Chapters (76)
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- PROLOGUE
- PART I
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- PART II
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- PART III
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- INTERLUDE
- PART IV
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- INTERLUDE
- PART V
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- PART VI
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- INTERLUDE
- PART VII
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- PART VIII
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- EPILOGUE
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Newsletter Sign-up
“John. Robbery in the Sherwood is nothing new, it’s long been a place for men to hide out their troubles. But women and children? This is no place for them, how are you living out here like this?”
“We make do.”
“I see that. By stealing.”
“I do what I can to protect them. And yes, that includes banditry.”
“You lead these people?”
John moved uncomfortably. “Not quite. But they respect me.”
“That’s evident. They trust you. So I hope you’re able to understand that living like this is a death sentence. My friend and I, his name is William de Wendenal, we have orders for the Sheriff from the King himself, to do anything necessary to keep his supplies safe. You’ve stolen too much, you’ve been too greedy. They’ll be sending men to hunt you. And since you ambushed us today, William has a damned fine idea of where to start looking.”
John fidgeted. “Well, my friend Alan is sure to outrun your friend William, so I won’t be betting our safety quite yet.”
That was certainly possible, but Robin hoped for Alan’s sake it wasn’t so. William could kill Alan in a heartbeat if he was forced to. And if these people foolishly chose to fight when William brought back a host from Nottingham … well, it would go exactly as well as the massacre in Acre. A wall of trained soldiers, cutting through these civilians like butter. He could blink and see them all splayed over the red grass, bodies cut to ribbons. Robin shuddered to think about it.
“If they do come, you’d be wise not to be here.”
“And where would we be wise to be?”
“You need protection. There are any number of lords and barons outside the forests, with land, with manors and castles. They need people to work the fields, and they’ll provide your people with protection. That’s how it works, that’s how it’s always worked.”
John hesitated. “Again, how long have you been gone?”
“Two springs.”
“Two springs.” John’s words were heavy, as if he thought that a lifetime ago. They couldn’t have been out here for that long. “You’ve missed a lot, Robin. Nottinghamshire’s not a safe place for those who can’t afford to pay the sheriff’s taxes. The lucky ones get prison. We have water here, and the forest feeds us, and we take anything else we need. We’re better off in the forest, trust me. We’ve tried it.”
Not hard enough, clearly.