen asked.
"How about a chipmunk?" Robin suggested. "They're little and cute, and they run around a lot."
"Do they wail?" Much asked.
"What about Mama?" Ellen wondered.
"We'll have to think about that," Robin told her, "and share our ideas tonight, at supper."
"I think Uncle Much is a fish, with big eyes and his mouth always open. Watch out, Uncle Much! We're going to catch you!"
"Now, look what you've done!" Much complained to Robin, as Ellen and Much's sons surrounded him.
Robin chuckled and headed outside to mount Much's horse. He sighed, trying to make the best of another wasted day in Nottingham. Already, his mind was working on ways to improve his job, not for himself, but for the men who held the position long term. A simple rotation system would offer variety and keep the men more alert, Robin decided, among two additional breaks a day to sharpen their fighting skills, providing exercise and improvement in their duties. "No wonder the sheriff's men were so easy to-"
His thought changed when he saw Marian waiting beside the horse, a knapsack held over her shoulder by a strap.
"I was thinking I could come with you again today," she told him, giving him her little half smile that always went to Gisbourne's head and made him so easy to deceive.
Robin recognized her challenge and welcomed it. "Did you?" he asked, invitingly. "Why, Marian?"
"You shouldn't be the only one who has to work, when I'm able bodied as well."
"Your body is more than able," Robin said, alluringly, playing along. And then, seriously he told her, "But you don't have to work."
"I was thinking Sarah could get me a position in the castle, cleaning rooms. That way, you and I could pass each other in the halls, and even eat our midday meal together. Look! I packed meat pies and fruit." She opened the knapsack and showed him its contents.
"As perfect as that sounds," Robin said, taking her in his arms, "I don't want you to have to slave, Marian. You don't need to scrub floors, and clean up after others."
"Rubbish! It's mostly straightening things, and making beds."
"Which you don't have to do."
"I want to do it."
"Alright then, since your mind's made up."
Robin let her go and swung himself onto the horse, then held out his hand to help her up. She was pleased, sitting behind him with her arms wrapped around his waist. "Not too fast a gallop," she warned. "Remember my condition."
"I only wish you'd remember it, and not work too hard today," he said, turning his face back to smile lovingly at her.
...
Cleaning rooms in the castle was hard work, Marian discovered, and her back ached from carrying buckets of water and scrubbing floors. People lived like pigs, she realized, not giving a thought to those who had to clean up after them. She had always considered them and continued to do so, keeping the rooms where she lived as neat as possible.
But it mattered little to her today. She swallowed her pride and ignored her pain and continued working. She had seen Robin a few times during the morning while he stood guard, and had enjoyed eating with him on the castle battlements, high above Nottingham, where they had enjoyed so many romantic starlit kisses in the past.
And now that it was nearly time to end her day's work, and her knapsack was empty, she could execute her plan.
Sneaking into a wing of the castle she hadn't been assigned to clean, Marian enjoyed the sense of adventure, reminding her of all the times she'd snuck about the castle before.
Two soldiers stood guard outside Isabella's door. Marian approached them, carrying her bucket. "Excuse me," she said, "but I've been assigned to clean these rooms."
"Not you, milady," the older guard said, who remembered her from the days her father had been sheriff.
"It's alright, Sam," Marian said.
"But you're a lady! I can't believe what the world's coming to, with Lord Locksley in the same job as me, and you, scrubbing floors!"
"All work is noble," Marian said. "All honest work."
"And dishonest work, too, when it was Robin Hood doing it."
"Yet you were different sides once."
"Only because I had to eat, milady. I personally never tried too hard to catch your Robin. Not that I could have caught him if I tried."
"I did," the other guard replied. "I wanted that 500 pound reward."
"Will you let me in?" Marian asked.
Reluctantly, both guards stepped aside and allowed Marian access to Isabella's chambers.
Shutting the door behind her, Marian began hunting through Isabella's belongings, searching for her jewels.
Isabella was dividing her time between the castle and Locksley, but she kept the jewels she'd stolen from Marian in the castle. And as she was wearing her nun's habit today, all the necklaces, rings and earrings that belonged to Marian were in her jewel case.
Pleased with her plan, Marian quickly emptied her bucket onto the floor, then transferred her jewelry to the knapsack she'd brought from Bonchurch, placing it in the empty bucket to hide what she 'd taken. Not wanting to tarry until Isabella returned, she opened the door and explained to Sam, "My mistake. These rooms have already been cleaned."
A woman's voice behind her chilled her to the bone. "It is, indeed your mistake," Isabella said, having been hidden within her rooms all the time, silently watching Marian. "Guards!" she commanded, "catch this thief who just stole my jewels, and lock her in the dungeon!"
Instantly, Marian swung the bucket in an arc around her, using it as a distraction and a shield so she could run away.
"Guards!" Isabella shrieked, at the top of her voice.
Marian, hearing the familiar sound of tramping boots, raced through the castle, hoping to reach the portcullis before it was lowered.
Robin had no idea he was chasing his wife, only that he was after a thief. Rounding a corner, he nearly collided with Marian.
"Marian?" he said, stopping, unable to comprehend his suspicions.
"There isn't time to explain," she told him. "We have to get out of the castle now!"
"This way," he told her, grabbing her hand and darting off another direction. "And lose that bucket!"
They might have escaped if she hadn't taken the time to pull the knapsack from the bucket and strap it over her shoulder. But those few moments cost them their freedom.
They were met by a wall of guards, and then, just as Robin was about to pull her the opposite direction, another wall of soldiers closed them in.
"Pretend you are the one who caught me," Marian whispered to him. "You can't rescue me, Robin, if we're both locked in the dungeon."