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Chapters (76)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART I
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EIGHT
  14. NINE
  15. PART II
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. PART III
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. INTERLUDE
  35. PART IV
  36. TWENTY-SEVEN
  37. TWENTY-EIGHT
  38. TWENTY-NINE
  39. THIRTY
  40. THIRTY-ONE
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. INTERLUDE
  45. PART V
  46. THIRTY-FIVE
  47. THIRTY-SIX
  48. THIRTY-SEVEN
  49. THIRTY-EIGHT
  50. PART VI
  51. THIRTY-NINE
  52. FORTY
  53. FORTY-ONE
  54. FORTY-TWO
  55. FORTY-THREE
  56. FORTY-FOUR
  57. FORTY-FIVE
  58. INTERLUDE
  59. PART VII
  60. FORTY-SIX
  61. FORTY-SEVEN
  62. FORTY-EIGHT
  63. FORTY-NINE
  64. FIFTY
  65. FIFTY-ONE
  66. FIFTY-TWO
  67. PART VIII
  68. FIFTY-THREE
  69. FIFTY-FOUR
  70. FIFTY-FIVE
  71. FIFTY-SIX
  72. EPILOGUE
  73. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  74. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  75. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  76. Newsletter Sign-up

“Hm.” De Lacy squinted but did not contest it. “Investigate this. And stop recruiting violent men.”

“You overestimate the number of debtors in our cells.”

“Then find more of them.” De Lacy’s eyebrows crawled up his forehead. “If you don’t like your lot down below, start enforcing the tax collections, that you might have more docile options. But do not complain to me of being shorthanded and also complain about my solution. You can’t throw a rock in this county without hitting someone who didn’t pay their part of the war fund. This would put them to work.”

“That would be much easier,” Gisbourne countered, “if I had more men.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” de Lacy reeled, and turned his attention back to Arable. “Fetch me a carriage, Arable. If we’re going to go round in circles all morning I might as well be comfortable.”

She laughed and excused herself, lingering just long enough for him to give her a warm smile. She closed the door carefully, and it was not until she climbed down the first set of stairs before she paused, contemplating the dented pewter tankard in her hands. Spying on the men in the cellar was one thing, but doing this was a choice to get involved. To be noticed. For nearly half her life she had done everything she could to avoid attention, to hide her name. She had finally saved enough coin to travel south, once she knew where to go. But that depended on her staying hidden. Now she risked losing that, and for what?

But she understood enough of their conversation to recognize the danger. If debtors were being arrested and given Guard duty as a sentence, they might naturally start to conspire against the men who arrested them. She thought of Reginold and Bolt, the near-brothers in the Captain’s Regiment who always included her in their jokes. She thought of the sweet mountain Morg, the size of a bull with a heart of kindness. Even Jon Bassett, the incorrigible flirt, did not deserve a knife in the back. She couldn’t stand the thought of someone hurting them, not if she could stop it.

A flurry of footsteps came from above, and suddenly Captain Gisbourne nearly barreled into her. “Arable, thank goodness. Not a word, yes? Not a word of what you heard, to anyone. About the gaols, you understand? I spoke out of turn.”

I’m not an idiot. “Of course,” she said.

“You can understand why that must remain secret, yes?”

Again. “Of course.”

“Good girl.” He touched her shoulder with a surprising sincerity, his grim countenance replaced with a reassuring smile. “I’ll watch for you tomorrow night. Thank you.”

SIX

ROBIN OF LOCKSLEY

ACRE