And cooking the most delicious food they’d ever had.
Trouble was, the longer Ellen stayed with them, the more she’d become an integral part of the group. The more everyone would rely on her skills. The harder it would be to know whether they could really trust her or not.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ignoring the fact they had become outlaws and that Roger–if not Lady Maudlin–would come hunting for them any day now, Robyn looked around their camp and felt a strange sense of comfort with her new life.
Possibly even acceptance.
Since they’d set up camp, Marion had hacked a hole through the top of the round house roof, to act as a chimney and suck the smoke away. He knew what he was doing with fire, that lad.
More than a few times Robyn caught herself watching him work, watching the way his muscles flexed and his skin glowed with perspiration. The way the light drizzle of rain coated his skin to gleaming.
After breakfast, Joan would lead them in battle training to get them ready for anything. Robyn taught everyone how to fire a bow, even though they only had one. This was just in case she didn’t have it, someone else could grab it and make use of it.
Mother Eleanor and Ellen caught fish, both the regular and cray kind, and made the most delicious stews to keep their bellies full.
Georgia, Will and Madge built a ramshackle stable between some trees, to give the horses them a little shelter from the rain. For the times when the rain fell vertically. They had no defences for the horizontal rain. That was the worst, it got into everything and brought nothing but misery.
Not that Robyn could truly relax. Her mind kept swirling like the drizzle as she recognised problem upon problem. The freezing water she’d fallen into had proven just how close they were to winter. Surely their food would run out as the river iced over?
They might be able to stay in the Shire Wood for another couple of weeks at the most, but they’d need proper warmth and shelter soon. Littleton was out of the question, because Roger and his men had burned the roofs off. There weren’t many options back in Loxley either.
They could try for Nottingham, but none of them had ever been there before. Would they receive any kind of welcome there?
If they went back to Sheffield, they knew their way around, but they also knew they’d be hunted and hounded out. Or strung up.
Could they stay in the Shire Wood, through a proper winter? It hadn’t snowed . . . yet. Then what? Huddle together in the round house and burn everything they had to keep warm and then . . . and then?
Would the horses survive? Would they starve?
Looking at the faces around her, Robyn didn’t see her worries pressing down on anyone else’s shoulders. Did they think ahead about winter’s cold teeth on their necks?
Or were they leaving everything for Robyn to sort out?
“What’s wrong?” Marion said, appearing by her side.
“Oh! Didn’t see you there,” she said, patting her chest to settle her heart down.
He’d run his fingers roughly through his hair and it looked so tousled and . . . interesting. “Can we talk for a bit?” He said, tilting his head, “Away from this lot?”
“Of course,” she said without hesitation.
A quick glance showed Robyn the rest of their “lot” were watching Joan and Madge in a long staff battle.
“This way,” Marion’s voice was low and conspiratorial.
Robyn’s heart tripped when Marion wrapped his hand in hers. Both their hands were work-worn and cold, but the effect of them coming together warmed her from the inside.
A sneaky little voice in her head said they were skiving off for some kisses. Or at the very least, some alone time. Excellent!
They crossed the tree-trunk bridge and came to a clearing on the other side of the river.
Marion turned to Robyn and placed his finger over his lips in the universal “shushing” motion. He had a surprise for her? How lovely!
Quieter than mice, they came to the edge of a clearing to find . . .
Saints!
Ellen. And on her shoulder sat a jackdaw. A glossy, small crow just like the one that clung to Maudlin.
Robyn’s spirit slumped. No sound came out of her, but inside her head she heard ringing bells of doom.
The jackdaw proved that Ellen was still in communication with Maudlin.
Worse, she and Marion wouldn’t be getting that nice kissing session.
Silently they crept back to the training ground where Madge, by some miracle, was making improvements and getting in a couple of good offensive shots.
“We’ll have to leave again, won’t we?” Robyn said as they stayed back a bit, pretending to watch the battle.
“That crow will lead Maudlin right to us,” Marion confirmed.
“We could always leave Ellen here.”
“Can she hibernate?”
Darn that Marion for being right. A group of them, working together, with enough supplies (which they didn’t have anyway) might stand a chance of surviving the winter. But one girl on her own? Not a hope.
As much as she hated having to keep Ellen with them, she couldn’t live with herself if she abandoned Ellen to the wilderness.
After some more thinks, Robyn said, “Let’s dump her back at Sheffield then.”
“And then what?”
“I don’t know. Stop making me come up with everything!”
“I didn’t mean it to come out like that,” Marion said.
Ooops, she’d raised her voice and everyone turned to look at them. At this point, Ellen returned from her little hiding spot. Minus the bird, but plus a sack of fish.
With all eyes her way, Robyn had to think fast. “We need to get Bella back, otherwise we won’t survive winter.”
Mother Eleanor ran toward her and smothered her in kisses. “You’re such a good girl.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Robyn said, fighting off her affection. It didn’t feel right to take praise for something she hadn’t really meant. They had to ditch Ellen somehow, but they had to make it look like they weren’t ditching her. Then they needed to find a safe, warm place for the cold months ahead, and a forest glade wasn’t it.
