Presentable again, wearing the dress Guy gave her, Marian stepped outside the cottage and viewed the village.
The dress did not fit, being a bit too long and much too tight, though by loosening the laces Marian made it work. But there was no fixing the village, a dreary, depressing place. In time, if he were only here, Robin could make things better, Marian believed, with his clever ideas and care, but of course he wasn't. He was in Heaven with their unborn child, and Marian had to accept that fact and journey on here, without him.
Conquering her tears for now, she looked around her at the village. Smaller than Clun and lacking in charm, it seemed a dirty, poverty damaged place. The sooner she could return to Locksley, Marian thought, the better.
There was only one thing she saw that pleased her. Just a few steps away, a horse was tethered to a fence post, a beautiful horse, worth more than the entire village. Slowly, so as not to alarm him, Marian approached the horse.
He seemed to recognize her and welcomed her approach. Stroking his muzzle and looking into his eyes, she felt she knew him, too.
Guy drew near accompanied by a tall, slender, middle aged woman. Marian glanced at them, then turned her attention back to the horse.
"I will not be with you tonight," Guy told Marian. "I have business elsewhere. But this woman has agreed to stay with you, so you will not be alone."
He waited for her onrush of questions, but she acted as if she hadn't heard him.
"What, no questions?" he asked. "Always before, you wanted to know where I was going, what I was doing, what business I had."
"Before," she said bitterly, hating him for killing her husband, "I was gathering information to give to Robin. Surely you don't still believe I was interested in you, Guy of Gisbourne."
Her words and manner were like a dagger wound to his heart, but Guy stopped himself from lashing out, needing to win her love. "In time, you became interested," he lied. "I told you, Marian, you grew to love me."
"No," she said. "I do not believe you."
"Is it so hard to believe you could care for me?"
His cry rent the air, but she remained cold and distant. "You killed my husband, the man I love. You ran me through with your sword. I may not remember what has transpired since, but I know I do not love you."
Marian stopped paying attention to the horse and bravely faced Guy, knowing she had angered him.
The older woman beside him stood by, her face blank, not understanding their language.
"In time you will remember, and come to care for me again," Guy told Marian, dreading the day her memory would return. "This is Gisele," he said, introducing his aunt.
Marian's heart beat began to pound. "El?" she cried, repeating his last syllable as she looked rapidly around her, seeking someone she could only feel.
Alarmed, Guy took in his breath. He knew the name of her first brat, the one he'd kidnapped a few months ago. Marian mustn't remember her yet, not until after he had killed Hood! "Ghislaine," he amended, using his mother's name instead.
His aunt looked curiously at him, but said nothing.
Marian felt a pull at her heart she could not understand. Someone needed her, but she could only recall her father after the time they had lost their home and had been forced to live in Nottingham Castle. Her father had been frail, and had needed her to care for him, which she lovingly did. The overwhelming feeling she had now was somewhat like that, but different...not at all sad, but joyous and beautiful. "Who is El?" she asked.
"Eleanor," Guy lied. "The Queen Mother." Seeing that Marian was far from satisfied, he added, "And the horse...my horse. You named it that."
"I would never call a stallion by a female name," Marian stated. "Well, not since I was a child."
She fondly remembered Robin teasing her about the very first horse she'd owned, a stallion she had named Meadow Dancer. Robin had joked the reason Meadow Dancer used to bite was because she had given him such a "girlish" name.
Bite! Someone else used to bite as well! Someone who also pulled at Marian's heartstrings. But who was it, and why did she feel so much tender love and yearning?
It hurt her head, trying to think.
The sky had grown overcast, and the wind picked up as a storm threatened to blow in from the north. "Inside," Guy ordered, holding open his cottage door.
He was wondering how the storm would affect his mission tonight to kill King Richard. His aunt rushed inside, but Marian made no move to enter.
"What about the horse?" she asked. "You can't leave him at the mercy of the storm."
Guy knew the value of the horse he had stolen from Hood. But there was no place to shelter him. "It's an animal," he snapped at Marian. "He'll survive."
"I won't go inside unless he comes, too," Marian stubbornly insisted.
Enraged by her willfulness, Guy picked her up and flung her over his shoulder to carry her indoors.
Hanging upside down but still holding the brooch he'd given her, Marian jabbed its pin into Guy's buttocks.
With a wild cry, Guy dropped Marian to the ground. Before he could recover, Marian scrambled to her feet and began untying the horse's reins that tethered it to a fence post. Her intention was to take the horse and gallop away. She had no idea where to go, only that she knew she had to get away.
Guy was truly angry now. Before Marian could free the horse, as the rain began pouring down upon them, he picked her up and flung her through the open door of his cottage, then strode in after her.
...
(Note: Just a brief note of history, in case you're confused about King Richard fighting in France. I know I was!
Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was Duchess of Aquitaine and Poitou, regions in southwest France. His father, Henry Plantagenet, was Duke of Anjou and Maine, areas in northern France he inherited through his father, as well as Duke of Normandy and King of England, both he inherited through his mother Matilda. Matilda was the only surviving child of King Henry I of England and the rightful heir, but the Church in England supported her cousin Stephen, since they didn't want a woman to rule. Although Stephen had earlier sworn to acknowledge Matilda as heir, he seized his opportunity when his uncle the king died and had himself crowned. The barons favored Matilda, and civil war broke out in England. After two years, Stephen was defeated and Matilda declared queen. Matilda quarreled with the Church and Stephen was released from prison, and Matilda was forced to flee to Anjou with her family.
Stephen reigned for 19 years. When Matilda's son Henry (Richard the Lionheart's father) was sixteen, he returned to England and waged war on Stephen, claiming his right to be king. Stephen tried to name his son Eustace as heir, but Stephen had reigned so horribly, no one wanted him. The people regarded Henry as their savior, and when Eustace died, Henry made peace. Stephen died a year later and Henry was crowned King Henry II.
Henry's French holdings and his wife's, Queen Eleanor's, became Richard's when he ascended to the throne. King Philip of France broke his pledge not to try to take them for France while Richard was on Crusade, taking advantage of Prince John's weakness as regent while Richard was away, and attacked and gained them anyway.
That is why Richard fought a war in France shortly after he returned from the Holy Land. It is amazing when you see on a map, how much land Prince John lost.
Hope you are enjoying the story. It is fun for me to imagine and write, though I'm feeling very sorry for Marian right now).