Wish I Could Love You Out Loud

At supper, Little John had an announcement. "I'm happy to say that I have asked Rolanda Bones to be my wife and she agreed. We will be married as soon as Friar Tuck allows it." There was much cheering and congratulations for Little John. All the ladies present gave Rolly a hug.

"I'll recite the bans this Sunday." said Friar Tuck. "I'll marry you the same day if you like."

"Oh, Alan, just like our wedding!" Ellen was trying not to cry.

"I'll play a song for you at your wedding." Alan told the couple. Others present volunteered to do what they could to make the day special.

"Sunday is four days off." said Robin. "I'm sure everything will be settled by then. In the meantime, I hear that a certain Bishop is returning tomorrow from his trip to Palestine. The poor Bishop will no doubt be burdened by expensive souvenirs. Who wants to join me in relieving the Bishop of his load?" Quite a few volunteered.

"I'll go!" Aubrey said eagerly.

"Me too!" said Henry.

"Is your back well enough, Henry?" asked Robin. "The Bishop may be stubborn about letting you handle his baggage."

"I can do it." he said.

"Well, this will be an opportunity to test your mettle. Fine, I'll take the both of you and Will Scarlet, and...." Robin paused to think.

"And me, Robin!" said Little John.

"I was thinking you'd want to spend more time with your bride-to-be." said Robin.

"Maybe the Bishop would like to give us a wedding present." Little John said with a smile.

"Very well." said Robin. "Would you like to come along as the distraction, Rolly?"

Rolly smiled. "Sounds like fun." she said.

As the sun set and the hour grew late, some of the Merry Men took their posts as sentries as the others fell asleep. Will managed to get Robin's attention before he retired with Marian. "If you're going to help me rob the Bishop tomorrow," said Robin. "You might want to get some sleep."

"I need your help, Uncle." said Will.

"It must be serious. You only call me 'Uncle' when it is. Alright, how much do you need?" Robin reached for his coin pouch.

"I don't need money." Will sighed. "Robin, can you give me advice on women?"

"Women or a particular woman?"

"It's Donna. Uncle, I don't know how to tell her how I feel about her."

"You can try walking up to her, opening your mouth and simply saying 'I love you'."

"I'd feel like a fool."

"You'd be an even bigger fool to let love slip away."

"I'm never quite sure what words to use."

"Will, just tell her what's in your heart. The words will come." Robin patted his nephew on the shoulder. "Now, get yourself some sleep and be ready to go at sunup." He gave him a one armed hug. "Good night, Will."

"Good night, Robin."

The next morning the six of them were hidden in brush near the main road. Will Scarlet was look out, perched in a high tree. "I see the Bishop approaching." Will said after a while. "He's in a horse drawn wagon."

"Has so many new toys he has to use a wagon to carry them all?" Robin said with a grin. "Alright, men, into your hiding places. You ready, Rolly?" Rolly arranged a parcel of wadded up cloth under the loose dress she was wearing, making her look as if she were several months pregnant. She nodded to Robin, ready to play her role.

Rolly waddled down the road in the same way that the wagon would be going, hand on her back as she had often seen Ellen do. When she heard the wagon approach, she called out. "Sir! Good Bishop!" The Bishop pretended not to see her as she tried to keep up. "Could you be troubled to give me a ride into Nottingham? It's right on the way to where you're going."

The Bishop paused and glared at her. "Where is your husband?" he demanded.

"He-he was killed in a hunting accident, sir." said Rolly. "I need to get to Nottingham to stay with family until my babe is born. Please, sir, I beg of you, I've been walking so long."

"Then you can walk a little longer." The Bishop cracked a whip on the single chestnut mare pulling the wagon.

"You needn't whip your horse!" Rolly snapped.

"Don't tell me what to do, harlot!" The Bishop shook his whip at her. "God so help me I'll...." Suddenly, Henry leaped down from the tree and behind the Bishop, locking his arms behind them. At the same time, Will swooped down and put a knife to the Bishop's throat. Aubrey was in the bed of the wagon at nearly the same time. Robin and Little John calmly strolled out in the middle of the road in front of the wagon. Little John was armed with a quarterstaff. Robin had a bow and arrow at the ready.

"You'll *need* God's help if you call her a harlot again!" Little John said, waving his staff.

"How was your trip to the Holy Land, good Bishop?" Robin asked casually.

