Chapter XXVII

Nottingham, September 9, 1194

Along the way, Violet asked for someone to precede them, in order to have a bedchamber readied for Allan. Guy complied and appointed Ralf, whose light wound wouldn't prevent him to gallop fast.

As they arrived, three hours later, they found two menservants ready with a stretcher. They placed Allan carefully on it and carried him to the chamber that had been prepared for him. Before following him, Violet checked again her husband's injured shoulder. The wound wasn't bleeding anymore, but nonetheless, she couldn't shake off the sense of deep apprehension she was feeling.

"Go and lie down", she ordered as a precautionary measure. "As soon as I'm finished with Allan, I'll come to you."

"Violet!"

They were all surprised in hearing Marian's voice. They turned toward the Countess of Huntingdon and saw her descending the staircase, heading for them. Her pregnancy, now at the end of the fourth month, was clearly visible and it was the sole reason she hadn't taken part in the pursuit of the abductors, but it hadn't prevented her to come to Nottingham and be there when they returned.

Violet ran to her and Marian hugged her.

"Are you all right?" the Countess asked, withdrawing to look at her friend.

"Aye, I'm all right", Violet reassured her. "But I must hurry to Allan's aid. He's rather seriously injured."

Marian paled, because Allan had helped her, going back to inform Robin and his men when she had been forced to follow Vaisey and Guy to the Holy Land. Besides, prior to this he hadn't betrayed her when he had found out that she was the Nightwatchman.

"Oh good heavens... Will he be alright?"

"I'll make sure of it", Violet affirmed with a determination that always surprised those who didn't know her well and therefore relied only on the sweet part of her personality, but that didn't surprise her friends at all. And not even her husband, who instead looked at her with renewed admiration and pride. What a great woman had entered his life, he thought. He still hardly believed it.

Taking once more charge of the situation, Violet turned to the others.

"I'll thank you all adequately, my friends, but not now", she announced. "Now I must take care of Allan. Drastan, please, see my husband to his room. He must rest. Rebelle, go back to Rivendale with Drastan as soon as he's done with Guy. Robin, take Marian home. Much, Little John, you too go home. And if you see Ralf, tell him to join me in Allan's bedchamber, will you?"

Everyone nodded, accepting her indications. Satisfied, Violet turned and rushed to her workroom, where she collected what she needed for Allan's treatment.

On the way to his bedchamber, she met Sally, who was looking for her.

"May I help you, my lady?" the maidservant asked. Violet jumped on the offer.

"Yes", she accepted. "Fetch me cold water and a few cloths, possibly fresh out of the laundry."

Sally nodded and hurried away.

When she entered Allan's room, Violet found him laying on the bed. They had removed his boots, but otherwise he was still fully clothed.

"Allan, I have to take off your breeches", she told him, approaching the bed and placing the bag with her stuff at the foot of it. He looked at her with glassy eyes. His brow was covered in sweat and he was clearly running a fever.

"Do what you must, my lady", he muttered. Violet proceeded to unfasten the belt he was wearing on his thigh and to undo the lace closing the fly of his breeches. To preserve her patient's modesty, she grasped one corner of the linen sheet and covered him from his chest to halfway his thigh, just above his injury. Then, she seized the sides of his breeches and pulled downwards. Allan moved to help her and she slipped off the bloodied garment, tossing it to the floor. The wound wasn't bleeding anymore, but the edges were swollen, reddened and too hot to the touch, all signs for an infection requiring immediate care.

Sally entered with an earthen ewer and cloths. Violet signalled to place everything on the small table next to the window.

"Pour the water into the basin", she instructed Sally, pointing to the cabinet with everything one needed to wash. Violet rinsed her hands and dried them carefully, then she took one of the cloths and soaked it with an infusion of lavender, echinacea and thyme, using it to clean the wound.

