Chapter 13

Nottingham – 4 months later, March, 1190

Marian was meeting Leighton today; he had been kind and considerate. He had offered a sense of hope in this rather depressing England. She hadn't felt so happy since John's death. Leighton was walking around the market when he found Marian. He would ask her to marry him today; he had waited for too long already. But he could tell that there was something stopping her.

"Ah, Marian how are you today?" Ashley asked.

"Im very well thank you." Marian smiled walking beside him.

"I have something to ask you." Leighton jumped straight into it.

"Yes." Marian was perfectly polite.

"I think we should marry." Leighton almost demanded.

"Excuse me." Marian was shocked.

"I think that we should marry."

"We have only known each other for a few months."

"Yet I feel I have known you my entire life." Ashley knew that what he said now would make or break his plan. Marian couldn't say anything she was so shocked. Suddenly a voice inside her head started speaking. 'Don't do it Marian, he doesn't love you. Marry me instead. Wait for me to come home', Robin's voice was ringing in her ears, it made up her mind.

"I agree, I think we should marry too." Marian smiled.

"Wonderful."

Marian had rode home that afternoon and told her father about her marriage, he seemed rather pleased. Leighton had introduced himself to her father and Edward had been pleased with the young man, so the marriage was good news to him. She was now outside with Adam helping to make repairs to the shed.

"Marian do you really think this is a good idea?" Adam asked leaning over a railing to hammer some nails on a lower rail the other side. The way he was leaning made him muffled, Marian was doing work on the shutters opposite him.

"Well, I do not see anyone else to marry. And well he seems genuine enough." Marian said, pulling the shutter off the wall.

"Well I disagree; Marian I don't think he's right for you. I have seen the way he looks at you when he sees you out on the farm. It is completely the opposite too how Robin used to look at you." Adam said still hammering.

"And perhaps that is a good thing, after all Robin left. Adam I know you liked Robin but he is gone and I need a husband I am 19."

"Marian, listen to me something is not right with him."

"Well I'm going to marry him anyway."

"And what happens when he finds out about the night-watchman. What if he is a supporter of the sheriff?" Adam was trying everything to change her mind. There was something not right about Leighton and he didn't want Marian to get hurt again.

"I will figure something out."

"So you will lie to you husband just like your lying to everyone else? And what about Dan? Do you think Ashley will just welcome a child no questions asked? You need to think." Adam suggested. Marian gasped.

"Now that was low and uncalled for." She dropped the tools and ran off into Sherwood.

"Marian!" Adam shouted after her, jumping over the rail and following out of the shed. "Marian wait!" By the time he was out of the shed she was already gone.

She walked and walked until she reached the hill where John was buried. Right now she truly felt on her own. She sat at the bottom of his grave and began to cry. "Everything is such a mess John." She said with her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do. I don't love him and I always said I would marry whom I wanted. But it's easy to say when you're younger." She wiped her eyes and looked to his grave.
"If only you were here, you'd knock some sense into me." Marian sighed. She wiped the mud from the grave stone, she placed the fresh flowers she had picked from the forest down and threw the ones she bought here the previous week to the side. "Adam's right, I can't hide it from the man I'm married too." She sighed again.
"Well I should be going it will get dark soon." Marian laughed as she finally realised what she was doing. "I am talking to a gravestone. Like you are going to talk back, I really need to spend less time with the horses." She was finally laughing and feeling slightly better she jumped up and begun to run back towards Knighton.