Robin and Marian lay facing each other in bed, arguing about Marian's role in Robin's upcoming mission to rescue Queen Eleanor.
"Am I a member of your gang or not?" Marian asked.
"You are. You've always been, ever since you saved my life by disarming the sheriff's soldier with your hairpin."
"When the sheriff ordered he shoot you? You didn't have a gang yet."
"I had Much. And your brave act showed I had you, too. Not to mention your perfect aim."
"Then let me come with you." She could see how unhappy he was, and she knew his denial of her wishes stemmed from his love and desire to protect her. Her attitude softened, and she told him she understood while continuing to plead her case. "Robin, I know you want to protect me, but I need to come with you. Haven't I proven myself worthy? I saved your life on more than one occasion. You can't remember the time you were drugged and Carter presented your body to Gisbourne, who would have sliced your throat if I hadn't intervened. You forbade me to go with your gang that day, too."
"I did not forbid. I asked, and you agreed. At least you told me you agreed."
"You should be glad I lied. If I'd obeyed, you would be dead." The thought of him lying on that pallet feigning death, and then almost dying but for her stopping Guy from slicing his throat, sent horrible shivers up and down her spine.
She loved him beyond words, beyond life itself. She had to come with him on this mission, in case he needed her. "Please, Robin," she softly pleaded. "You've said it time and again...'Together, we're stronger.' "
"We are, but...!"
"But what?"
How could he tell her he couldn't forget seeing her lying on the sands of Acre with Gisbourne's sword protruding from her belly? He'd believed she had breathed her final breath, and he'd been shattered. Only a miracle had saved her, though he hadn't known it for months. But they had lost their first child, though he hadn't known of its existence until later when Allan had blurted out that Marian had been expecting. She must have been as far along in that pregnancy as she was now, with just a small swell to indicate a new life growing within her.
"Robin," Marian persisted, "let me fight!"
"Let me think," he shot back.
She waited, watching his face change as he thought up his plan. She was amazed when he began to grin and she heard him say, "You will fight, Marian, though not Prince John's soldiers."
"Who then?" she asked uncomfortably, suspicious that in his confidence he would somehow trick her.
"You, my love, will battle Little John, as the Night Watchman."
"Little John?" she repeated, confused. "Robin!" And then, more amazed still, "The Night Watchman?"
"You can't very well fight him as Lady Locksley, now, can you?" he asked, smug and proud of himself. "It's time we get some sleep," he advised, kissing her goodnight and gazing laughingly into her desperate and wondering eyes. "We need to make an early start in the morning."
"Robin!" she said again.
...
Early the following day, after Will and Djaq's twins were safely housed in Bonchurch, the gang travelled northward toward Pontefract Castle. It was a short journey of a few miles, so the gang made the journey on foot, for only Much and Allan had access to horses.
"Kate will be furious we aren't including her," Much commented, trying to imitate Robin's swagger. "And I, for one, am glad."
"That makes seven of us," Will agreed.
"Kate," Allan snorted. "Lot of help she'd be! Probably get captured before we get started! Tell us again how this is going to work," he pursued, addressing Robin. "I'm not bein' funny, but won't Prince John's soldiers know all of us?"
"They'll know me," Robin said, "and Marian. They saw us in London not long ago. That is why our faces will be covered."
"They'll know me, too," Much spoke up. "I've visited the king's court in London many times with Robin. In fact, I've visited it many, many, many times. That's why I'll be wearing my hood."
"They won't recognize me, surely," Marian said. "I've only been there once."
"But you, my love, are unforgettable," Robin told her, grinning and throwing her a wink. "Which is why you're disguised as the Night Watchman."
She already wore the costume, but without the face coverings yet.
"We're all unforgettable," Allan insisted. "We're legends! PJ's guards might not have seen us, but unless they're as stupid as Much, they'll know who we are."
"Stupid?" Much exploded. "I am not stupid! You're the one who's stupid, linking up with Gisbourne when everyone with a brain knows Robin was the one to follow! Hands up for all who never betrayed the gang."
"Oh, this again?"
"Robin," Will interrupted, "Djaq and I want to hear more of your plan."
At Robin's request, Will and Djaq were wearing Saracen clothing they had brought with them from the Holy Land.
"I still say they'll know us," Allan insisted. "We are Robin Hood, after all."
"We are Robin Hood!" Little John proclaimed.
