Part 9

Tuck met with Robin and Marian in the forest.

"You look well," he said greeting her with a kiss to the cheek while Robin regarded the pair with some humour, they had hit it off on their first meeting, he remembered feeling distinctly jealous then and now, well he was fine about it, if anything Tuck was more a Father figure.

"Well?" Robin said when they all took rest on a fallen log.

"Well," repeated Tuck slowly. "He found out about York, that she helped you, that she hid you in her home. She does not know how he discovered this. He gave her the options of death for consorting with criminals or marriage to him, she was a little sore that her late husband's possessions should fall into his hands but she was not ready to die and so she married him, on the condition he would allow her to help the poor of Locksley. He is reluctant to do this for fear that as soon as she is out is sight she will run to you. She said she was sorry and was afraid you would think badly of her and that she was aware he wanted to spite you and marriage to her was one fine and mighty way."

"I thought as much," Robin said with a shake of his head. "The only positive thing is that someone of my blood, of Locksley linage is at my home."

"She will keep it well for you, until it is yours again," Marian said reassuringly, although all three of them wondered if that would ever be.

"Do you forgive her?"

"There is nothing to forgive," Robin told him. "She did what she had to do and that is that."

"Really?" asked Tuck.

"Yes, in fact," said Robin with a smile. "It might prove in our favour, for now we have a noble on the inside."

"It will be hard to get information to and from her though," Marian said.

"No….we have Tuck here who can visit regularly and there is always Thornton."

"I told her Thornton was trustworthy," Tuck assured them.

"Good, now we wait for Guy to realise she can be trusted, let her leash out a bit and then it will work, like a dream."

"A dream?" asked Marian, thinking it was only last night he had had another nightmare.

"Well perhaps that is not the best word I could have chosen," he admitted ruefully to her and she smiled.

"Am I missing something?" asked Tuck.

"Robin has been having bad dreams and will not talk about them."

"It is not good for the soul to keep that hidden within yourself," he told Robin who just glared at Marian for saying something in the first place. "If you need to talk, I am here," the Friar added before taking his leave of the pair.

"How do you feel about it now?" Marian asked him, rubbing Robin's arm in light circles.

"I still want to kill him…but perhaps he has done as a favour my marrying my cousin," he replied kissing her nose and then pulling her to stand. "Come it is freezing, let us go and impart the news to the gang."

"Robin," Marian said stopping him in his tracks and forcing him to face her. "You know Tuck is right, you will have to face up to the dreams, whatever they are."

"I thought you knew what they were about, or so you said?"

"I have an idea or two; if you will not talk to me Tuck would be a good choice."

"Perhaps," he muttered.

She gasped and his expression change from a chastised child to a concerned man. "What is it?" he asked alarmed.

"The child, our child," she whispered.

"What? Now? You said the spring," he continued his voice going up an octave and sounding very unlike him.

She looked at him half amused and half exasperated. "No!"

"What? I do not understand"

"Here feel," she said and took his hand and laid it over her stomach, he felt a something but wasn't sure exactly how to put it into words.

"Marian," he said warily.

"Can you not feel anything? Perhaps it is just me."

"What can you feel?" he asked perplexed.

"The baby. I was talking with Gwendolyn in Nettlestone the other day and she was telling me about feeling the baby move within her and then I realised I could feel her too."

"Her?"

"Our child."

"Him."

"Oh no it will be a girl."

"It will not, it will be a son."

"How do you know?"

"How do you?" he asked his voice by now very unnaturally high.

"Well I do not know, it is a feeling."

"And I feel he will be male."

"Well I disagree."

"Fine."

"Here try again," she said and reclaimed his hand covering her belly. "There….and again tell me you do not feel that."

"Well, I felt something, you sure it is the child?"

"Positive."

They stood there for a little while until the baby grew still once more.

"He has stopped."

"Perhaps she is tired, perhaps she is sleeping," she told him.

He looked back at her with an expression of disbelief, then linked their fingers together as they walked back to the cave stopping every now and then to give her a kiss.