Lady Thief: A Scarlet Novel (17 page)

Much stood too. “Are you two really going to brawl in Tuck’s? Again?”

“Again?” I snapped, and they both looked fair sheep-like ’bout it.

“If you want out of the band, just say so, John. That’s all there is to it,” Robin spat, sitting back down and grabbing my feet.

I kicked him, dangerous close to a part of him he prized. He grunted and held my foot up, scowling, but I scowled back. “Don’t threaten him,” I said. “Honestly, you like to throw that about a fair bit. ‘Out of the band this, out of the band that.’ We’re barely a band right now so don’t go kicking people out. It ain’t nice.”

Much frowned, and I sighed.

“Isn’t nice,” I corrected.

Much smiled.

“I want out of the band,” John said, quiet and serious.

“John,” I said soft, looking to him.

Much looked betrayed and Rob just gaped, rage-filled.

“Bess is carrying my child,” he said, quieter still, glancing
’bout the room to see who heard. “And she has finally agreed to marry me. I have a family now, and I’m not risking that so some other family can eat. It may be selfish, but what the hell are we doing this for if not to protect our own?” He looked at me, just at me, and I knew it hurt him to say it. “I’ll help where I can. I’ll go hunting tonight if you want me to. But I can’t do anything that’s going to get me thrown in prison and leave her alone.”

“It
is
selfish!” Rob railed. “What do you think will happen to Bess if we can’t feed the people of Nottinghamshire? If we can’t have a sheriff that will care for us?”

“Then I will hunt and feed her myself. And if they come to our door with swords and knives I will kill every one that tries to step over the threshold.” This stare were for Rob now, and Rob looked ready to step up and counter that too.

I stood, going over to John and hugging him tight. “You may be an overprotective lout, John, but if for that and nothing else you’ll make the best father. And husband.” I squeezed tighter with my one good arm.

He hugged me straight off my feet. “Thank you, Scar.”

“When will you marry?”

“Soon,” he said, putting me down. “After the new year.”

“Congratulations,” Much said, shaking John’s hand. “A baby. That’s … that’s … well, I suppose it’s not surprising, given how often you—”

“Much!” I snapped.

Much smiled and nodded. “She’s right, you know. You’ll be a good father.”

We all turned to make room for Rob to come over and give his congratulations, but he were still sitting at the hearth, scowling. He stood. “I won’t congratulate you, John, on deserting us. We’ve been your family for years and you’re abandoning
us
.”

My heart dropped. “Rob, you don’t mean—”

“I do,” he told me, harsh. He stared at John. “You bedded enough tavern wenches to have gotten one of them with child, and now—”

He didn’t get to finish the thought; John flattened him.

“You can’t just not talk to me,” Rob said.

We stole across the lower bailey in a quick line; me, then Rob, then Much, then Godfrey. Rob stayed close, his hand grazing against mine as he whispered to me.

I glared at him and slapped his hand away.

Coming round behind the food store, I looked up at the highest bailey, the lights bright in the bit of the residences that I could see. I wondered if this were breaking my deal with Gisbourne.

We came to the window. It needed a jump up and a much longer jump down. “I can make it in,” I said, “but the unlocked way out is a narrow stair to the kitchen. If we want to bring all the food out fast, we’ll need to open up the front. Which is locked.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Much said, nodding to me.

I frowned. “What does that mean, Much?”

He smiled, nodded again, and said, “It’s taken care of.”

Godfrey looked to me. “I don’t understand.”

Much sighed, shaking his head. “Why do you lot get to say things like that and I can’t? All blustery bravado, you are, but no one trusts me to handle anything.”

“We trust you, Much.” Rob’s head tilted a bit. “You just have to explain a little,” he told him.

“You never make Scar explain.” He crossed his arms. “I learned how to open locks.”

I gaped. “You learned that in a book?”

He shrugged. “More from a blacksmith who makes the locks, but yes, you can learn that from a book.”