"Hand me that jar, please", she asked Sally, pointing to a small terracotta pot inside her bag. Quickly, the maid gave it to her. Violet opened it and poured its content – raw honey – directly into the cut, filling it. Allan grimaced at the unexpected burning, but it was mild enough and easied almost immediately. Eventually, Violet applied a thick linen gauze compress on the wound and bandaged it so that it would not move.

"Now we need something for the fever", she declared, washing again her hands. "Sally, I'm going to the kitchen to prepare a suitable remedy. Meanwhile, refresh frequently his forehead", she added, wetting another cloth and handing it to the maid. Sally carried out her task at once.

In the kitchen there was always a copper vessel full of warm water next to the perpetually burning fire. Violet filled a small pot and prepared a concoction with willow bark, then poured it through a strainer and took it to Allan.

As she returned she found Ralf, who had followed her orders and had come. Violet showed him a chair, then she gave a cup of the concoction to Allan, who drank it diligently and with no fuss about its bitter taste.

At this point, Violet took care of Ralf. The injury on his forearm had already started to heal. The cut was clean and didn't show any sign of infection, therefore she dabbed it with a cloth soaked in a vulnerary liquid based on plantain juice, which would help the healing, then she covered the wound with a clean gauze and bandaged it.

"You can go home now", she told the sergeant. "Take two days off."

"I need an authorisation from Captain Gilbert or from Lord Nottingham", Ralf objected. Violet pulled a face, annoyed. She was not used to see her authority as a healer somehow contradicted or hindered, but of course, she couldn't bypass the hierarchy.

"I'll get if for you", she assured him. "Go."

The good sergeant nodded and took his leave.

"You too should go, my lady", Sally exhorted Violet, seeing her tired. "I'll take care of Allan, until you've had some rest."

"I'm not finished yet", Violet replied. "I still have to check on my husband's injuries."

"Lord Nottingham too was wounded?" Sally asked, clearly worried. "I'm very sorry..."

"Not badly, thanks God", Violet reassured her. "However, 'tis better if I have a look at him before thinking about myself", she headed for the door. "Give Allan another cup of the concoction in a couple of hours, if I'm not back earlier."

Sally nodded. Violet took her leave and went to see Guy.

She found her husband lying in bed as she had ordered him. Drastan had helped him disrobe and had his dirty and ragged clothes taken away.

As soon as he saw her coming into the room, Guy gave her his typical smirk and his eyes lighted up.

"How are you?" Violet asked, placing her bag next to the bed and leaning over to brush his lips with hers in a soft kiss.

"Better, now that you're here", he answered in a low voice. Violet caressed his cheek, then she withdrew and pulled the sheet aside. The wound on his arm was just a scratch and had already started healing, therefore, after a quick glance, she gave her attention to the deeper injury on his shoulder. She took off the compress, slightly stained with blood, and examined the cut, finding it clean and with no trace of redness or swelling. Satisfied, she dabbed it with the plantain juice, then she covered it with a clean gauze and bandaged it. Eventually, as a precaution, she returned to the wound on the arm and treated it.

"How's Allan?" Guy asked when his wife was done looking after him.

"His injury started becoming infected", Violet answered as she washed her hands in the basin she had fetched. "But I treated it and, if I got it in time, he won't worsen and will heal in eight, ten days."

"Excellent. And Ralf?"

Violet saw her chance.

"Only a superficial cut, luckily", she said. "But he should take a couple of days off. He needs your authorisation, or Gilbert's, to stay home."

"I will inform Gilbert", Guy assured her.

Violet dried her hands and turned again to him. The sunshine coming from the open window illuminated her face from an angle that allowed Guy noticing the dark shadows under her eyes.

"You're tired", he said. "Go get some rest."

Violet nodded, but didn't move. She found herself very reluctant to leave him. However, she needed to wash and change her gown, sullied and crumpled because of the vicissitudes of the last hours.

Guy perceived her hesitation.

"Is something wrong, my love?" he inquired in a soft tone.

"I don't want to be alone", she whispered. She hated to admit it, but the aftermath for the dread she had felt was troubling her heavily, though she had kept it so far strictly under control.

