Page 70 of Robin and Marian
Still not spying the sheriff, Marian rounded the lavishly decorated hallway and stopped when she saw the long dining room table decked out with candles and china. Elinor had prepared a fancy dinner. For two. Thesheriffwas seated comfortably at one of the settings. He slid the fork from his mouth, his eyes drawing up to hers. He smiled and swallowed, dabbing at his lips with a napkin before he stood to come around the table to shake her hand.
“Would you like to join William and me for dinner?” Elinor asked.
Was this her aunt’s way of trying to stop the man from evicting her? Marian couldn’t stand to see her playing up to him and treated him to a glare. “How much does she owe?”
Elinor’s eyes widened and her smile tightened into a fake one. Turning from her niece, she addressed the sheriff. “Now would be a good time to get that ice for me. It’s in the second freezer.”
He wiped his hands on the napkin, seeing that she was in earnest. “The one in the shed?”
“Yes, outside in the back. You know where it is.”
The sheriff was already on his way.How did he know his way around?Was he such a good family friend? Tom had died more than three years ago and the two had never been that warm to each other.
As soon as the sheriff was out of earshot, Elinor put a hand on Marian’s. “What are you doing?”
“We might be able to cover what you owe to Guy. It’s about $90,000. We’ve got it in the trunk.”
“Who’swe?”
Before Marian could answer, Elinor shouted out angrily and snatched up a battery-powered lamp on her way out the front door, marching briskly to the parked Engler F.F. on the side of the road. It was partly covered in shadow, and she illuminated the driver with her lamp.
Robin pulled back involuntarily, his biceps bulging in a shirt that was damp and muddy from their earlier adventures. The ten-foot rule wouldn’t work if no one else adhered to it. “Hello, Mrs. Johnson.” He blinked up into her light. His hair was messy and curly from his discarded cap. “It’s nice to see you.”
She’d have none of it. The small woman pointed viciously at him. “Get out of this… contraption so I can talk to you in my house!”
“Elinor!” Marian argued. “Robin isn’t supposed to contact you in any way. The sheriff is here.”
“Are you going to make me ask twice?” she asked in a tone that brooked no argument.
Robin hesitated then shook his head. “No ma’am.” He dismounted at once and stood in front of her diminutive aunt, ducking his head in respect, though he towered over her.
Elinor stalked back toward the lodge and Robin exchanged unsure glances with Marian. She desperately tried to talk sense into her aunt again. “Elinor!”
“Don’t Elinor me. The least he can do is offermean explanation!” She swiveled on her high heels to glare at him as he hung back. “Oh what? You afraid of the big bad sheriff?” She raised her palms, and pierced him with a glare. “After everything you’ve done?”
Kind of.They both were. But Robin was as rash as they came, and her aunt’s words were enough to spur him on. Marian followed them both into the house. The miniature schnauzer leaped all over the place at the sight of him in the hallway. “Hush, Bobby!” This time the dog didn’t listen. The excitement was too much. Elinor shot through the dining room and into the kitchen with Marian and Robin on her heels. The door to the kitchen swung shut behind them.
“Elinor,” Robin tried again with his apologies. “I’m sorry for everything.”
She wasn’t about to let him get off that easy. “Tom trusted you! That was going to be our retirement and you just squandered it on who knows what. Was it on that ridiculousthingoutside?”
“No, no. I didn’t get away with anything. That’s not even mine!”
It was almost a ridiculous sight, watching her tiny aunt shake her finger up at Robin. Under the bright lights of the kitchen, she could see that his jeans were loose and muddy after pulling off their stunt, and he breathed deeply while Elinor continued her rant as four years of pent-up anger spilled onto him. Marian noticed how well Robin took it. While not as tall and lumbering as Little John, Robin was athletic, especially after his stint in prison, and he looked capable of lifting both aunt and niece in one arm and carrying them away. Instead, his eyes only showed respect and concern. Marian felt like she was the only one seething under the unjust accusations.
Finally Elinor stopped her lecturing enough to take a good look at him. “You say you have money in the trunk? Is that the money you took from me?”
“No!” Marian intervened. “It’s jewelry that belongs to his mother. It’s his inheritance.”
“We want to make things right,” Robin said.
“It would take more than that!” Elinor’s voice broke on her shout.
“How much do you need?”
“You don’t get it, do you?” She pumped her fist. “I wouldn’t take your money if it kept me from the streets. I wantnothingfrom you.”
Robin’s hazel eyes studied her under his hawkish brows. “What if I said it was to save this town?”
