stirring, transforming from amorphous shadows to the silhouettes of men as they stood, and when Marian half walked, half slid down the embankment into the glow of the fire, one came rushing toward her.
“Thank God,” blurted Will, taking her by the shoulders and squeezing hard. “We’ve been trying to find you. Robin—they’ve taken Marian.”
His voice was so serious, his eyes so earnest and full of sympathy, that Marian almost burst out laughing. Instead, her gaze swung round until she found Alan, who stood where he’d been huddled by the fire. Though he had no need to hide in the forest now that he was pardoned, he could not have left the others—or Marian, now he knew her secret—for anything. She could see his eyes glittering in the firelight, the angle of the light casting his face in a forbidding mask of deep lines.
“I know,” Marian croaked. It always took her a little time to settle into Robin Hood’s deeper, hoarser tones, but this time she was simply so parched and weary that her voice was unrecognizable without any effort at all. “That’s why I’ve come.”
“Have you a plan to rescue her?” Little John was seeing to Jonquille, loosening her tack and letting her reins hang down to trail on the forest floor.
“She needs no rescue.” Marian crept closer to the fire, seeking its warmth as eagerly as she’d sought the cold at her chamber window hours before. “Her imprisonment was a ruse to capture me, and as many of you as came to assist. I came to warn you not to make the attempt.”
In her weariness, Marian had not noticed that the three familiar silhouettes of John, Alan, and Will were not the only shadows clustered around the fire. Now, as another shape broke the tableau and rose, Marian bit back an oath.
Elena stood, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, her face nowhere near as impassive as Alan’s. “Marian—is she well?”
Marian’s breath stuck in her throat, and she could only look at her maid, her friend, attired once more in her boy’s clothing, though her cap lay at her feet and her pale hair fell around her shoulders. Her face was haggard and hopeful all at once, concern writ there so plainly it made Marian’s heart ache.
No. She’s heartbroken, because Robin is truly gone, and because she kissed Gisborne, and because she doesn’t know if she ever truly loved anyone in her life, and because she’s a murderer.
“She’s well.” Marian’s gaze shifted from Elena to Alan, who remained silent and unmoving. “She got your message.”
“And mine, I reckon.” The new voice, deep and rumbling, was so unexpected Marian nearly fell back. She blinked, eyes still adjusting to the firelight, and saw the stocky form of Midge, who had not moved from where he sat near the fire.
Will, seeing the astonishment on Marian’s face and interpreting it as best he could, laid a hand on her arm. “Be easy, Robin, he’s a friend. Alan’s lady vouched for him.”
Midge finally rose and strode toward Marian, extending a hand. “My name’s Much, my Lord. My sword is yours, if you’ll have it.”
Marian’s grip was weak, but Much’s made up for it, clasping her forearm in the manner of an old acquaintance and squeezing. The pressure unfroze Marian’s tongue. “Well met, Much,” she whispered.
So they did know, Elena and Much—she wondered when they had confided in one another, and how long each had known the other was involved in Marian’s double life. For all Marian knew, Much had known of Elena’s connection to Alan long before Robin Hood ever made his first appearance.
From Will’s unchanged look of admiration, and Little John’s hearty cheer as he rejoined them by the fire, Marian could tell Alan had not spoken of what he’d discovered the day of the archery contest.
Marian cleared her throat, eyes scanning the faces of her people. “It’s too risky, being together like this—you all ought to be scattered. Gisborne will discover by morning that Marian is—Marian has been freed, and he will send every man he has into these woods to find her, and me. You’re too close to Nottingham here.”
“We’re come to save Marian.” Alan finally spoke, his face still impassive. “We could not count on you to save her first. We have no way of summoning you, Robin—for all we knew, you would never come.”
Marian met his eyes unflinchingly, bearing the accusation writ there, offering no excuses in return. “All is well,” she murmured. “You should all go. To your homes,