A Place to Call Home Chapter 12, a robin hood bbc fanfic

Title: A Place to Call Home, Chapter Twelve (13/?)

Rating: PG-13

Characters: Guy/Marian

Summary: "I do not love you," she cried in frustration. "Why do you want me?"

A/N: I've set this story immediately after the events of the first season finale. However, I have included information derived from subsequent episodes, in particular from season three's "Bad Blood" used here for my purposes as source material and plot motives for the characters.

Chapter Twelve

Two days later, the conspirators again met.

"I was beginning to worry." Marian looked up as her husband entered the room, rain dripping from his leather coat. She rose and helped strip him of the sodden material and directed him to a chair near the hearth.

"Miserable out there," Robin commented in a surprisingly companionable way.

Guy merely grunted and, accepting a length of cloth fetched by his wife, scrubbed it over his wet hair. He took the cup of mulled wine she offered with a grateful smile. Sipping the warm concoction, he let out a contented sigh.

"I was delayed leaving the castle," he said at length. "I could not get away from Vaisey."

"He will not be looking for you again today?" Marian confirmed anxiously.

Guy shook his head. "He drinks himself into a stupor every evening now," he said. "There is the devil to pay along the way but once he is carted off to bed, no one hears a peep from him until morning."

"Sleeps soundly, does he?" Robin asked with a wicked smile.

"It is like trying to waken the dead." A predatory look came over Guy's face. "'Twill be a most helpful thing," he mused contemplatively as he stared into the ruby depths of the cup in his hand.

"So it could be as simple a matter as tiptoeing into his chambers and…" Robin made a slashing motion across his neck and the wolfish grin on his face was mirrored on Guy's.

A pained grimace crossed Marian's face. Though she was glad of the cessation of outright hostility between the two men, she was not sure how she felt about them having reached a meeting of the minds over their plans to murder the Sheriff – no matter how justly he deserved it.

"First things, first." Marian redirected the conversation to something less grisly. "We need to discuss how best to get the pact out of the shire and – most importantly – we need to find someone we can trust to keep it safe. Someone the Sheriff would never suspect."

"It is glaringly obvious that I would have no such trustworthy acquaintance." Guy set his now empty cup aside and laced his fingers over his stomach, leaning back comfortably in his chair.

"I may know someone," Robin offered. "A brother – trained at the Fountains Abbey. Tuck is his name."

"A priest?" Marian asked. "I have not heard you speak of him before. How do you know him?"

"I met him only once –" Robin replied.

"And based on one meeting, you would trust him with something so important?" Guy interrupted disbelievingly.

"I found him to be a man of strong conviction." A touch of indignation at having his judgment questioned colored Robin's voice. "He has become increasingly disillusioned with the corruption found in the Church and was not hesitant to speak of it. As a result, he has been kicked out of the abbey for his flagrant disobedience."

"I can see how that would appeal to you," Marian said slowly. "But how can you be sure that we can trust him with a thing so important as protecting the pact?"

"I met him on the north border of the shire," Robin murmured. "He and I were there for the same purpose – to check on a small group of people who had been burned out of their homes under Vaisey's orders." He kept his gaze trained on the liquid gleaming in the cup in his hand but was aware of the uncomfortable way in which Gisborne shifted in his seat. And while he did not mind the other man's discomfort and, indeed, believed it well-deserved, he knew it was time to set such things aside if they were going to make this plan work.

"Tuck was there to minister to the people. He said Mass for them in the forest and brought them what food he could. Together with the provisions and funds that John and I brought, we were able to give them some comforts to last them at least a short while," Robin reminisced. "He and I sat up all night talking.

Robin looked up and made eye contact with the others. "I found him to be quite outspoken and passionate. He believes that time is running out for an England under the heel of John and those who would serve him. He believes strongly that something must be done now to stop the corruption. He thinks not only as a servant of God but also as a warrior. He holds no loyalty towards John. Indeed, I think he holds loyalty to none but God and the people. I know that he believes so passionately in his cause that he does not fear men like Vaisey. " He took a deep breath.

"I am convinced he would do anything to stop the pain and suffering of the people of England," Robin finished as he drained the wine from his cup.

A silence fell over the room as the others absorbed what Robin had told them.

"It could work," Guy mused. "I am sure that the Sheriff and Prince John know nothing of this man. Indeed, I have never heard his name mentioned until now."

"Then they would certainly never look to him to find the pact," Marian stated.

"If I can divert the guards who patrol the north border, do you think you can get the pact to this priest?" Guy asked.

"Yes. I am sure that I can."

Guy thought for a moment. "Then be prepared to move in three days' time."

"Three days?" Marian asked. "Why not sooner?"

"I have learned that Prince John is to be a guest of the Lord and Lady Wykeham." Guy told her.

