Marian found Aquitaine enchanting, the loveliest place she had ever seen. Not only the landscape, but the castle where they were to stay, took Marian's breath away when she first saw it shimmering in the distance.

Their daughters and Nurse were napping in the coach, but Marian rode pillion behind Robin on the third horse, the one Gisbourne had stolen before. "Is it made of diamonds?" she asked, knowing the castle couldn't be, yet wondering what could make it shimmer in the sunlight.

"Only limestone, I think, and oyster shells," Robin answered, delighting in Marian's joy and pleasure at everything she saw. "Just wait until you see the inside."

The inside was elegant beyond belief. As Queen Eleanor's honored guests, the family was greeted by Lord Joscelin, Queen Eleanor's illegitimate half brother, who already knew Robin of Locksley and was pleased to welcome him and meet his family. He had them shown to the finest rooms in the palace, second only to the royal chambers. Their daughters' adjoining nursery was filled with toys, including its very own playhouse castle, and Marian allowed herself to succumb to a week or two of being pampered.

Sinking into a warm, sweet smelling bath, Marian was thankful for Queen Eleanor's invitation. Robin, dressed in fresh clothing after having already quickly bathed, entered the room and smiled at his wife. "So," he said, "am I to assume you like it here?"

"I love it! Such luxury! But Robin, I can't imagine Little John feeling comfortable. Why does the queen invite him? Does she want him...polished?"

Robin chuckled. "Maybe she wants to rub some of the polish off her nobles here. Wait until you see them at the banquet tonight, Marian, reciting their poetry and singing their songs." He laughed with good natured scoffing.

With her hair piled high on her head, Marian scrubbed the back of her neck. "I like poetry and music. A little culture won't hurt you, Locksley." Stretching her arms in front of her, she soaped each one clean.

Watching her, Robin's smile turned charming. "You're beautiful, you know, Marian," he said, warmly. "What would you like to do before getting ready for the banquet tonight?"

She smiled teasingly back at him. "Not what you have in mind, not yet anyway. What I'd really like is to take the girls outside and look around. I want to see what the queen mentioned, the women stomping the grapes to make wine."

"Wine making it is," Robin agreed, smiling as he breathed out a long, hot, longing sigh.

Their little girls were delighted to accompany their parents to the castle vineyard, where newly harvested grapes were put in large wooden tubs. Young barefoot peasant women, their skirts hiked to their knees, ran and jumped and stomped upon the grapes, the first step toward turning them into wine.

Robin's family stood watching a short distance away, to avoid being splashed by grape juice. But the women in the vats seemed to be having so much fun running and jumping, Grace decided to join them. Wriggling so that her father put her down, she broke away and ran toward the tubs. Robin caught up to her immediately, and Marian breathed a relieved sigh.

She was surprised by what her husband did next. "Robin," she exclaimed, "what are you doing?"

Robin was removing Grace's shoes and stockings. "We can't let her ruin her shoes now, can we?" he asked. "Not to mention the wine."

"Robin! We can't let her-"

"Marian, where would be the fun in that?"

Ellen, more shy than her little sister, held onto Marian's hand, then asked, "May I take my shoes off, too? Please?"

Robin gave his wife his most appealing stare, and very soon, Marian smiled back at him. "I don't see why not," she decided, addressing Ellen. "But hold onto Gracie's hand to help her. It's sure to be slippery."

The girls jumped up and down, hugging each other. Once shoes and stockings were removed, Robin lifted each of his daughters over the top of the vat, and laughed watching them run about, swashing the sticky grapes along with the welcoming peasant women.

"Nurse will be outraged," Marian said, sounding firm, though she was enjoying her daughters' pleasure every bit as much as Robin. "Not to mention, their gowns will be ruined."

"We could have them dyed purple, to match the hems," Robin suggested. "Wouldn't you like to have a go, too?" Lowering his voice, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I could suck your toes later, to try to get the stain off."

Marian tried to hide her smile and blushed prettily, her toes curling with anticipated pleasure inside her shoes. "I'll pass on that, thank you."

"The grape stomping, or the toe-"

"Behave, Locksley."

The sun was warm on their backs, baking them deliciously. Marian began to grow sleepy, and Robin, noticing, decided it was time they returned to the castle.

Along the way, his daughters were thrilled to see tiny green lizards scurrying over the rocks.

"What are they?" Ellen asked, never having seen a lizard before. "Grasshoppers?"

"They're geckos, I think," Robin told her. "Not insects, Ellie, but lizards."

"They're cute! Do they bite?"

"I don't think so."

"I catch one," Grace decided, rushing toward one that quickly disappeared.

"You need to sneak up to catch one," Marian advised. "Move very slowly."

Grace was incapable of subterfuge, but Ellen slowly tiptoed and seized one by its tail. Lifting it triumphantly into the air, she was horrified to discover its tail broken off in her hand, the rest of the lizard nowhere to be found.

"I broke it," she cried, her tender heart breaking.

Robin crouched to the ground and wiped her tears away. "It's alright, Boo," he comforted. "They do that, I'm told, to be safe. Its tail will grow back, good as new."

Ellen, happy again, showed Grace the tail she held in her hand.

"Better get rid of that before Nurse sees it," Robin advised. "Purple feet are more than enough for her to handle, in one day."

Strolling hand in hand with Robin while their girls danced about just ahead, Marian smiled and teased, "Don't you wish you had that lizard's ability, when you were an outlaw?"

Robin grinned back down at her. "What, you mean break off parts of myself, when the sheriff's men caught me? That would have been useful, but messy, I think."

"Not half as messy as letting our daughters squash grapes with their feet," Marian added, stopping to kiss him.

Yes, she thought, enjoying his warm, tender, delightful lips, Aquitaine was indeed a magical place.