“Can you teach me?” I asked.

“You’re supposed to be a proper lady,” he told me, turning up his nose. “But after you’re done with that, yes.”

“Well, let’s have at it,” Godfrey said. “Right? Time’s wasting.”

Much nodded, and he went round the front of the store room while we watched. Much pulled two thin, short metal pins from his pocket and set them to the hole in the lock. He held one with his hand and leaned down to catch the other in his mouth. In my eyes, it looked like all he did were jiggle a bit and the whole thing sprang open like he’d set a key to it.

He waved us forward and spat the second stake into his hand with a broad grin.

“Well done, Much,” I praised, clapping his arm.

He beamed.

We ducked inside and shut the doors again, keeping the lock with us just in case a wandering guard passed by.

I settled my free hand on my hip. “We need something to carry the lot of it, don’t we?”

Godfrey went to a sack of flour and could bare heft the thing. “I reckon so,” he said.

A frown came to my face. John could have taken two of the sacks at a time without a worry.

I shook John free from my head. “There should be a cart by the stables. Godfrey, why don’t you help me nick it and we’ll get it over here.”

“I’ll come with you,” Rob volunteered.

“
Godfrey
,” I snapped, glaring at Rob.

Rob strode forward anyway. “I’m coming with you,” he said. “Godfrey, stay with Much.”

Godfrey looked at both of us and didn’t move forward.

Which made me miss John again.

The stables were on the same bailey, right near the barracks. While they weren’t so much guarded, they were lousy with armor and the men what wore it. We went the long way to the back, peeking round the building to see three men drinking and laughing. I pushed Rob back from the corner.

“We have to wait,” I told him.

“There. You spoke to me.”

I glared at him. “You want me to speak? How the hell could you be so cruel, to deny him his happiness? What are you thinking? You
know
what a family would mean to John
after his whole family were taken from him. John, more than any of us.”

“You think me cruel?” he asked, angry and sad both, stepping from the wall to look at me full. “I can’t
stand
this. He runs around dishonoring as many women as he can get his goddamn hands on, doing whatever the hell he wishes, and he gets a child, a wife, a reason to stop fighting and think of himself for once. Whereas
I
—”

He stopped sharp, looking away from me.

My heart cracked. “Oh, Rob.”

He looked at me. “I’ve been playing by all the rules, Scar, and I don’t think I’ll ever have any of that. Maybe he deserves it more than I do. Maybe he does. Because even if you were to get an annulment, even if”—his throat worked—“even if I get to marry you, I’ll never be able to stop fighting. I will never be free of this burden, and I hate him that he can lay it down.”

I stared at him, drinking him in till I felt tipsy with the sight of him, and pulled him closer to me, wanting to touch him. His arms came round me and I pressed my face to the crook of his neck. “We’d never be happy without adventure,” I murmured to him. “But we’ll be happy with each other. We will have that chance. I promise.”

His arms shifted, wrapping round my shoulders and head, and it felt like he were shielding me from the world. “I hope so, Scar,” he said in my ear.

Sighing, I pressed closer to him. “We should look…” I reminded him.

He moved over a bit, tugging me with him, to peek. “They’re gone.”

His arms began to loosen, but I fast whispered, “Kiss me, Rob.”

Like any good gentleman, he didn’t deny me. He picked me up a bit and held me against the wall, kissing me and making heat and courage flow from my toes to my hair.

He let me down and his mouth left mine. His forehead touched mine, and I couldn’t bring my eyes to open just yet.

“These schemes may benefit the people, Scarlet, but I fight for you.” His hands squeezed my waist a little bit, and it made my blood run fast. “I will always fight for you.”

I opened my eyes, pressing my hand to his face, making him look me in the eye. “Rob,” I murmured. “I will do everything I can so that you don’t have to fight anymore. For me or anyone else.”

He pressed his lips to my forehead. “Come on, my love.”

