Page 95 of Peregrine's Call
“Just went to the hall to break his fast. Torin was there too, and by the time I joined them, they’d been talking for a while. Pierce was asking Torin all about Coventry—that’s where Torin’s from, you know.”
“What does Pierce care about Coventry?”
“I think he was just making conversation. Asking about the land around, and if Torin ever went hunting in the woods nearby—where the best places were for game and such, which rivers were wide and which were narrow enough to ford, and which had the best fishing. He loves to talk. Lord Pierce, that is. Torin’s rather quiet, but he got him chattering like nothing.”
Robin nodded. Pierce was always good at charming others, even boys he had no need to manipulate into alliances. It was just in his nature to draw people out and get them talking.
“Then Pierce said he had to go speak to Sir Octavian,” Acer added.
Yes, and Robin knew how that had gone.
“Would you keep an eye on him throughout the day, if you can?” she asked Acer.
“We’ve got to practice,” he said. “But after that, I’ll watch.”
“If you see anything else strange, let me know. Should we meet here again after supper?”
Acer gave a bow—he was a budding charmer himself. “As you wish, my lady.”
The boy strolled off, leaving Robin in no better state than before. First she overheard Octavian revealing his true thoughts and crushing her soul, and now Pierce was up to something. Could any man in the world be trusted?
A headache began to pulse at her temples. She decided to return to her room and hide until she could think clearly again.
But even in her room, she wasn’t permitted to sulk alone. First Angelet came by, all concern and commiseration for Robin’s mostly imaginary illness. Then, not long after, Octavian himself walked in while Robin was sitting by the window, inhaling the brisk air blowing in from the west.
“Robin?” he asked, with every suggestion of concern. “I heard you weren’t well.”
“I’d be better if I wasn’t bothered every quarter hour.” Her voice came out bitter, and she hated how fragile she felt.
Tav regarded her in silence for a terribly long moment, then just said, “I won’t stay long, though you did want to talk.”
She had said that. Last night when she was still caught up in a dream. “Later,” she managed.
“Good.” Tav nodded as if everything were settled. “But perhaps not too much later? Pierce says he wants to continue to London as early as tomorrow.”
“Well, you were charged with doing so, weren’t you?” she asked listlessly.
“Robin? What’s wrong?” Tav looked at her, frowning. Before, she would have confidently shared her every thought. Now, she doubted if he cared about her in the slightest, and was just being polite.
“I slept poorly. That’s all.”
“I thought you slept well enough,” he countered in a low voice. Then he came forward and touched her chin, raising her face to peer at it. “Robin, if you need to truly rest, you can stay here at Martenkeep,” he said. He gave her a smile. “I can find the way from here. No more hidden paths in the Ardenwood that only you know how to navigate.”
So that was her sole usefulness after all…just as a guide through the Ardenwood. “I imagine you’ll want to get to London as soon as possible. And from there, who knows?” Probably back to the Continent, or the Levant, as far from Robin as he could get.
Tav gave her an odd look. “It’s true that the earlier we get Pierce to London, the better. But I don’t like the thought of leaving you, especially if you’re not well.”
She said, “I’m not sick. I told you, it was just that I slept poorly.”
“Robin,” he said, reaching for her.
Robin wanted so badly to step into his embrace. She wished he would just hold her and let her shelter with him, trusting that he’d be a bulwark against whatever the world plagued her with.
“Robin, you’re not just tired. What’s—” Before he could go on, the sound of someone in the hallway made him drop his arms and step away from her.
A maid came in with more firewood, and Tav walked toward the door, saying he hoped to see Robin at supper that evening. She didn’t even answer.
She spent the afternoon brooding, but did join the others in the hall for the evening meal, more to keep Angelet from worry than any desire to be among people.
