It was an easy matter for Robin to guess what bedchamber Annora was lodged in. As wife of England's Chancellor, she was certain to claim one of the finest ladies' chambers Nottingham Castle had to offer, second only to the rooms reserved for the Queen. It also happened to be the same suite of rooms Marian used to occupy when her father had been sheriff, and even afterward, though not the tower chambers she'd later occupied as a prisoner.

Just outside the door, Robin grinned wickedly and whispered, "The last time I broke in here, I was treated to a very pretty sight!"

Marian rolled her eyes. "You couldn't see anything," she scolded, smiling in spite of herself at his impudence, remembering the time he'd broken into her room to hide under her bedclothes, when she'd forgotten to pack a nightdress.

"You're right, I couldn't," he admitted. "If I had been able to see, I'd never have left!"

"And been captured by the sheriff, or tortured by me?" she teased.

"Robin...!" Much warned anxiously, interrupting his friends' flirtatious teasing. "What if she has...you know...ladies surrounding her?"

"She would!" Marian huffed, her mood instantly souring. "She's just the sort of helpless chit who would hire an army of servants to attend her, in pretense of her new found station."

His wife's bitterness made Robin regret he'd invited her along. But it was too late to go back on his promise now. To lighten the mood, he teased Much, "Why else did you think I needed your help? You, my friend, are in charge of charming the ladies!"

For a moment, Much was speechless. But only for a moment. "Me?" he gasped at last. "Wha-wha-wha-HOW?"

Grinning knowingly, Robin pulled out several small purses filled with coins. "Bribery always buys silence with women, I've found."

"Yes! When you offer it," Much cried accusingly. "But it's not so much the money, you know, as...as...well...YOU!"

"Then just do what you've seen me do, Much," Robin told him, needing to refocus on his approach toward Annora. "I need to think," he added, which Much understood as a request for silence.

Much did his best to remain quiet, but his anxiety over having to charm "an army" of unknown women to keep them from screaming was more than he could stand. "What should I do?" he asked Marian.

"Draw your sword," she suggested, in all seriousness.

"My SWORD?" Much shouted, appalled, and was shushed. "I can't...can't..." His voice trailed off, as he realized Marian's plan, although shocking, would certainly be easier and more effective than Robin's. But no. It was impossible. "It can't be done," Much decided. "I am a man, and they, however many of them there are, are women, and men do not threaten women, no matter how loudly they scream."

"Would you rather Eve hear how you broke into a woman's bedchamber in the middle of the night, and 'charmed' her attendants?" Marian asked.

Much sucked in his breath. "Ooooh!" he cried in frustration. "I hate this!"

Robin, unable to completely tune out their conversation, turned to them and ordered, "No weapons! That's not the way we're doing this, Marian."

"Speak for yourself," she shot back. "If she accused you of rape, she deserves no less."

"I mean it, Marian," Robin warned.

"Oh! So you prefer to mollycoddle her into agreeing to confess her lies?"

"Something like that," he answered, smugly angry.

Much, once again, hated being caught up in the center of another one of their arguments. "Unbelievable!" he almost wept. "I could be home in Bonchurch, sound asleep in my comfortable bed, but you!" he cried, pointing at Marian. "You had to ride to my house, pound on my door, and tell me Robin needed to be rescued, when all along, he'd rescued himself! Unbelievable!"

Marian remained silent, realizing from the look in Robin's eyes what he'd taken from Much's rant.

"You did what, Marian?" he asked. "Tell me you didn't ride tonight."

Lifting her chin defiantly, to partially cover the guilt she was feeling, she asked, "How else did you imagine I travelled here, Robin?"

After a momentary staredown, Robin recalled their purpose for being here. "We will sort this out later," he told her, trying not to notice the angry tears beginning to well in Marian's eyes. "Let's finish this now."