"Er- quite good." The Bishop warily eyed Will's knife.

"I understand many pilgrims bring back palm leaves." said Robin. "Did you bring so many palm leaves that you need a wagon to carry them all?"

"This doesn't look like a palm leaf." Aubrey unfurled a bolt of white, shiny fabric that was soft and smooth to the touch. "What is this?" He showed it to the Bishop.

"Just-uh-something that could be used to make new curtains for the rectory." said the Bishop.

"What's wrong with the curtains you have now?" asked Will.

"What else does the good Bishop carry, Aubrey?" asked Robin.

"Well, he has a few strange weapons I've never seen before." He picked up and unsheathed a sword with a curved blade. "Oh, I know what this is called! It's a scimitar! There's an interesting looking dagger here too." Aubrey held up a dagger with a curved, double edged blade with silver studs on the hilt. "What do you call this?" The Bishop flinched as Aubrey held the curved blade closer to him than he would have liked.

"The heathens call it a jambiya." the Bishop said.

"Jambiya." Aubrey tried out the new word and admired the blade.

"Anything else there?" asked Robin.

Aubrey pulled away a blanket resting in the bed to reveal a few sacks. "There's some sacks here. I'll open them." He found one to have what looked like some trinkets. Aubrey picked up a golden cow shaped figurine, surprised by its heft. "Robin, I think this is real gold! And I think those are gemstones in the eyes. Just what is this, Bishop?" Aubrey showed it to him.

"That-that is a representation of Hathor." said the Bishop. "It's from Egypt."

"Strange that a Bishop would want a heathen idol." said Robin.

"I-uh-I got it to show the parishioners the evils of graven images." said the Bishop.

"Ah, so the fact that it is made of gold with ruby eyes means nothing to you?" said Robin. "Why don't you just let us take that off your hands? And I don't think a Bishop really has use for all those weapons. And plain cotton could easily be used to make curtains. Anything else back there?"

Aubrey checked another bag. "Some gold coins here!" he announced. He checked the last. "And some books and scrolls. That's about it."

Henry looked at the hands he was restraining. "This man has a ring for each finger!" he announced.

"Little John," said Robin. "What is it that Friar Tuck said about treasures on earth? Something about moths and rust corrupting."

"Ah, yes." said Little John. "Something about not laying treasures on the earth where thieves like us can steal them."

"That's right!" said Robin. "He went on to say that treasures should be layed in Heaven."

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also!" Little John proudly recited.

"I'm sure the good Bishop is familiar with the Book of Matthew." said Robin. "He knows that one cannot serve God and money. Let's do him a favor and take these material possessions off his hands."

Rolly, meanwhile, had been admiring the chestnut and became concerned over a raw patch on the horse's back. "Let's do this horse a favor and take her away as well!" Rolly said furiously. "The monster's been beating her!"

"Don't tell me how to use my beast, you little..." Will tickled the Bishop's throat with the knife. "Fine, upstanding lady."

"*You're* the beast!" yelled Rolly. "I should strip those fancy vestments off you and give you a whipping! See how you like it!"

"Let's calm down, now, Rolly." said Little John.

"He couldn't even use some of his treasure to buy another horse to help with the load." Rolly said as she unhitched the horse. "Easy there, girl." she said soothingly to the horse.

"Now- now you wait just a minute!" the Bishop protested. "You'd take my horse too?"

"Well, without your treasures, you won't need a horse, will you?" reasoned Robin. "The rectory is only a few miles off. I'm sure you could easily walk there unburdened. Why, you were willing to let a pregnant woman do it. Henry, Will, send the good Bishop on his way. Relieve him of his rings as well." Will and Henry set the Bishop loose on the road after they removed the rings. The Bishop clearly saw he had no chance and ran away. "To the victors go the spoils." said Robin.

"All I want is to make sure no one whips Blossom ever again." said Rolly, stroking the mare's nose.

"Named her already?" asked Little John.

"She has a white spot on her head that rather looks like a flower." said Rolly. "Blossom is a good name."

"You may add 'Blossom' to the herd, Rolly." said Robin. He noticed Aubrey admiring the scimitar in the wagon. "You like that blade, Aubrey?"

"It's a good blade." Aubrey liked the way the curved blade reflected the morning light. The weapon had a good, comfortable heft in his hand. The scabbard was wooden and bound in tooled leather. Aubrey traced a finger over the designs on the scabbard that matched the elaborate curls and loops on the scimitar's quillons.