"You don't have to be alone", Guy declared, patting the mattress beside him. "You can lay down here with me. I too would appreciate not being alone..."

Violet smiled, feeling very grateful.

"Gladly, but I must take off this dirty dress first, and freshen up."

"I'll help you", Guy offered, sitting up, then his lips bent into an impish grin. "After all, there's nothing I like more than disrobing you, my lady wife", he added teasingly.

Violet chuckled slightly embarrassed, not used to the conjugal confidence yet, but her husband's statement also flattered her. She approached the bed and Guy opened the laces on the back of her gown. In just her camisole, Violet went to the basin and ewer always ready for ablutions and washed her face and arms. After drying off, she returned to the bed and lay down next to her husband, resting her head on his good shoulder and closing her eyes. Guy took her hand and brought it to his lips, then he placed it on his heart, holding her tight.

As he had spent a sleepless night, Guy fell asleep almost at once, but Violet instead had slept, even if little and badly, therefore she just dozed, appreciating the reassuring presence of her husband lying next to her.

When the bell announcing the midday meal rang, Violet stirred and raised her head to look at Guy, finding him watching her closely.

"I didn't realise you were already awake", she smiled. He returned her beam.

"How are you?" he asked her.

"Much better. And you?"

"Pretty fine, all things considered, except I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday's midday meal."

"Good heavens!" Violet cried in consternation. "I'm sorry, I didn't think about ordering someone to bring you some breakfast, when we arrived home..."

Guy raised one hand and she paused.

"Don't worry", he said in a soothing tone. "I could've thought about it myself, and I didn't."

She tried to protest. "But 'tis my duty as your wife to take care that..."

Again, Guy's gesture interrupted her.

"Your only duty is to love me", he murmured, caressing her cheek. "And that too, only because 'tis your free choice, for which I thank you."

Violet felt like melting. She leaned over to him and kissed him.

"I love you, Guy", she said upon his lips, before kissing him again.

"And I love you, Violet", he returned, then he suddenly held her tight, heedless of his injuries, and sank his face into her hair. "I don't know what I'd do, if I lost you..."

Violet hugged him in return, trying not to hurt him.

"But it did not happen", she reminded him in a low voice, "My mother used to say that 'tis useless to think about averted catastrophes and 'tis much better to be grateful for the things that end up well."

After a long moment, Guy relaxed his grip and withdrew to look at her.

"You're perfectly right", he admitted. His stomach produced a loud rumble. "Whoops, best if we go and eat!"

Violet laughed, then she disentangled herself from her husband's arms and got up. She looked at the dress she had tossed on the chest and grimaced.

"I'll have to don it again to go to my bedchamber and change", she observed.

"No need for it", Guy said, getting up in turn. "You can put on one of my capes", he opened the chest and pulled out the lightest cloak he had. "Here, it'll cover you properly."

"Excellent idea", Violet approved, taking the garment he was handing her. "Shall I help you dress?"

"Nay, I can do that myself", Guy refused, taking a shirt from another trunk and starting slipping it on. "Shall I send for Sally to help you?"

"Nay, I left her with Allan. By the way, it'll be better if I return there before coming downstairs for lunch", she placed the black cloak over her shoulders and fastened it. "See you in the great hall."

Violet hurried to her bedchamber, where she freshened up more thoroughly than she had done earlier, before resting with her husband. She chose a gown that she could tie in the front, so she wouldn't need help to dress, then she quickly brushed her hair and eventually she went to see how Allan was doing. Sally had kept refreshing his forehead and, when Violet arrived, she had just given him the second dose of the antipyretic concoction. The young man's temperature hadn't lowered, but it hadn't increased either. When Violet checked his injury, she found no trace of suppuration and the swelling looked a little reduced.

"I'm going to eat", she told Sally. "I'll be back to relieve you, so you too can go and have your meal."

"That won't be necessary, my lady", she maid said. "My mother came by earlier, telling me she would fetch me something to eat here, so I can keep watching over Allan."

