Guy crossed the streets of Nottingham without hastening the pace of the horse. The city was deserted because of the heavy rain that forced people to stay in their homes. The few people who were forced to leave their houses ran along the streets to get wet as little as possible, but Gisborne let the horse go slowly towards the castle.
Although the black knight wore a heavy cloak that partly protected him from the rain, during the journey from Knighton he had taken enough water to be soaked and cold, but he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't care about those hardships.
He thought of his sister, condemned to a life of suffering because of him and now locked up in the dungeons of the castle, and the rain that tinged the town with gray seemed to him perfectly suited to his state of mind.
But he couldn't afford to give in to despair, he told himself, coming down from his horse and entrusting the reins to a servant: he was the only person who could help Isabella and he had to be strong to face Thornton and the sheriff.
He climbed the stairs of the castle and headed for the main hall without wasting time announcing his presence and requesting a meeting with the sheriff. From experience he knew that he would find him there.
Vaisey sat on the wooden throne at one end of the long table and Archer stood behind him, in the position that once belonged to Gisborne.
Guy met his brother's gaze for a moment and the flash of approval in Archer's eyes made him realize that he had chosen a good time to show up.
Fortunately, Thornton wasn't present.
Vaisey looked at the black knight, vaguely surprised.
"Oh, Gizzy. What's the reason to have the annoyance of your presence? Have you found any other imaginative way to make you look ridiculous and do you want to show it to us?"
Guy ignored the sheriff's scornful tone, bowed slightly, and he talked to him in a respectful but firm tone.
"I have come to know that my sister is a prisoner in the dungeon of the castle, my lord."
"Oh, yes, an unpleasant story, that one. I've told you often in the past, but you never wanted to listen to me, Gisborne. Women, all without exception, are worse than disgrace. Lepers, from first to last. Lady Isabella tried to escape the sacred bond of marriage by fleeing from her husband's house and she was found together with Robin Hood. Only this could be enough to have her executed: complicity with an outlaw is punishable by death."
Guy held his breath for a moment before turning back to the sheriff.
"My lord, I'm sure my sister has nothing to do with Hood."
Vaisey stared at him.
"It's the same thing Thornton said. The name of his wife can't be associated with that of a common outlaw, so it must surely have been Hood who kidnapped her against her will. What do you think, Gisborne?"
Guy tried not to show the hatred he felt for Thornton and he forced himself to nod.
"It must be so, without any doubt," he said, softly.
"But I can't let her go," Vaisey said in a falsely sorry tone. "You see, Gizzy, your sister still got away from home, that she wanted to meet up with Hood or not, and I can't allow such a situation happen again. I have some business to do with Thornton and if his wife could be kidnapped by the outlaws, it would be bad for me too. In a normal situation I would let her husband take care of her as he sees fit, but for the moment Thornton has other things to think about and his presence is required in Nottingham, so the only way to ensure the safety of his wife is to keep her here at the castle."
"In the dungeons, my lord?"
"See Gizzy, she was found with Hood, if it were to happen again, I would have no choice but to hang her. If she's locked down there it's just for her own sake, I'm not going to waste any guards to watch her."
"Entrust her to me. I am her brother, I will bring her to Knighton and I will take every responsibility for her actions."
Vaisey shook his head.
"It would be convenient for everyone, I could take it into consideration. A clue: no. Gizzy, you showed me very well that I can't trust you or anyone who has anything to do with you. And after all, your sister is a Gisborne, isn't she? Forget it. That woman will not step out of her cell except to climb the steps to the gallows or to return to Shrewsbury with her husband."
Archer glared at Guy and Gisborne forced himself to stay calm and not rush to the sheriff to punch him.
"Well, my lord, I ask to speak with my sister, then."
"I don't like your tone at all, Gisborne, but if you really want to spend time in the dungeons, feel free to do it. Indeed, if you care so much I could free a cell for you and leave you to rot beside your beloved little sister."
"I'll settle for talking to her."
Vaisey shrugged indifferently.
"Archer, accompany him. If he tries to do anything to free Lady Isabella, stop him."

Guy followed Archer out of the hall and the two brothers walked in silence for a while.
"Are you all right, Guy?" Archer asked, as soon as he was sure there was nobody within earshot. "What happened to you last night? You have a bad cut on your forehead..."
