Sherwood Rogue

Chapter Eleven

Back at camp, things were jumping like they hadn't been in weeks. I wondered what was up as Scarlet and I wandered in.

Much hurried over when he saw us.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"The soldiers are pulling out of Sherwood. One of the villagers got through with the news."

Robin had a spy network of servants, farmers, and villagers reaching farther than the length and breadth of Sherwood Forest. Only the king could draw on a more extensive source.

"Can he be trusted?" Will asked, shaking back his wet hair.

"Aye, he's one of our most reliable."

"If he's betrayed us, though, it would mean trouble." Will looked around at all the excited men.

"Go talk to him yourself. He's over there with Little John."

"Thanks, Much. I think I will." Will walked toward the man.

"That doesn't mean they've caught Robin, does it?" I asked, worried I had been wrong about Robin being okay.

"Nah," he said, dismissing the possibility.

"Are you sure?" He was acting strangely. I wondered what else had happened while I was absent.

"Positive." He smiled. "Robin came in just before you got back. He's in the cave with Stutely and Tuck. Tuck helped him get back."

I heaved a sigh of relief and hugged him. "Now, that's good news."

"Aye," said Much, releasing me. "And Robin's going to have a good story to tell us tonight!" His eyes were alight with anticipation.

***

THAT NIGHT, Robin told how, after he had split up with John, Will, and Alan, he had changed clothes with several unsuspecting people, including a bishop from Hereford. He had almost made it into Sherwood when a lone soldier, who turned out to be Sir Richard of Lea, confronted him. Sir Richard helped Robin get to Tuck by providing a disguise and himself as a visa. They had encountered a roadblock of the king's men, and Sir Richard was known to them as a man loyal to the crown.

I had never met Sir Richard, but I remembered him from the legends. Robin had saved the life of his son and lent him money to keep his estate, so Richard was in his debt. He was a good Saxon, a fair overlord, and had turned out to be an important ally.

Robin had stayed at Tuck's hermitage for a few days until the soldiers moved on, then he came straight back to the camp. He arrived only half an hour behind the messenger bearing good news.

The soldiers had given up. There were rumors Robin Hood had fled this part of the country, so successful had been our hiding.

The skirmish between Nottingham's colors and Mark and me had been attributed to twenty outlaws executing a wholesale slaughter of the soldiers. Then, according to the sheriff, being the cowards we were, we had fled the forest in fear of the greater search parties he sent out. Parties that never ventured far enough into the forest to come close to our camp.

***

A COUPLE WEEKS LATER, there was more trouble.

Alan had gone to his cousin's, taking Ellen with him, and things had settled down almost to normal.

Well, normal except for the fact Jerod Longfingers had taken over the group of men Mark had led before he died. Jerod was more hotheaded than Mark had ever been, and he wasn't nearly as smart.

After dinner, Jerod and his group of five were talking among themselves, arguing some point. The Gloucester brothers, Seward and Ambrose, stood beside him, while Eric O'Leary and Caleb the Welshman opposed them. Nathan of Ely stayed back, watching with his cool assassin's eyes.