Chapter 3
Sarah was the first one to break the dazed silence that had settled upon the great hall.
'Tell me you're not seriously considering this, My Lady!'
'Sarah, I understand that your role has always been to look after me. But you have said it yourself, there is no way around this but to send a woman out there. I will not send you, or anyone else from my staff. I need to do this.'
'Lady Marian, please! I promised master Robin I would bring you home safely… He would not agree to this!' Duncan entreated.
'I don't care what Robin thinks!' She shouted in response. As much as he had heard about Marian's fiery character, Duncan had not been ready for this. Sarah chuckled at the surprise on his face, but her mirth lasted only a second before she remembered what they were discussing. Marian took a deep breath in. Now was not the time to lose her temper.
'My Lady, we need to think about this. You will be accused of treason if you are caught!'
'I will not carry the message with me, so The Sheriff will have no way of discovering the purpose of my trip if I do not say anything. He cannot imprison me on a whim, I am royalty.'
Even though she was trying her hardest to sound unafraid, the young noblewoman could not help but feel a knot slowly weaving its way into her stomach. Was she that immune to his wrath?
'I am not afraid.' she added, 'I will leave at night, wear a cloak, and if I am stopped by Nottingham's men I will politely ask them to let me through. I can say that I got word my mother had been taken ill and that she needed to see me right away.'
'Ah, very well then! We are all saved! And how on Earth would they believe that? You would always have an escort with you for such a long trip. Not to mention, Lady Dubois, even if we did not think that this enterprise was madness and we let you go, who would take care of the estate? God only knows how long it would take you to reach the King!'
Why did she have to justify herself to her staff? Any other member of the nobility would have just done as they wanted, leaving them to pick up the pieces if anything went wrong. Her mother raising her to give all people working for her the respect they were due probably had something to do with that. She told herself to have a word with the older Lady Dubois whenever she would actually be going to London. As much as she hated to admit, however, Sarah did have a point.
'You're right' she said in a softer tone, 'I will ask one of our men to escort me to London. I will visit my mother there and leave him to stay with her until I get back. As for the estate, Jefferey and you are perfectly able to manage everything while I am gone.'
'Lady Marian… Please do not do this. There are other ways. Lord Locksley will understand.' Sarah pleaded.
The fear in her lady in waiting's eyes caused Marian's determination to weaken for a second. She was right. This scheme was lunacy. Robin would not expect her to take such risks for his sake. Even though she had told him she would, with a courage she wished she could find within herself now. Even though she so ardently wanted to play a role in bringing Richard's army back, in the flesh, rather than dreaming of their return when faced with the soldier's silhouettes of thread her hands had embroidered.
'Duncan, ask Artur to meet me in the courtyard in an hour. Sarah, go find Jefferey. I need to talk to the two of you about the accounts.'
The darkness was so deep that even with the help of their torch they could hardly make out any of the terrain they were walking on. Fortunately for them, their horses had trodden upon these hills many times and could be trusted to carry them safely along the way. Her mare's gentle walk swaying her, Marian allowed her vigilance to waver for a moment as she continued making a mental list of the duties she had mentioned to Sarah and Jefferey. She was hoping she had not forgotten anything. As she suddenly remembered that she had failed to remind them about the barley harvest that needed to be pushed back a month, Henry's horse came to an abrupt halt in front of her.
'We need to take a different path, My Lady, there are horses coming towards us' her companion whispered. 'Keep your horse at a slow pace. It's too dark to go any faster.'
As the two of them started ascending the hill, the galloping noises came closer and closer until the faces of three riders became visible in the weak light of the torch. The young woman recognised the uniforms of the Sheriff's men.
'Do not take another step!' The guard standing in front of the group roared. 'Who are you?'
Marian instinctively brought her hand down to the grip of her sword. She had been taught how to fight from an early age and having been left home alone for the past few years had only increased the amount of time and energy she had devoted to practicing her skills with a sword. She had always been a good fighter, but in the last year she had found that she could take on almost any man and defeat him. If there was not lit candle nearby, that was… The thought of fighting her way through these men quickly went through her head, but disappeared as soon as it was formulated. The success of her long-term plan depended on her house appearing to remain loyal to the Sheriff. She could not afford to cause a stir. Trying to keep her rising apprehension inside, Marian answered:
'I am Lady Marian from the house of Dubois. Please let us through.'
'My Lady, you should not be out at this hour.'
'I was just told that my mother's health has taken a serious turn. The sooner I can get to her, the better. I am ordering you to let us through.'
'I am sorry, I only take my orders from the Sheriff. He has asked us to escort you back to your castle if we see you outside of its walls. Please don't make this any more difficult than it has to be.'
'You are forgetting who you are talking to. Do you really want to incur the wrath of his majesty when he gets back to England?'
'Once again, My Lady, I only answer to one man.'
The soldiers started moving their horses closer to them before grabbing their reins. Henry looked at her for a second, silently pleading to know what her intentions were. Marian shook her head in defeat. There was nothing they could possibly do without showing which side they were on. How could they have failed so soon? Marian felt despair slowly overtaking her as she allowed the men to lead them back towards Blidsworth.
