Gisburne sat against the tree trunk in sleepy contentment, watching the flames dance. His belly was finally full and his headache seemed to be subsiding. Sir George, on the other hand, was pacing around their makeshift camp restlessly.
He had finally agreed to stop, so they could break their fast, when he could no longer bear to hear the sound of Gisburne’s stomach growling. Now he was eager to set off again.
“Look, you’ve filled your belly," Sir George said. "Let’s be on our way.”
Gisburne gazed at the other knight lazily and burped. Then, as Sir George’s eyes turned heavenward, Gisburne rose to his feet and headed towards his horse. He was about to place one foot in the stirrups when he realized that Sir George was still standing in the same spot. Gisburne turned his head towards the older knight and saw that Sir George was staring at him.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Where is it?”
“What?”
“The favour Enide gave you. I haven’t seen you with it once during our journey. Do you not cast your eyes upon it from time to time? Perhaps you wear it near your heart?”
Gisburne started to pat his clothing ineffectually. “I know I put it somewhere,” he muttered.
“Somewhere?” Sir George shouted.
“Well, yes.” Gisburne took a step back as Sir George suddenly lunged towards him.
“Do you think so little of my granddaughter’s favour, you brute?”
“It’s only a bloody handkerchief. Look, I’ll buy her another one if it makes you happy.”
“Buy her another handkerchief? You cannot buy a lady’s favour! She must bestow it!”
“All right. I’ll give her the money and she can buy the handkerchief.”
“You idiot!” Sir George roared. “The handkerchief itself means nothing!”
“Then why do you keep raving about it?”
Sir George groaned and placed his fingertips against the bridge of his nose. “It’s not the
handkerchief but what it represents. She used it to tend to your head when it was bleeding. Then she left it with you as a sign of her favour, to show that she has faith that you will rescue her.”
“I don’t need her handkerchief for that. She has been kidnapped by a dangerous criminal. It’s my duty to arrest the vagabond and deliver Enide to safety. As a Norman noblewoman, it’s her right under the law.”
Sir George stood in thought for a few moments, while Gisburne shuffled his feet impatiently. Finally Sir George spoke. “I should never have come here.”
“Well, if you’d stop babbling about Enide’s handkerchief, we could be on our way,” Gisburne said, his eyes falling on the horses again.
“No, I didn’t mean this camp. I meant Sherwood. Nottingham. My granddaughter would be safe but for me.”
“It’s not your fault, Sir George. Blame the vagabond. He took her.”
“Yes, but I led her here, didn’t I? And all on account of some foolish old man’s dream. His quest.”
“Quest? What quest? What are you talking about?”
Sir George sighed then proceeded to tell Gisburne about his quest to find the reliquary of Saint Cuthbert and return it to Durham Cathedral.
“Oh,” Gisburne said, after taking some time to absorb the information. “This reliquary is worth a lot of money, then?”
“My dear boy, it’s priceless.”
A smile slowly spread across Gisburne’s face. “And you want me to accompany you on this quest?”
Sir George’s eyes lit up, and he clasped the younger knight by the shoulders. “Yes!”
“If I did come, and we did manage to find it, who would we sell it to? The Bishop?”
The hands fell from Gisburne’s shoulders, and Sir George stared at him, aghast. “But I wasn’t going to sell it to the Bishop. I was going to give it to him.”
“What?” Gisburne exclaimed. “But that’s mad!”
“What did you say?” Sir George growled, his face suddenly clouding.
Gisburne noticed the rapid change in Sir George’s mood and attempted to restore the older man’s temper.
“Why should you do all that work and not be rewarded? Surely the Church has more than enough money to spare, Sir George.”
“But I tell you, I’m not going on this quest for money or glory, unless it be God’s glory. I seek spiritual enlightenment.”
“Spiritual enlightenment? You can’t mean it.”
“But I do. I do mean it.”
