Page 85 of Peregrine's Call
Torin’s eyebrows rose. “Yes, my lady!”
So Robin continued to practice, offering Torin and Henry practical advice on their own shooting. She actually enjoyed teaching them, since it kept her mind focused and away from baleful thoughts of Octavian’s whereabouts.
Then a guard came running toward them. “My lady! Come quickly to the gate! They’re back!”
All the breath left her lungs, and Robin swayed once on her feet.
Torin grabbed her elbow. “Are you well?”
“I don’t know. We need to run. I need to see him.” She didn’t say a name, and didn’t have to. Torin kept near her even though his long legs meant he could have outpaced her.
Robin’s mind raced with possibilities. The guard’s expression gave no clue as to what she’d find once she got there. Was Octavian dead? Wounded? Was Rafe with him? What had happened?
She passed through the open gate of the castle and saw a cluster of riders on horseback, all looking worn out.
And there he was, right in the middle of the group. He looked battered and worse for wear, and one arm was wrapped in a bloody bandage, but he was riding under his own power, upright and alert.
“Oh, praise God,” she breathed. “Thank you for sparing him.”
Torin pulled her forward. Everyone was drawn to the new presence of Octavian.
Then Octavian saw her and smiled. “Told you I’d catch up.”
Chapter 31
Octavian expected Robin to havea tart comment ready, or at least to laugh. Instead, she just stared at him, looking as if she might fall over at any moment. The very young man who stood next to Robin put a hand to her elbow, steadying her.
Before Tav could ask her anything more, his attention was taken by Rafe, who’d remained close by him as they rode into the castle gates. Rafe dismounted, already calling for the gates to be closed after all the riders were accounted for. He gestured for someone to help Tav down, which was good because Tav’s left arm pained him so much that he had difficulty using it or putting any pressure on it.
When his feet hit the ground, he looked for Robin again, but there were too many people and horses crossing the courtyard and crowding his vision. “Robin?” he called.
A woman emerged from the crowd, but it wasn’t Robin. It was Lady Angelet, wearing a relieved smile. “Sir Octavian! You are always welcome here, but you are very welcome today. We feared for you.”
“As you see, I’m alive and well…thanks to the timely arrival of Sir Rafe and his men.”
Rafe reached for his wife. “How are you?” he asked, surveying her carefully.
“I am quite well,” she replied softly. “No need to be concerned for my health.”
He squeezed her hand, tension clearing from his face.
Throughout her life, Angelet experienced visions and suffered from seizures that followed. It left her weak and helpless for hours at a time. Rafe did all he could for her, sending for healers and doctors, and even writing to the great universities in Paris for answers. But nothing seemed to prevent them, so Rafe watched over her to catch the earliest signs of an attack. In the aftermath of one, he babied her extravagantly, keeping her abed and not letting her so much as pick up an embroidery needle.
“Rafe worried that his leaving so abruptly might cause you distress,” Tav said.
“He worries over me far too much,” Angelet insisted.
“I love you,” Rafe told her. “The worry comes with that.”
She smiled at her husband. “I know.”
Tav watched them, still amazed at how much Rafe had changed after finding Angelet. Rafe had once been a cynical rogue who viewed women as diversions—to be enjoyed but never kept for long. Then he met Angelet, who took down his defenses simply by being herself. And now Rafe was married, the castellan of a strategic keep in the Marches, and a respected instructor for families to send their boys to so they could learn how knights fought. More proof that anything was possible.
Angelet now looked around the courtyard. “Where’s Robin? She should be here.”
“I saw her a moment ago,” Tav said. “Is she all right?”
“Robin’s fine,” a new voice spoke up. Pierce appeared from the shifting group of folk all milling around. “Prancing about the castle as if she lives here, and already surrounded by a retinue of boys who follow after her like puppies. Did you think she’d be pining?”