Robin and Marian smiled at one another, each of them thinking of little Grace standing with her feet apart, trying to impersonate Little John.
"I'll go over the plan again," Robin told his men, after giving Marian's arm an affectionate squeeze. "Will, you and Djaq arrive at the castle and present this written message to the guard, claiming Djaq to be a present to the Queen from Saladin himself."
"Like they'll believe 'The Pale One' is a Saracen, too," Allan snorted.
"Part Saracen," Robin corrected. "On earlier crusades, many Christian knights took Saracen women as their brides and settled in the Holy Land. Will, you know enough Arabic, don't you, to use it when you speak with Djaq, and fool the guards?"
Will nodded his head, having picked up the language while he and Djaq remained in Acre living with Bassam, while Djaq nursed Marian back to health.
Robin continued. "You will not turn Djaq over to anyone but the Queen Mother herself. That way, we'll learn where in the castle she's imprisoned, and her state of health. If she needs medical care, God forbid, that's another role for you to play," Robin added, addressing Djaq.
"And if she does, what then?" Much anxiously asked.
"We'll have to wait until she's well enough to travel, or be carried away. John, are you prepared to carry her?"
Little John looked embarrassed, but agreed.
"Good," Robin said. "Let's hope it won't come to that."
"Alright," Allan agreed. "We've got Djaq housed with the old Queen, and Will comes back and tells us where she is. Then what? We storm the castle and kill the guards?"
"We do not kill," Djaq reminded him.
"Unless it's absolutely necessary," Much finished. Then, under his breath he added, "Dunderhead."
"Idiot," Allan shot back.
Much was outraged, but Allan only laughed and said, "Excuse me. I meant to say, 'Lord Idiot.' "
"Save your fighting for the soldiers," Marian warned. "Go on," she invited Robin, who continued.
"Like Allan said, Will can tell us where the Queen is, and her medical condition. I expect she'll be locked in the tower. That's where Prince John locked her before. If she is able to travel, we do not storm the castle, but create a diversion to distract the guards. That's where Marian, John, and you, Allan, come in."
"Oh, right," Allan remembered. "It was way too early in the morning when you told us the first time. We're travelling mummers, and I'm Vasey."
"Vasey?" Robin asked, confused. "No, Allan. You're the announcer of the act...the one who gets the crowds' attention and holds their interest so they want to watch the show."
"Yeah...Vasey. You didn't know? One night, back when I was working for Giz, he got drunk and confiding. When he wasn't blubbering over how much he loved Marian and hated you, he let Vasey's background slip out. It seems Crazy Vasey started his career as a barker in a troupe of travelling mummers, starring his sister Davinia and her serpents."
"Him, a barker?" Much asked. "Unbelievable!"
Robin disagreed, and appreciated knowing. "Not so unbelievable, Much. Think of his showmanship, whenever he announced an execution."
"Or a dunking," Marian added, remembering with disgust how the former sheriff had reveled in dunking Matilda.
"Well, all I can say is," Much added, "I, for one, am glad he's been executed himself! I am glad he is dead."
Little John grunted in agreement.
Marian took her husband's arm to steer him back talking about his plan.
"Are you alright?" Robin asked her gently. "If you need to rest, just-"
"I'm perfectly fine," Marian assured him. "I'm heartier than you think. Now, what do Little John and I do, as performers?"
"You fight, with staffs. Not actually, of course, but the way I stage it. I'll show you later. Allan, you take wagers, with the odds on John winning. Make the fight last as long as possible, giving Will, Much and myself time to break into the castle and rescue the Queen."
"Climbing, I suppose," Much sighed, "if she's in the tower. You know I hate climbing."
"And I have this," Djaq said, indicating a vial containing acid she wore around her neck, "to disintegrate the locks on her door, if she cannot escape by climbing down the rope you shoot through the tower window."
"Or if she isn't in the tower," Robin added. "You see, an easy plan, with very little chance of any of us getting hurt, and almost no chance of failure."
"I'm heard that before," Much muttered under his breath.
"One more question," Allan said. "Do I get to keep the money the soldiers use as bets?"
The gang, as one, looked at him in exasperation.
"Oi, I'm only asking," Allan added, defending himself. "Spoilsports."
All of them were enjoying themselves tremendously, happy to be back together on a daring rescue mission. Robin was pleased to have Marian with him, without the possibility, he believed, of landing her in danger. But he couldn't begin to guess what would go wrong.