Carlisle Estate
A servant pulled the chair out for Robin at the dinner table next to Lord Hayden. Robin sat down and observed the servants serving food and wine. Everyone knew their place, and the room filled with the aroma of roasted pork and baked apples when the kitchen doors opened. Robin's eyes followed Much as the wine steward took extra care while filling each goblet from the flask, especially with Lord Hayden's. Robin noticed the lord's upturned lip reminding him of a bulldog. It was obvious that the lord was not too pleased with Much's presence, but nonetheless, he remained silent.
Throughout dinner, Robin had to admit that he was impressed with the care Much took to wait until the goblets were almost empty before refilling the vessels.
Most of the dinner involved his father and Lord Hayden sharing gossip about the other lords in the shire. When the topic revolved around Robin's mother, both he and his father grew quiet. Misunderstanding, Lord Hayden apologized. It was his father who explained that she was not well. Robin could not help but to glance Much's way while he filled his father's glass.
Robin felt the weight of the conversation lift as they returned to the mischief of the other nobles in Lord Hayden's shires. When wine suddenly drenched him, Robin almost choked on a mouthful of pork. He swallowed and then quickly jumped to his feet.
Much had been attempting to fill Robin's glass when he stumbled forward, spilling the contents of the serving flask all over Robin and his white shirt. When Robin looked up, the terror in Much's eyes humbled his brief annoyance. Immediately, he took notice of who was around, and his eyes fell up the only other person within tripping distance – Osmond. Besides, Robin had scanned the floor, and did not see anything that Much could have accidentally tripped over.
The young servant tried to carefully sit the empty serving flask on the table, and stammered, "Sorry… I truly am sorry." The blood drained from his face from the terrible embarrassment.
Robin tried to laugh it off, "It's nothing." He said casually, but Lord Hayden jumped out of his chair and grabbed Much by the front of his collar.
"You worthless piece of rubbish." Lord Hayden's hand was in full swing towards Much, but before Robin could even think about the consequence, he had grabbed the lord's arm preventing contact.
"That will not be necessary, Lord Hayden." Robin's voice trembled with anger. "It was an accident."
Lord Hayden released Much, who immediately flew out of the dining room. One of the servants began cleaning the spilled wine on the floor while the others stood stark still, unsure what to do.
Robin realized that he had upset the order of the house by stopping Much's punishment. With a pleading glance, he looked to his father.
Finally, Robert spoke up. "Lord Hayden, can we go somewhere to speak in private. There is a certain matter I wish to discuss with you." Robin's father rose from the table, and then followed Lord Hayden out of the dining hall.
Unable to hide his displeasure, Robin could no longer keep his thoughts to himself.
"I would be ashamed to have any of you as my servants. You certainly don't look after one another." Then Robin called out Osmond. "And you, you surely don't put the well being of all of your servants above your own."
Angry beyond words, Robin stormed out of the room. He tried to find the room where his father and Lord Hayden were meeting. He knew something would go amiss while Much served wine, but he had let himself get too comfortable. Much appeared to be doing a fine job until his guard was down. He cursed himself and stopped in the middle of the hallway. Disgusted, he looked down at his ruined wine stained shirt. Shrugging his shoulders, he resigned himself to wearing the shirt until he could tell Much himself that his father would fix this.
Finally, Robin heard laughter as the two nobles exited Lord Hayden's private chambers. At first, Robin felt a knot twist in his stomach as he saw Hayden tossing a coin-heavy leather pouch tethered to an intricate gold and silver chain. The pouch had been a very special gift from his mother to his father years ago.
Lord Hayden smiled a toothy grin of satisfaction at Robin. "Your father just took a very troublesome servant off of my hands. I'm surrendering his bondage to the Locksley Estate."
Robin's father nodded his head. "As I have told you, I have a special assignment for this servant in my estate. I'm sure he will work out just fine." Then to Robin, he added, "Go find the young man, Robin, and have him gather his belonging. Both Lord Hayden and I agree that it would be best if he slept on your guest room floor tonight until we leave in the morning."
Robin gave his father a smile and ran to the servants' quarters. There, he met up with the woman Much had been helping with the laundry. She immediately bowed her head and tried not to look at his stained shirt.
"My lord?" she asked.
"Where is Much? I need to speak with him." He stated, trying to look around her to see if he could tell which room was the young man's.
The woman frowned. "Much ran outside, my lord. He did not go to his room."
Robin turned around and headed out of the manor. The sun had set some time ago, but the full moon lit the grounds of the estate with a brilliant blue light. Looking up at the hill behind the manor, he wondered if Much would have run up there in the dark.
"You are right my lord." A voice came from behind him. "That is the direction he ran after leaving the manor. I don't know how sure he is in the dark, especially since spending two nights in the barn had him terrified of owls." Jarrod shook his head. "Lord Hayden will surely put him out over this."
Robin looked around, "Where are your daisies?"
Jarrod looked at the noble like he was mad until the reason crossed his mind. Without hesitation, he disappeared around the corner of the house, and returned with five daisies. He added, "They were her favorite flower. Everyone always made the mistake that because her name was Rose, she loved roses."
