by N.B. Dixon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Robin of Locksley is a rebel, more comfortable roaming Sherwood Forest with his longbow and courting the village girls than learning how to run a manor.
An innocent flirtation with a peasant girl soon lands Robin in trouble, and worse, he finds himself inexplicably attracted to Will Scathelock, his best friend since childhood. Robin must decide whether to follow the rules of society or his own conscience.
Meanwhile, his neighbour, Guy of Gisborne, is anxious to get his hands on the Locksley estate and he will do anything to make it happen—even murder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt One:
Gilbert White-hand held up a silencing finger. “I want to hear what the boy has to say.”
Robin took a deep breath. Perhaps there was a way out of this if he chose his words carefully. Gilbert White-hand seemed less bloodthirsty than his companions. At any rate, he might be reasoned with.
“You’re right. I did come looking for you, but not for the reward. I didn’t even know there was one.”
“Then why?”
“Perhaps he wants to join up,” one of the outlaws said with a laugh. “Tired of living the life of luxury are you, boy? Fancy a life under the stars living on what you can scrounge?”
Robin waited for the laughter to die down, then, still addressing Gilbert White-hand, said, “I hear you’re a good archer.”
The outlaw leader raised an eyebrow. “What of it?”
“So am I.”
There was a murmuring among the outlaws.
“I can prove it. If we both shoot and I win, you’ll let us go, and you’ll allow me free passage through the forest whenever I want it. In return, I won’t tell anyone where you are, nor will my friends.”
“He’s got nerve,” someone said. “You have to give him that.”
“Do we have your friends’ word?” Gilbert White-hand asked.
“Oh yes,” Guy said at once. “We won’t tell a soul.”
“Not a soul,” Katrina echoed. “We promise.”
Gilbert White-hand turned back to Robin. “And if I win? What then?”
Robin took a deep breath. “Then you can do whatever you like with us.”