Gisburne crossed his arms, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “You’ve entered the realm of stories and ballads. It’s not real,” he stated firmly.
“But we can make it real, you and I," Sir George said earnestly. "I know we can.” He looked at this old squire for affirmation, but saw nothing but skepticism behind the blue eyes.
“Guy, if you – my last squire, my favourite squire – will not accompany me on this quest, I think it would be best if we part company now and go our separate ways.”
Gisburne stared at Sir George in astonishment. He had expected anger, perhaps even pleading, but not this. Suddenly Gisburne experienced an emotion he rarely felt – one he hadn’t felt, in fact, since he had encountered his mother at Croxden Abbey – guilt. However, he couldn’t allow himself to indulge in such idle fantasies. He had a position, a job to do. He had no time for quests, especially quests that offered no rewards.
“Well, Guy?” Sir George prompted. His eyes were so full of hope and faith, faith in his squire no less!
Gisburne turned and quickly mounted his horse. “Godspeed, Sir George,” he said. Then, flicking the reins, he rode away.
* * * *
As Marion rode deeper into Sherwood, her feelings seemed to grow deeper too as joy mingled with pain. She was happy to be in Sherwood again. She had escaped from the strict regimen of the priory and, for the first time in months, she was truly free. She also hoped and feared that she might see her friends again and Robin. Robin.
He brought the pain. He made her remember spring mornings, birdsong, laughter. He made her remember love.
Marion shook her head, scolding herself for allowing her mind to dwell in the past. Her old life was over. She had begun a new one at Halstead. It wasn’t perfect, but it brought her peace and even a sense of fulfillment at times. Happiness? Well, that would come later.
Marion stroked her horse’s mane absently, so lost in thought that she almost didn’t notice how the mare’s ears had pricked up, as if they could detect some sound she couldn’t hear.
She immediately slipped the bow she was carrying from her back and reached into her quiver for an arrow. It was only a matter of seconds before she had notched the arrow and was pulling back on the string. Her heart was thumping in her chest, partly in fear but mostly in excitement.
“Marion!” a voice called. She almost dropped the bow altogether.
“Robin?” Marion heard a faint rustle of leaves, and then Robin, Tuck and Nasir were walking towards her. Now she dropped the bow and leapt quickly from her horse. However, she only managed to take a few steps before she faltered. Robin hesitated as well, and an awkward period of silence ensued.
“We’ve missed you, Little Flower,” Tuck said, holding open his arms. Marion went to them and embraced him warmly. Then she hugged the smiling Saracen, greeting him in Arabic. That still left Robin. She studied his face. Was he happy to see her again or was he still angry…?
Robin pulled Marion to him, and she wrapped her arms around him. “It’s good to see you again, Marion.”
“It’s good to see you too.” She placed a hand against Robin’s cheek. “You look well. I’m glad.”
Robin smiled and took both her hands. “What brings you to Sherwood?” he asked.
“You won’t believe this, but I’m looking for a knight.”
Robin grinned. “Oh, no? Well, we’re looking for a lady.”
“Lady Enide de Giraut,” Tuck said.
Marion’s eyes widened and she laughed. “But she’s at Halstead!” she explained to the three men who stared at her in confusion.
“What?” Robin cried.
“She arrived there today. She told us that she was kidnapped by a vagabond and had only just escaped. Oh, and she believes that her grandfather could be dying, and that you shot Gisburne.”
“What? Her grandfather’s fine and Gisburne…Well, he was hit on the head, but I didn’t do it!”
“So you’ve got them back at the camp,” Marion said, sounding relieved.
“Uh…not quite, Little Flower,” Tuck admitted. “They’re searching for Enide.”
“And the vagabond,” Nasir added quietly.
“You mean you let her grandfather loose in Sherwood…with Gisburne?” Marion cried.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time. It would leave us free to find Enide and the vagabond.”
“Well, you’ve found Enide. Now you just have to find Sir George.” Marion sighed. “Why didn’t you just tie them up?”
