Page 18 of Robin and Marian
“Ten,” Robin corrected.
“Thenyou’dbest keep your distance,” Guy said. “I’m not sure if they’ll follow your rules.”
Robin had known that Guy would hate him, but he hadn’t counted on the viciousness of his revenge. He licked his lips and attempted a joke, “Just say you didn’t invite my stepmother.”
“No, she refused to come when she heard you’d be here,” Tuck said behind them. He’d returned from another trip to the refreshment table, chewing on one of his sausage bundles and swallowing enough to say, “Guy invited your ex though.” Robin’s cousin pulled back, strangling on an oath. “Or are you just dating her, Guy?” Tuck asked, turning to him. “I don’t know. He’s seen with her a lot these days!”
“Jana Prinz?” Robin felt the thread of revulsion run through him—Princess John, as Robin had called her in his more childish days—she had started all of this. Why would Guy be with her? He’d showered so much attention on Marian. “Did you really invite her tonight?”
Guy didn’t answer, and now Robin watched him closely. Even though his cousin had foregone a tie, judging by the redness of Guy’s face, he was strangling on his collar anyway.
Tuck smiled at him. “I guess if you’re trying to get back at Robin, why not invite the viper? But Marian won’t like it.”
Robin shot a glare at his friend. Whose side was he on? Tuck seemed surprised at the two men’s dark silences. “Oh? Is that too much? Everyone’s betting you two get in a fight, by the way. I’ve got five hundred riding on it.”
Robin had no idea what Tuck had heard on his way to the refreshment table, but it was enough to make his cousin wrestle with keeping his cool before treating Tuck to a dry smile. “Franco, is it?”
“Yes.” Tuck brightened. “The new pastor. You remembered.”
“I’m not religious,” Guy growled out.
“No?” Tuck went back to chewing on his hors d’oeuvres as if that ended the discussion. Guy gave him a confused, wary look before leaving them.
“Where’s Jana?” Robin asked Tuck tersely. His friend gave him a shrug and went back to get more food.
Marian noticed Robin the moment he walked into the courtyard. She’d told herself all evening that she couldn’t care less what he did, but once he showed up she couldn’t convince herself. He was in all black, besides the subtle gray of his dress shirt. It made him look like the villain that everyone thought he was—a devilishly attractive one. He glared through the room, his brows heavy over his beautiful hazel eyes.
Someone should teach him how to act in public. There was a conspicuous circle of space around Robin, like he was stuck in a spotlight that drew the eyes of the courtyard but stopped anyone from coming in. Surely, he’d become less interesting as the night wore on. Marian hoped so, for her own sanity.
She’d worn her nicest dress for the party and wished she hadn’t. Normally she liked how the dusty pink flounces swayed around her legs. It made her feel pretty, but that night, she didn’t want to attract any attention. Seeing Robin come her way, she edged behind the refreshment table to hide next to a steel barrel roaring with fire. It didn’t do her much good, as his friend, Tuck, ambled by, picking at the food, and winked when he saw her. “My friend is over there.” He pointed to where she knew Robin was standing.
Marian pretended surprise. Tuck left her, hardly caring, making conversation with the others at the party like they were his oldest friends. With his suit and glasses, the convict actually looked normal, even handsome. A few of the younger girls almost seemed smitten by him.That wasn’t good.
She grabbed a cookie and mindlessly chewed on it. Her eyes drew to Robin again. A scowl had taken over his face as he searched the crowd, and she hoped that didn’t mean trouble. Marian’s attention veered to Scarlett as she drifted through the corridor out into the courtyard. Her friend looked like a ghost in a silky white dress that floated ethereally behind her as she approached Marian with a pale face. The dark circles she’d gotten from her all-nighters at college were more pronounced.
“What’s the matter?” Marian asked her.
“Alan and I have been fighting.” It tumbled from her lips in a whisper. “It’s just…” Her face crumpled in pain.
Immediately Marian hugged her friend. “Is it Robin?” she whispered. She tried not to bring attention to the fact that Scarlett was only a few feet from her brother.
Scarlett shook her head. “That’s making things worse… but Alan’s been like this for a while. He’s so distant, Marian. I don’t know how to reach him.”
Midge ran past them. “Oh no!” Scarlett tried to catch him with a tired hand, but the little boy easily ducked past her and rushed straight for the one person that he shouldn’t.
“Robin!”
Robin’s chin lifted at the happy voice hailing him, and the cloud that darkened his face cleared. Midge threw his arms around his older nephew, and the tense set of Robin’s shoulders relaxed as he squeezed the boy like a lifeline. The two looked adorable together. Marian melted at the sight, though she tried to fight it.
“Alan said not to bother you,” Midge shouted over the crowd, “but nobody else is with you, so why can’t I?”
Robin straightened to search the angry mob with eyes that belonged to a drowning man. Marian’s heart broke as soon as she saw it. Maybe if he’d been angrier and less hurt, she’d not feel as moved, but she knew he was looking for Alan. Scarlett also craned her neck to hunt for her husband. He wasn’t technically Robin’s victim, so Robin was allowed to make contact with him, but everyone knew that Alan wouldn’t welcome it. Never mind that Scarlett’s trust fund was still intact and he was hardly hurting.
“Where is Alan?” Marian heard Robin ask the boy.
She stiffened as Midge shrugged. “I ran as soon as he went to look for Scarlett.”
“She’s missing?”