"Very well then. I'll be back anyway to check again his wound, because I won't feel comfortable until the fever lowers."

"Thank you for doing all this for me, my lady", Allan said with a faint smile. "Can I have some cold beer? My throat feels drier than the desert in the Holy Land..."

Violet couldn't help but grin, but she shook her head.

"No beer until you have a fever, only water", she said authoritatively. "I'll have a few crumbled mint leaves added to it to make it more thirst-quenching."

She took her leave and went swiftly downstairs, heading for the great hall. She saw Guy talking with Gilbert, so she went to them.

"Welcome back, Lady Violet", the captain of the guards said. "I'm very happy you are unscathed despite your dreadful misadventure."

He was sincere, because the new Baroness of Nottingham had won his respect during the measles epidemic with her generosity and competence. Besides, she seemed to have an excellent influence on her husband.

"Thank you, Gilbert", Violet answered. He performed a respectful bow and took his leave.

Guy gave his hand to Violet, inviting her to follow him to the high table, where they took their seats. The meal was served and both enjoyed the food, and Violet discovered only now that she was famished because so far other things had occupied her mind.

When they finished, Guy headed for the armoury to inspect the supply of new arrows that had just arrived at the castle. Violet went to her workroom in order to prepare a poultice based on althea roots, which she would use to replace the honey after stitching up Allan's wound.

As she entered his bedchamber, she found that the young man had gained back some colour. Checking his temperature, she ascertained that the fever had lowered.

"I'm starving", Allan confessed.

"Excellent", Violet smiled. "However, 'tis better if you eat light, therefore I suggest for now some fresh fruit and bread. For dinner I'll have some stewed vegetables cooked for you, with a few morsels of chicken."

"I'd rather have a thick slice of roasted pork, but whatever", Allan sighed with a comical grimace. Violet smiled amused by his dramatic pretence, then she sobered.

"I'm going to stitch up your cut, before you eat", she said. "So it will heal better and quicker. I warn you: it won't be very pleasant."

The young man paled, but he clenched his teeth and nodded to agree to the procedure. Thus, Violet removed the bandage and cleaned the wound with a wet cloth. She tried to be as delicate as possible, but a couple of times Allan jumped, though he didn't utter a single sound.

After the cleaning, Violet took a curved ivory needle and threaded it with catgut, a fibre obtained from the intestines of sheep, excellent to stitch up wounds because it had a great resistance and could be reabsorbed, vanishing in about one month. She poured some vinegar in a bowl and placed into it needle and thread, then she used more vinegar to wash her hands and dried them with a clean cloth. Eventually, she picked up her instrument again, dabbed it with the same cloth and began the process, knotting every single stitch. She made six stitches, and at each of it, Allan gritted his teeth but never complained.

"You did great", Violet praised him in the end. "Many men would pass out after the second stitch."

"They're as weak as a woman…"

"Actually, women withstand pain much better than men", Violet confuted him promptly, frowning. "Consider labour and delivery."

Allan cast her a surprised glance.

"I beg your pardon", he muttered. "I never considered this."

Mollified at once, Violet nodded. She tossed the remaining catgut, then she immersed the needle back into the vinegar and washed her hands again. Afterwards, she took the althea poultice and spread it over the cut. After covering it with a cloth, she bandaged it.

"Do you still want to eat?" she asked her patient when she finished. Allan's cheeks were slowly losing the ashen pallor they had taken on as she was stitching up his wound.

"Aye, but perhaps not right away", he answered in a feeble voice. Violet nodded, understanding. After storing her stuff back into the bag, she took her leave and returned to her workroom.

Checking her supplies, she noted that she was running short of calendula oil, an excellent remedy for light burnings and insect bites. Therefore, she decided to prepare some, as it needed one month to macerate and she didn't want to risk to run out of it.