Everyone made their way to the roundhouse, where the fire kept them toasty warm. All eyes turned to Robyn, wanting to know what to do next.
That was the bit that got her, right in the solar plexus. They were all looking to her for leadership. Even Marion. Georgia and Mother Eleanor were the elders of the group, but they too had somehow shrugged off the mantle of responsibility and piled it on her shoulders.
And still those eyes looked her way, filled with admiration and–how irritating–hope. Which only added to the sense Robyn would let them down.
Horribly.
Marion gave Robyn a gentle nudge of encouragement.
No words came. Robyn’s mind had gone blank.
Giving her a quizzical look, Marion cleared his throat. “We’re going back to Sheffield, and we’re getting Bella. Any suggestions for how we do this?”
“Bash the guards, kick the gate in and grab the cow,” Georgia said.
What it lacked in sophistication it more than made up for in cathartic action.
“I like it,” Robyn said.
“But we can’t simply bash our way through, people are bound to get hurt,” Madge said, wrapping her arm around Wilfred.
“We could buy her back,” Eleanor said.
This was met with nods and murmurs of approval.
Reality jumped in and Robyn had to disappoint them. “Not to put a dampener on the enthusiasm, but we don’t have any coins left to buy her.
“We could trade for her,” Ellen said, “I’ve set the crayfish traps, they’ll be crawling with fresh ones by morning.”
Robyn tried not to smile too much at Ellen’s suggestion. Of course the girl wanted to get back to Sheffield. She had clearly seen which way the wind was blowing–cold and from the north–and knew it was suicide to stay out in the woods for much longer.
But they couldn’t simply stroll back to the front gates at Sheffield and expect to be let in. It would play directly into Maudlin’s hands for them to return and ask to be let in.
It would also save Maudlin from having to send out a search party.
Strange that this hadn’t happened already.
Heaviness weighed in Robyn’s stomach. Perhaps Roger and his men were already on their way? They’d have a fight on their hands, obviously.
If he had a lick of sense, Roger would bring reinforcements this time.
“We need to be prepared just in case Roger and his men try and capture us,” Marion said as Robyn was formulating the words in her own brain.
“We’ve been training,” Joan said. “Even Madge is getting good.”
“Aw, thanks Joan,” Madge said.
“No really, you are,” Will added. “Plus, you’re short so it’s easier for you to ram them in the soft bits.”
“Maybe the crayfish and one of the horses would make a good trade?” Ellen suggested.
Oh she was crafty.
Marion piped up. “Would they see that as a fair trade?”
Nice one, Marion. He wasn’t dismissing Ellen’s argument, just being his normal, ‘think everything through to the last degree,’ self. It would drive Ellen crazy.
The discussion around the fire continued. During the too-ing and fro-ing, Robyn had to hide her face a few times so the others wouldn’t see her smiling so much. The fire belched smoke with each new branch placed on top. It helped hide her laughs with a coughing fit. They were all coughing now, and for a while they stood outside in the fresh air, until the rain picked up again and they huddled back around the fire.
Soon, everyone was sharing ideas about how to get to Sheffield, get the cow, and get out again.
“If we’re caught, we’ll be thrown in the dungeons,” Marion reminded them.
“But the d–” Robyn pulled herself up short and pretended to have another cough. She’d almost revealed what she knew about the dungeons. She knew they weren’t empty. Well, they did had one human prisoner down there, and he flapped his hands about like a man with no alms. But the other cells were being used to store Maudlin’s ill-gotten gains that Roger and his crew had taxed from all the neighbouring villages. With a bit of luck and some planning–she’d ask Marion about how they should go about that–they wouldn’t end up in the dungeons. But they would get those ill-gotten goods out of the dungeons.
“What were you going to say?” Ellen asked, trying–and failing in Robyn’s mind–to look innocent.
Quick, think of something. “I was thinking that the dungeons aren’t guarded. Well, not any more.” She said. Because they weren’t, what with Georgia the ex-turnkey being one of them now. And Wilfred who used to guard the gates. “Will? Georgia? How many guards are left in Sheffield?”
“I don’t know,” Wilfred said. “I’m sure Godwin is still at the gate.”
Georgia shrugged and said, “She may have hired more since our last dust-up.”
“This could work for us,” Ellen said, revealing her enthusiasm. “Sheffield isn’t well guarded. Why don’t we simply walk up to the gates, ask to be let in and see what happens?”
“See if we’re arrested, you mean,” Madge said as she clung to Wilfred.
The fire crackled and popped as they mulled this over.
“We’re overlooking one thing,” Joan said, “I don’t trust Ellen as far as I could throw her. And you, Robyn, you shouldn’t be trusting her either.”
Robyn’s stomach sank. Joan was about to blow everything.
“Fair enough,” Marion said. “Ellen, I’m sorry, but with your connection to Maudlin, I don’t think we can ever fully trust you.”
The perfect intercept. Thank you Marion.
“Of course you can trust me!” Ellen protested. “I’m here with you lot! Freezing my tits off when I could be in Sheffield, covered in sheep skins in front of a roaring fire!”
“This fire’s pretty good,” Marion said.
