I’m writing this Robin Hood fan fiction over on my Patreon, and originally it was just going to be Robin and his son, a two-POV story. But then at one point Robin leaves the court to go off on an adventure, leaving Marian behind (she’s not a maid anymore, obviously), and she’d been an interesting enough character to write that I wanted to continue. So she’s getting a POV section too. Here she’s sitting with a wolf who’s high up in the court, who previously was trying to flex his power over Robin in multiple ways, including in bed.
The wolf did indeed arrive with the rest of the royal party, talking to the young king. He broke off with a smile when he saw Marian sitting alone, and went over to meet her.
Youth, Marian thought. In his place, she would’ve made herself wait before coming over. He was too eager. But she smiled. “My Lord Chester.”
“My Lady Huntingdon.” He sat beside her, sweeping his tail to the side. “You look lovely tonight.”
“I thank you, my Lord. I put on my second-best gown for you.”
He tilted his head. “Only second-best?”
“The best one is still drying from the rain. I wore it the night before we set out, you remember?”
“I do.” But whether he really did or not, he didn’t pursue the subject further. “I’m so pleased you agreed to my company this evening.”
“I wasn’t aware that I was given a choice.”
His ears flicked and he smiled. “You always have a choice. Only some choices are more advisable than others.”
She pretended not to hear the veiled threat. “Will I have a chance to speak to the King? I have not had the pleasure on this trip and I should greatly like to get to know him better.”
“We will see how the evening goes. Tell me, has there been any word from your husband?”
She shook her head. “How could there be? Even if he sent the messenger back, he would not even have had time to get to France by now.”
“Of course. How foolish of me.”
Marian tried to remember the names of the ladies who had accompanied Ranulf to previous dinners. There had been no wolves, but one fox, and a hare. The hare’s name she remembered. “I do hope Lady Evelyn will not be jealous that you keep my company.”
Ranulf seemed surprised by this. “Why should she be? There’s no agreement between us.”
“I just thought the two of you seemed well-suited. She laughed quite a lot, as I recall.”
“Of course she did. There’s little enough room in her head for any thought but laughter.”
This, Marian thought, was an unkind assessment of Lady Evelyn. The hare was good-natured to a fault, but Marian thought that her lack of depth in thought was not because she could not apply thought to problems, but because she chose not to. Sometimes Marian envied that path. “Well, I’m glad of your company,” she said. “The Gloucesters are lovely, but we have rather exhausted our topics of conversation.”
“Oh?” Ranulf tilted his head. “And what topics of conversation would you pursue with me tonight?”
“First, I am curious what entertainment is being provided.”
He snorted, she was sure because he divined the distraction she intended in that question. “I believe Winchester has procured tumblers. There will be roast fowl and bread from his own kitchen, wine from his cellars, and after the tumblers but before the dinner, he will proclaim his loyalty to the King. There are minor nobles from his lands here.” He gestured down toward the door, where several groups of less well-dressed people sat.
“I saw them. Do you know who they all are?”
He shook his head. “Winchester would, if you’re truly interested.”
She was not. But the conversation was polite and safe, so she kept it moving along those lines: Ranulf’s relationship with his own minor nobles, the way the rain would be good for the harvest, how splendidly everyone was dressed. This lasted until the tumblers had almost finished, when Ranulf said, very conversationally, “Why would Robin want so badly to escape me?”
There it was. Marian smiled as pleasantly as she could. She thought but did not ask, why do you think Robin’s departure was about you, conceited prick? That question would admit to other motives in Robin’s flight. She riposted, “Why do you want so badly to keep him here?”
He had not expected that. His ears went back and his lip curled up for a brief moment. “His place is here,” he said, a little louder than maybe he’d intended, because with the next remark he lowered his voice. “He agreed to be part of this tour.”
“So you want him to remain only to affirm Huntingdon’s loyalty to the king?” Marian spread her paws. “That is what I am doing, am I not?”
Again the wolf’s lip twitched. “The people on this tour will have been expecting to see the legendary Robin Hood.”
“Surely the legendary Madame Marian is better than nothing.”
“Did you, in fact, best old Sheriff William?” Ranulf asked archly.
“On one occasion, though that story is not well known.” She allowed herself a smile.
“You know well—”
“I know well,” she cut him off, “that there is more reason for you to want Robin here than simply to parade before the nobles.” His expression of mild surprise piqued her, so she added, in a low voice, “and I shall discover what it is.”
Late to the party but: I like this Madame Marian! Also I'm not well conversant with the legend of Robin Hood, but I do like the references to it... The story has past, but the players are still on the stage, as it were.