OOO

When he was finished with checking at the armoury, Guy headed for his study, wanting to verify it there were documents or other things needing his attention. As he walked, however, he became aware that his thoughts were constantly straying to Violet. Her dreadful adventure had taken its toll on her, both physically and emotionally. He knew she was a strong woman and would soon recover, but in that precise moment, she surely needed him, her husband, the man who had vowed in front of God and men to protect, love and honour her. It was not only his duty to be there for her, but it was his wish to reassure and comfort her. From this perspective, his duty as a feudal lord paled in comparison to his duty as a husband.

But beyond these abstract concepts, Guy felt mostly the acute need to hold Violet in his arms, the simplest and most immediate way to cancel the memory of the distress they had both endured. A distress that for her had been surely worsened by the nightmarish notion she could end up raped – unfortunately, a threat a woman had to face way too often.

Guy felt sick at the simple thought that she could suffer such an appalling ordeal. The potential responsible would suffer a horrific agony by his hand, to the point he would implore for death as a release. He shook his head to chase away those terrible thoughts. It had not happened, so mulling over it was completely useless. Violet's abductors had paid their crime with their lives, and not only the kidnap, but the plot against the king too. It was punishment enough. Better, far better figuring out how he could comfort Violet. Guy couldn't think of a better way than showing her concretely his love and devotion, loving her with his heart through his body.

He turned on his heels so suddenly that, if someone had been standing behind him, he would have knocked him or her over, and went looking for his wife.

OOO

Violet was pouring walnut oil into the earthenware pot already containing the dried calendula flowers when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in", she invited without averting her attention from what she was doing.

"Am I bothering you?" she heard Guy's beloved voice asking. "If you're busy, I can come back later..."

"No, I'm almost done", she assured him, turning her face to smile at him, "Come on in."

She placed down the small jar of oil and corked it carefully before storing it away, then she thoroughly stirred the contents of the pot with a long wooden spoon.

"What are you preparing?" Guy asked, approaching her.

"Calendula oil", she answered. "'Tis good for burnings and insect bites, and generally for most skin issues."

"I don't know how you can remember uses and properties of so many herbs", Guy confessed, feeling impressed as usual by this particular ability of his wife.

"'Tis a matter of memory, I think", she commented, shrugging. She secured the pot, which she would shake and turn upside down every day in the next four weeks, never opening it, to keep the two ingredients well mixed. "Surely it helps a lot that I'm very passionate about the topic", she commented, turning eventually to her husband. "But I don't think you're here to talk about my herbal competence", she went on, raising one eyebrow quizzically.

Guy's smile broadened.

"Actually, I feel the need of your company", he admitted in a low voice.

"Well, I'm here with you", she said naively. She saw one corner of Guy's mouth raising further in a naughty smirk and, suddenly aware about his intentions, she felt hot. "Oh..."

Guy realised she had guessed what he had meant and lowered his gaze on her cleavage, where he could glimpse the soft mounds of her breasts. He grasped her hands and pulled her slowly to him, lifting his gaze to her lips. Violet felt even hotter and butterflies whirled in her belly. Suddenly, she became very bold.

"My lord husband", she murmured. "Do you want to make love with me right now, in broad daylight...?"

Her tone, lower and more sensual than usual, stirred Guy's desire. He looked into her eyes, pleasantly surprised, but he realised that she had no idea of the effect she had on him, because she was still unaware of her power of seduction. This, if possible, made her even more desirable in his eyes.

"Every hour of day or night is good to make love with you, my lady wife", he returned in a hoarse voice. He started to lower his head to kiss her, but Violet stopped him, placing one hand on his chest. She wrinkled her brow.

"Do your injuries not hurt?" she asked.

"I endured far worse things", Guy grinned. Seeing that she wasn't much convinced, he changed his approach. "Seriously, Violet, these two cuts are nothing, compared to the acid that cancelled my tattoo."

Violet's frown smoothed, but her face still expressed hesitation.

"Are you really sure?" she insisted.

He smiled, touched by her concern. "I thank you, my love, but I assure you that you have no reason to worry."

