Page 48 of Rogue of the Greenwood
Her cousin simply nodded. Neither lady took a step or indicated they would follow him. They simply smiled agreeably, standing with hands behind their backs.
“Very well,” he said after too long. “We will be in the drawing room, just across from the stairway.”
“Thank you. We will join you in a moment.”
There was nothing further to say. Robert simply bowed and ignored their oddly cheerful smiles and obvious eagerness to be rid of him. If they needed a few more minutes before joining the men, he should not question it.
He returned to his men and was about to askGeorge Muchleigh to explain—once again—just how he had planned to get Miss St. John out of Nottinghamshire without incurring the wrath of her father. The ladies arrived almost immediately, though, interrupting him and inviting a few minutes of useless introductions and small talk.
Finally, things circled back to the emergency at hand. Much reassured everyone that he had no intention of being hauled back to Nottingham by the sheriff. Robert hated that he had to play an adversarial role, but he was forced to remind his friend that intentions meant little when there was no hope of following through. St. John and the sheriff absolutely had the upper hand.
“I don’t care what you say,” Miss St. John snapped at Robert petulantly. “I amnotgoing home. I will stay here with George.”
Oddly enough, Robert found that he had an ally in Miss Maidland.
“But Meg, be sensible. Just think what your father will do when he finds us!” she insisted. “Think what he’ll do to Mr. Muchleigh.”
“I’m not worried for myself,” Much said with determination. “I’ll stand up to St. John any day. It’s Meg that I worry for.”
“Then remind her what sort of man her father is,” Miss Maidland said. “He will send men to comb every inch of Sherwood until Meg is found. He will punish everyone who harbored her, without mercy.”
Miss St. John went wide-eyes as the true of Marianne’s words could not be denied. “You’re right, of course, Marianne. I’ve ruined everything by running away. I’m sorry, George. Papawillfind me and then he’ll put you in gaol! Oh, you’ll be branded acriminal. What can we do?”
“We have to go home,” Miss Maidland said. “That’s why I came after you. If we go home now, before he finds us here, perhaps we can make an excuse. There will be no proof to connect Mr. Muchleigh with your disappearance, so he will be safe. Uncle Prinley will be angry at us for staying out too long and making him worry, but it will be no worse than that.”
“You mean, we will simply go home? As if nothing has happened?” Miss St. John asked.
“It does seem awfully simple,” Robert noted. “But have to admit that Miss Maidland makes a good point. If you go home, the searches will stop. If you are not found with Mr. Muchleigh—and do not mention his involvement—he can’t be implicated. All the problems are solved!”
Miss St. John’s bottom lip quivered. “Not all of them… I will still have to marry Mr. Reeve!”
Much clenched his fists. “I’ll never allow that to happen.”
“Of course it won’t happen,” Miss Maidland said and turned her wide, hopeful eyes onto Robert. “I’ll wager Mr. Locksley has some sort of plan to break Mr. Reeve’s power. It’s why he came back, why he’s been hiding here. Isn’t it, Mr. Locksley?”
He wished to God he could give her assurance. What plan did he have? He could not even walk into his own home, how on earth could he save Miss St. John from a bad marriage? He had begun to doubt he could save anyone.
The trusty vicar seemed to have a bit more faith. “Once Locksley resolves that issue about the mortgage on his estate, perhaps he will be in a position to get Mr. St. John to bargain.”
Miss Maidland cocked her head at the vicar’s words. “What does the man’s mortgage have to do with convincing Uncle Prinley to let Meg marry as she wishes?”
Robert said. “Unfortunately, your uncle seems to hold the mortgage on my estate.”
“But I thought you were not especially fond of my uncle,” she said. “Why would you take out a mortgage with him?”
“I didn’t,” he explained. “As I’ve told you, the mortgage is not real.”
“Then why are you so worried about it?” she asked.
“Because Gisborn and your uncle have convinced everyone that itisreal and they are using Mr. Reeve to enforce their corruption.”
“But what does this have to do with Meg being forced to marry Mr. Reeve?”
“It is, no doubt, the very reason that Mr. St. John wants Reeve for a son-in-law. He needs his complete loyalty. Forgive me for speaking badly of your family, ladies, but in order for Prinley St. John and my steward to have taken such a hold over everything here, they clearly are willing to do whatever they must to everyone around them. There is no telling how deep their corruption goes, or who could be hurt if I try to confront them. Before I can move, I need to understand just how powerful my enemies are. I can’t count on being protected by law if the very law has been corrupted.”
Miss St. John whimpered helplessly at his words, but Miss Maidland merely nodded.
“I see,” she said. “Even if you were to miraculously rise from the dead, they may have tied up your estate so that even you cannot access your funds—if theyhave not already stolen them from you completely. My uncle has ties to everyone of influence in Nottingham; you may not have authorized a mortgage, but I don’t doubt that he controls those who will enforce it. If he has involved a bank in the matter, no doubt they will take his side over yours.”