"It's yours." said Robin.

Aubrey nearly dropped the sword. "Robin, I-I don't deserve something this nice!"

"Payment for a job well done."

"All I did was open some sacks."

"You protest too much!" Robin laughed. "See anything you like, Will?"

"I rather like this dagger." said Will. "What did the Bishop say it was called? A jamboree? A jambalaya?"

"Jambiya was the word he used." said Aubrey, admiring his new sword. "Will, do you think you could teach me how to use this?

"Well, I suppose so." said Will. "An English blade can't be that different from a...what did you call it again? A cinnamon?"

"Scimitar!" Aubrey laughed. "Cinnamon is a type of spice. Oh, I wish we could have kept the Bishop a bit longer. I wanted to ask him about his trip. I do so like to hear crusaders and pilgrims tell their tales of travel in the Holy Land."

"Would you like to keep any of those rings, Henry?" asked Robin. "Since you found them."

Henry looked at the rings. "I've never seen anything like this." Henry said, inspecting the colorful gems. "They're very pretty, I suppose."

"Very pretty, he supposes!" laughed Robin. "They're also very valuable."

"May I see them a moment, Henry?" Little John asked. Henry allowed him to take a ring. Little John put it on Rolly's left ring finger. "Too big." he dismissed it. He looked at the other rings. "Ah, this pinky ring should be just right." He put that on Rolly's finger, pleased with the fit. "I'll give that to Rolly at our wedding."

"Johnny, I can't wear a diamond!" said Rolly.

"Why ever not?" he asked.

"Well, it's just, it's too....Johnny, there are families who could live off this diamond for months!"

"Why do they eat rocks?" laughed Little John.

"She makes a good point." said Robin.

"I'll take the ring." said Rolly. "But the diamond will go to the poor." She gave the ring back to Little John.

Little John broke the diamond off the gold ring and gave it to Robin. "You'll be my best man." Little John said to his friend. "Keep the ring safe for me."

"I will, John." Robin said fondly as he pocketed the ring.

"What do we do with this?" Will handled the white fabric.

"Let's take it to Marian and see what she makes of it." said Robin. "Well, let's take this back to camp and decide who to give it too."

"Robin?" said Aubrey. "Could-could I have some of these books and scrolls too? I can read a little and I'd like to improve it."

"They'd be of no use to the poor." said Robin. "Take them all if it pleases you."

"Thank you!" Aubrey put the sword on his hip and gathered up the scrolls and books. The others took up treasures, Little John carrying the bulk and Rolly leading Blossom away.

"So, Aubrey, you like hearing tales of the Holy Land?" Will asked.

"Oh yes." said Aubrey. "I've heard they have these ferocious beasts called camels...."
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At camp, Robin showed off the booty he had taken from the Bishop. "Robin, don't you know what this is?" asked Marian, holding up the fabric. "This is silk!"

"Is that worth a lot?" asked Robin.

"This bolt would cost nearly a thousand guineas." said Marian.

"It's so soft and shiny." Robin observed. "How do they make it?"

"Well," said Marian. "They have these special silk moths. When the silk moth caterpillar builds a cocoon, they boil it to make the threads and...."

"Wait," said Robin. "You mean to tell me this is made with bugs?"

"That sounds about as plausible as Aubrey's tale of the ferocious camels." said Little John.

"It's true!" said Marian.

"Well, if Marian says it's true, it is." said Robin.

"It's such a pretty white color." said Marian. "The girls and I could make a wedding gown for Rolly out of it and still have a bit left over."

Rolly had been letting Blossom get acquainted with the other horses while rubbing a salve on the chestnut's back. Marian managed to drag her away from the horse long enough to show her the silk and discuss how to make the dress. The only lady in the group who wasn't interested in making the dress was Donna, who had been working on a deer hide all morning. Will approached her. She was using the deer's shoulder blade to scoop off the flesh and fat. "Can I help you with that?" he offered.

"You can, actually." she said. "There's a raven that keeps flying over here, trying to get the bits I scrape off and it just gets in my way. Could you shoo it off?"

"Of course." *Well, here I am.* Will thought. *Will Scarlet, gentleman thief, master swordsman, and now scarecrow.* He shooed the black bird away. "I-er-have a present for you, Donna." He showed her the curved dagger he got as his share in the recent robbery. "It's called a jambiya."

