The trouble with lying, Guy knew, was that eventually you made a mistake and exposed your lie to those clever enough to catch it. Being a man of few words, he didn't usually need to worry about this, but with Marian, everything changed.

With two people only in the entire world, Guy wanted to talk...the man he hated, and the woman he loved. Hood he wanted to make suffer, but with Marian he wanted to pour out his heart and be understood. He mustn't let it be his undoing!

He looked at her now, leaning against a wall, draped in a blanket, quietly weeping. No doubt she was mourning Hood's "death." Let her mourn! If all went well, it would only be a matter of time before she grew tired of being miserable, and turned to him for comfort.

"I'll go find you a dress," he told her, knowing the one he'd torn was beyond repair.

"Why aren't my clothes here?" she asked. "Is this just some cottage you borrowed, when I became injured?" But Guy did not answer.

Making his way through his mother's village, Guy thought through the list of things he must accomplish to restore him to a place of power and position, and to obtain Marian forever. First and foremost, he needed to kill King Richard.

This was his goal before he had encountered Marian, but he was more determined than ever to accomplish the deed with her as his prize. Guy knew it was exceedingly dangerous. He was wanted for treason, with a bounty on his head. He had been hesitating, giving himself excuses not to try, but now...! Now he knew he must act.

If he proved successful, Prince John would be crowned King and would reward him not only with the village of Locksley, but make him Sheriff of Nottingham as well. His difficulty lay in his lack of a plan.

The only plan he could think up was the one Sheriff Vasey had used when getting him to try to kill the king in the Holy Land...disguise himself as someone from the opposing side, break into the king's camp at night, and kill him while he slept.

It ought to be easier this time around. There was no travel involved, Guy truly was from the opposing side, being half French, and mostly, Locksley would not be there to ruin his plan and save the king. Guy was determined to do the deed this very night.

Second on his list of things he must accomplish was to kill Hood. It couldn't wait. Marian's memory would no doubt return to her, and she would know Hood was her husband.

After slaying Hood, Guy must force Marian to marry him. He regretted not taking her by force years ago as he ought to have done. He had been soft where she was concerned, hoping and believing she would come to accept him in time. Only when they were together in the Holy Land, on his second mission to kill the king, had he determined he must take her by force to make her his bride. And now, more than ever, he realized he must do so.

Finally, months down the road, Guy must dispose of Hood's baby without Marian knowing. She would never forgive him if she knew him responsible for the infant's death, and he needed her to love him. He remembered all too well Annie's viciousness after Hood ruined his plan to dispose of that child, leaving it to die in the forest. Marian would prove just as vicious as Annie if she guessed he killed Hood's brat, maybe even more so. But there was no question, the child must die. Guy would never suffer to raise a child of Hood's, let alone have him inherit his lands and wealth. No, the Gisbourne heritage was a proud one, and must continue.

This final part of his four tiered plan would prove easy, Guy believed. While in labor, Marian must drink one of Isabella's potions to cut the pain, and sleep. Upon awakening, Marian would be told the child had been stillborn, and never know the truth. Within a year, she would surely give birth to his child, hopefully a son, and forget the brat she lost.

Guy suddenly remembered her other brats, Hood's two daughters. He fumed, remembering how the baby had bitten his finger today. But they were of little concern when he thought about it. Were they not already in a French convent? They could stay there, far from Nottingham, and be educated. Guy felt himself generous, providing them with an education any mother would want for her children. If Marian objected, he would know how to teach her obedience.

His thoughts settled, Guy pushed open a door to another cottage.

"Guy," his Aunt Gisele said, nervously greeting him.

"I need a dress," he told her.

"Why?"

"Just give me a dress!" he shouted. "Something with color."

Gisele had few dresses to spare, and fewer still with "color," but she tried to comply.

"What jewels of my mother's are left?" Guy asked.

"Very few your father gave her," Gisele responded regretfully. "Most everything was sold years ago, after your father moved you here, to pay for food and drink."

Gisbourne sneered, and couldn't help adding, "Drink, mostly, to feed my father's habit."

"Oui. And after your mother ran off with that strolling troubadour..."

Guy didn't want to be reminded of his terrible adolescence. "Just show me what is left," he ordered.

Gisele handed him a small wooden casket containing a few pieces of his mother's jewelry. Pulling out a large round brooch he remembered his mother wearing as a clasp to close her cloak, he asked, "What are these stones?"

"Semi precious ones. The yellow are topaz, the black onyx."

"The Gisbourne colors," Guy mentioned, speaking to himself. "Yes. This will do nicely."

"Is there a woman, Guy? Who is she?"

"My wife," he told her, before taking the dress and the pin, and striding back toward his cottage.