Chapter 3

"Take this off," Guy said, indicating Marian's hastily-donned gown. Gently but firmly he led her over to the bed, and threw back the bedcovers. As she stripped back down to her nightclothes he removed his jacket, shirt, breeches and boots and unbuckled his sword belt. He drew a small dagger from the latter and unsheathed it, motioning for her to climb into the bed. He pressed the point of the dagger to the pad of one finger and made a small cut, and then let a few scarlet droplets of blood fall onto the mattress.

She felt herself colouring at the action. She ducked her head to hide it as he crumpled the covers so they hinted at previous activity. She felt the dip in the mattress as he slid in beside her, and lay back as he pulled the ruffled blankets over the two of them. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her tense against him, every nerve in her body aflame. "I'm so sorry," he murmured and pressed a soft kiss to her hair.

When the door to her chamber was thrown open once again and ricocheted off the wall she did not have to feign her jump of shock, but Guy drew her close to him as they turned to face the intruders, identical expressions of fear and guilt and surprise plastered on their faces.

Vaisey stood at the head of the party, with a vaguely familiar face beside him – presumably the Earl of Durham. Behind the pair gathered a large party of castle guards, all sporting the same utterly bewildered expressions as their masters.

The sheriff was the first to recover, his shock as he took in the situation quickly fading to fury. "Gisborne!" he shouted, causing both Guy and Marian to jump at the sharp tone. "What is the meaning of this!"

Guy opened his mouth to reply, but Durham got there first. "Well well, Vaisey, when you told me about my new bride you forgot to mention this." He didn't take his eyes off Marian as he spoke, his lecherous smirk and roving gaze causing Marian to shrink into the bed further. Guy noticed Durham's stare and he held Marian tighter. She could feel his heart beating against her chest, hammering as hard as she was sure hers was. To stop herself from pulling away from him out of habit, she blurted out a confused "New bride? I-I don't understand."

The gleam that came into the sheriff's eyes was positively malicious. "Oh, didn't I mention to you? Durham wants a new bride, and the debtor's daughter we had held up for him seems to have been mislaid. So you're going to marry him instead."

Guy forced out an emphatic and furious "She is not" just as the sheriff added "That's if my lord Durham will accept... damaged goods..."

Marian felt her face flush even harder as everyone in the room – and beyond the doorway – stared at her. She lowered her eyes and prayed that Guy's assessment had been true.

"No, no, that won't do at all," the earl said, but something about the tone of his voice told her he wasn't finished just yet. Her suspicions were proven when he continued, "I won't have her as my wife now that she's whored herself out."

Guy tensed indignantly at the insult to Marian. Under the cover of the sheets, she laid a hand on his arm to calm him; neither of them would help the situation if they let their tempers get the better of them.

"My lord Durham-" The sheriff tried to placate him, but the earl cut him off.

"But if you've no objection, Sheriff, I'll still take her off your hands..."

Marian filled with dread as his implication sank in. The earl would not marry her, but he would have her anyway, as his mistress perhaps – if she was lucky.

"No!" Guy's shout startled her, and even the sheriff jumped at the rage in his voice. "You will not have her!"

"Gisborne!" retorted the Sheriff. "Remember your place! This is the Earl of Durham, and he will have your filthy leper if I have to drag the whore to him myself!"

"She is not a whore!" roared Guy, his temper overwhelming her. He flung back the bed-sheets and stormed across the chamber furiously. "Or a leper! She is my betrothed!"

It was lucky that all eyes were now on Guy, because Marian flinched at the lie; even she was stunned by this new 'revelation'. How dare he presume such a thing?

"Betrothed?" Durham turned to the sheriff. "You never mentioned anything about this."

"I didn't know," the sheriff replied. "She's turned him down enough times, the capricious little harlot." Guy gritted his teeth but – mercifully – held his tongue. "How was I to know she'd changed her mind again? It's not as though Gisborne's got her wearing a ring or anything."

Even in her anger at Guy's presumptuousness, Marian could sense an opening when she saw it. She thrust a hand under her pillow, grasping the emerald ring tightly and pushing it onto her finger. "Yes, I do," she objected sharply, getting out of the bed and crossing over to practically wave it in the sheriff (and the earl's) faces.

The sheriff glanced at it for a moment, and then turned his gaze back to the earl. He shrugged. "Well I can't be expected to notice every leper's new trinket. My lord," he added, for good measure.

A silence fell upon the gathering for several long moments as they waited for the earl's reply. Marian could feel more than a few eyes boring into her thin nightgown so she stepped closer to Guy, ducking behind him and hiding her body from the stares.