Violet hesitated a few moments longer, then the responded looping her arms around his neck and lifting her face to his.

Guy caught her lips in a kiss. As their tongues caressed one another in a sensual way, he gripped her tighter, craving to feel her soft curves pressed to his body.

Violet returned his kiss with joyful abandon. Guy's apparent desire stirred an immediate echo inside of her, a tingle in the lower part of her belly coming with warmth that radiated from between her thighs, a sensation she had learnt to recognise as expression of her own desire. She lowered her hands and settled them firmly on her husband's bottom, sinking the tip of her fingers in the flesh that filled his breeches so nicely in this place. Doing it, she pressed herself further into him.

Guy uttered a moan of pleasure and responded to her move by grasping her in turn and lifting her off the floor. He passed his hands under her thighs and had her draping her legs around his waist, then he carried her to the counter, where he had spotted a free space. He placed her down to sit there and slipped one hand under her skirt, brushing her calf from the ankle to the fold of her knee.

"Violet", he panted, starting to lift her gown.

"Guy", she murmured in return, tugging at one of the strings of his jacket. Soon enough, the garment fell to the floor, and his shirt followed shortly afterwards.

Quickly, Guy unlaced Violet's dress and lowered its bodice, exposing her breasts. Her nipples were taut, begging for caresses. He brushed the sensitive buds and she sighed, then he bent over to gently suckle at one. Violet stuck her fingers into his hair, holding his head, her body afire. When Guy kneeled between her thighs, she realised what was going to happen and the heat emanating from her most private spot became scorching.

Guy uncovered her. At the sight of her female flower, glistening with desire, his pupils dilated, darkening his gaze. Violet quivered at his reaction.

"Guy...!" she whimpered.

Her call contained a pressing note that urged him to act immediately. He bent over and placed his lips on the soft petals full of nectar, tasting it eagerly. She uttered an amorous moan expressing such a pleasure, he shivered of reflected pleasure. He brushed the bud of her femininity, then he thrust his tongue into her core, alternating the two movements until she started trembling uncontrollably, moaning louder and louder. At this point, Guy removed himself from her and stood up. He yanked at the laces fastening his fly so hard, he almost ripped them off, then he lowered his breeches, freeing his virility, and grasped Violet's hips. However, he didn't plunge into her at once, aware that she was still too new to these sensual matches, almost like a virgin, and therefore he had to go easy on her.

Violet looked at him with hazy eyes, her mind overwhelmed with the unknown sensations she was feeling. Suddenly, she recalled Rebelle illustrating how she had made love with Drastan sitting on a table and her lips curled into such a cheeky smirk, that Guy felt his throat going dry.

Violet lowered her gaze on his male sceptre. Refusing to let her shyness stop her, though her cheeks became hot, she grasped it, caressing it from tip to base, up and down, in a way that made Guy groan aloud. Then, using her heels, she pushed him to her, guiding him exactly where she wanted him to be. When she felt his manliness pressing against her, she left him and moved her hips forward, starting to welcome him inside of her.

This was too much, for Guy. With a gasp, he plunged inside Violet's body and was met by the most erotic of embraces. He thrust and withdrew frantically two, three times, then he regained his self-control and slowed down. He pulled back to look at his wife.

Violet's ecstatic expression – her eyes shut, her lips parted – made his heart somersault. He slowed down even further, almost stopping.

"Violet... my love..." he whispered.

Hearing him calling her name, Violet cracked her eyes open and looked at him. Guy's face expressed marvel, rapture, thrill, and she felt a lump forming in her throat. She lifted her hands and cupped his cheeks, pulling him to her. She caught his lips in a kiss full of the sentiment she felt for him, born unexpectedly and grown almost without her knowledge, revealing itself only once ripened to the point it was impossible to deny.

"I love you, Guy", she whispered, before kissing him again. She felt him starting to move again within her, brushing that special place of her body that was so sensitive, she jumped in pleasure each time he touched it. She exhaled a sigh expressing both her liking and her astonishment towards an act that once had disgusted her, as much as she now ardently craved to experience it as frequently as possible.

