The Wolf Of Nottingham

Chapter 10-The Next Step

Alan whistled as he entered a glade. An arrow whizzed past his head, landing in a tree near him. "Come on, give a guy a break, Robin. I have news," Alan announced. He knew it was Robin, as none of the rest of the gang would risk an arrow so close. The damn show-off!

Robin came into the glade, followed by Jac and Will, members of his band. Jac was a lovely girl, captured in Acre and brought to the shire to work as a slave in the mines when Robin released her and her friends from the wagon delivering them to their fate. The rest had headed for the coast, to try to go home, but Jac had stayed, grateful to Robin for her release. Her dark hair was short, and indeed she had passed for a boy until she was discovered by Will bathing in a stream. Definitely not a boy! She and Will were very close, and rarely parted now.

"Gisborne sent me to let you know the matter had changed." He briefly told the story he knew guy would tell the sheriff, letting Robin know Marion was safe at the moment. He told of Connor and his daughter, and that she remained an issue, but not the threat her father had been. Robin frowned when he explained the sheriff's part in putting Marion in danger. He would tell Marion of the jealous woman and the danger she had been in because of Gisborne. That he had protected her. She needed to know. Lady Marion had been betrothed to Robin when he left for the holy Land, and he intended to win her back when King Richard returned and dealt with the sheriff. He would also deal the Gisborne, throwing him out of his home at Loxley once and for all.

Alan began to walk away when Robin spoke up. "Tell Gisborne Marion will be taken care of, no thanks to him." Alan nodded, then continued on. Robin's conceit would be the end of him. Robin hated Gisborne and saw no good in him. Alan suspected Gisborne allowed him and the band to escape because he used him to keep the sheriff busy, and that Gisborne knew full well where the camp was. Gisborne was a hard man, and he had killed many that deserved it, but somehow managed to miss any innocents. He allowed Robin to play the hero when taxes were due, making sure the outlaw knew which tenants were unable to pay their tax. Robin was able to swoop in and give them whatever they needed to keep the wolf from the door so to speak.  Alan had no doubt of this. He had once been a member of Robin's band, but worked for Gisborne now. He was no longer hungry every day, dirty and smelly. He had a roof over his head, a horse, and worked with a man he respected. He looked to the future. He even had a girl he was fond of, though she gave him a very hard time of it. She worked at a pub called The Galloping Goose just outside the castle. Alan smiled to himself as he mounted and rode back to Nottingham.

Gisborne was standing behind the sheriff when Alan arrived at the castle, so he went on to the kitchen for some bread and ale. Cook had taken a shine to the young man and made sure his belly stayed full. He met with Gisborne in his quarters, a bit later. 

"The sheriff was displeased about Connor, but brushed it off quickly," Gisborne told Alan. "I mentioned that I was interested in Sarah, and would be paying court to her, and he was pleased with that. I assume he thinks it will bring him Wheaton sooner and be much easier than he had anticipated. It will be a good excuse to travel there openly. Keep your ears and eyes open for anything out of the ordinary though. I still don't feel confident he won't try something else."

Alan agreed. "Robin said to tell you he was taking good care of Marion. He is going to tell her about Esmerelda."

Guy laughed. "I bet he is. And of course, he will tell her, making himself the hero of it all. No matter, the people who matter to me know the truth of it. Still, I am glad he will keep an eye on her. She should not have been brought into this mess of the sheriffs."

"Tomorrow, we leave to confront Esmerelda. I want to make sure she doesn't plan anything further. Have Jack ready. I want you to go to Wheaton Hall and tell Sir Raymond what has transpired with the sheriff. I will meet you there when I am finished with Esmerelda. We have a wedding to plan!"

Alan left with a huge grin on his face. He did so love a wedding. All that drink, food and dancing!