Accepting the bundle, Robin gripped the man's shoulder, "Bless you, Jarrod."
Surprised that the young noble new his name, the gardener replied after a great pause, "You are welcome, my lord."
With a sprint to the hill, Robin failed to hear the man's final words. He felt sure that Much assumed the same thing, that he would be without a home after tonight. Robin wanted to assure him that was not the case and that he had a home to go to, one that would treat him better, and with much more kindness.
Rose's Grave
Robin nearly lost his footing from the many branches and bushes before making it to the top of the hill. When he reach the crest of the hill, he heard a startled Much cry out, "Who's there? You have no business being here." Robin could tell that the man was distraught and very upset.
"It is only me, Robin of Locksley." Robin stated as he entered the small clearing near Rose's grave.
Much immediately dropped his head. "My lord, I did not know." He brought his face back up with horror as the moonlight once again revealed the wine stain. "I am sorry. Please, I did not mean to spill the wine."
Trying to reassure the servant, Robin raised his hand, but was not prepared for the way Much stepped away from him. "No, it is alright. I'm not angry with you. It is alright." Robin pointed to the grave, "Jarrod tells me your mother was a good, strong woman."
Much glanced down, nodding, "Yes, I miss her. She could always make everything right, no matter how wrong it was."
With the daisies in hand, Robin approached her grave and added them to the flowers Much had laid earlier.
Much could not help but smile at the site of the daisies. He always feared taking too many from the garden, but it looked right to see seven daisies gracing his mother's grave. "She loved daisies." With a shudder, he felt himself want to give into the emotions of the day, but kept the tears at bay in the presence of the young nobleman.
"I can't apologize enough for ruining your shirt, my lord. I am sorry." Looking down at his feet, Much couldn't help but shake his head. "I don't know what happened. First with Sarra in the great room and then in the dining room. I thought something tripped me, but nothing was there. Maybe I am tripping over my own feet."
With a smile, Robin started to laugh. "Something did trip you."
"What?" Much questioned. "But there was nothing there. I looked everywhere."
"Not everywhere… after you left, the same young man who ran into you with the honey pots came out of the cabinet beside the staircase with a stick. I tried to give chase, but my father stopped me. At dinner, Osmond was the only one near you when you spilled the wine. I would bet my inheritance that he is the one who tripped you tonight. They set you up." Robin did not know if he should or not, but could not help himself, "… to take the fall."
Much did not know whether he should be angry or happy. "Then Lord Hayden isn't going to put me out. You have told him what happened?" Much asked the young noble.
Robin shook his head and sighed. "No..." With a wave of his arm, Robin tried to prepare the young man for the news he had to share. "I know this is your home, that this is all you have known or seen, but…"
Much lowered his head, "But he is putting me out of the manor. I have no place to go."
Robin stepped closer, "Yes and no." Robin paused until Much returned his gaze. "He is putting you out of the manor but you do have a place to go. My father has released your bondage to this estate, and we are going to be taking you home with us. I promise that you will not need to fear anyone there."
This time, Much felt a wave of relief wash over him, which quickly turned to fear. He had always wished for a better place to live, but just imagined that it would be here. The young servant hoped that things would get better, he never dreamt he would have to leave and start over somewhere else. Confused, he did not know whether he should thank his new master or curse him. Much fixed his eyes on his mother's grave. He realized that he would no longer be able to visit and talk to her when things bothered him.
Robin understood the emotions going through the servant. He could not imagine just uprooting himself, leaving behind everything he knew to go live with strangers. After living with a master like Lord Hayden and a steward like Osmond, what could Much possibility expect from him, his father or even their own steward, Thornton.
"I will let you say your good-byes. When you return to the manor house, I will help you pack your things. Both my father and Lord Hayden think it would best if you sleep in my guest room tonight." Robin laughed. "By the way, I kind of berated the other servants after you left dinner."
Much smiled at the thought of the others being talked to by a young nobleman from another shire. "They deserved it."
Robin nodded and headed back down the hill more carefully than he had ran up it.
Much knelt at his mother's grave. "Mother, I cannot express how many emotions I am experiencing. I am elated to hear that the young lord knows the truth about Phillip and Osmond. I'm thrilled to learn that I'm not going to be put out of the manor with no place to go, but…" He paused. "I am scared. Who are these nobles from Locksley? How do they treat their servants? I won't have Jarrod or Lucy to look to anymore." Much picked up one of the daisies, "I won't have you to make me feel safe, to give me the courage to face others when I'm having a bad day."
The moon rose over the last of the treetops and blanketed the white stone with a brilliant blue light. Much gasped at the beauty of the sight and knew it was a sign from his mother. Everything suddenly felt peaceful and right. Looking over his shoulder to the ground where the young noble had departed, he felt like this new path held the most promise for him.
"You are right. This is a good thing." Much placed the daisy back on her grave. "I will never forget you or the things you taught me. I will always carry you with me, here." With a tight fist, Much placed his hand on his heart. "I will make you proud." With a sad smile, he added, "Goodbye, Mother," before heading back to the manor house.