Robyn heard the defensive tone in his voice and gave his arm a squeeze. “It’s a great fire.”
“I say we continue this without Maudlin’s eyes and ears on us,” Joan said as she stood up and held her hand out for Ellen to take. “Come on girl, time to get back in your box.”
“Honestly, you’re all so unfair!” Ellen protested as Joan lifted her up by one armpit and guided her–with some dragging–to their carriage sleep-out. The carriage stood a few paces from the round house, close enough to be warm, distant enough to prevent it catching fire should the worst happen.
“Please Joan, what do I have to do to earn your trust again? I’ve been working so hard, catching food and cooking the best meals. I thought you liked me?”
“I do like you,” Joan said as she opened the carriage door and shoved Ellen in, “But there’s no way I trust you.”
“You trust Georgia, and she worked for Maudlin!”
“That’s different,” Joan said as she pushed Ellen’s head back so she’d fit in her box. “Georgia’s my mother.”
Tears welled in the former-jailers eyes. “I never thought I’d see her again. Not a day went by when I didn’t wonder what she looked like. If she was healthy.” The tears broke down Georgia’s cheeks. “If she was happy.”
Over by the carriage, Joan stood by the door, leaning her head into the frame but saying nothing.
They could hear Ellen’s muffled voice inside, but couldn’t make out the words.
Georgia swiped her face with her sleeve and continued. “And now I’ve taken her from her home parents. They’re still in Sheffield. They must be worried sick about her.”
Guilt churned Robyn’s stomach. She’d completely forgotten about Joan’s elderly parents.
“OK, let’s not talk too loudly because Ellen can probably overhear us,” Robyn said.
“La la la la la!” Ellen’s muffled voice sang out.
“I’m going to tell you what I saw in Sheffield, in the dungeons,” Robyn began. She had to trust Wilfred and Georgia at this point. They had to be a cohesive group or they’d fall apart. Trusting them with this information was the fastest way to show them they were all in this together.
Over the course of the next few logs on the fire, Joan rejoined them and warmed herself up. Robyn told them how Roger and Maudlin were collecting taxes for the Sheriff of Nottingham, but also how they were keeping piles and piles of stuff for themselves. Not just things stolen from Loxley, but from every village within one or two days’ ride from Sheffield.
All collected under the name of the Sherriff of Nottingham. He’d be the one people cursed during the winter, when he probably had no idea what Roger and Maudlin were up to.
“It’s quite the conspiracy, when you think about it,” Robyn said. “Roger steals it all but Nottingham gets the blame.”
Everyone nodded and looked thoughtful.
“Now,” she said, looking around the group, “Let’s all put our heads together and make a plan.”
Marion put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a kiss on the cheek. “Whatever we decide, I’m with you all the way.”
“Me too,” Georgia said, reaching into the long pocket on the inside of her tunic. “It’s the master key to the dungeons. Should work, unless Maudlin’s changed the locks?”
They kept their voices low and conspired into the wee small hours. They would travel to Sheffield, leave Shadow tied up a little way from the gate, then offer to trade Plus One and bag of devilfish for the cow and see where that got them. If they stayed the night in Sheffield, they’d use the key to steal whatever they could carry from the dungeons and make their getaway.
Eventually everyone staggered back to the carriage to sleep. Mother Eleanor made for the undercarriage again but Marion stopped her and guided her to the carriage door instead, offering her his place inside.
From the distance, Robyn couldn’t tell what they were talking about, but eventually her mother climbed in.
Instead of heading straight back to the round house, Marion loaded more wood into his arms and brought it back to the fire. He put the pieces to the side to dry out, stacking them neatly as if he had all the time in the world.
Pulling her knees up to her chin, Robyn gazed into the glowing coals.
“Don’t get cross,” Marion said. “But now that we’ve made a public plan we’ve told the others about, we need to have a contingency plan.”
“Oh come on!” Was he serious?
“Shh! Keep you voice down. Your mother has ears like a bat.”
Robyn muttered, “I’ve already planned things, and now you’re saying it’s not enough?”
“I asked you not to get cross. What happens if we’re arrested and thrown in the dungeons for real?”
“We’ve got the key, we’ll get out again.”
“And what if they lock us up somewhere else, or if they change the locks in the dungeons?”
Robyn threw her hands up. “I can’t think of everything.”
He smiled and looked at her with an admiring gaze. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re doing an amazing job.”
“Don’t try to butter me up.”
“But you are,” he kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then he tucked her hair and kissed the spot just under her ear. “You’re amazing.”
“Oh stop,” she only half batted him away. How was a girl supposed to stay cross when he kissed her like that? He cradled her chin and angled her lips his way. “I want to make sure you’re safe, and I want to make sure this works. That’s why we need to plan for all the different ways this could work out.” Then he kissed her and lit a fire inside her.
“Wow,” she said as he pulled away. “When you put it like that.” She leaned in for another kiss. They wouldn’t need the fire to keep warm tonight, they were creating enough heat already.
A commotion broke out in the carriage.
Oh what now?
Doors slammed, people yelled, somebody charged off into the night.
Robyn and the Hoodettes Page 16
