A/N: Chapter four up and ready. Hope any readers enjoy, and as always, reviews are always nice!
It had been a week since Marian and Juliana met Robin and Juliana had taken her father's money back to him. Since then, Marian had tried again, numerous times, to dissuade her from keeping company with him. To no avail, much to Marian's disappointment. Juliana had taken to going on daily rides with Sir Guy, and she and her father had been the sheriff's guests for dinner twice since then.
At the moment Marian looked up from reading to the old man whom she had been visiting along with Juliana and watched her friend with the man's wife. She sat with the woman, helping her prepare the couple's supper, and laughing. How she could one minute be so kind and gentle, and the next laugh at Marian's worries, she didn't know.
"Marian, we should be getting back." Juliana said as she wiped her hands on her apron and set the pot over the fire for the woman. "Father is going to be needing his tonics soon, after all."
"Yes, of course." Marian said as she stood up and placed the book on the bedside table. "I'll be around tomorrow, George, to finish the book with you." she added with a smile.
"Good." the old man said happily. "It's always a pleasure to see you, both of you."
"I'm glad you think so." Marian said as she pulled a shawl around her shoulders. "Because I plan to be here a lot."
The two young women said their goodbyes and headed back to Edward's house. They chatted about silly little things on their way. Dresses, hairstyles, who was about to marry who, who was seen with who. Marian wanted to try again to warn her friend, but decided against it.
"I'd not stay another minute in your house, Edward!" Sir Robert's voice boomed as the two approached the drive.
"You needn't leave, Robert." Edward was saying impatiently as he followed Robert out the door.
"You insult me, the way I conduct my business, and you expect me to share a roof with you?" Robert hissed. "The nerve!"
"Where will you go?" Edward asked. "Your house is not ready for you and Juliana to move into as yet." he reminded the other man.
"The sheriff has been so kind as to offer us accommodations at the castle." Robert said as he instructed his servants to pack his and Juliana's belongings.
Juliana and Marian looked at one another in confusion before Juliana went to her father to try to figure out what was going on.
"Edward is a dishonorable man." Robert replied to his daughter's question. "He's insulted me, and I cannot abide it."
"But father, to move to the castle, with people we hardly know, it seems a bit rash." Juliana protested.
"It was a bit rash to come back here to stay with people we'd not seen in six years, Juliana." Robert said as he barked orders to another servant. "The castle is a big place, I'm sure we're not likely to be too much in the way of the sheriff."
"Father..." Juliana tried again to reason with him.
"If Juliana wishes, she can stay with us." Edward said.
"No, she will come with her father." Robert said firmly. "See that the rest of your things are packed, and we'll be off." he ordered his daughter before going back in to see to his belongings.
"I guess I should go make sure nothing is left behind." Juliana said, still a bit confused by what was going on.
"I'll help you." Marian offered as she followed her into the house.
Juliana wandered around the halls of the castle completely lost. She'd been doing so for about an hour. The servant who'd shown her and her father to their rooms had offered to draw her up a map to help her find her way round, but Sir Robert dismissed him before Juliana could take him up on his offer.
She'd as yet not been able to get to the bottom of what had happened between her father and Edward, and with the mood he was in, she wasn't likely to.
Sir Robert had gone off for some sort of meeting with the sheriff and Sir Guy. She smiled to herself as she thought of the plan that had formed in her mind. With her father's money, she could finally carry them out. She just needed a little more time, and help. And, she knew just where to go for that help.
She stopped outside a door when she heard voices. One was her father's. Carefully pressing her ear to the door she listened as best she could.
"I always thought you loyal to King Richard." the sherrif said.
"Yes, well, it's not looking as though he's due back in England anytime soon." Sir Robert said. "And, I want to increase my fortune, now."
"And you think this idea is the best way to do so?" Sir Guy asked.
"Yes." Robert answered simply. "If we bring in this man, he can do incredible things."
"And he's quite costly." the sheriff said. "We'll need quite a bit of money to persuade him to come here."
"And quite a bit of money is exactly what I have." Robert said smugly. "And what is still needed, I have friends who can provide."
"That is very interesting." Guy said, chuckling a bit from what Juliana could hear.
"The man is a genius." the sheriff said. "I think he could solve a great many of our problems."
"So, do we have a deal?" Robert asked.
"Yes, I think so." the sheriff answered after a moment.
"Wonderful!" Robert said.
Juliana could hear the wooden legs of a chair scraping across the stone floor and assumed they were getting ready to leave. Quickly she headed back down the hall and waited until she heard the men come out of the room and nonchalantly walked their way.
"What are you doing here?" Sir Robert snapped when he saw her.
"I'm lost." she said simply. "You didn't allow time for that nice servant to draw me out a map, remember?"
"Well, you shouldn't be here." Robert said. "Go somewhere else until I need you."
"I would, if I knew where I was to begin with." Juliana said, a bit impatiently.
"There are some nice gardens." Guy said. "I can show you the way."
"Thank you, Sir Guy." Juliana said with a smile.
"If that is alright with your father, that is." he added as he looked to Sir Robert.
"Oh, go on." Robert said. "Just don't take her too far off in case I need something." he added. "It'll give me time to have some peace and quiet."
"Was it a very interesting meeting you've just had?" Juliana asked as she walked along with Guy.
"I have a feeling you already know the answer to that." he answered as they turned a corner.
"Perhaps." she said with a smile. "My father has no money, you know?"
"He's convinced he does." Guy replied. "Do you know something he doesn't?"
"Yes. Of course." she laughed. "I have his money. He thinks it's still en route from London."
"And where do you have this money?" Guy asked, becoming more and more curious.
"I don't think that matters." Juliana answered. "All that matters is that I have the money, and he doesn't."
"So, you want to buy your way in your father's place?" Guy asked as he led them through a set of doors that led into a garden.
"Yes." Juliana said simply.
"Do you even know what this plan is?" he asked.
"No, but it doesn't matter." she said. "So long as my father loses it, it could be a deal to bring all of the manure in England to Nottingham, and I'd be happy."
"So, why do you want in on a deal that you know nothing of the details?" he asked as they stepped into a hedge maze.
"To hurt my father." was her simple response.
"I have a sneaking suspicion that your father won't take kindly to this." Guy said.
"No, he won't." Juliana nodded.
"And he says he's got friends, some with enough money to help fund this little venture." Guy pointed out.
"He has no friends." Juliana informed him. "He has people that he bullies and blackmails."
"But he has something on them, which makes this idea of your's rather silly." Guy said.
"It's not silly." Juliana said as she stopped and looked up at him, eyes flashing with anger. "I have friends, real friends, and they will be taking care of those people whom my father refers to as his friends."
"The sheriff would have to agree to this." Guy said with a sigh. "And even with the money, I doubt he's going to want to share his glory with a teen-aged girl."
"That is where you come in, Sir Guy." Juliana smiled. "You have some sway."
"And, if I were to sway the sheriff in your favor, what do I get?" he asked.
"Anything." Juliana said.
"Anything?" he laughed.
"Give it some thought, and if you can think of it, I'll find a way to make it happen." Juliana said.
"Okay." he said with a nod. "I'll talk to the sheriff. And I will give my price some thought."
"I'm very happy to hear that." she said. "I am very curious as to what you'll name. I do hope it's something more exciting and original then gaining my help to win over Marian." she added as she started walking again.
"At this moment, the price I've in mind, has nothing to do with Marian at all." he assured her as he began to walk along with her again.
"I'm very glad to hear it." she said with another smile. "Very glad."