Page 50 of The Wicked Prince

But if he tried to say any of it, if he tried to take credit for any of it, the crowd certainly wouldn’t be cheering.

Even as they applauded “her” accomplishments, she could still feel the air of tension brought by the mere presence of the man behind her. As she spoke, she could see people eye him and whisper behind their hands.

Robin reached behind her as she reached the last announcement, grabbing John by the arm and pushing him forward and saying, “Now Prince John has a new decree to announce.”

Prince John looked over his shoulder at her, but she just grinned and squeezed his arm. He then turned back to the crowd and cleared his throat. “Effective immediately, the laws on poaching in Ferren Forest from Royal Decree Four Hundred and Eighty-Three are rescinded.”

He was met with dumbfounded silence. But Robin was beaming.

As they hurried off the stage, the crowd all whispering to each other about what had just happened, John leaned in and whispered, “The taxes we get from hunters selling in the marketplace better be worth it.”

Robin said, “They will be. And you’ll have more meat available to purchase and send to the frontlines. Richard will love you for it.”

“I didn’t do it for him,” John muttered. As they climbed off the platform, he looked over his shoulder at the crowd and grabbed Robin’s arm and ushered her back into the carriage. “Let’s just get a move on and get this over with so we can get back to the castle.”

“Come on, this next part is the best part. I promise,” Robin said as his hand slid off her side while she climbed in. Giving back was always the best part.

Robin might be a little addicted to admiration and gratitude, but considering her crimes, that really was the least of them in her opinion.

Chapter20

It took longer for them to get to the part Robin actually cared about since the guards had to go through the streets to clear enough space and set up a perimeter to keep a huge mob from forming, restricting it to just those who lived in that section of town. Robin shot out of the carriage as soon as they were given the word, ready to do what she did best, but to her surprise, she wasn’t doing it alone.

John also climbed out of the carriage after her, and he didn’t hover off to the side with the army of guards. Therewasan army of guards all up and down the streets, but John stayed right by her side, escorting her, his hand on the small of her back as Robin went from house to house.

It was like the old days again. Kind of.

She didn’t have Little Jon with five children all climbing over him and trying to get at the basket he had in his hands, laughing as he held it far out of their reach. She didn’t have Alan flirting with the single young women whose fathers were off to war. Or Will who was completely oblivious to the way young women Alan tried to flirt with were trying to flirt with him instead. Robin had always been the face of it, taking the baskets from Little Jon and passing them to the grateful mothers and fathers, to the old and young widows with too many mouths to feed, the grandfathers who couldn’t fight or work anymore. She would return embraces and clasp arms and brush off their thanks with a humble air even though it still sent a thrill down her spine every time they called her their hero.

Now she was still the hero, but the John with her was a very different man.

And she wasn’t running at the sight of the men in guards’ uniforms.

Most people were grateful and lovely to Robin even if they eyed Prince John at her side with apprehension. Some… weren’t.

Robin hadn’t remained in everyone’s good graces.

“You let him walk you like a dog; what else do you let him do?”

Robin froze in the middle of the street at the sound of that voice. John’s hand on her back tightened as he whipped around. She looked over to see two men standing down the street outside of a house that was beyond the guards’ perimeter. She recognized one of them. The one who’d heckled her the last time she’d been outside the castle.

“You were supposed to stop him and save us, but now you’re his pet! What is all this about? Trying to placate us?”

The other one said, “You’re carrying his cursed spawn, aren’t you, traitor? You set out to stop his evil but you’re just going to bring more into this world!”

Robin took a step back, heat flooding her cheeks as she bit her tongue to keep from retorting about how wrong he was, but John still held onto her as he barked, “Guards!”

“What? Did he take out your spine when he—”

“Arrest them! Now!” John snapped, cutting him off before he could finish the thought, but Robin could finish it on her own.

Robin put her hand on his arm and leaned in, whispering, “Don’t undo all the progress we’ve made today. They’re just words, and they aren’t even true.”

John said, “No one insults my wife in such a vulgar fashion right in front of me and gets away with it.”

Huh. He never batted an eye at an insult to him, but apparently harassing her was a line too far?

To Robin’s surprise and gratitude, instead of giving them some severe punishment, John’s orders were simply to have them removed and thrown in the stocks for the day. When they reached those men’s houses, their wives and families were profusely embarrassed and apologetic. He didn’t try to stop Robin from still giving them a basket. Instead, he’d stood behind Robin, a hand on her shoulder, and he’d even made a joke to the wives about how he couldn’t imagine any man being so disgruntled and displeased with his life when he had a wife as lovely as her and children as polite and good as hers. They were a credit to her, far more than they were to him. Robin couldn’t help but gape at him. Then he’d said he and Robin would be lucky beyond measure if they were ever blessed with children half as sweet as hers in the future.

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