"Marian, get up! I'm sorry, but Sir Guy is here to see you."
Marian sat up in bed, blinking her eyes as she tried to shake the cobwebs from her brain.
Sir Guy? Why would he come to see her so early? Yet, perhaps it wasn't early. The light streaming through her window alerted her it wasn't.
"What time is it?" she asked her father, disturbed to see a large black bruise on his cheek where Gisbourne had struck him the day before.
"It's late. Past nine. I let you sleep."
"Nine! Father, I never sleep so la-"
"I know. I think your mind needed the rest, after... Can you get up now? Sir Guy doesn't like being kept waiting."
"Maybe he'll withdraw his proposal, finding he's..." She had difficulty voicing the word, but she managed it somehow. "...he's engaged to a slug-a-bug."
"Hurry," her father warned her, shutting her door to head back downstairs and make excuses to Gisbourne.
Her father had been kind, letting her sleep, Marian realized as she quickly readied herself to face Gisbourne. Her mind did need to rest, after yesterday's horrific events. The hanging of three of Robin's men, brought forward one hour by Sheriff Vaisey, followed by her own hair's breath escape from arrest and the gallows, thanks to Robin locating the necklace. And then, no less horrible, her agreement to marry Gisbourne, made under duress, and Robin's shocked, hurt eyes.
Marian felt numb. Sleep truly was her only escape, and her father had been merciful not to wake her.
Never one to cower, however, Marian quickly made herself presentable and hastened down the stairs. There wasn't time to dress, but Sir Guy had visited her once before when she had been clad in no more than her nightdress and robe.
"Good morning, Sir Guy," she said politely. "To what do we owe the honor of your company?"
Gisbourne took a step forward, in an awkward attempt to kiss her. Without even pausing to think, Marian turned away her face, so that his lips landed on her hair, just below her ear.
"You're up late," he mentioned, disapprovingly.
"I couldn't get to sleep last night," she lied, pleasing him by her answer.
"I, too, couldn't sleep," he commented, nervous and stiff, yet striving for an intimacy she wasn't ready to allow. "The excitement of...of our engagement kept me up."
Under her father's watchful eye, Marian gave Guy a quick flash of her sweet half-smile. The smile was as big a lie as any she had ever told him. But it fooled him, and enflamed his desires, causing him to boldly reach for her hand.
"Go," he ordered her father.
Sir Edward gasped and looked to Marian for help.
"It's alright, father," she told him, wishing she could shake off Gisbourne's hot hand, its palm sweaty as it gripped her hand so forcefully she felt it might crush her bones.
A knot formed in her stomach as she realized she felt every bit as much a prisoner, doomed to a terrible fate, as she would have been had Robin not pressed the necklace into her hand yesterday.
Gisbourne's breath was coming hard and rapidly. "I came to invite you, and your father," he allowed, grudgingly, "to a party at my house."
"Your house?" she asked, vacantly.
"Locksley," he almost barked, defensively, gripping her hand even more tightly.
Marian gave her head a quick nod, allowing Gisbourne to continue.
"In honor of the King's birthday tomorrow, I will be hosting a party in my house. Only the best people are invited, of course. It would be my pleasure, were you and your father to attend."
"Do we really have any choice?" she managed to ask, coldly.
She shouldn't have said it. Gisbourne's face sneered, turning his handsome features to form an ugly, threatening grimace. He tightened his grip even harder, hurting her.
"Of course, we will be happy to attend," Marian told him, giving him another flash of a smile.
Gisbourne seemed to relax, and loosened his grip on her hand enough for Marian to pull her own hand away.
"Here," he told her, handing her a few coins. "Buy yourself a new gown for the occasion."
"Really, Sir Guy, I hardly think-"
"Just buy one!" he bellowed, sorry at once that he had lost control. In a softer, more oily voice, he added, "I want my betrothed looking her best, before my guests. And wear a hood, to match your gown," he ordered. "To hide your hair," he explained.
Marian took a deep, slow, steadying breath, trying to calm her anger. "Of course, Sir Guy," she smiled, insincerely. "I will try my best to be a credit to you."
Her answer seemed to satisfy him.
"Unfortunately, I must be going," he told her. "The sheriff has a busy day planned for me. Perhaps I will stop by again later tonight, on my way home to Locksley?"
Marian only nodded, just wanting him to leave as soon as possible.
Gisbourne sighed heavily, unhappy at the way the interview had played out. He felt no closer to her than before. Yet she was his, he reminded himself. He had won, and Hood had lost. Confident again, he bid Marian good day, and left Knighton to ride to Nottingham.
"He's gone?" her father asked timidly, appearing in the doorway.
Marian could only nod again, before sighing, and climbing the stairs to climb back into her bed.