landlesslord: (grintastic)
He had been to Knighton Hall earlier, full of high spirits, but had been turned away by Edward. No matter, she would see him now and nothing would stop him, aside for perhaps a slight uneasiness he felt in the pit of his stomach. It was easy to act when she was set to leave for certain, easy to plan and decide what he should immediately do, but now with her remaining in Nottingham the path was not so certain. The plans he had made had been forgotten when the short-term need was to prevent her from becoming too far out of reach and now he struggled to rework and reassemble them. There was marriage, yes, but that would still far in the distance between them.

As luck would have it, Marian was outside in the garden when Guy approached the house and there would be no way for her to completely avoid speaking to him, for a short time at least. Though she was unusually short with him, it would take a far more drastic turn of events to spoil his good mood. When he followed her inside though, he found himself almost at a loss for words. The careful planned speech of his journey here had fled his thoughts and Guy felt oddly unsure. Honesty then, would be the best tactic. If he would share part of himself with her, then perhaps she would do the same for him in time. And while he was not accustomed to Marian's new plain-speaking, he appreciated her measure of truth in return. He would earn the right, in her eyes, to show feeling and concern for her and he was glad that he would now have the chance to do so, even if she would not look at him and moved away from him as he moved closer to her.

That her father had not revealed the Abbess's true nature to her and her reaction to the news of the nun, but more to that of her father's omission, were very interesting. Perhaps there had been some conflict between father and daughter, though Marian explained her father's action quickly, if absently.

Time was pressing and, as much as he would prefer to remain longer with Marian, he must do what he had set out to do. He had found an ornate trinket box, purchased it at a significantly reduced price from the travelling salesman, who had petitioned the Sheriff to return his confiscated goods that he might sell them, and had brought it as a gift for Marian. No doubt she would try to object to his generosity, but he would not give her that opportunity.

"There are other people who would like to be kind to you," he placed the box on the table. "If you would let them."

With that, Guy left Knighton Hall, mounted his horse and rode back to the castle, where he would have to deal with the trader that wanted his goods returned.
landlesslord: (neutral)
The sheriff had summoned him, but Guy couldn't think of any particular reason why. The Abbess had been dealt with, her retinue would be arriving later to return her to Rufford. There was some plan to deal with Robin Hood, though Vasey had been very circumspect with saying exactly what it was. The tax money had been collected and was safely stored away until it would be time for it to be transported further south. Perhaps it was some plan to execute prisoners in new and more vicious ways. If he was more honest with himself, Guy had better things to do, but when the Sheriff called, it was his job to come running and so he tried not to think about it too much and just get on with it.

---


The news that Marian was going to ask to join the convent did not go down well with Guy. In fact, when the Sheriff had announced that she was going to petition the Mother Superior, the idea that it would be to ask to join her was the furthest thing from his mind and it would be a lie to say that he was pleased with the proposition. It would be a lie to say that he was merely angry.

Guy was seething inside.

He might have understood if she had cared to mentioned it earlier, but it had disappointed him and now it left him cold and bitter-hearted. Learning obedience indeed! A likely story. No, he was well aware of her feelings for him and she was doing it to frustrate him, to discourage and reject his efforts towards her. Guy sighed and rubbed his temple with a gloved hand. This wasn't part of his plan. He would have to talk to Marian. Try to convince her to change her mind.

---


What could Marian have to discuss with the Abbess? And at such length? Guy was not a patient man and waiting for Marian to emerge from the chapel did nothing to improve his mood.

He heard he enter the corridor and close the door to the chapel behind her and then take six sure steps away from him before speaking. Marian looked surprised that he should have waited for her, but seemed to regain her composure quickly. The time waiting had given Guy time to think, and while he was still a little bad-tempered, he was no longer so darkly angry and more... irritated. And slightly hurt.

A hurt which grew, after he had stepped from the shadows he had lingered in to ask her why she had not mentioned these plans before. His intentions towards her had always been clear. He had always treated her in the way proper to her station and played the attentive suitor. It might be taking a long time, but Guy was determined that he should do this right. That Marian did not seem to care that he was slighted, perhaps, provided the greatest hurt. That she was so eager to go.

As Marian turned away, he grabbed her arm - maybe not the most proper way to catch her attention, but Guy did not want to lose this chance.

"I thought we were friends." He couldn't quite meet her eyes. "I thought in time...you would consider..."

"What?" Marian. Ever eager to hurry away from talking with him.

"Marriage."

Wasn't it obvious? Here he was, trying to share his feelings with her and all she can do is smirk like he is worth nothing to her. But for a moment, near her, with his hand still holding onto her arm, he had forgotten not to expect any sympathy from her; that she would feign ignorance of his intentions, when it was clear for the world to see. That maybe, now, she would relent in her ceaseless mere tolerance and politeness and display some affection for him.

She would not marry him, but she would wed herself to the Church? Marian left him feeling hollow inside.

