Page 89 of Peregrine's Call
The smile she gave the boy evaporated the moment she looked over at him. She gave a brief shake of her head and mumbled, “Probably nothing.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s not important,” she said. “A diversion for the boy…something to occupy him. That’s all.”
It clearly was not, but Tav couldn’t interrogate her in the middle of the dining hall. So he’d just have to wait till he could speak to her alone.
That might be difficult, considering how she seemed to be avoiding him ever since he got to Martenkeep. She hadn’t gone to his room once, despite Angelet and Rafe stopping by several times. She could have joined them for any visit. And then there was this strange aloofness, which was so unlike Robin, who normally wore her heart on her sleeve. Was he imagining it? Because she was dressed so finely, with her glossy hair falling down her back rather than in her practical braid, was he assuming her behavior was also different?
No. His Robin was an honest, even blunt, person who never kept silent when she had something to say. This Robin was mysteriously circumspect. Entirely too…ladylike.
When Robin excused herself after the meal, Tav waited only long enough for her to leave the room, then he also stood.
“What’s wrong, Octavian? Are you not well?” Angelet asked, her eyes wide with concern.
“I just need some air,” he said, wondering how many steps Robin was from him right now. “And then I’ll rest.”
“We’ll send the doctor up,” she promised, but Rafe put a hand on her arm.
“Tav is on his feet and he’s a man who can ask for help if he needs it. Haven’t you got enough boys around to mother?” He grinned at Tav. “Go and get some air. I’ll tell the doctor to check on you…on the morrow.”
Tav nodded gratefully, and then left the loud, busy hall in search of Robin. He found her only after climbing a flight of curving stairs and then checking down two dark hallways.
A flash of pale silk the color of her dress caught his eye, and he quickened his steps. “Robin?”
She looked back and stepped aside as if to let him pass. “What are you doing here?” she asked when he stopped in front of her. She made a motion as if to dart back downstairs. “I should go.”
“Wait.” He reached out and put one hand against the wall to prevent her from sliding away.
Robin raised one eyebrow. “If you think you’re trapping me…”
“I don’t want to trap you, I want to talk to you.”
“We spoke all through supper.”
“Not true. In fact, you’ve hardly spoken to me since I got here.”
“You’ve been asleep for most of that time,” she countered, quite correctly.
Still, he wasn’t about to let her evade the question. “Not during the meal. I could have reached out and touched you, but you behaved as if I wasn’t even there.”
“I wish you would,” she said. Or he thought that was what she said.
“What?”
“Reach out and touch me.”
That was easy. He lifted his other hand and touched her face, right along her jawline, which was one of his favorite features of hers, since it was so often set to reveal her mood. Her skin was warm under his fingers, and he stroked up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. And then he had her hair in his hand, playing with the silky locks before he knew that’s what he wanted to do.
At his touch, her breath rushed out of her like a storm pent up for too long. “I was so scared,” she whispered. “I still don’t believe it. That you’re alive. And here.”
“I am,” he assured her. “I got through it and I’m in one piece.”
“I left you.” The words came out in a hiss. Angry words, but her anger wasn’t directed at him. She looked up at him, and he was surprised to see her eyes were glassed over with tears that hadn’t fallen. The anger was for herself, and he started to understand her reserve from earlier.
“Did you think I was upset withyou?” he asked. “I told you to go.”
“But I wanted to stay, so I could do something to help. Not just run away to where I couldn’t even see what was happening. I might have run to the other end of the world.”
