Page 103 of Robin and Marian
“He’ll love you for it,” Marian said.
“I know.” She laughed and turned back to the mirror. Marian’s Aunt Elinor and her bridesmaids happily replenished her makeup. They were all family now. After Marian had married Robin, Scarlett had easily adopted Elinor as her own, needing her motherly hand in her life. Robin’s stepmother had never filled that role.
His stepmother stood further away, taking turns glaring at Robin and shouting insults through her phone that she clearly hoped they’d all overhear. “How many of these weddings do I have to attend?” she asked crankily.
“Hardly any at all,” the words slipped from Robin’s tongue. “You don’t have too many years left on you.”
She glared at him, and, smiling, Robin hurriedly retreated outside, leaving the canopied tent to the ladies. It was good the wedding was being held outside, because a church couldn’t hold this size of a crowd. Soft harps lent their song to the natural music of the forest. The players had been placed next to the journalists and other media. The cameras were always rolling. The King family had become something of a legend after their many scandals—some of them more painful than others.
Richard strolled over in a cranberry jacket, wearing aviators with his matching kilt, looking fashionable in his outdated retro styles. Nodding over at Robin in his casual way, he lingered near him since it would be a few minutes before he’d give Scarlett away. Mayfair was now a sober occasion for him—he’d lost a grandson to it, and the details of that night and what Guy had done to the other members of his family had broken his heart, but Richard was careful not to blame Robin for it. He patted Robin on the back with a shaky hand. “I’m proud of you, boy.”
Robin’s name had been cleared and his record wiped clean. The papers that Tuck had found in the safe exonerated him and did a whole lot more. The crooked officials in the town were taken from office and served the rest of their time in prisons that were nowhere near as rough as Robin’s. He and Little John and Richard ran for office in their place… and won. It felt strange to finally be respectable.
Richard never would’ve seen it coming. Robin squeezed his grandfather’s arm, knowing he still mourned Guy. He’d always be that little boy in the tiny bowtie that had been taken from them too soon. Guy had never gotten over the rejection that he’d felt, spending the majority of his childhood in private schools away from his neglectful parents. Everyone had underestimated the damage it had done to him. Robin could see that, especially now that he had a child on the way. He wished he’d known what to do before Guy had forced his hand. His grandfather understood that too. Their understanding passed wordlessly between them.
Clearing his throat, Richard kept the conversation light. “Excellent work on the archery contest. You almost beat Midge this time around.”
Robin laughed. “Maybe I’d stand a chance if we introduce a new contest with mouth tabs.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Richard returned. “Midge is a determined guy.”
“Did you say my name?” Midge leaped off a pew decorated with swags of babies’ breath and bounded onto the forest floor. He’d been a frequent visitor at Robin’s new household and he had a way of getting the newly married couple to teach him anything so that he’d become the new master of it. Archery wasn’t even the beginning—horseback riding, bartering, cooking, pottery, driving all over the lawn—and closing business deals.Strangely.
“No, no,” Robin joked. “We weren’t saying your name. We said, ‘Robin got cheated in archery. He should’ve won.’”
“You did not! You did not!”
Robin breathed out a laugh. They lived too close to Midge to escape him now. Richard had acquired Guy’s estate to live out his retirement, and Scarlett had moved in to help take care of Midge. Now that she was getting married, Richard insisted that she and Little John live in the guest house at the side of the property—though it was less of a guest house and more a colonial home, with eight bedrooms, a wraparound porch, and grand pillars. They’d all be neighbors.
True to form, Tuck came out of nowhere and knocked Robin in the side with his elbow. “When do we start larping?”
Robin steadied himself for Tuck’s usual babbling. Somehow Tuck had finagled an invitation to officiate at the wedding from Little John. Robin had no idea how he’d done it. Fortunately, Tuck hadn’t tried to wear anything too outlandish for the part, besides the kilt of course—and a purple vest in Scarlett’s wedding colors.
At Richard’s questioning look, Robin translated. “Live action role playing, and no, Tuck. We’ve got a real-life wedding today. You’re in luck.”
That earned a noncommittal grunt from Tuck as he muttered something about how Robin had just rhymed and then he looked pointedly at the arrangement of flowers dripping from the trees and then at the harpists whose fingers moved gracefully across the strings. He then executed a little curtsy with his kilt. “This isn’t larping?”
“Okay.” Robin broke into a grin. “Maybe a little bit. Where were you anyway?”
Tuck’s lips went tight at Robin’s question and he looked self-important. Everything he did was secret nowadays. The FEDs—or at least Robin assumed they were—had become frequent visitors to Nottingham. They’d come by now and then and ask probing questions about Tuck, though Robin partly suspected that he worked with them to find sex traffickers online… sometimes to finish off a manhunt. On the whole that was the extent of the excitement Tuck caused the town. Mostly Tuck took on the position of a youth pastor and a volunteer deputy. He kept the kids in the small town out of trouble with outlandish tech projects while teaching them how to game the system… all while keeping a healthy suspicion of it—or perhaps, an unhealthy one.
“I was off saving the world, if you must know,” Tuck answered.
“Glad you came back,” Robin said dryly. “The ceremony is about to start.”
Richard quickly dismissed himself at the reminder… or maybe he couldn’t stand being in Tuck’s company. Both were highly likely. Tuck looked over at Midge, then turned to Robin and grinned. “I heard you threw the archery contest!”
That earned him an indignant shout from Midge as they made their way to Little John. Robin was going to be John’s brother now. As a wedding gift to Robin and Marian, Little John had gifted half of Sherwood Forest back to them to do with as they pleased. So far, the newlyweds had built a small cottage in Sherwood Forest and a few camping sites. But they had big plans for it—maybe even Renaissance festival plans, which Tuck cruelly—but accurately—called larping. Still, it would give Tuck an excuse to wear his tunic and tights.
The eager groom was already waiting near the head of the aisle, and he looked scared out of his mind. As his best man, Robin took his place beside Little John and clapped him on the arm. “You okay there, Little John?”
“Don’tLittle Johnme right now! I can’t take it!”
Tuck leaned forward with a bright look. “Little John,” he whispered.
Robin had to hold John back from him. “Hey, you got this,” he said through spurts of laughter. Little John was a wreck. “You afraid to lose your independence?” he asked.
Little John gave him a double-take like he was crazy. His attention shifted to the lace curtain near a hedge of bushes where the wedding procession would appear at any moment. “I’m not worried aboutme.”