Hearing her, Guy increased speed and extent of his movements, eager to give her as much pleasure as he could, cancelling every lingering fear she could possibly still bear about the act of love. He added a slight rotation. Violet's muffled cry told him how much she was enjoying it and therefore he persisted. It didn't take long for him to obtain the reward he was looking for, because soon enough, he perceived Violet's inner muscles convulse around him, squeezing him delightfully and sending him instantly beyond the point of no return.

Violet felt as if a breaker was sweeping her away and gasped, out of breath, as her body arched backwards. The part of herself that contained Guy shook in spasms of delight, to which her husband's own spasms responded just moments later, adding even more to the sensation of deep pleasure she was experiencing. She uttered a moan, and in her ears, she heard another one echoing it, its baritone revealing it was Guy's. The awareness that she was the cause of it, that she was the one giving him such an intense pleasure struck her and her eyes widened out of wonder and joy.

For a few moments, time seemed as if slowing down as the two spouses savoured the intoxicating amorous ecstasy, which was both of their joined flesh and of their souls, equally joined.

Slowly, the tremors of their bodies subsided, their laboured breaths calmed down and their heartrate slowed back to normal. Guy turned his face and kissed Violet's temple with a tenderness he had never felt before towards a lover.

"My charming wife..." he murmured.

Violet's eyes dampened. She tried to speak, to return the sweet appellative, but her voice refused to come, a lump obstructing her throat. Therefore, she gripped her husband's shoulders harder, trying to tell him this way what she was feeling.

Guy sensed her emotion and stroked her hair in a reassuring gesture. A thought crossed his mind like a bolt of lightning: never, ever would he think, just six month back, that his life could change so much. That he could change so much... He felt immensely lucky, and immensely humble in front of a destiny – he didn't dare to call it God – that had granted him this wonderful woman.

OOO

The next day, Drastan arrived punctually at the castle to begin his day as the sheriff's right-hand. He immediately went looking for Guy and found him in his study.

"Good morning, Guy", he said as he entered.

"Good morning to you, Drastan", Guy answered, placing down the document he was reading.

The knight of Greenmere closed the door and turned again to the baron.

"How's Violet?" he enquired as he took his seat onto one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"She's fine, thanks goodness", Guy informed him. "She was very shaken, but she's a strong woman and therefore she reacted well.

"I already knew Violet hides a noticeable strength under her sweet appearance", Drastan confirmed, crossing his arms on his chest, "However, I didn't think she had the heart to use a bow against another human being."

"She has the heart of a lion", Guy stated, sounding quite proud of his wife.

Drastan arched one eyebrow at this – perhaps unintentional – reference to the way people had dubbed Richard Plantagenet. He decided to roll with it and bring up the topic he was here to discuss.

"As does our king", he observed softly.

Guy became attentive. Two days before, Drastan had said that for the time being he wouldn't think about Guy's involvement in the plot against the legitimate sovereign of England, but now the time had come to confront the matter. Violet had forgiven Guy, as well as Marian, Robin and the men of his gang, but he couldn't take it for granted that Drastan would follow suit, despite the deep friendship they shared.

"Indeed", the sheriff confirmed. He waited for Drastan to resume talking.

"I've been thinking a lot about what you told me regarding the Black Knights and their conspiracy", the blond knight began. "And also about the reasons that led you to join them. As you told me that Rebelle doesn't know anything about the matter, I didn't discuss it with her, though it was hard for me."

Drastan paused, waiting for a comment, and Guy nodded.

"I can see that", he murmured. "The less people know, the less I risk my neck, therefore I thank you."

Drastan too nodded.

