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For years, I’d been wondering if I had missed that moment or if it had simply passed me by. But now, the realization was clear as a bell.
That day had finally come, and I knew it.
Funny how parents could be right about so many things.
“Well, why didn’t you say so?” The king huffed — at me, as if that were my fault.
My lips moved, but I couldn’t produce a coherent word.
He flapped a hand. “Rhetorical question. No need to answer.” He squinted at me, then at Marian. “He isn’t a fool, is he?”
She broke out in a huge smile. “No, sir. Not usually.”
“Hmpf.” The king considered for another minute, then looked at me skeptically. “Do you think yourself up to such a task?”
I gulped, looking over the crowd, then the castle. Lord of Nottingham?
“Er…well…”
“He’s amazing,” Marian assured him. “He thinks of everything.”
I shook my head. “I usually overlook a critical detail or two. Or three or four… So, no. Whenever I plan, I assume everything will go wrong.”
The king laughed. “Spoken like a true crusader.”
I blinked. Really?
Marian’s father smiled broadly. “I believe he might do — especially if he has the right woman to guide him.”
Of course I did. The king could name me lord of the universe, but Marian would always be the boss — and brains — of the operation.
“Oh, he’ll have that, believe me.” Marian grinned.
Her father gave the king a firm nod. “No man will ever be good enough for my daughter, but I raised her to have a mind of her own, and I will respect that. And, as they say, there’s no stopping true love.”
Lord and Lady Winthrop grinned at each other and clasped hands. Bess and Robert hugged. Robynne and Daniel bumped shoulders, while John slid an arm around Willa.
The king frowned.
“Come now, Richard,” Marian’s father coaxed. “What say you?”
I braced myself for something like, Bah, humbug. Send him back to the abbey, and lock Marian in a convent as far from there as possible.
Marian’s grip on my hand got even tighter, and I nearly yelped.
She didn’t say a word, but her eyes begged the king. Sir…Please…
The king held out for another long minute, then heaved a weary sigh. “Fine.” Then he glared at me. “But if you ever do anything that makes this woman less than splendidly happy, I will have you hung, drawn, quartered—”
Lady Winthrop cleared her throat, cutting him off.
Et cetera, et cetera, his eyes blazed.
I gulped. “I get the picture, sir.”
The king nodded grimly. Then he clapped, calling everyone to attention. “I hereby name these two as Lord and Lady of Nottingham, effective tomorrow.” Then he looked at me expectantly. “Well?”
I froze, not sure what he meant.
