Page 336 - the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood

thou not know that he is seeking thee through all the land?’
‘Yea,’ quoth Robin, ‘I do know right well that the King
seeks me, and therefore I have come; for, surely, no ill can
befall me when he hath pledged his royal word to Your
Majesty for my safety. Moreover, I know Your Majesty’s
kindness and gentleness of heart, and so I lay my life freely
in your gracious hands.’
‘I take thy meaning, Robin Hood,’ said the Queen, ‘and
that thou dost convey reproach to me, as well thou mayst,
for I know that I have not done by thee as I ought to have
done. I know right well that thou must have been hard
pressed by peril to leap so boldly into one danger to escape
another. Once more I promise thee mine aid, and will do all
I can to send thee back in safety to Sherwood Forest. Bide
thou here till I return.’ So saying, she left Robin in the gar-
den of roses, and was gone a long time.
When she came back Sir Robert Lee was with her, and the
Queen’s cheeks were hot and the Queen’s eyes were bright,
as though she had been talking with high words. Then Sir
Robert came straight forward to where Robin Hood stood,
and he spoke to the yeoman in a cold, stern voice. Quoth he,
‘Our gracious Sovereign the King hath mitigated his wrath
toward thee, fellow, and hath once more promised that thou
shalt depart in peace and safety. Not only hath he promised
this, but in three days he will send one of his pages to go
with thee and see that none arrest thy journey back again.
Thou mayst thank thy patron saint that thou hast such a
good friend in our noble Queen, for, but for her persuasion
and arguments, thou hadst been a dead man, I can tell thee.