Chapter 2

She could smell the unmistakable odors of Nottingham long before the edge of the city came into her view. It was so much nicer to be camped out in the pristine forest away from such reminders of congested humanity. The wood fires in the numerous huts and shacks that were outside the walls of the city laid a haze of low hanging thickness that irritated the nostrils and made it difficult to even see the sun on high. (* See Note 2-1) Dressed in the garb of a humble squire, Rowena attracted no attention from the common folk around her. They were more interested in their own little worlds scratching and scrabbling to meet the necessities of living. Life was hard for commoners under the rule of Prince John. He considered them the scum of the earth because of their ignorant ways and lack of any claim to noble birth. Yet they served to furnish him the taxes he relied on to run the excesses of his corrupt court. She was beginning to regret her risky decision to enter into the Lair of the notorious Sheriff.

Just then, a comely girl standing outside a tavern spoke to her with a wheedling voice that reminded her of the hawkers selling their wares at the annual fair to celebrate the harvest.

“Come on inside, young Sir, our ale is the best in Nottingham and I will serve it to you with a boon for your pleasure.”

The girl reached between Rowena’s legs and became confused when she came up with no success in reaching her intended objective.

“Pardon me, Sir, I mean Miss, I meant no harm.”

Rowena was sorely put out by the accidental discovery of her secret by the tavern girl. Still, she had to laugh because it was to be expected from the less than ladylike city girls with their petulant ways and flirtatious laughter.

The girl told her she was called “Doxie” because of her skills in the recruitment of customers for the pub. Despite her occupation, the young attractive female appeared to be quite intelligent and Rowena decided to join her inside the tavern for a quick drink and to gather some information needed to make her mission a success.

They sat close together in a darkened corner and Rowena was happy with the girl’s conversation and much in concert with the scent and touch of the pretty tavern girl. Her experiences at the convent with the sex-deprived sisters gave her considerable insight into the needs and desires of females more at ease with their own sex than in the company of rough men.

Doxie saw the tavern owner looking their way and whispered to Rowena,

“Young Miss, I must give you a most visible buss to deter my contract owner from unwanted interference. The owner will get suspicious if I do not treat you like I would any other male customer. I hope my tongue will not offend you.”

The touch of the pretty girl’s pointed tongue on her lips made her slap the table with her hand trying to express her intense pleasure. The men at the bar laughed at the young lad’s arousal and jested about the possible inadequacy of his masculine equipment. It was just a charade, but the lovely comfortable feeling Rowena experienced was no charade.

The girl took Rowena to her tiny sleeping compartment above the tavern and told her she was welcome to stay at no expense. It was perfect for Rowena’s plans and she accepted gratefully. Doxie was happier than she had been in a long time. She was fair exasperated at the coarse manners of the male clients and the feel of Rowena’s soft skin made her tremble like a schoolgirl at her first dance. They hugged and parted to allow Rowena to enter into the gates of the Sheriff’s domain to gain intelligence about his strength and likely plans invade her space in the forest.

Rowena sat on a barrel just outside the Sheriff’s jail.

She had seen several of the folk under the protection of Robin Hood incarcerated with little hope and filled with overwhelming despair. A couple of them recognized her and a flash of spirit returned to their faces. Of course, they realized that there was not much she could do by herself to free them from their incarceration. Still, the dormant seeds of hope gathered strength once again.

She saw that the jailors were restless with their jobs and often wandered away from their duties to soak up ale in the nearby tavern. It was obvious that they were totally bored with their duties and were impatient to be away from the jail for their own pleasures.

Rowena struck up conversation with one of the younger jailors and convinced him to share her flask of wine in the alley behind the jail. He was much enthused by the prospect and bragged to his new-found friend about his military hardships all the way to the back of the narrow opening. Thankfully, he was so involved with his bragging and swigging that he did not feel Rowena lean against him and steal the jail keys from his belt. He strutted off with ego intact and unknowingly minus the jail keys.

That very night, when the two night jailors were sporting the friendly girls in the tavern, Rowena and Doxie gathered up the jailed folk from Locksley manor and they all got on a wagon under a load of loose hay for concealment. When they had gone a short distance outside the city, they all made for the cover of the nearby woods and navigated through the dense brush back to forest behind the convent. It was decided that Doxie would go with Rowena to the forest camp because she would be in danger back near the city. They all made their way single file following Rowena and her sure path through the tangled brush under the light of the full moon.

When the jailbreak was discovered, the Sheriff was outraged. He formed a band of mean-spirited mercenaries to scour the countryside for the missing miscreants. They were so annoyed at their lack of success that they burned two farms to the ground and confiscated the domestic animals for payment of so-called “back-taxes”.

Safely back in the forest, Rowena and Doxie celebrated by drinking the Sheriff’s wine and telling outrageous stories all through the night. The next day, Rowena took Doxie to the convent and told the incredulous girl that she would find the place would be exactly what she needed to regain her equilibrium. Rowena promised her that whenever she wanted, she could return to her forest camp and stay under her protection as long as she wanted.