Locksley, the following Sunday

"I knew I'd find you here!"

Much, after searching for nearly an hour, at last came upon Robin, Marian, and their daughter Ellen on a grassy bank beside the river Trent.

The family was obviously enjoying a picnic, for an old blanket was spread upon the ground, and on it was a hamper containing fruit, meatpies, hardboiled eggs, and tarts. Much's mouth watered.

"Care to join us?" Robin called to his friend, delighted to see him. "We haven't eaten. Been too busy picking flowers and chasing dragonflies!"

Much snorted with laughter. "Picking flowers!" he scoffed. "If only Gisbourne could see you now! Oh! I shouldn't have said that!"

Marian rolled her eyes, and Robin, after sucking in an angry breath between clenched teeth, forgave Much's slip of the tongue. "Don't ruin a perfect day, reminding me of that viper," he cautioned.

"Sorry! It just came out!" Much, plopping down on the blanket, asked, "When do we eat?"

"Now seems like a good time," Robin grinned, sweeping his daughter up into his arms and carrying her toward the blanket. "Hungry, Boo?"

Much answered for the child, the grimace on his face showing how disgusted he was. "She appears to be, the way she's chewing on that toy horse you gave her."

"She's teething," Marian explained, defending her darling daughter.

To Much's alarm, Ellen crawled onto his lap and generously held out her toy for him.

"Oh, no!" Much objected. "I'm not touching that!"

"Just take it, Much," Robin ordered.

"What a good girl!" Marian exclaimed, full of praise. "You're sharing!"

Much's lips were pursed, his eyes squinting, as he tried to pull away. "That's fine," he said, nervously. "You keep it. I have a real horse!"

"Share," Ellen said sweetly, pushing the slobbery wet object into Much's face.

"Oh! That is revolting!"

Robin's eyes twinkled with fun, but Marian took offense. "Come here, Precious," she coaxed. "I'll share with you."

Once the child and her nasty toy were safely away on Marian's lap, Much remembered, "Is it safe, you know, to have a picnic?"

"Safe?" Robin asked, laughing. "What, Much? Do you expect something dangerous to happen, just because it's me?"

"No, Smarty Pants. I mean, because it's Sunday! We're not supposed to have picnics, on Sunday. HE might be watching!"

"I hope He is!" Robin grinned. "We attended mass. Now, we're eating, is all. Don't forget, Much, He's the one who made the day so perfect for a picnic."

"Yes. Well. That may be true. But all the same, we're not supposed to have fun, you know, on the sabbath."

Marian, hiding her annoyance, quoted, " 'The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.' "

"What?" Much asked, flabbergasted.

"Marian's right," Robin told his friend.

"Oh, no," Much objected, shaking his head. "I don't think so!"

"It's from the Bible, Much," Robin said, still grinning. Pointing upward, he teased, "He said it."

Much's jaw dropped open. "Unbelievable!" he cried. After a few moments of hesitation, he finally grabbed a meat pie and shoved it into his mouth.

"Who wants to bless the food?" Robin asked, laughing when Much suddenly spit out his pie.

"Sorry, Lord!" Much cried.

Marian rolled her eyes again. "You say it, Handsome. After all, you're the one who looks like a priest."

"Monk," Robin corrected, with a wink. Pulling his hood back to respectfully uncover his head, he began, "Gracious heavenly Father-"

"Unbelievable!" Much couldn't help exclaiming. "You're...you're bald!"

Robin shot Much a look, making his friend clap his hands together and bow his head.

When the short prayer was over and Robin had drawn his hood back over his head, Much sputtered, "Wha-wha-wha-What happened to your hair?"

"Long story," Marian answered, breaking Ellen's pie into small pieces.

"I did it when I was in Oxford," Robin explained, "as a disguise. I needed to learn what sort of man England's new chancellor is."

"Speaking of him, have you heard?" Much asked, confused but satisfied by Robin's explanation. "He's here."

"Chancellor Fitzhugh?"

Much took a large bite and swallowed. "This is the best meat pie I've ever tasted!"

"Much, what about the chancellor?"

"Oh. Yes. He arrived last night. He's at the castle."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Are there any more pies?"

"Did he bring his wife with him?" Marian coyly asked. "Annora," she added meaningfully, giving her husband a challenging smirk.

Robin shook his head, puffing the air from his cheeks.

Much, licking his lips as he lifted another pie from the hamper, said, "She came along, so I've been told. She wanted to see Nottingham. Get this, she's said to be...what's the word I want that means you love something?"

"Adore," Robin told him, gazing in that manner at Marian and his daughter.

"Not that one," Much complained. "It means you're full of love for something."

"Enamored?" Marian suggested, barely hiding her impatience.

Much's eyes lit up. "That's the one!" he cried, pointing at Marian. "Yes! She's said to be enamored of Robin Hood!"

Marian turned curious eyes on her husband.

"The stories, I mean," Much anxiously hastened to clarify. "Not, you know, him."

"That remains to be seen, doesn't it?" Marian replied, smiling challengingly at Robin.