Robyn Hood: Fight For Freedom Read Free Page A

weary than I would like to admit. I believe I shall retire to my room.”
    “I’ll escort her ladyship back to her room Master George, don’t worry,” Maxine dashingly grinned.
    “I’m quite capable of reaching my quarters on my own,” I insisted.
    “Thank you, Lord Maxine. She is housed in the same hall as Lady Elizabeth, ” George said, bowing at the young lord before returning to other guests, chatting with them with a pleasant smile.
    “This way Lady Mary,” Maxine directed, steering us out of the great hall. I stopped to wave farewell to Edward and Elizabeth.
    The musicians plucked and piped on their instruments, and dancing had started. The feast would probably go on hours longer. Hours that I would thankfully not be present for.
    I surprised myself by quite easily remembering the way back to my room.
    “Are you sure you’ll be tolerable alone, Lady Mary? Do you not have a ladies maid who could assist you?” Maxine asked.
    “If I need help I’ll call for one. Thank you Lord Maxine,” I smiled between clenched teeth before I backed into my room, shutting the door in Maxin e’s fine face.
    I immediately barred the door and started ripping off my dress. I changed into a nightgown and huddled in front of the fire, warming my stiff back against the flames. “Should have brought some hose and a tunic or two with me,” I grumbled.
    The fire cracked, but besides that my room was quiet. I yawned. “This must be the first time I’ve been alone since Will Stutely christened Little John,” I laughed. “It’s quiet,” I observed after several moments. “Very quiet.”
    That night I slept for the first time on a mattress stuffed with feathers. While it was delightfully soft I had a hard time falling asleep. There were no hooting owls or panting dogs. Crafty did not wickedly snicker in his pen, and Much’s snores weren’t audible. I couldn’t hear my men shift on their guard duty or laugh as they shared a story around the fire.
    I missed them.
    “It’s a pity,” I whispered to my silent room. “I don’t think they’re missing me.”
     
     

    Chapter 2
    Marian at Nottingham
    I spent three relatively care free days in the castle before I began to realize that I could bum off Nottingham Castle for only so long. In those three days I slowly finished recuperating from my sickness. I was my own jailer, and often slept for hours on end to provide an excuse so I wouldn’t have to attend those wretched banquets. (The food was good, and they were quite entertaining… but after the third night of feasting I was beginning to see why Marian complained of them so.)
    “I believe I am almost healed,” I said as I did a handstand, testing out my back. It barely protested. “This is good. I’ll have to move on soon,” I said, wading through my mess of dresses. “Tis a shame, but I’ll have to leave most of my wardrobe behind. Crafty can’t carry them all, and if I’m traveling on the road it would be wiser to go disguised as a male.”
    I walked over to my dressing table, which was now cluttered with hair pins and veils. (I lifted them out of several different rooms in the previous days.)
    There was a soft tap on the door, Lady Elizabeth probably. Ever since George stuck me with the trio on that first feast they were my daily companions. I swore underneath my breath. I was dressed in nothing but a nightshirt.
    “Yes?” I called through the door.
    “Lady Mary it’s me, Elizabeth,” Elizabeth timidly said through the door. “I was about to go down to the castle gardens. Would you care to join me?”
    I silently groaned and kicked a dress. “Of course. I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
    “Thank you, I’ll return to my room until you’re ready,” Elizabeth softly replied before her light steps signaled she had walked away.
    It wasn’t that I minded Lady Elizabeth; I just really didn’t feel like squeezing myself into another one of my blasted dresses. Even worse, going out would mean I had to