Page 112 of Peregrine's Call
They sat by the fireplace, the heat blazing forth from the hot stones.
Tav looked as calm as ever, but Robin could sense how nervous he was. “My lord,” he began, “you are Robin’s guardian. So it’s you that I come to…for your blessing, in fact. I want—”
“He wants your permission to marry me,” Robin broke in, “though if you don’t give it, we’ll marry anyway because I love him.”
Rainald smiled slightly, not looking nearly as surprised as Robin expected. “You love him? That is good, but not enough.”
“What more do you need to give your blessing?” she asked.
“Octavian,” Rainald said, “why do you want to marry my little Robin?”
“Because I adore her,” Tav replied. Robin’s heart soared at the words—he’d told her he loved her, but now he was saying it aloud to another person, and she recognized the difference.
“Can you provide for a wife?”
“I can try,” said Tav. “I have nothing to offer her in material goods. I have no land and no legacy. But I can earn a living by my sword, and I promise that I won’t eat unless she’s fed. I’ll do whatever I need to do.”
“A worthy sentiment, but not a practical one,” Rainald said. “What if you become injured? Or are killed? Who cares for Robin then? She needs more than promises.”
Robin looked at Tav anxiously, seeing that he had no counterargument. She knew Rainald was advocating for her, but if the result was that he’d refuse to let Tav and Robin marry, what good was it?
“I know the risks,” she said, leaning forward and reaching for Rainald’s hand. “And I don’t care. I’ll have Tav whether you like it or not! Why don’t you want me to be happy?”
He took her small hand in his larger ones, squeezing gently. “My dear, your happiness is all I want. That’s why I ask about your future as well as your present. I know Octavian’s heart is good, and there’s no one else I’d rather trust you to. But powerful as love is, it will not feed you or clothe you.”
“Then what can we do?” she asked, her voice breaking. Tav slipped an arm around her shoulders.
“You can accept a gift,” Rainald said.
Robin looked at him, confused. “A gift?”
“I decided years ago that you deserved more than providence offered you in your childhood. Therefore, I have set aside some land for you, to be yours legally upon my death. But I will make it a gift to you now. The land will provide the income necessary to support a knight and his family.”
Robin felt light-headed. “Land? For me?”
“Yes. I thought to give you my old estate of Aldgate, in the Long Forest. Not quite the Ardenwood, but I think you will feel a certain kinship with it.”
The generosity Rainald was showing rendered Robin speechless.
“That would…seem to solve the problem,” Tav said, also sounding stunned.
“Excellent. I shall see that a contract is drawn up to make the gift official, to have everything in place before the wedding, which will be here at Cleobury—I insist. And after you return from your journey, you will have a home ready for you.”
“Our journey? You know we intend to travel?” Robin asked, still overwhelmed.
“My darling, you are both inveterate wanderers. Anyone can see that. My Cecily needs a garden, my Robin needs a road. And there is no better man to travel that road with you than Octavian.”
Rainald stood up, and Tav did as well, waiting for the man’s next words. Rainald put one hand on the knight’s shoulder. “I give you my blessing, Octavian de Levant. You may have my sweet Robin’s hand in marriage, and though neither of you are of my blood, you have both found your way into my heart. I wish you great joy together.”
Tav bowed his head. “Thank you.”
“Thank you!” Robin did not bow her head, but instead threw her arms around Rainald. “Thank you!”
Epilogue
The news could not becontained, of course. Robin herself could not be contained. She rushed to Cecily to tell her first. Then they told Alric, and Luc, and Rafe. Rainald announced it at supper, as calmly as if it had all been planned for months.
Lord Drugo accepted the news that Octavian would not be joining him in taking Pierce to London, largely because Luc said he’d go instead.
