Scarlet (The Robyn Hood Adventures Book 2) by Niamh Murphy

Author:Niamh Murphy [Murphy, Niamh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NIM Publishing
Published: 2021-02-25T13:00:00+00:00

20

The King’s Deer

It was a warm afternoon in the first week of October when Robyn and her friends were once more deep in the heart of Sherwood Forest, just three short days after the outlaw’s council in the back rooms of The Blue Boar.

Beside her was the ever-loyal Littlejohn, and, still in the gifted scarlet gown, though she now wore hose and had cut the gown almost to her knee, was Wilfreda Gamwell.

Lady Marian of Leaford, in a hodgepodge of fine hunting boots, ladies’ hose, and an old, borrowed shepherd's tunic and hood, was preparing her hunting knife with the grim look of determination she always wore in readiness for an unpleasant task.

The deer had been felled quickly. A fine-looking buck that had never known his fate and would serve their ends well.

It had been a good long while since Robyn had been part of a hunt.

She loved the finery and pageantry of a royal chase; it had been a pure joy and a privilege to rove the countryside with the old King Henry. Her father had been at the head of the hunt alongside the king himself while she was often further back with the ladies. She was always torn between two desires. She was eager to be part of the ‘real’ chase out with the men, feeling the wind in her hair as her horse galloped over hill and dale in swift pursuit of a hart or buck. But she was often just as happy to be far behind away from the noise and the carnage and close to Marian, enjoying the warm sun and the chance to talk of nothing and everything the world presented them with.

Today the outlaw’s hunt had been nothing like a king’s chase.

Littlejohn had led them, scouring the woods for the trail and pursuing silently for miles. They were forced to stay low and hidden from sight, not just to stalk their prey but to keep alert for any of the sheriff's men that may be on patrol in the thousands of acres of royal woodland.

But now that the hunt was successful it was time for the next stage of her plan.

The deer had been gutted quickly and carried through the woods to the meeting point, where it was now hanging from a tree by the side of the road awaiting their expert butchery.

The others had listened to her plan with raised eyebrows and more than a few questions. They found the idea slightly mad. Merek, most of all, felt that it couldn’t possibly go the way she wanted, but she had promised that she would make up any losses to his larder. He was dubious of this and pointed out that, should they be taken to the gallows, she would be unable to keep her promise.

But the only alternative they could offer was to leave Wilfreda Gamwell to her own poor luck and accept that none of them had a single coin to live on through the winter. When it came to it, not one of Robyn’s friends was truly cruel enough or fool enough for that.

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