"He was a good man. It was only ever his love for you that stopped him from taking action." His fear of what it might mean for his daughter, if she were put in harms way. And Robin had understood that, though he had not been able to play the long game himself, as Edward had called it. He'd never been patient. And he had not been able to turn his back on his villagers.
And yet, in saving his villagers, in doing the right thing, he had allowed Marian to slip further from his grasp, with no time to know if she truly had forgiven him. Until recently, in fact, when she had brought such an abrupt end to her impending marriage to Gisborne, he had lost all hope.
It was perhaps because of that line of thought, that her next admission brought with it a look of surprise. "I did?" It was, whilst news that brought with it a thrill of delight, admittedly a little baffling. He had thought that she would want something more from him, before she would accept his hand. Had he finally then told her those three words for which he had never found the right moment?
He smiled, in response to hers, squeezing the fingers of her hand in his. "You're a marvel," he told her, with the smallest hint of cheek to his tone.