“I don’t.” Wendenal raised his hands. “I swear. But Robin of Locksley and I planned to meet, no matter what, in three days’ time. If you come with me, into the Sherwood … he’ll take you to meet them. And you can end this, peacefully, with nobody knowing about it.”

Surely with an hour to think upon it, Roger would find some flaw in the plan. At the moment, it admittedly seemed like a decent option. But it would only work if he was still the sheriff in three days, or else he could not honor any agreement made. Which meant burning the prince’s order.

“Do you think you can still trust him?” Roger asked. “It did not take long for your friend Robin of Locksley to transform into this renegade Robin Hood.”

“Trust me,” Wendenal smiled, “we can trust him. Think of it. A lasting peace. The last act of Sheriff Roger de Lacy. Or hell,” Wendenal smiled now ear to ear, “maybe you’ll get to stay.”

He had already chased that mirage. Roger squinted, letting the candlelight turn into perfect white pins. But a peace would go a long way.

“Does anyone else know of this letter?” Arable asked.

“Lady d’Oily,” Roger thought aloud. “But only that I’ve been deposed. She doesn’t know who is to replace me. Hell, she doesn’t even know who wrote the damned thing.”

Wendenal sucked in air. “Can you trust her?”

“Probably not.” The truth tasted sour.

“But she trusts me,” Arable squeaked. “I could tell her whatever you need me to, if it will buy you a little time.”

“Arable, you shouldn’t risk yourself—”

“It’s nothing. I can do it. Anything is better than Sheriff Gisbourne.”

The pieces fell together, then crumbled.

“No,” Roger grumbled. “We are not the only ones who know. Gisbourne would undoubtedly have received a letter as well.”

“But Gisbourne’s out on his raids,” Arable said. “If a letter came for him, he hasn’t seen it yet. We just have to find it first.”

Wendenal nodded, smiling. “We’d better go. Quickly.”

But he didn’t move, he waited for Roger to agree. And Roger was not yet certain.

“I know it’s a lot,” Wendenal pressed, “but imagine the good it can do. You say you’ve made mistakes. Now’s your chance to fix them. You know this world better than I. If you tell me it’s too dangerous, then I’ll believe you. But imagine the gain.”

Wendenal didn’t know what he was asking. To go against this edict, it could have dire ramifications. Roger could obey it and still have a future, a future he had just barely begun to think about. Or he could do as Wendenal asked, fight for a week’s worth of work, and potentially lose everything. Somewhere in the world, Marie was there, reminding him that the easy choice was never the right one.