Donna was fascinated by the gift. "I've never seen a blade like this." She felt the blade with a thumb. "It's good and sharp. Thank you very much, Will. I'll use it to take the hair off this hide. Can you hand me that skin, please?"

Will picked up the waterskin and unstopped it. "This smells terrible." he said, wrinkling his nose. "What is it?"

"Piss." Will nearly dropped the skin. "Oh, give it here before you spill it all." Will blushed and handed over the skin. He found himself wondering whose piss was in that skin, but was too embarrassed to ask. She poured the stinking liquid over the hide, saturating the hair. "Do you know how cute you are when you blush?" she said. "It matches your jacket."

Did Donna just say he was cute? That gave him courage to say what he had to say. He remembered the advice Robin gave him. He would just say what was in his heart. "Donna, I think you realize that I care for you very much. I've shown you in many ways, but never said how I felt. I-I confess that I am a man of action rather than words."

"They say that they speak louder anyway." Donna started scraping away at the hair.

"Well, Donna, what I want is to be able to court you properly. I'm not asking marriage if that's not what you want. I don't want to tie you down, or change you or make you anything other than what you are. Donna..." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I want to be yours as much as I want you to be mine."

She touched the hand on her shoulder. "Will...." she sighed. She turned and faced him. "Is all that you say true?"

"Hand to God, Donna, it's all true. Donna, I respect you and I love you." Donna quickly turned back to her hide, but Will could have sworn he heard a hitch in her breath. "Donna? Donna, please, look at me." She gave him a glance, and for the first time, he saw tears in her eyes. "Have-have I upset you?" She shook her head. "Then why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying!" she protested as she wiped away tears. "Only silly, sentimental girls cry over a man saying- saying they love her."

"Are you...unable to return those feelings?"

"Will, you love me and ask nothing in return. I've never had that before. You let me be who I am. You can never know what that means to me."

"There's no mistletoe this time, but could I kiss you?"

"I smell like piss and dead deer." she protested.

"You smell wonderful." he countered, pulling her close. While it was true that her scent wasn't as appealing as it could be, her lips were as soft and sweet as they had been on Christmas. Will Scarlet had kissed many girls before, but never one that stirred his heart so much as Donna Hill.

Henry and Aubrey laid on their stomachs and flipped through one of the books. Aubrey could make out a few words. Henry contented himself to look at the pictures. Aubrey read some of it to him. It was a book about travel in the Holy Land. Henry looked at a drawing of a man riding a large beast with lumpy knees and a hump on its back. "Harry," said Aubrey. "According to this, that is a camel! Can you believe it?"

"That's a terrible beast with claws and fangs?" Henry laughed. "So much for the tales about it being ferocious. Can't be too tough if it lets a man ride it."

"Maybe the palmer who told me that story was making things up." Aubrey closed the book and set it aside. He picked up a scroll. "I don't know if I'll be able to read this one." he said, pointing out the squiggly lettering. "It may be in another language." He unrolled the scroll, looked at it and flushed. "Ah, well, it appears you don't have to know how to read to enjoy this scroll."

"What is it?" Henry came closer for a good look. He saw several drawings of people taking part in various sexual acts. "Oh. How, erm, interesting."

"What was a Bishop doing with something like this?" Aubrey wondered.

"Aubrey," Henry whispered to him. "How would you like to try *that* sometime?" He pointed at a drawing of two men in an unusual position.

"Are you mad?" Aubrey laughed before whispering his answer. "I'd probably break my leg doing that!"

"Well, which one would you rather do?"

Aubrey limited his selection to the ones depicting men together. The others he wasn't sure if it was possible. "This one." Aubrey pointed to a drawing of two men entwined face to face, the receiver's legs over the giver's shoulders.

"Say, what are you two lads giggling over?" asked Little John as he wandered by.

"Nothing!" Aubrey quickly tried to hide the scroll.

"Come now, let me in on the joke!" said Little John. Reluctantly, they showed him the drawings in the scroll. Little John's cheeks grew bright red as his eyes popped open. He babbled incomprehensibly and ambled away.

Robin was counting out the stolen coins. "We have more than one thousand guineas in hard coin here!" he announced. "We could help a lot of people with that. Any nominations?"

"May I be so bold as to suggest someone, sir?" asked Henry.