“Tie up Sir George?” Tuck asked, sounding almost outraged. “No, we couldn’t have done that!”
Marion stared at Tuck, then looked back at Robin, then glanced at Nasir, hoping that the Saracen might make more sense.
“He is Sir George,” Nasir stated, as if that was all the explanation she would ever need.
Marion threw up her hands in surrender. “I must return to Halstead. I promised to be back before nightfall.”
“I’ll come with you,” Robin said. “I’d like to meet Enide,” he added quickly when both Tuck and Nasir looked at him strangely.
“If you did come, perhaps you could convince Enide that you didn’t shoot Gisburne and tell her that Sir George is well.”
Robin stared at Marion in surprise. He didn’t think that she would agree. Then she added the condition.
“I’d like Tuck to come too," Marion said. "I…I want him to see my herb garden.”
“Of course,” Robin replied before the monk could protest.
“I will find Sir George and bring him to Halstead,” Nasir said to the friends who had almost forgotten him.
Marion, who blushed when she was reminded of Nasir’s presence, squeezed the Saracen’s hand.
“Thank you.”
Once Nasir had left his friends, he began searching for some sign of the knights’s trail. As both men were unaccustomed to the forest and were riding on horseback, Nasir believed that they would probably stick to the roads and, when they stopped to rest, would not disappear completely within the trees.
It took time but he finally found two sets of hoof prints in the mud. He had been following them for almost two hours when he came upon a clearing and what remained of someone’s supper. Faded wisps of smoke were still rising from a pile of burnt sticks that had been used to build a fire. There were also some animal bones scattered on the ground. The Saracen picked one up to study it. Rabbit, he decided. The two knights had passed through the clearing at some point. Nasir crouched down to examine the tracks.
He could see the spot where the horses had stood as their masters supped. Then he noticed something peculiar: the knights had apparently separated. One knight had headed one way, and the other had gone in the opposite direction. Had they separated in the hope of covering more ground more quickly, or had they quarreled? As Gisburne was one of the knights in question, Nasir suspected the latter.
The Saracen studied the tracks again, trying to decide which set to follow, when he heard the rustle of leaves and some growled curses just beyond the clearing.
“God’s Legs, I’ve been going in circles!” a voice exclaimed. It wasn’t Gisburne.
“Sir George?” Nasir called.
“Yes,” the voice answered. There was more rustling and the snapping of at least a dozen twigs before Sir George’s white horse burst into the clearing.
“Why, it’s you, my Saracen friend!” the knight cried, dismounting his horse. “Salaam aleikum, afreet.”
Nasir stared at Sir George, one eyebrow raised. Then he started to laugh silently. “You just called me a demon,” Nasir explained when he saw Sir George’s baffled expression.
“My friend, forgive me!” Sir George cried. “I didn’t mean it.”
“Maalesh,” * Nasir said, shrugging.
“That’s most kind of you. Most kind.” Sir George scratched his head and looked around as if he was trying to remember something.
Nasir hated to bring up the subject, but the question had to be asked. “Where is Gisburne?”
Sir George frowned and looked down at one boot. “Guy and I have parted company. I told him about the quest and…Well, he’s not the man I thought he was.”
“Gisburne is – ” Nasir had been about to insult his enemy but, given Sir George’s attachment to the younger knight, he curbed his tongue instead. “Gisburne is Gisburne,” Nasir stated at last.
“Yes!" Sir George exclaimed excitedly. "That’s it! That’s it exactly! Gisburne is Gisburne and that’s where my troubles lie.”
Nasir placed a hand on Sir George’s shoulder. “Your troubles are over. Your granddaughter is safe.”
The knight’s mouth fell open and he gaped at Nasir in astonishment. “You found her? Where is she? Take me to her.”
“She is at Halstead. We will go there tomorrow.”
“But I want to go now.”