"I think..." began the earl icily, his eyes narrowing at Guy and Marian, and then flickering to the sheriff, "that you and I need to have a little talk."

Guy took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Marian will have no part in any bargain," he said firmly, ignoring the sheriff's glares.

There was another long pause before the earl responded. "No..." he said slowly, causing both Guy and Marian to visibly relax in relief. "But," he continued turning once more to Vaisey, "I will expect suitable... compensation. One hundred pounds, and you'd better find me some other blue-blooded wench to marry or the deal's off!"

"One hundred pou-?" the sheriff spluttered. He turned furiously to Guy, but something in his lieutenant's expression made him swallow his objection and return, red-faced, to the earl. "I'm sure that can be arranged," he forced out. "My lord."

"I'm glad to hear it," the earl replied icily and, without waiting for a further response, swept past the guards and out into the corridor.

The sheriff whirled around to Guy and Marian. "You will regret this day, Gisborne!" he threatened. "And all for a woman! Trust me, boy, you'll regret it."

Guy scarcely paused for a second. "I think not," he replied coolly.

The sheriff's eyes widened at Guy's defiance, and his jaw snapped shut furiously. He turned on his heel and made as if to stalk off, but at the doorway he paused and turned around. "And you're paying that hundred pounds!" he yelled finally, and then disappeared after the earl, the guards hurrying behind him.

Marian let out a shuddering breath of relief, and heard Guy do the same. He turned to face her and wrapped his arms around her. Forgetting she was angry at him, she sank into his embrace gratefully, overwhelmed by the past turmoil. He rubbed her back soothingly and she laid her head against his chest, forgetting that the last time she had done so he had tried to take advantage of her. Thankfully, anything of the sort was far from his mind, and he was as relieved as she that the earl had conceded; he just held her tightly, as if to prove to himself that she was still there.

It could not last though, and Marian soon felt Guy pulling away from the embrace. She dropped her arms quickly, remembering that she was supposed to be furious with him. Before she could say anything though, he began to speak. "Marian," he said, quietly but earnestly. "I am so sorry that I told them we were betrothed. I was worried the earl would demand to have you anyway, and the sheriff wouldn't have refused. I couldn't bear to lose you, Marian. I said the only thing I could think of that might work." Well, not the only thing, but he needn't tell her that the thought crossed his mind to blurt out they were already married... Sensing her disquiet, he fell silent, desperately awaiting her reply.

She considered his words carefully. It had been a shock, of course, when he said that they were betrothed, but looking back the earl had been about to take her, regardless of her apparent lack of virtue, and Guy's statement had succeeded in saving her from that fate. She nodded slowly. "I understand," she murmured. "And I don't blame you. I'm glad you said it." As soon as she had said the last sentence, she realised how it could be taken. She glanced at Guy's face anxiously and saw the sudden flash of hope in his eyes, but he said nothing to press her on it. Instead he looked at the ring now adoring her left hand.

"Marian, that ring..." he trailed off, his question evident.

"It belonged to my mother," she replied quickly. "I found it in the ruins when I visited Knighton Hall last week." He flinched ever so slightly at her words. His destruction of her home, though not as sharp a sword between them as it once had been, was still a sore topic.

"I see," he said, but made no move to elaborate. She fiddled with the emerald ring, and started to slide it off her finger.

"No," he said, holding out a hand to stop her. "Leave it on. If the sheriff or Durham sees you without it they might suspect something. I will get you another ring, but for now keep your mother's on." He squeezed her hand gently. "I must go and speak to the sheriff now," he said grimly. "I will be back later." And with that he went, leaving Marian to her own – incredibly confused – thoughts.

She looked at the ring on her hand; the ring that the sheriff and the Earl of Durham now believed was her betrothal ring from Guy, and the ring that Guy now believed had been her mother's. The ring Robin had given her to mark their betrothal.

Robin.

Oh God, Robin...

She took in a deep breath to compose herself and try to gather her thoughts. The problem was, she had only one right now, and as her eyes flitted between the ring, the creased bed-sheets and the bloodstain peeking out from beneath them, and the door through which Guy had just left, it blared out at her like someone bellowing in her ear.

What had she gotten herself into?

Apologies for the delay in getting this chapter to you! Hopefully it makes up for the appallingly long wait =P I'm leaving this fic here for now, but there is room for expansion, should I come back to it at a later date. Many thanks to weaselle, LadyKate63 and Schryosel on RHFC for the proverbial kick up the arse I needed to get this finished, and please, if you can spare the time, let me know what you thought! =)