Gisborne shook his head as if to say it wasn't important.
"Don't worry about it, it was just a misunderstanding, but it's all right now. I'll tell you everything in detail if you want, but not here."
"Just be careful."
"Thanks for warning me, the other night. If you hadn't done that, I don't know how it would have ended."
"They told me what the Nightwatchman did to make Hood escape. That man must be completely crazy," Archer said with a grin and Guy smiled.
"Maybe."
Archer patted him on the shoulder.
"Crazy and lucky. But it's better to pay attention, luck never lasts forever. Be careful, all right?"
"If I hadn't been careful, now the sheriff would need some other spare tooth."
Archer burst out laughing, then they both stopped talking as they approached the corridor leading to the dungeons. The jailer went to meet them, staring at Guy malignantly.
"Did you arrest him, finally?" He asked Archer.
"No. Now you can go, I'll stay on guard."
The man stared at him suspiciously, then he decided to obey and walked away, still looking at Gisborne with malevolence.
They waited for him to leave, then Archer waved Guy down the stairs.
"Go. I'll wait here and make sure no one comes close. Isabella is in the cell at the back, a little isolated from the other prisoners, if you speak in a low voice nobody will hear you."

Isabella hugged her knees, shivering with cold. The cell was dark and damp, and the clothes she had received by Meg weren't thick enough to keep her warm, but even if she had a fur cloak, she had the impression that she would never be able to ward off the chill she felt inside.
Two nights. Only two nights.
In almost seventeen years she had felt safe and warm only during the two nights she had spent in the arms of Robin Hood, but he, like everyone else, had abandoned her.
For once she was glad that he had done it, because if he hadn't escaped with that mysterious masked man, Robin would surely have been killed, but she couldn't help but feel desperately alone in the world.
She winced as she heard the footsteps of a man descending into the dungeons and she curled in a corner of the cell, as far as possible from the bars.
When the soldiers had captured her, her husband had hit her hard with some violent slaps, but he had kept his control in front of his men. Then the sheriff had her locked up in the dungeons and his aide, Archer, had not allowed anyone to enter her cell, not even Thornton, but she was sure her husband would find a way to make her pay harshly for her escape and she feared the moment when this would happen.
Now she was terrified that the moment had arrived.
She saw a shadow appearing on the floor of her cell, but she didn't dare to look up to see who it was.
"Isabella."
The woman looked up suddenly. It wasn't the voice of her husband, she was sure of that, but in the shadows of the dungeons it took a few seconds to recognize her brother.
"Guy."
The enormous relief in seeing that it wasn't Thornton who came to inflict a punishment was replaced by the resentment she felt for the person who had condemned her to hell.
"This is your fault," she hissed and she saw him bow his head.
Guy leaned his hands against the bars of the cell, as if it was too difficult for him to stand up.
Isabella's words had struck him straight in the heart and he still could hear in his memory her desperate supplications when he had left her behind in the forest, abandoning her again to save Robin Hood.
For a moment he was certain that Isabella knew what he had done, that she had recognized her unworthy brother under the mask of the Nightwatchman.
"I know. I'm sorry," he whispered.
Isabella looked at him, looking at his tired and dejected face and his pallor reminded her of the moment when she had seen him on the ground after the tournament, motionless and wounded.
To think him dead had caused her pain, yet she hated him for what he had done.
She felt like crying, but pride pushed her to try to resist tears.
"Why? Why did you make me marry him? I didn't care about having a luxurious life, I would have been satisfied with what we had. Didn't I do it for three years? Were you so anxious to get rid of a burden?"
"You've never been a burden!" Guy shouted and Isabella was surprised to see that he was the one who had burst into tears first. "You're my sister, the only family left to me, how could you be a burden?!"
"Why did you sell me, then?"
"Just because of those three years. I know you would have followed me, that you would have adapted to live on the street, but for how long? How long before hunger, cold or sickness would take you away from me? Or if I were the one to succumb first, what would you have done alone in the world? How could I endure seeing you grow weaker and thinner, knowing that you were in that situation because of me? How could I watch you die after I ripped everything away from you?! How many times I wanted to go back, how many times I hated myself for having started that fire! But I couldn't do anything about it but carrying that weight every day of my life and knowing that it will always accompany me to the day of my death. I hated myself so much... And sometimes I saw the same hatred in your eyes, you knew it was my fault and, even if you did not say anything, I know that you considered me the only responsible for your suffering."