“It will be dark soon. We will go back to the camp and travel to Halstead at first light. Robin and Tuck are heading there,” Nasir added when Sir George still looked uncertain. “They will protect her until you come.”
“All right,” Sir George said, after a moment’s hesitation. He still wasn’t entirely happy with the situation, but knowing that men he trusted would be protecting his granddaughter helped put his mind to rest.
Robin, Marion and Tuck managed to reach Halstead before nightfall, though the sun had already started its descent as they headed towards the gate. Marion rang the bell, and a nun quickly admitted them inside.
“We’d like to see Lady Enide,” Marion said. The nun nodded and went off to fetch her. They had only been standing there a short time when they heard the bell ring again. Marion stepped outside to see who it was, but returned almost instantly.
“It’s Gisburne!” she hissed.
“What?” Robin cried.
“What’s he doing here?” Tuck asked.
“Maybe he found out that Enide was here,” Marion suggested.
“Well, we can’t let him find us here, even if we are on the same side for once,” Robin said. They all looked around quickly for somewhere to hide as the bell began ringing more insistently.
“The chapel,” Marion suggested, and the three of them dashed inside. Fortunately for them, it was empty.
Now the bell was ringing, and there was the sound of a fist pounding against the wooden door.
“Marion, who’s at the gate?” a voice called. It was the nun who had gone to fetch Enide. “Marion, are you there?” They heard the nun sigh in disgust. “You’d think she was among those cutthroats again. Forgive me, my lady. I don’t know where she could have gone.”
“It’s all right," Enide answered. "I’ll find her. You’d better see who’s at the gate, sister.”
Robin, Marion and Tuck peered out of the chapel as the nun stepped outside. They might have escaped and tried to hide elsewhere, but Enide remained where she was.
Tuck grinned and almost rubbed his hands in glee. “This should be good,” he whispered. “Gisburne probably thinks that she’ll be happy to see him, but she’ll spurn him. They usually do.”
“They?” Marion asked.
“Oh, you know,” Robin said, “Guinevere, Iseut…”
“Oh, here they come,” Tuck announced. “Just you wait. She’ll – ”
Robin clamped a hand over the monk’s mouth, and Tuck was forced to end his narrative. He doubted that Gisburne would have heard him anyway. He was too busy berating the nun for taking so long to meet him at the gate.
Then Gisburne saw Enide and halted in mid-sentence. Judging by Gisburne’s expression, he hadn’t realized that Enide was at Halstead.
He must have come here seeking shelter for the night, Robin thought. For once, the
ill-fated knight seemed to have had a stroke of luck.
“Enide?” Gisburne asked in disbelief. Tuck waited eagerly for Enide’s words of reproof.
“Guy!” Enide threw her arms around Gisburne and hugged him tightly. Then, to everyone’s surprise, she began kissing the stunned knight on the lips.
Tuck gulped and Robin and Marion stared at Enide and Gisburne with open mouths.
“My lady!” the nun exclaimed. “You-you can’t do that here! This is a house of God! Stop it this instant!”
The nun’s pleas fell on deaf ears. Gisburne had surrendered. Both arms were wrapped around Enide.
“Help! Help!” the nun shrieked. Two novices appeared and started giggling. Then the Prioress arrived and the giggling stopped. When the Prioress grasped Gisburne by the ear and pulled him away, the kissing stopped as well.
“You should be ashamed of yourself!” the Prioress thundered at Gisburne.
“But-but I…She…Ow!”
The Prioress gave the knight’s ear a sharp tug and dragged him to the gate.
“Guy! Reverend Mother, wait!” Enide protested. She took a step forward, but the nun who had fetched Enide had a firm grip on her arm.
“I’m locking you in your chamber,” the nun said. Enide saw the fierce look in the nun’s eyes and wisely chose to comply. Tuck, Robin and Marion stepped out of the chapel slowly as the nun escorted Enide to her chamber.
“That…that must have been in one of the books they wouldn’t let us read,” Tuck gasped.
