Nottingham by Anna Burke

Author:Anna Burke [Burke, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781612941660
Publisher: Bywater Books
Published: 2019-12-14T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Five

“You’re not like me,” Gwyneth had told Robyn some time after Symon’s birth. It was late, and neither of them could sleep with the baby fussing feverishly between them. Gwyneth still struggled to get out of bed, but some of the color had come back into her face with the poached game Robyn brought home.

“What do you mean?”

“I worry about you. I worry you’ll be lonely.”

“I’ve got you.”

“For now, but I worry you’re not going to like marriage when it finds you, little bird.”

Robyn hadn’t answered for several heartbeats, listening to the rise and fall of the baby’s breaths as she tried to picture her future husband. The image kept blurring. “Perhaps I won’t marry,” she’d said.

“Perhaps you won’t.” Gwyneth had held them both, Robyn and the baby, and Robyn had renewed her silent vow to keep all of them safe. Regret gnawed at her now as the memory faded. She had not realized how much Gwyneth had protected her. Gwyneth had understood that Robyn would not marry, and she had even understood why, though they had never spoken of it outright. There were no words for such things.

She wished there had been. She wanted to tell Gwyneth about the way Marian had kissed her cheek and how the shadows beneath the trees were now limned with the blue of Marian’s dress. Gwyneth would know what to do. More to the point, she would be happy for Robyn, and it would give Robyn an excuse to say Marian’s name.

She shot a pheasant on her way back to their camp, plump and ready for plucking. Midge would be joining them tonight if all went according to schedule, and Robyn wanted something to send home with her besides coin. She ranged wider, eventually bringing down a duck by the river and a rabbit near the hollow tree where they stowed their dry goods.

“Good hunting?” John asked when she slipped into the little hollow by the river. She held up her prizes, and John nodded toward the string of fish smoking over the fire. “Will’s good with a spear, and Alanna can catch fish with her bare hands.”

“A net would be easier,” Robyn pointed out.

“But less enjoyable to watch.” John took a break from sharpening his knife to shoot her a grin.

“We could set a net while we’re gone during the day.”

“True. But then what else would we tell our scarlet friend to do with her time?”

“She could make the net.”

“You’re no fun tonight.”

Robyn unstrung her bow and checked to make sure Will and Alanna, who were gathering wood nearby, couldn’t hear her next words. “I stopped by the Harcourt Manor a few days ago.”

“You what?” The playful tone left John’s voice.

“On my hunt. I ran into Marian.”

“You should have told me what you were doing. What if you’d been caught?”

“Then better you didn’t try to rescue me.”

“What makes you think I’d try in the first place?”

“Well, Midge would have. Any sign of her?”

“Don’t change the subject. You took a risk, and I don’t like it.

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