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“Sire.” She kept her head down while holding the knife up. “It’s good to have you back.”
I grinned, as did the king. I’d heard the story of that knife from one of the Merry Men. Apparently, the king had passed through Locksley when Robynne was a little girl, and she’d so impressed him that he’d given her his own knife — one with a lion etched onto the hilt.
“Ah, yes. The young warrior. I remember you,” the king chuckled, definitely amused — and impressed.
Robynne looked up with a smile. “I remember you too.”
His laugh echoed over the hushed crowd.
“That was quite a speech for an outlaw. Bold words,” he observed.
Her throat bobbed. “All from the heart, sir. We never gave up on you. We never will.”
A lump formed in my throat, because Robynne was speaking for all of us.
None of us gave up on you, I wanted to echo. Robynne, most of all.
I thought of all the sacrifices she and Daniel had made for so long, praying they would finally get their happy ending. They deserved it more than anyone.
“I don’t doubt it,” the king replied, gifting Robynne with a tiny bow of his own.
She grinned and reached for Daniel’s hand.
Everyone waited. What would the king say, do, command?
He looked around, as if noticing the crowd for the first time.
“I don’t know what I expected to find in Nottingham, but I certainly didn’t expect this.”
Polite chuckles came from the crowd until he straightened, ready to make a pronouncement.
“I suppose all that remains is to decide what to do about all this.” He looked around, scowling, then added, “And with my brother.”
Everyone glanced at the gallows in a hint the king either missed or ignored.
Ignored, I decided. The man didn’t miss anything. Like Marian’s hand, still firmly around mine. His eyebrow quirked at that, but then he turned back to the crowd.
“People of Nottingham…”
Everyone waited, barely moving.
“Let it be known that I absolve the outlaw, Robynne Hood, of any charges brought against her.”
Applause broke out, though the king extinguished it with a quick motion.
“Further, I believe your acting sheriff may be the right man for the job. What say you?”
An electrified buzz went through the crowd, which regarded Daniel with a mixture of respect and fear.
“Well, what say you?” the king demanded.
Tense silence settled over the square, and Marian and I exchanged worried glances. What now?
Chapter Twenty-Two
TUCK
The king pointed impatiently at a man at the front of the crowd. “You there. What do you have to say?”
