It was a cool and crisp night in the Epping Forest,  the stagecoach moved amongst the shadows of a full silver moon. which gave the forest a magical glow, thought Mary Gregory a passenger of the coach.  Her brother the Magistrate,  Sir Thomas Gregory,  thought it felt less magical but more eerie and dangerous. he saw highwaymen and footpads in every shadow.  the driver was also nervous as highwaymen were known to work these woods.

Suddenly a man with gleaming guns on a white horse rode out of the shadows into the moonlight.  he was handsome and well dressed.
The nervous driver sped up the coach.
The horseman followed at a faster pace. "Stop or I'll shoot!" he shouted.

Firing his pistol he winged the driver who knew the next shot might kill him. So he slowed and stopped the coach.
The rider pulled up to them and dismounted.
"Stand and deliver, your money or your life!" shouted the highwayman
Mary and her brother climbed out of the coach.
"Ah,  good evening my lady and Sir Thomas Gregory.  It is a lovely evening is it not?" said the Highwayman as he kissed Mary's hand.
"Oh yes, it is!" responded Mary enchanted by the moonlight and his gallantry.
"No, it is not, I would rather have missed this meeting, Faulkner!" said the Magistrate recognising him from wanted posters.
"Faulkner? Not Gentleman John Faulkner?" asked Mary.
"Guilty," said the highwayman smiling behind his mask.
"Your goods please Sir Thomas,"  added Faulkner pointing a gun at the Magistrate. Mary offered up her jewellery.
"No keep your things, my lady," said Faulkner giving her jewellery back.
Her brother reluctantly handed him his purse of money.
The highwayman next turned to the driver. Whose arm was bleeding badly and holding out his hand for more booty John said.  "Now you sir,  you should get that arm looked at it looks quite bad!" the driver handed over his valuables.
The Highwayman sent them on their way. Sir Thomas driving, with the driver inside the coach being tended to by Mary.


Two nights later with the weather warmer, a new highwayman was on the road for the first time.
It seemed to be a youth in a black outfit who was enjoying the thrill of riding through the night.  It was the first outing of this new highwayman.
The highwayman who nearly held up a coach, but somebody beat this would be highwayman to it. So turning the horse and heading home was all that could be done.


The next morning the Gregory home had a visitor.
Mary was very excited to meet this famous man she had never met before.
He was a friend of her brother's a famous popular actor who was playing a highwayman on stage in London.


He was a tall handsome man and from the moment Mary saw him she knew she could easily love this man, his name was Sir Justin Beaufort.
"Hello my lady," said the Actor, "I hear that you met a real highwayman the other day I wish I had been with you. They are so thrilling and romantic!"
"Yes they are," agreed Mary.
"No, they are dangerous mercenaries! The driver of the coach died from the wound he got from the highwayman or did you forget that?" asked Sir Thomas.
Sir Justin looked chastened and nervous.
"Did he have a family?" asked Sir Justin.
"More than likely and they'll hang Faulkner now he's killed someone," said Sir Thomas.
"He won't hang! It was an accident," said Mary.
"He shot the man he should have realised there was a chance the man would die!” said Sir Thomas.
"If they get him they will hang him, I'm sure of that!," said Sir Justin sadly.

Later Mary was riding in a coach with Sir Justin and she heard.
"Stand and deliver your money or your life," The voice yelled.
When the coach stopped she leapt out of the coach to see the driver being murdered with a single shot to the heart. For no other reason than that he didn't stop quickly enough.
She was now nervous. This was the feared killer highwayman Terrence the Terror of Essex.
"Hand over your loot! Either give it to me now or I will take it from your body!" Terrence the Terror said to her.
She did so quickly.
Out of the coach stepped an angry Sir Justin.
"That's enough Terry.  Give it all back !" said Sir Justin.
This startled the Terror who was confused. Justin walked over disarmed him and pointed the Terror's own gun at him.
"I said give it back, Terry!" said Sir Justin.
"Don't call him Terry people say he doesn't like that! This isn't the theatre he'll kill you!" said Mary nervously.
"He'll have to wait in line!" said Sir Justin. with a smile.
"Sir Justin you are annoying me. Nobody robs me not even my friends you will pay for this stand down and I will forget it," said Terrence, the Terror.
"Stand and deliver Terry," said Sir Justin.
"He is drunk ignore him, Mister Terror!" said Mary.
"He's stone-cold sober and stubborn!" said the highwayman.
Terrence the Terror handed back the loot but he was fuming.
Sir Justin shot in the air to disarm the gun.
"Here you are, my friend, have your property and let us go on our way." Sir Justin said.
"You are not my friend!" said Terrence the Terror stomping over to his horse.
"You know something I think I have lost a friend!" said Sir Justin sadly as he drove the coach off.
"You are insane!" shouted back Mary from inside the coach.


Later in the day at the  Gregory home.
"Tom your friend is a nut!" Mary said when they arrived with the body of the driver.


"What did he do murder the driver so he could drive the coach?" asked Sir Thomas.
Sir Justin laughed.
"No that was Terrence the Terror!" said Sir Justin.
"Oh did he kill the driver so you could drive it?" said Sir Thomas
"Are you insane!" asked Sir Justin.
"No," said Sir Thomas
"Terrence the Terror held us up, he shot the driver, then I held up the Terror!" said Sir Justin.
"You did what? " asked Sir Thomas.
"I bailed up the Terror and took your sister's stuff back as she was under my care!" said Sir Justin.
"Thank you did you take him in?" asked Sir Thomas.
"No! I let him go!” said Sir Justin. 
"Why did you do that!" asked Sir Thomas.
"Someone had to drive the coach, and I could not be sure of Mary's safety if I kept him," replied Sir Justin.
"You know that he'll now try to kill you!" said Sir Thomas.
"If he does he does!  I could never live with myself if he robbed someone under my care!"  replied Sir Justin.


