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.