Mojitos with Merry Men by Marianne Mancusi

Author:Marianne Mancusi [Mancusi, Marianne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gemma Halliday Publishing
Published: 2016-07-26T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

You'd think an archery tournament would be exciting and fun, but let me tell you, in reality it's kind of long and dull. It's not like a jousting match, say, where there are two rampaging beasts storming at one another with two armed men on board, crashing lances into shields in an attempt to throw the other man off. If a jousting match is like football, then archery is like golf. Or watching bowling on TV. Quiet. Slow. Tedious. Boring.

It's especially tedious when you're sitting here, drunk as a skunk and worried as hell about the fact that you just gave away your boyfriend's secret identity to the man who most wants to capture him and sentence him to death. I need to warn Robin that the sheriff knows all, but the guards won't let me near the competitors.

Come on, sloshed brain. Think!

Luckily for me, at that very moment, sloshed brain comes through, and I have a brilliant idea.

I'll sign up to compete too!

I jump up from my seat and rush over to the sign-up booth. "Is it too late to join the competition?" I ask the man behind the counter.

He nods. "Aye. You must sign up before it begins."

D'oh. Of course they'd have some rule like that. But I'm not ready to give up quite yet.

"Is that a rule set in stone? Or…" I reach into my little hanging purse and pull out a few silvers. I know how these Nottingham guys think. "Silver?" I ask, holding them up.

The man looks left and right, then snatches the silver out of my hand. "Consider yourself a competitor," he whispers, winking at me. "Two more silvers, and I'll give you a bow to compete with."

I dig into my bag.

Once outfitted with a rather splintery bow and a quiver full of arrows, I head into the tournament area. Several contestants have already been eliminated, so I try to huddle with the rest, to keep a low enough profile so no one will know I joined late. I look for Robin and see he's up, pulling back on his bow and letting his arrow fly. It soars through the air and lands, of course, right in the bull's-eye. The crowd goes wild, and I can't help but smile with pride. He's so good.

The Sheriff of Nottingham is up next. He easily hits the mark as well. He and Robin walk back to the group of men waiting. How am I going to get Robin alone to warn him?

A few more men try their luck, but their arrows are way off the mark.

"Psst, Robin!" I hiss, waving my arms in the air, trying to get the outlaw's attention.

He turns and catches sight of me. His face furrows into a frown, and he walks through the other contestants to reach me. "What are you doing?" he asks, looking confused.

"I'm competing! Duh!" I say, rather annoyed. I know I just came in here to warn him but still! I've been practicing with my bow. I have just as much right to be here as anyone.

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