"Precisely what I thought. 'Tis very hard for me seeing you like a traitor. No, I'd rather say 'tis impossible", he sighed, bending forward and placing his elbows on his knees, his hands dangling between them. "I keep wondering how you could go so far. Ambition and vindictiveness doesn't seem to me good enough reasons... The sole explanation I can come up with, is that that cursed Vaisey had poisoned your soul, corrupting you to the point to turn you into a completely different person than my friend and brother-in-arms of yore. But now it seems you're again the man I knew. In all these months, you acted often sternly, but always justly. Even with your wife's abductors. Though it was risky, we could assail them under cover of darkness and cut their throats while they were sleeping, instead we waited for dawn and we charged them openly, giving them the opportunity to defend themselves and die in a fair fight. Besides, from snatches of news I kept collecting over these months in Nottingham, I leant that what could've been your worst deeds have always been thwarted by Locksley. As I know perfectly you're not stupid, I came to the conclusion you did it on purpose..."

Drastan paused again because Guy's lips had curled up into a sarcastic smirk.

"Many realised it", he commented. "Violet, Rebelle, William, Marian... Ha, I thought I've been smart!"

"So 'tis true!" Drastan cried, not withholding his relief, then he smirked in turn. "The important thing is, that son of a bitch named Vaisey never realised it."

"Unlike you, he thought I wasn't very smart", Guy explained." I can't blame him though, given the way he was able to deceive me, making me think that, if I'd blindly follow his orders, he'd give me back my ancestral lands. With his lures and false promises, he was able to slowly involve me into his insane plans. I must thank Marian for not falling completely in his clutches. For a long time, she's been my safety rope, the one that somehow prevented me to step over the edge of the abyss. However, I had to come to the point to think I had killed her before I realised that only I could save myself, changing my life completely. If Vaisey hadn't died, falling down that crevasse, I think I would've probably end up killing him myself..."

"Instead, fate decided differently", Drastan mused. "Or God did it, if you listen to the priests", his eyes turned to Guy with a sudden inspiration. "Mayhap 'twas God for good... He gave you a sign, freeing you from your bête noire, in order to make you embark without delay on the path of redemption!"

Guy wrinkled his brow.

"I don't think I have all this importance in God's eyes..." he muttered. However, the thought was comforting, though it was just a remote possibility.

"Why not?" Drastan countered vivaciously. "They teach us that God loves us all. This doesn't exclude that He doesn't punish the evil people, and that's precisely what He's done with Vaisey. You should be grateful... also because this way Violet became heir to the barony and chose you as her husband."

Guy reflected in silence for a few long moments, his gaze lost into his own thoughts.

"A single, tiny misstep of an evil man on a remote mountain trail, and life changes completely", he pondered softly. "Mine, Violet's... even yours, old chap, because if I hadn't been appointed pro tempore sheriff after Vaisey's death, I couldn't have hired you as my deputy, and consequently you couldn't have met Rebelle..."

"Aye, sometimes a tiny action causes big consequences", Drastan confirmed.

Guy looked at him again.

"How do you judge me for my despicable past actions?" he asked him in a dull tone that concealed his concern to lose the closest friend he ever had.

Drastan lifted his hands.

"'Tis not for me to judge", he affirmed. "That would be up to a court. My loyalty goes to King Richard, with no doubt, but you're my friend and you too deserve y loyalty. For a period, you've been diverted from the right path by an evil man, but now you repented and you're seeking redemption, undoing Vaisey's sketchy plots and righting the wrongs you did on his command. Violet, and not only she but also Lady Marian, Locksley and his men, all of them remitted your misconducts towards them. Towards me, you never behaved wrongly."

Guy felt incredibly relieved, as he had only another time in his life, when he confessed his misdeeds to Violet and she had accepted his past, forgiving him.

"So you'll keep my secret?" he whispered.

"With my life, if needed", Drastan assured him.

Guy rose and rounded the desk to approach the knight of Greenmere, who rose in turn.

"I don't know by what grace I'm deserving so much", Guy whispered in a hoarse voice laden with emotion. "First Violet, then you... not to mention Isabella, Marian, even Locksley.."

He embraced Drastan, who returned the hug.

They were more than brothers-in-arms, more than friends: they were siblings.