"And why did you put me in the hands of a demon?"
"I didn't know, I did not know how he was, I swear. He was rich, he was young and handsome, he could offer you everything I couldn't give you, and I admit he would also allow me to have a chance in life. I was convinced that without seeing the face of the murderer of our parents you would have been happier, that without me you would have a new chance to start again... But I couldn't imagine how bad he could be, I would never have imagined it if it wasn't him who told me..."
As he spoke, Guy had slipped to his knees, gripping the bars of the cell in his hands and Isabella approached, sitting on the ground in front of him.
"Did he tell you what he did? When?"
Guy gave a shaky sigh, trying to stop crying and he raised his face to look at her.
"During the tournament."
"Is that why he managed to hurt you?"
Guy nodded.
"And it is for the same reason that I got up. I wanted to kill him, Isabella, I didn't want anything else."
"But you didn't."
"If I killed him, the sheriff would have me hanged. And I would have dragged with me too many people who wouldn't deserve it. Innocents. People I love."
"Innocents like I once was."
"Yes."
They sat in silence for a while, then Isabella looked at her brother. He wasn't lying, she felt it, but she couldn't forget the years of pain she had suffered because of him.
"Why are you here, Guy? To wash your conscience?"
"I'll save you from him. I swear to you, sister."
"How? How can you do it?"
"If I had the chance, he would already be dead."
"But the gallows scare you. Convenient, don't you find?"
"If it were enough to give up my life to free you, I would do it without hesitation, but there are others whose lives I would destroy if I were hanged for the murder of Thornton. Maybe yours too. The sheriff could accuse you of being my accomplice, he would kill you in front of my eyes only to take revenge and to make me suffer more."
"So? If you can't do anything, why are you here?" Isabella said, icily.
"I'll find a way. I asked Tuck to look for information on the possibility of an annulment of the marriage, maybe he will find something."
"Who's Tuck?"
"A friar. He saved my life, he's trying to save my soul and maybe he can save you too."
Isabella shook her head with a bitter smile.
"Specialized in desperate cases then."
Guy gave her a sad smile.
"Maybe. But I swear to you I won't rest until I have saved you. I won't give up, Isabella, I won't let him hurt you again. I don't know how long it will take, but you won't have to fear that monster anymore, don't doubt it."
"And in the meantime I'm locked up here as a criminal."
"These bars are strong and only Archer has the key. You can trust him, he will help you and above all he won't open the door of your cell, he won't allow anyone to enter. No one, not even your husband. You're a prisoner, it's true, but this prison is also your salvation, a safe haven."
Guy took off the cloak he had worn to ride in the rain and he passed it through the bars to put it on his sister's shoulders.
"I will make you have warmer clothes, better food and a more comfortable bed, Archer will think of everything and if you need to see me or talk to me tell him, he will contact me."
Isabella stared at him.
"Are you doing all this to get my forgiveness, Guy?"
The brother shook his head.
"I just want to have a chance to fix what I did. I will not ask you for forgiveness because I probably don't deserve it, but I promise I will do everything to protect you. When you are free, if you prefer it, you can also decide that you don't want to see me anymore, but until then let me help you, I won't ask you anything else."
Isabella approached the bars of the cell without answering, then, driven by a sudden impulse, put a hand on her brother's shoulder. Guy jumped at the unexpected contact and he looked at her.
"Once I trusted you, I thought you would protect me from anything," Isabella said, looking into his eyes. "I never imagined you could hurt me so much, and I swore to myself that I wouldn't let you do it again. Now I will break this oath and I'll give you one last chance. One. Don't betray me again, brother."
Guy nodded, too moved to speak and he stretched his arms between the bars to hold her. Isabella was about to back off, but she didn't. Guy was a warm spot in the cold of the prison and if Isabella closed her eyes, his arms still felt like those of the boy he had been, those of her brother capable of protecting her from anything.
Among them were the metal bars, cold and hard, and, even colder, a wall of doubt, pain and betrayal, but a little heat could pass all the same.
Isabella was afraid of believing in Guy, she feared that if she stopped hating him she would end up suffering again, but she couldn't help but hope that the words he had said were true.
Don't betray me again, brother. Please.