Page 72 of Queen of Sherwood

“Aye. They wouldn’t dare, though. We’ll be fine, lass, and we’ll be back before nightfall, all goes well.”

I let out a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.” Finally, I felt like I could breathe again. I hadn’t even realized how hard my heart was pounding, now that all the attention had been focused on me and my decisions.

“What about me and Tuck?” Alan-a-Dale asked, looking a bit lost and left out.

I cupped his cheek, pouting before smiling. “I want you joining either group, but continuing straight to Ravenshead. We’ll need eyes and ears there to make sure we don’t miss the convoy. And I want to get a lay of the land for how the folks there are doing.”

“Aye. Smart, songbird. It will be done.”

My eyes moved to Tuck. “You’ll stay with me, Tuck, until we get word either way.” Before he could nod, I added, “And don’t try to change my mind about this, love.”

The friar sighed. Glanced at Gregory, then Marian, then me—the remaining people in the tent. “I can’t make any promises, little heathen.”

OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS, I couldn’t stop pacing around camp. Merry Men were starting to look at me. Everyone had seen John, Will, Alan, and my brother leave by horseback, as well as Jamie, Griff, and Rosco by carriage. It was clear something was amiss, though we hadn’t told the group what it was, yet.

“Stop pacing, girl,” Tuck complained, “you’re making the others nervous. And me.” He sat on a log near an ashen fire pit, looking at his iron knuckle-bands in his lap and spit-polishing them.

I scowled at him. “Don’t tell me what to do.” Then I continued.

Tuck sighed. Leaned back to stare at me. “I don’t want you angry at me, Robin.”

“I’m not angry, Tuck. I’m just . . . anxious. I hate splitting up the group.”

“Aye, as do I. Those bastards can handle themselves, though.”

“I know, I know. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. I should be out there with them.”

“And miss the information when it comes back here? No, lass, sometimes the position of leader is one of waiting and planning. You’ll get used to it.”

Uncle Gregory—a man closer to Tuck’s age than my own—nodded and grunted. “The chaplain is right in this regard.”

My eyes danced between them and narrowed. “Awfully chummy for a couple men who leveled swords at each other in the past.”

I’d nearly forgotten my uncle and Tuck’s history. Once upon a time, when Tuck went looking for me in Nottingham, Uncle Gregory helped him and then pulled his sword on him. He held Tuck hostage until the friar brought Gregory to our camp.

And now look at them. Agreeing with one another.

Tuck glanced down at his knuckle-bands again—his weapons of choice he aptly called Atonement and Discipline.

“We are playing right into Guy of Gisborne’s hand, doing his bidding for him,” Tuck grumbled. “I hate this.”

With a heavy sigh, I looked over at him. “That’s why I’m letting you sit this one out, Tuck. We don’t know what kind of information he might have—how valuable an asset and captive Sutton might be.”

“That’s part of the problem. What if we learn nothing? Then all we’ve done is jostled the ire of Sheriff George, and woken the religious zealots like the Templar Knights, all but inviting them to knock down our door.”

The frown on my face grew. I’d told myself I wasn’t going to let Tuck dissuade me. He made a good point, but it didn’t matter. The wheels were already in motion.

“We’ll never know unless we try,” I finished, though my voice sounded weak and uncertain.

My uncle cleared his throat, drawing our attention. “If you’re going to sabotage my niece’s authority and strategy, Friar Tuck, then you have no place on this job.”

I gave Gregory a sad smile. I smiled because he stood up for me. It was sad because he directed his ire at a man I loved.

I understood why Tuck felt the way he did. It must have been a betrayal, of sorts, learning that the group you were apart of wanted to hurt someone who had aided you in the past.

Yet if Bishop Sutton was responsible for the flesh trading like Maid Marian said, he deserved no mercy or forgiveness. He was just as vile as the rest of them.

Another thirty minutes passed in relative quiet around camp, and the sun was beginning to wane. Both parties had been out hours now, which meant they had likely been able to traverse both routes.

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