The Rebels of Cordovia (18 page)

Daniel shook his head. “No, you don’t.”

With that answer, Robin’s eyes widened and she
felt alarmed. What on earth had she said in her sleep? Should she
press the issue? No, it might be too embarrassing. When she glanced
at him, Daniel’s eyes had a hint of mischief in them. He could be
teasing her but what if he wasn’t. It would be best to ignore
him.

By the light of the moon, Daniel led Robin
toward the shack. It only had one room with one bed, big enough for
the two women. He would sleep on the porch. It was the only proper
thing to do. He chuckled to himself. The proper thing? He hadn’t
been proper with her since he met her. The way he kissed her was
completely improper. And the way he watched her in her
unmentionables? He should have turned his head. As he thought about
it, how could he have helped the defenseless women with his back
turned the whole time? It would have been impossible to not
look.

He laughed softly. Yup, he was a rebel, a
scoundrel, and a rogue. He glanced at her and smiled. How this
rebel adored the woman walking beside him!

No, she hadn’t talked in her sleep. He just felt
mischievous and couldn’t help teasing her. The only thing that
happened without her knowledge was when he kissed her cheek a
couple times. He couldn’t help it. She had cuddled up to him and
fallen asleep in his arms.

He had resisted kissing her while she was awake
on purpose. But after Robin had fallen asleep against his shoulder,
he had given in to his desires and kissed her a couple times. The
amazing thing was how she had smiled and sighed when he brushed his
lips against her cheek. She had slept right through it, but it was
best.

Daniel smiled as he wrapped his arm around
Robin’s shoulder. When she looked up at him, he resisted taking her
into his arms and smothering her with kisses. It was long after
midnight and he knew his mind wouldn’t be thinking right. Besides,
they had a mission to concentrate on and he didn’t want to be
distracted. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out as they
continued on their way.

Hanna had worried about the couple but was so
relieved when they finally walked through the door. The following
morning, everyone slept in. When Robin finally awoke, it was around
noon. She splashed water on her face to revive her, and then washed
her arms and neck. What she really wanted was a bath but there was
nowhere to go. This would have to do.

It was early afternoon by the time they finally
sat down and ate a meal. After eating, Daniel split more wood while
Robin cleaned the shack and helped with the dishes. In the
afternoon, she went for a walk to get some fresh air. She meandered
to a nearby river and sat down. After a while, she pulled her shoes
and stockings off and set them on the bank. Then she dangled her
feet in the water, feeling the coolness of it. She sighed with
pleasure. It made her feel refreshed.

As she soaked her feet, she watched two birds
flying about, chasing one another. Finally each landed on a limb
and chirped loudly at the other. This brought a smile to Robin as
she wondered what they were saying to each other. She laughed at
the sight of it.

“Do you think they’re arguing?” asked a deep
voice from behind her.

Robin jumped as she put her hand to her chest.
Narrowing her eyes, she scolded, “Daniel! You should warn a person
before walking up on them. That’s twice now that you’ve startled
me.”

He grinned. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb
your daydreams.”

Robin patted the ground beside her and said,
“Sit down.”

As he sat beside her, he looked at her shoes and
stockings and then her feet dangling in the river. With a smile, he
asked, “What’s going on?”

“Well, since we have no tub and nowhere to
bathe, this is the best thing I can come up with.”

He laughed. “I can show you a small lake nearby.
When you’re ready, let me know.”

She smiled. “That sounds wonderful. By the way,
you’re a great swordsman. I’m impressed with your skills. You’re
very good.”

“I appreciate your compliment but I’m not as
good as your father.” He looked at her curiously and then asked,
“Do you happen to know where he learned his techniques?”

Robin shrugged. “I wish I knew. Every time I
ask, he just says that he learned from the best.”

Daniel gazed at her, as if he knew something but
hesitated in telling her.

When she noticed his expression, Robin asked,
“Is something wrong?

He shook his head. “No, it’s nothing.” Then with
sincerity in his voice, he said, “I really like your father. He’s
so easy going and fun to talk with. We talked for about two hours
the other day.”

