"Here," Robin told Cecily politely, removing his cape and laying it on the grass. "Wrap yourself up in that. It should help to keep you warm, while you sleep."
Motionless, Cecily stared down at his cape. She felt highly nervous, worried about what she was about to attempt, yet excited as well. It was now or never, she realized, and she hoped she would not ruin things between herself and Robin. She had never done anything so daring or unladylike in her life.
"I don't want your cape," she told him, forging ahead. "I want you."
There was a pause, while Robin realized the intent of her offer.
"Cecily...Sess," he responded. "You don't mean that. You're tired. I think you need to get some sleep. You'll be safe, I promise. I won't let you come to harm."
"I don't want to be safe with you, not that way," she passionately insisted. "I want...oh! please don't make me beg!"
Robin stared at her, searching for the words to kindly let her know he was rejecting her. "We've been friends a very long time," he said at last. "It would be wrong for me to take advantage of this situation and do something we'd both come to regret. I'm afraid you're confusing gratitude for being rescued with something far deeper, Sess. Take my advice and rest now, and we'll forget all about this conversation. Please."
"Of course, Robin," she said, meekly. She stretched out on his cape and wrapped it around her, then breathed a long, drawn out sigh of desperation.
She'd almost given up, but not quite. When she saw Robin sit down beside her, she said, in a small voice, "I've never experienced the love of a man before, Robin, did you know that? I mean, I've never felt the sensation of what takes place between a man and a woman who are attracted to one another, and who care for each other."
He didn't respond, since her confession made him extremely uncomfortable, but she continued divulging her private affairs to his unwelcome ears.
"My husband, as you recall, was old. Ancient, to my teenage eyes. I was his third wife, but he was the only man who's ever touched me, in that way. I assure you, Robin, I took no enjoyment from his rare visits to my bed. It was degrading! I don't know what it's like to really be made love to by a handsome, lusty youth, such as you. A man so attractive, I go numb all over, just looking at you! Do you know what it's like to want someone so badly, your desire eats away at you, forcing you to behave in ways you'd never behave otherwise?"
"I do," he admitted solemnly.
"Marian?" Her voice was cold and bitter.
"I love her," he said again. "I put those yearnings out of my mind, for they dishonor her, and my desire to hold her in esteem is stronger than those other leanings, strong as they are.'
"I don't understand how you can still be so smitten by Marian," Cecily almost spat at him. "I'm willing to offer you everything, even against my honorable upbringing and my good name, and all she ever does is scold you and treat you with contempt! She's not the same maiden you left behind, years ago, you realize."
Robin grew angry at hearing Marian disparaged. "I know she's not," he admitted. "Harsh circumstances have altered her, almost beyond my recognition. But she's finer, too. Stronger, and braver, and true to herself and to her father, not to mention the poor. She alone, Cecily, holds my heart, even if she rejects it all the days of her life. I only hope I can deserve it," he added quietly, as if to himself.
Cecily shuddered, and let her angry tears flow from her eyes. "You'll soon sing a different tune, Robin of Locksley," she said spitefully, "once you hear how Marian fell all over Roger of Stoke, and how they engaged in behavior that ought to be reserved between a man and his wife!"
"I've heard enough lies from you tonight," Robin stormed. "I won't listen to another word. Goodnight."
He stood and removed himself several feet away, then sat, leaning his back against a treetrunk, it being the best position to keep watch, yet still manage to take some rest.
Cecily rolled over, away from him, even though his eyes would not look at her. She bitterly wept, believing she had lost her cause to win Robin of Locksley, all due to Marian. Well, at least she could take some revenge, and make him hate Marian, or at the very least continue to cast doubts about her virtue.