That night the youthful highwayman rode again.
This time he stopped a coach and started to rob people when three highwaymen arrived on the scene.
"New to this are you lad!" said one of them.
The youth panicked and fell off the horse banging his head hard and was knocked out by the fall.
"Terry I think you killed him!" said one of the others he was the black-clad highwayman  named the Ghost for his sudden appearances and disappearances
"Ghost the boy's knocked out! Not dead," said Gentleman John who was riding with them.
"Terry just scared him," said John.
"We can't leave him here what will we do!" said the Highwayman the Ghost,  a Robin Hood type highwayman.
They completed the robbery.
John picked the body up and hung it over his horse.
The Ghost took the horse of the young highwayman and they rode off to Gentleman John's house.
"I'll look after him till he comes round!" offered John.
The odd band of highwaymen sat drinking and chatting for a few hours and then the Terror and the ghost left. When they had gone John made a strange discovery the boy had long hair in a bun and his hat had been pinned to it. He found this out when he tried to remove the hat so he could put the lad to rest on his bed.
He put her on the bed and sat looking at a script for a new play.
He then sat drinking for a while.
Later when the highwaywoman woke up it was like a play with a ham actor.
"Where am I?" she muttered.
Putting down the script he walked over to her.
"How are you feeling Miss?" asked John.
"Miss?'" said the highwaywoman not sure how he knew what she was or where she was.
She felt for her mask it was there.
"I saw your hair! If we knew you were a woman my friends would have stayed," said John.
"Why?" she asked.
"For your honour," said John, "Whoever said there is no honour among thieves?"
"Oh yes!" said the highwaywoman.
"Nothing happened but I'll marry you to keep your honour," said John.
The highwaywoman stood up still a bit wonky. She thought she was dreaming he was a man of honour and she loved him so she was happy.
She started to take off her mask and he stopped her.
"No don't," said John. "we aren't safe, Seeing each other's faces may cause us problems!"
"All right then!" She said and stopped trying to unmask.
In the early morning, she said goodbye and left for home.

A few hours later, Mary was sitting in the forest near her home enjoying the new autumn day.
Sir Justin saw her on the way to visit her brother.
He got off his horse and tied it to a branch of a small tree and walked over to her.
"What are you doing my lady?" asked Sir Justin thinking she looked very pretty sitting amongst the autumn leaves.  she blushed.
"It is ethereal here today!" said  Mary looking at Sir Justin who looked more handsome than ever.
"It is a glorious day!" said Sir Justin not lying,
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, come sit beside me," said Mary.
"Why?" asked Sir Justin.
"The view is best from here," said Mary.
"As long as no one's around!" said Sir Justin.
With a smile, she said, "No one is here!"
Sir Justin sat beside her.
"What are we looking at?" asked Sir Justin.
"Everything the wind is singing in the trees blowing leaves through the air as they fall to the ground. The birds are singing and the forest floor is covered in crisp leaves thick as snow," said Mary.
Forgetting propriety and everything. He lay on his back in the leaves.
"I have never seen anything so beautiful! I could forget everything and live here in this moment forever," then looking up at the sky. He said, "This looks better!"
Mary lay back too she watched the leaves fall from the trees blowing in the wind.  A leaf fell down floating on to her heart she put her hand on it.
A voice interrupted the scene.
"There you are, Mary, have you been with him all night?  Everyone has been looking for you!" accused Sir Thomas.
"No!" Sir Justin said standing. "I just found her here, I was on my way to see you."
Mary trying to stand up fell over her long skirt.
"I was not with him!" said Mary.
Sir Justin thought he could see a forced Marriage wedding being set up.
"I can't marry her!" said Sir Justin.
"Why?" asked Sir Thomas.
"I can't say!" said Sir Justin.
"No excuses means that you must marry her for your honour and hers," said Sir Thomas.
"Don't use my honour against me!" said Sir Justin.
"You must Marry her as you are driven by your honour,” Sir Thomas said.
Sir Justin shook his head jumped on his horse and rode away.


Over the following weeks, the Highwayman and  Highwaywoman became inseparable and took to the road most nights. They planned to run away and marry after one last job but it all went wrong.  there was an unexpected ambush.
They were on their horses and when they demanded the passengers disembark the coach. they didn't notice the gun pointing from the coach until it was too late. but when they did they rode away it was Sir Thomas who shot one of them.
John could have escaped. but he jumped off his running horse which continued on its way. He ran back to his fiancée the Highwaywoman.
"You shot her!" said John accusingly
Kneeling down cradling her and looking in her face.
"Why didn't you escape?" asked the dying Highwaywoman.
"I don't want to live without you!" said John.
"I have the two of them! I shall unmask them," said Sir Thomas. unmasking  John his eyes widened and looked horrified.
"Hi!" said Sir Justin.
"You are engaged to my sister! Who is this Harlot?" asked Sir Thomas ripping off her mask. Looking devastated.
"Mary! No!" cried Sir Thomas.
"Mary my other fiancée?" said John.
"My love!" said Mary and died.
John kissed her for the first and last time.




A few weeks later John joined her in death.
As John was standing on the gallows at Tyburn.
Sir Thomas watched the noose go round John's neck  Sir Thomas was sad he knew he'd miss John and Justin.  The executioner reached for and pull the lever for the trap door. Then the Magistrate closed his eyes. He saw Mary and John lying in the leaves in the forest and he heard John saying "I have never seen anything so beautiful! I could forget everything and live in this moment forever"

The End

Good quote from story

https://soundcloud.com/loki-laufeysen/good-quotes-from-stand-and-deliver-in-the-moonlight-story