Robin’s brow lifted curiously. “Really? About
what?”

He shrugged. “The bakery, the people, the
country, the tyrant we call a king…” He smiled. “And you.”

“Me?”

He nodded. “Yup. You.”

Very cautiously, she said, “What did he tell you
about me? By the way, you can’t believe everything he says. He
always exaggerates.”

Daniel chuckled. “Well, he said that you’re the
most talented archer and swordswoman around, but the most stubborn
and obstinate woman he’s ever known. He said that one time you
wanted to go hunting but he couldn’t leave the bakery. You wanted
to go so badly that you took off with your bow and quiver all by
yourself and disappeared for a couple hours.”

Robin smiled. “So far all of that is true. But
going hunting by myself isn’t any big deal. I do it all the
time.”

Daniel chuckled. “Not at age eight!”

She giggled. “Oh, yes! I remember that.”

“He told me that you took off without a word to
anyone. They were so worried.”

She smiled at the memory and he grinned and
tapped her nose with his finger.

“Well, when your mother couldn’t find you, she
finally went to the bakery to get your father.” Daniel shook his
finger at her and said, “You worried them sick, Robin Marie. They
finally found you about two miles from your home. You had used all
your arrows up except one. He said he found you getting ready to
aim at a grouse. They stood by quietly watching and wondering if
your last arrow would make its mark and give them something to eat
for supper that night.”

Robin giggled. “I remember that day. I pulled
back the arrow and let it fly. At first I thought I had missed, but
then the grouse went down and I couldn’t believe it. I jumped up
and down with joy. It was the loveliest reddish brown bird I had
ever seen. When I heard a noise in back of me, I turned around and
saw my father with his bow in hand. He had shot the bird. I hadn’t.
My arrow had missed just as I thought it had.” She smiled as she
splashed the water with her feet. “I learned a lesson that
day.”

“What kind of lesson?”

“To not ever go out and hunt alone. My
punishment was to wash the dishes and sweep the floor every day for
a week and my sisters reveled in it. Afterward my father promised
to practice with me every day if I promised to never go out on my
own again.”

Daniel tried hard to hold back his laughter but
he completely failed. When she punched him in the arm, he laughed
even more.

Narrowing her eyes, she said, “I should talk to
your father about you and find out what kind of boy you were.”

“My mother said I was a perfect child,” he said
with delight.

Robin shook her head. “I don’t believe it. All
mothers say that about their sons. That’s what I heard,
anyway.”

He nodded. “But in my case, it’s true.”

She playfully slugged him again.

“Hey, you’re going to give me a bruise,” he said
as he rubbed his arm and chuckled. “By the way, do you know that my
father adores you?”

Robin’s face brightened. “Really?”

“Yup. He spoils you good. He’s always putting
his arm around your shoulder when he talks to you. He sits you at
the table and won’t let me do it. He talks to you all the time and
leaves me out of the conversation. It’s as if he doesn’t even know
I’m around.”

She laughed. “Tell me about your father. His
story.”

“What story?”

“He said that he left Cordovia in his
mid-twenties and never came back because of the death of his
parents. Why? The reason I’m asking is because he’s always saying
how he loved this country since his youth. Why didn’t he come back
sooner?”

Daniel sobered as he said, “Yes, that’s true. He
loves this country. He has happy memories here, memories of his
childhood, memories with his parents. But when his parents died, he
couldn’t bear to come back because of those memories. He was
hurting so bad. He blamed himself for their deaths. He said that if
he had stayed, then he could have nursed them back to health. His
father went first and then his mother a few months later.”

Robin’s heart went out to Charles as she
listened. “So what motivated him to return?”

“Well, after my father lost my mother, he
finally realized it was time to come back… back to his roots… back
to the place he loved so dearly. He was heartbroken when he found
out what happened to Cordovia. So he encouraged me to take part in
the rebellion. That was when I decided to put my own group
together.”

