"How do you know this?" Lucas whispered.
"Are you kidding? The moment you gave her that crown, it was all anyone would talk about. You've rubbed their noses in it by honoring a Jew. Scuttlebutt has it that Isaac paid for your horse and armor in exchange for protection. He's not very well liked in these parts, being rich and Jewish, to boot."
While they conversed, Rebecca stood near the entrance of the tent, her hands clasped together, a look of grave concern upon her face. Lucas started to sit up.
"We should not whisper in the presence of a lady," he began. She rushed to his side instantly, gently urging him back down.
"No, do not get up, my lord. You're hurt," she said.
"I am somewhat the worse for wear," said Lucas, gently removing her hands from his chest and sitting up, "but I assure you, I'm not injured, only weary."
"I came to see if I could help," Rebecca said. "Waldemar Fitzurse, John's minister, suggested it. He said that since I was taught the art of healing by Miriam of Endor, I should see to your welfare, since you named me your queen." She lowered her eyes. "In truth, he meant you no great courtesy, my lord, since Miriam stands falsely accused of witchcraft by those ignorant of her skills and I fear the minister's request was meant less for your welfare than to spare these Normans the embarrassment of honoring a Jewess at their feast, which even now progresses. Pleased as I am at having been honored by you, my lord, I am distressed by it. It was not wise. You could not have known I was a Jew, else you would doubtless have chosen another to receive your favor."
"I didn't know," said Lucas, "and to be honest, I meant to choose a Norrnan girl to placate these nobles somewhat. In truth, honoring women for nothing save their beauty does not appeal to me. Such empty, vain displays are not to my liking. As to your faith and heritage, I have known many Jews in my travels and I know something of your beliefs. While I do not share them, they are far from abhorrent to me. I am not one of those who would persecute your people or take advantage of them."
"Then you are a rare knight, indeed," she said. "Is it true what the people say, that you are Saxon?"
"I fear that I cannot answer you," said Lucas. "There is much at stake and I am not yet ready to reveal myself. I must ask you to be patient."
She lowered her eyes. "Forgive me for asking, my lord," she said softly. "It was not my intention to presume."
"There is no need to ask forgiveness," Lucas said. "It is I who must ask your forgiveness. By choosing you, it seems that I have caused speculation that your father is my patron, having provided me with the means to enter the lists today. This will not make the Normans love him more."
She smiled. "It will not make them love his money less. I am well treated by the Normans, inasmuch as any Jew can be, only because it is well known that John borrows heavily from Isaac. So long as they can use the usurer, they will continue to treat us with some little kindness."
"Your father treads deep water," Lucas said. "John is not likely to be fair in his dealings with a Jew. He may decide to force him to give up all his wealth and then where will you be?"
She shrugged slightly. "Where my people have always been. What is there to do? Our fate is in God's hands."
Lucas smiled. "He will decide the disputes of the nations, and settle many a people's case, till swords are beaten into plowshares, spears into pruning hooks; no nation draws the sword against another, no longer shall men learn to fight."
Rebecca looked at him with astonishment. "You quote the Prophet Isaiah? And in Hebrew!"
"Armorers are still making swords and spears," said Lucas. "They have not yet turned to making farming implements. I do not dispute your faith, but you would be wiser to take your fate into your own hands instead of trusting it to God."
"An easy thing for a man to say, my lord, but not so easy a thing to do for one who is both a woman and a Jew," she said. "I wish you well, good knight."
She inclined her head toward him and left.
"Interesting woman," Hooker said.
Bobby and Finn entered the pavilion. It was dark outside and all was quiet, most of the knights and nobles having gone to the banquet while the spectators dispersed until the next day's festivities. The sound of crickets filled the cool night air.
"Had to wait until your company left," said Bobby. "Striking looking woman. Who was she?"
"Rebecca, daughter of Isaac of York. A Jewish merchant whom John's been milking for money."
"How does she fit into all of this?"
"I don't know if she does, yet. I take it you didn't see the jousting?"
Bobby shook his head. "We made some contacts. What happened?"
Briefly, Lucas brought them up to date. "I don't know how our fake Richard intends to make his move," he said, "but he may not have an easy time of it. With people like De Bracy, Bois-Guilbert and de la Croix in his service, John's not going to be easy to displace."
"That's always assuming that our friend Irving's going to play by the rules," said Bobby. "Don't forget, he's a crackpot. He might just decide to come on strong with some technology and blow these boys away."
Lucas shook his head. "I don't even want to think about it. You said you made some contacts?"
Bobby sat down and sighed. "Finn and I met up with a few of Locksley's men."
"Any problems?"
Bobby snorted. "Problems? Try disaster."
"What happened? You don't mean to tell me that they didn't buy that you were-"
"Oh, I was accepted easily enough, that wasn't what I meant," said Bobby. "What did you expect these people to do, see through my cover? There's no chance of that."
"So what's the problem?"
"The problem is a bit of disillusionment," said Finn, chuckling.
"Hey, it's not so funny," Bobby said. He looked at Lucas. "The legend of Robin Hood was always one of my favorite stories, you know? The truth is somewhat less attractive. Seems Locksley wasn't quite the man I thought him to be. After the archery bout, we made ourselves scarce. Then we ran into a few of the merry men. You might say they were impressed. They never saw anyone shoot like that before. More to the point, they never saw Locksley shoot like that before."
"Turns out the famous Robin Hood wasn't all he was cracked up to be," said Finn. "The impression one gets is that he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if he was standing in the hayloft."
"They were also surprised to see me sober," Bobby said. "See, Robin's been gone for a while, no one knows where to. Locksley's a fucking lush. Every now and then, he gets so blitzed he just takes off somewhere and doesn't come back for days. This time ‘I’ was gone for longer than usual. Marion's fit to be tied."
"You mean Maid Marion?" said Lucas.
Finn guffawed.
"Everything's a joke to this guy," Bobby said irritably. "Yeah, Maid Marion. Only nobody calls her that. That's because she's about as maidenly as Anne Bonney. Our referee friend who sent us out on this suicide mission didn't do his damn homework very well. The idea was that, as Robin Hood, I'd be able to use the merry men to help us out if need be. The only problem is, Robin Hood isn't in charge of the merry men. Marion is. Seems my main task is keeping her bed warm."
"And he's in a bit of trouble because he's been delinquent in his duties," Finn said, grinning. "Fact, he's A.W.O.L. right now and if he doesn't get his ass back soon, the boys said, she'll put it in a sling!" He started laughing uncontrollably.
"God damn it, Delaney, put a lid on it! That's an order!" Bobby said.
"Fuck you, son. I've been busted from master sergeant, captain and lieutenant, just to name a few. Don't give me any shit about orders. I was getting my ass shot off with the Lost Battalion when you were still sucking at your mother's tit. I made it through some pretty bad scrapes and I intend to make it through this one, so if you're smart, you'll button it up and listen, both of you." Hooker chuckled.