"As long as that person is not yourself." said Robin. "And you needn't call me 'sir'."

"Well, si-uh-Robin." said Henry. "I know a family that can use some money. They're a family of good, honest, hard-working shepherds who fell into some bad luck. They-they recently lost their eldest son."

"How terribly sad." said Robin.

"They have six children." Henry continued. "The oldest is a fourteen year old girl. The eldest boy is only twelve. Without their eldest son, I'm afraid this shepherding family may fall on hard times."

"Well, then," said Robin. "Let's give them some of what we took from the Bishop."

Rolly had been standing close enough to hear the conversation and made an offer. "You know, I only plan on wearing a wedding gown once in my life. After the wedding, you can give it to the eldest girl. She can put it away until she's ready to get married."

"They're a proud family." said Henry. "They won't want charity. But, if we left a few things just lying around their homestead where they could find them, they'd take them. Like some gold coins or the rings. That diamond alone would take care of them for a long while."

"Alright." said Robin. "We'll do it tonight. Henry, you lead me to the home of these shepherds and we'll leave a few trinkets lying about. After John and Rolanda's wedding, we may even go back and leave the gown where the girl is sure to find it."

Henry led Robin to his family's homestead. It was nearly midnight when they got there. Everyone was in their beds. The sheep were in their cote. The other animals were settled in the barn. "This should be fun." said Robin. "Rather like a hiding game. Where should we hide some treasure first?"

"Well," said Henry. "They keep a sack of chicken feed just inside the barn door. We can hide some gold coins there." Henry opened the barn door. "And there should be a milk pail hanging on a nail by the cow's stall. I'll put a couple rings in there."

"You must know this family well," Robin commented. "To know exactly where they keep their chicken feed and milk pails."

"I've...helped them out many times." said Henry. He buried some gold coins in the chicken feed and put two rings in the milk pail. "Come; let's hide that diamond in the sheep cote."

The barn door creaked. Robin reached for his sword. He lowered it when it was revealed only to be a dog prowling about. As soon as the dog saw Henry, it barked happily and ran up to him, tail wagging. "Down, Galahad!" said Henry. "Quiet!" Still the dog pranced about him, trying to leap up and greet him. Finally, Henry knelt down and accepted a damp kiss from his canine friend, scratching his ears.

"You seem familiar with the family's dog as well." said Robin.

"Galahad is very friendly." said Henry. "Let him sniff your hand." Robin offered his hand to Galahad. Galahad sniffed him, and licked his fingers to show that he liked him. "Hope his barking didn't wake anyone." They went to secret the diamond in the sheepcote.

"You tell me this family has a fourteen year old daughter." said Robin. "Is she your sweetheart? Or someone you want to be your sweetheart?"

"No!" Henry couldn't help the tone of disgust in his voice.

"What, is she that ugly?"

Henry put the diamond on a post where it would be found. "She-she's just not what I'd be interested in. Let's go back before Galahad wakes everyone up."

As Henry and Robin made their way back to camp, Robin voiced his suspicion. "That was your own family, wasn't it?"

"I-uh-I...yes, it was." he confessed.

"You should know, Henry, that it will be hard to keep secrets from any of the Merry Men. Especially me."

"I-I didn't really lie, you know."

"Henry, I understand." said Robin. "Of course you want to help your family. That's why you have your twin with you, so you can look out for each other. Believe me, I understand family. The only blood family I have left are Will and my elder sister Millicent. She went into hiding in the cloisters when her lands were seized after her husband's death. She entrusted Will to me."

"Will's old enough to take care of himself." said Henry.

"True. But, it's still nice to have people you care about around. Remember when he showed off his scar and I said I knew he'd make it? I lied. I didn't know he'd make it; I only hoped and prayed he would. My heart was in my throat the whole time. Henry, if Tuck was here, he'd probably tell you the tale of the prodigal son. I trust you're familiar with it."

"Yes. A young man leaves home, squanders his inheritance, comes home expecting to be made a servant at best and his father celebrates his son's return."

"Henry, don't you think your family would be glad to see you and Aubrey again? I'm sure they miss you both. Surely they won't hold one sexual misdeed against you forever."

"They will this one."

"Ah, they fear the Sheriff that much? Well, don't you think they'd at least like to know you're alive and well?"

"Robin....I-I just can't face them."

"Very well. It's your call."