“Did your father know King Edmund?”

Daniel nodded. “He sure did. Many times father
reminisces about what a great leader he was.”

“Did he know Jonathan, the king’s son?”

Daniel shrugged. “I’m not sure but he did say
the people only spoke good about him.”

Robin bit her lip as she contemplated her
conversation with Hanna that morning while doing dishes.

When Daniel noticed the sober look on her face,
he asked, “What’s wrong?”

She looked up and said, “I was talking with
Hanna this morning and she said something that I had never
realized.”

“What was that?”

“Well, she told me that Jonathan loved this
country just like his father. She remembered how he was so excited
to rule this land… not as a king, but as an equal. Hanna seems to
believe that he would never leave his country or his people for
good.”

Daniel creased his brow curiously. “What are you
trying to say?”

She looked into his eyes and said with
soberness, “Hanna said she has always believed without a doubt that
Jonathan would come back one day to save the people of Cordovia.
But he would have to wait until there was a rebellion before he
could show himself. Otherwise, Rupert would put him in prison and
have him hanged. Hanna said she has a feeling that he is right here
in this country, waiting to help us get back on our feet.”

Daniel looked into her eyes with stunned
surprise. He was speechless.

“Well?” she asked with curiosity. “What do you
think? Do you believe her?”

He cleared his throat and said, “It’s a
possibility.” He looked toward the shack. “Perhaps.” Then he pursed
his lips in thought and finally nodded. “Yes. She could be right.
Jonathan could be among us. But how do we find him?”

Robin shrugged.

Seeing the intense look on her face and the
concern in her eyes, he decided to lighten the mood. Looking at the
water and then at her, he smiled. Very slyly, he cupped his hand
into the water and splashed her in the face.

“Don’t be so serious, Robin Marie,” he
chuckled.

Robin jumped and blinked her eyes in disbelief.
In retaliation, she kicked some water toward him. Since he was
sitting on the bank, just a few drops touched him and he just
laughed.

“You’ll have to do better than that, my dear. By
the way, you should laugh more,” he said with a smile.

Determined to try again, Robin leaned over and
cupped both hands in the water and threw it at Daniel but he
quickly ducked when he saw it coming. It got his hair wet but not
his face.

She laughed.

“I really like it when you laugh,” he said with
a grin as he sneakily cupped his hand in the water near the bank
and tossed it at her, hitting her right in the face once again.

Apparently he had been a little too close to the
bank when he reached down because mud went flying from his hand. At
first, he was shocked but then burst into laughter when he saw what
he had done. Her face was plastered with specks of mud.

When Robin felt the mud hit her face, her eyes
widened as she swiped at it, smearing it worse.

Looking at the mud on her hand, she quickly got
to her feet and mumbled, “That’s it!”

Daniel was laughing uncontrollably as he watched
her stomp toward the well. She dropped the bucket down into the
water and then pulled it up. After releasing the rope from the
bucket, she slowly walked toward the river. As he watched her, he
laughed with mirth when he saw specks of mud around her eyes. She
was quite a sight!

“Sorry about the mud, Robin Marie. I know I
shouldn’t laugh but I can’t help it.” As he saw her march toward
him with a determined look in her eyes, he said, “I’ll get a towel
for you while you wash up.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t need one. I’ll
just drip dry.”

Daniel’s laughter soon faded when she approached
and stood beside him with the bucket above his head. Before he
could react, Robin poured the whole bucket of water over his head,
drenching him good.

Daniel gasped as the cold water soaked him
through. When he looked up at her, he saw a self-satisfied look on
her face. Then she dropped the bucket to the ground and
grinned.

Putting her hands on her hips, she said, “Will
you please show me that lake you were talking about? I would like
to bathe if it’s all right with you.”

With a little humility, he nodded and got to his
feet. With water dripping off his chin, he said, “I guess I
deserved that, huh?”

She nodded but didn’t say another word.

Daniel struggled to hold back his laughter as a
smile played at the corners of his lips. She got him good and he
knew he deserved it.