It were short work to get the cart over to the food store. It were terrible hard work to load the thing up, especially where only one of my hands worked and I got shouted at when I tried to use the bad one, and Much had a stump for only a bit more use than me.

We couldn’t close the doors, neither, so it were a fair messy business, and it weren’t long before a guard came over, shouting at Rob and Godfrey.

“Stop! What are you two doing? Guards!” he roared.

I heard quite a clatter and put the cheese wheel wedged under one arm on the cart.

I just hoped that being a noblewoman had as many nice bits as it were meant to.

“What is taking you so very long?” I asked, stepping out of the food store. “Guard. Perfect. Where are the rest of your men, you were meant to be here ages ago.”

“M-my lady?” he asked, looking at my coat that Rob had given me, made of peasant’s felt.

I raised my chin. “Lady
Leaford
,” I snapped. “Perhaps I should send one of these men to tell the prince his orders are being ignored.”

“The prince didn’t give no orders,” he said.

“He most certainly did. Were you aware that the food dispensed earlier to the people was rotten?” I asked.

“No, my—”

“Well, the prince caught wind of that in more ways than one, sir. And he isn’t pleased. His Highness has ordered this food to be brought to the people at once.”

“It’s the dead of night—”

I fought to draw myself up higher. “The same time of night that our Lord Jesus Christ
overcame
death, sir.” I sniffed. “Now will you and your men do as you’re told or must I wake the prince?”

The man grumbled but turned his back and shouted to several guards for help, and I watched, breathless, as they looked
to me for instruction on what to take. They wheeled the cart to the gates and called to their fellows to open it while I followed behind with my friends.

There were still some of the rioters outside the gates who rallied when they saw them open, and some people ran fast from the square, though I weren’t sure if it were for fear or to spread word. I saw Allan doing tricks for some children, and he turned to me with a solemn nod. The guards hung back, and I walked forward, looking back to Rob and the others. Rob nodded me forward.

“This food isn’t spoilt,” I told them. “I promise. It’s safe for you and your children. We won’t let you starve, and monks have already been sent for the ones that took sick. Please. Take the food.”

“Who are you?” one man said, spitting at my feet. “Why the hell should we believe anyone from that godforsaken castle?”

“I’m not from the castle,” I said.

“That’s Lady Scarlet,” said Allan, coming beside him with a smile. “And that’s Robin Hood,” he said, pointing to Rob.

I went back to Rob’s arms as the people trusted his name enough to come forward, and soon the square were filled with folk taking their share of flour and grain and cheese and dried meat.

Hidden amongst the crowd, I pressed a dangerous kiss to Rob’s mouth. “You should go. The prince will figure this out soon.”

“Come with me,” he said. “They’ll punish you for this, Scar.”

I shook my head. “I won’t break my bargain. Go.”

His hand slipped from mine, and he faded in the crowd.

I caught Godfrey’s arm before he passed. “Godfrey, you may not have the stomach to fight Rob the way John does, but you damn well keep him away from here when the trouble starts, you understand?”

His nod were lost on me as the crowd started to move, and Much yelled, “Scarlet!”

I turned toward the castle; Gisbourne were coming out of the castle on horses, with a force of knights and lords alike. “What the hell is going on?” he roared.

The crowd were flung into chaos as everyone grabbed fast for the food and Gisbourne spurred his horse to them. I ran out, ducking as he reined in his horse hard so not to trample me. Before I could even straighten, he were off his horse and charging toward me. “Goddamn you, Marian! You’re behind this? You!” he bellowed, drawing his sword and running for me.

I ducked under his swinging sword to grab the knife in his boot, angling it at him.

“Really!” he laughed at me. “You want to fight me with naught but a knife in your hand?”

I glanced at the cart, where the food were almost all gone. “I don’t need long.”

Gisbourne swung and I ducked. He lunged and I twisted
away, trying to figure out where to stab him that it would get through his thick leathers and chest plate.