"Well that works out nicely, does it not?" Robin mused. "I confess I have wondered how you would arrange to be gone for as long as would be necessary to travel all the way to London and back," he said. "It is a much easier ride to Wykeham's estate."

Guy inclined his head in acknowledgment. "And there are fewer prying eyes in Derby than there are at court. With luck, I can be there and back in less than two days."

"So quickly?" Marian asked.

"The prince will either agree to our terms or he will not." Guy shrugged as if it were a matter of little consequence. Marian fought hard to suppress a shudder for she knew that if John proved unwilling to go along with their plan, her husband would not likely return from Derby.

"How will you arrange to be away for even so short a time?" she asked in a voice carefully controlled so as not to reveal her anxiety. "Will Vaisey not be looking for you?"

"I had thought to drug his wine with a sleeping potion. It should be enough to keep him out for most of the time I am away. " He directed his attention towards Robin. "I will need to depend on you to secure it for me before you leave for the north." Guy's face was a study of calm and not even a flicker of his lashes betrayed his distaste in relying on the younger man for anything. "There are none in the castle whom I would trust."

Robin nodded his agreement and rose to his feet.

"If that is all, then I will be on my way." He took his cloak from Marian with an appreciative smile and fastened it over his shoulders. "I will be expecting clear passage through the north border three evenings from now," he said pointedly.

"You shall have it." Guy vowed.

"Excellent. I wish you good luck on your business." Robin hefted his bow and quiver of arrows.

"And you," Guy said stiffly.

Robin rolled his eyes. "My lady." He lifted Marian's hand in his and pressed a lavish kiss to the soft skin.

"Good night, Robin," she said pointedly ignoring his cheeky grin and her husband's bristling reaction.

Robin laughed out loud and disappeared into the damp gloom of the evening and Marian turned to lean against Guy's unyielding frame until she felt him relax into her embrace.

Men, she thought privately, were exhausting at times.

Later that evening, Guy climbed into bed with a contented sigh. The days had been growing increasingly difficult and it was a simple pleasure to stretch out on the mattress. Rolling onto his stomach, he wrapped his arms around a pillow and nestled his cheek into its softness. He watched his wife putter about their chamber. His gaze followed her as she splashed water on her face and when she lifted her hands to fashion her hair into a single thick braid, he noted with sleepy interest the lift of her breasts and the way the firelight highlighted her body through the fabric of her chemise.

He watched her move about, blowing out candles as she went and allowed his eyes to drift closed when she disappeared from view. He was dimly aware of her movements behind him and the dipping of the mattress beneath her slight weight as she slid into the bed alongside him.

Though she knew from his relaxed breathing that her husband was drifting pleasantly in that place somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, Marian leaned toward him and brushed her lips over the bare skin of his shoulder. Lifting her head, she waited expectantly for him to roll towards her. Her eyes widened when he did nothing more than expel a sigh and snuggle more deeply into the bedclothes. Leaning forward again, she pressed her mouth between his shoulder blades and trailed her lips along the shallow indentation which ran the length of his spine, flicking her tongue out when she reached the hollow which formed at the small of his back, pleased to note the way his muscles rippled in silent response.

Reversing direction, she traced a path upward and buried her lips in the crook of his neck. Sliding an arm around his waist, she slipped a hand between the mattress and the flat plane of his stomach and her mouth curved upward in a pleased smile when she felt his abdominal muscles quiver in time with the rapid thrum of his pulse beneath her lips.

Guy rolled over and, stuffing the pillow behind his back, studied his wife in the dim glow of the bedside candle as she stretched out atop him. Stacking her fists on his chest, Marian rested her chin on them and returned his steady gaze with a soft smile on her lips.

He reached out to push a wisp of hair away from her forehead and traced a line along the silken skin of her cheek and jaw.

"You are so beautiful."

Marian turned her head and pressed her lips fervently into the palm of his hand and then leaned down to lay an open-mouthed kiss against his chest. Turning her head, she rested her cheek against his heart, listening to the steady beat.

"Promise me you will be careful," she breathed.

"I will." His hand skimmed over her back in soothing strokes. "And will ask the same of you." He twined his hand around her braid and tugged gently until she lifted her head.

"Do nothing which will draw his attention while I am gone," he cautioned with a penetrating look. "You must promise, for I cannot do my job if I am worried about you."

She swallowed and nodded.

"I promise," she whispered.

"Good." And tightening his hand around the back of her neck, he drew her down to meet his kiss.

My sincere apologies for the long delay between posts. I was writing – but doing so out-of-order and then I was sick and recuperating for several weeks.

I am feeling infinitely better now and have this small chapter as an offering to you. The good news is that I have the final chapter written and polished. As I have it plotted out, two more scenes to go before that last chapter.

Thanks for your patience and your kind reviews. I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season.

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