---


Sheriff Vasey had been pontificating about some great plan for oppressing the people that Guy had not really been listening to, being too preoccupied with thoughts of Marian still. His plans would be fruitless, of course, with Robin still causing trouble among the peasants. So it was with well-founded disbelief that he heard the tax-counter's grand statement. Robin Hood was not foolish enough to get locked in the vault, surely? The Sheriff seemed to be expecting him though and his command for Guy to give the man a "big kiss" made him both disturbed and slightly put out. Not that he had been told to be over-familiar with this man, but that he had somehow achieved something that should have been Guy's achievement. There was some tension between his superior and this man though and Guy was a little surprised to hear that the man was to be paid five hundred pounds. He just hoped that the Sheriff's generous reward was truly well-earned.

---


When Guy heard the commotion in the courtyard, he called together some of the guards and hurried to see what was happening. With Robin in the castle the sound of fighting did not bode well. Though on considering the scene before him, Guy felt an unexpected lifting of his spirits. Combat with Robin Hood would certainly make him feel better. The chance to defeat the thorn in his side would be hard to pass up, but it would seem that today would not be his day for battle. Robin would not satisfy him and he even dared to deny that it was him that had ambushed the pilgrims. To make matters worse, Guy was forced to allow these outlaws to escape or risk the Sheriff's life, which he was not yet prepared to do.

---


The Lord Vasey seem strangely troubled though. More anguished than furious for a change and Guy could barely keep up with him as he flew through the castle hallways, up stairs and through the door to the chapel. Seeing the state of the chapel, however, and more importantly the empty state of the chests of tax money was enough to explain the Sheriff's reaction. Even if it also meant that he could not understand why Guy was so pleased to learn that they had been duped by a faux nun, nor why Guy immediately hurried away in the direction of Ravenskeep.
landlesslord: (Default)

Freshly returned to Nottingham from Milliways, the first thing Guy is to report to the Sheriff and, on finding that he had not been missed at all (not exactly a surprise) and that almost no time had passed since he had entered the Bar and spent so many weeks trapped there (something of a surprise), decides not to mention his sojourn at the Bar at the End of the Universe. There is no need to appear a madman before the Sheriff and a revelation of this kind would not likely earn the confidence of Lord Vasey or the respect of his peers. Besides, Guy is not certain that it was not a dream, now that he is in Nottingham.


So, on learning that he is not needed by the Sheriff and though suspecting that there is something that he is holding back from him as the Sheriff seems unusually pleased with himself, Guy sets off to visit Marian. It may not be long since she last saw him, but it has been almost an eternity since he was last graced with her presence and the time away from her and life in Nottingham has strengthened his resolve to win her favour - he had plenty of time to think and something that his mother had told him when he was young.

"If you have wronged somebody, or if they are upset, do not be proud, offer them friendship. If they reject you, offer a second time and a third, until they accept."

It had worked when he was a boy and he had made a lifelong friend after an initial disagreement and he had always trusted his mother's counsel, especially after his father had died.


But Guy barely makes it out of the castle gate when he sees the nun stumble and fall, almost delirious on the bridge, and rushes to her aid. A cold steely rage creeps into his heart on hearing the Abbess's tale of ambush in the forest, the attack on her and the pilgrims in the wood and the outlaws who had caused her retinue to flee in fear.


With the rage is a thread of concern for Marian though - she sometimes goes out to wander and ride alone, understandable since her father's health sometimes prevents him from accompanying her, and she will not be able to protect herself from the likes of Robin and his men (for surely, it is they who have shamefully attacked this group of pilgrims) and, on calling some of the guards to assist the Abbess, remounts his horse and rides on to Knighton Hall.



---


Barely seeing Edward as he dismounted and approached the house, Guy only took note that he had said that Marian was out by the side of the house and strode determinedly in that direction and then stopped when he saw her. She was certainly a relief to his eyes and he was glad to see her, though she did not seem to be happy to see him. No matter, that could change in time. That would change in time.


He had hoped for more time with Marian, but recent events had changed that and it could not be helped. At least he could give her the gift he had brought and warn her of the danger of the outlaws. In time, he hoped Marian would see him in a better light, but for now it was up to him to earn her trust. Even if she did try to reject his gifts. For all her virtues, Marian did infuriate Guy and she did not seem to heed his warnings, but there was nothing he could do about that for the time being - he would have to tend to the Abbess and of course, she did not want him to remain there longer. That too would change, one day. He would just have to keep trying to win her favour.



---


Back in Nottingham Castle, Sheriff Vasey did not seem overly concerned that the Abbess had been attacked. In fact, he showed no regard at all for any man or woman of the cloth - especially those with any measure of power. He did have a point about them being parasites though, living off the good nature and faith of the people. At least he was not wary of saying exactly what he thought to the Abbess, it was a perverse kind of honesty - but not at all unexpected considering the Sheriff's nature. And it was a little amusing to be able to witness their verbal sparring.


The Sheriff did not want to use the unfortunate attack on the pilgrims as an opportunity to turn the people against Robin Hood though, which would certainly have been to Guy's benefit - anything that would damage the Robin's standing with the peasants or remove him from interfering with Guy's plans for Marian and their future together would be to his benefit. He did have some plan though and if it was not directly to Guy's benefit, a plan to do even as little as inconveniencing Robin gave him some measure of satisfaction. All the better if the plan would involve capturing him, as Guy suspected.

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landlesslord: (Default)
Sir Guy of Gisborne

April 2012

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