My Unfair Godmother(16)

“It’s not what it looks like,” I said.

He rolled his eyes in disgust. “Whatever. It’s your life. Who am I to stop you from wrecking it?”



61/356

He shut the door harder than he needed to.

I turned back to Robin Hood. “That was my stepbrother, Nick.”

“He bore no weapons,” Robin Hood said.

“People around here don’t carry weapons. It’s illegal, and it’s not polite either. Which reminds me, could you ask the Merry Men to sheath their swords?”

“The who?” Robin Hood asked.

“Your Merry Men,” I repeated. “That’s what history calls them.” Robin Hood chuckled at his men. “Did you hear that? History knows us, and thinks we are merry.”

“We’ve been called a far sight worse,” Friar Tuck said. He was standing by my jewelry box again.

Another man snorted. “I’d be merrier if I had a spot to eat.”

“I can get you food,” I said, then wondered what to serve them. In the movies, the Merry Men always ate fire-roasted rabbits and stuff like that. I would find something. “It will take me a few minutes,” I told Robin Hood. “Can you control your men until I get back?”

“Of course,” he said, like it was a ridiculous question.

As I put my hand on the doorknob, Robin Hood took hold of my elbow. “One question before you go. What does history say of me?” With his blue eyes staring down at me, and his hand touching my elbow, I felt like a giddy fan again. “You’re a hero. You robbed from the rich to give to the poor.”

“Ahh.” He nodded, processing this. “History has been kind.”

“I’ve got a book about you. You can have it if you want.” I went to my shelf and took down The Adventures of Robin Hood. “My father read this to me when I was a little girl.” I put the novel in his hands and felt myself blush. “I’ve admired you for a long time.” One of the men laughed and in a low voice said, “As have many women.”



62/356

I hadn’t meant it like that, but there was no explaining that now.

Besides, Robin Hood had smiled when I said I admired him. He flipped open the book, first looking at the pictures, then the text.

“I’ll be back soon,” I said, then slipped out the door.

Down the hallway, Dad and Sandra’s door was shut. The TV

blared from their room. They had probably turned it up in an effort to drown out my “iPod.” Good. I hoped that meant they would stay put. I took hold of my skirt and lifted it so I could hurry down the hallway without tripping over it. If my parents saw me, they would wonder why I was wearing a long dress and my hair was in a bun.

But I didn’t have a choice about my wardrobe right now. It was better to keep the men busy with food until Chrissy came back.

I was microwaving chicken nuggets when I heard the crash. It was a familiar enough noise since I had already heard it twice that night—the sound of a window shattering. I left the kitchen and ran back to my room. When I opened the door, Little John pointed a sword at me and yelled, “Halt!”

I did, not because of the sword, but because of what the Merry Men were doing. They had not only broken my window; they’d laid my comforter across the remaining shards in the window frame and were proceeding to climb outside.

“What are you doing?” I walked over to them, hands in the air.

“Do you know how expensive windows are? You could have just opened it.”

Robin Hood sent me a half smile and bowed slightly. “Though we appreciate your hospitality, we must be on our way.” Friar Tuck heaved himself out of the window. I was so agitated I made little steps toward it, then toward Robin Hood, then back to the window. “You can’t leave. You have nowhere to go.” 63/356

Robin Hood remained unworried. “We shall live off the land. It is our way.”

“You’re in the middle of a neighborhood,” I protested. “There’s no land to live off of.” I motioned for the men outside to come in. Not only did they ignore me, but more climbed out. “You won’t find any deer,” I told them. “We don’t have wild animals roaming around unless you count stray cats.” The men kept going out the window without regarding me. As I watched them leave, frustration rose in my throat.

“Robin,” I said, “don’t go.”

He smiled and tucked one of my ringlets behind my ear. His voice took on a silky tone. “I regret I cannot stay and fulfill your wishes in that regard.”

His men chuckled, and a few made comments about my wishes.

I flushed in embarrassment.

“ ’Tis true your beau, Bo, has failed you,” Robin Hood said, stroking my cheek, “but I’m unready to stand up with any woman, even one as beautiful as yourself.”