Author's note: I am sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter! And I do realise that the length may not be a consolation. I have been trying to write as well as I can and use a tone that would be as close to possible to each of the characters in the dialogues. Therefore, I have been favouring quality over quantity. I hope that you will be satisfied with the result. Please let me know your thoughts! I would love to see that my words are not getting lost in the deep dark web and that someone is actually reading this!

Chapter 2

That night, the whole countryside seemed to reflect the disquiet in Marian and Sarah's hearts. The slight breeze coming in through the window of Marian's chamber brought with it the sounds of crickets and owls hooting in the distance, and the earthy promise of rain to come. Nothing and no one was ready to settle, let alone Marian. Despite her eyelids feeling heavy with tiredness, all she could do was toss and turn in her bed. There was so much to worry about! The best outcome would be that her message would reach Acre safely, but it would be months before they heard back… And Aymeric had so many hurdles to overcome before arriving to the Holy Land! Even if he managed to escape the Sheriff's watch and cross Nottinghamshire safely, it was such a long way to Dover… She tried to tell herself that it was out of her hands now and hours went by before she finally drifted into a troubled sleep.

The following morning, she was awoken before dawn by a banging sound. On her way to the door leading into the yard, she was met by Jeffery.

'Good morning, Jeffery! Are we expecting anyone at this hour?'

'No, we are not M'Lady! I have no idea who this could be. Let us be on our guard.'

'Open this door!' someone shouted.

A couple of men had already reached the door. One of them asked:

'Who comes at this hour? Introduce yourself!'

A different voice answered 'Very well. The Sheriff entreats you to open this door, you dimwit!'

Marian met Sarah's frightened gaze. His visits to Blidworth castle were never particularly welcomed, but his coming this morning did not foresee anything good… She silently pushed her companions aside and opened the peep shutter. The Sheriff was waiting outside on horseback, along with a couple of armed men… As well as Aymeric, who looked terrified. Marian closed the wooden shaft and unlocked the heavy door. She repressed a groan of frustration and faced the Sheriff with an icy smile.

'Good morning. May I ask why you brought my serf here, Sheriff?' Marian asked with as much calm as she could muster. The Sheriff gave his men a curt nod and they pushed Aymeric towards Sarah.

'You, My Lady, are always a sight for sore eyes.' Nottingham's mouth moved to form something that could be best described as a grin rather than a genuine smile. Before she could move away, his hand grabbed hers and brought it to his lips. They lingered there for a moment more than what would have been deemed appropriate, and the feeling made the young woman shiver.

'We found your man wandering around on his own… And as you know, we would always be suspicious of such behaviour. Poachers and thieves abound, and it is my duty to check that no one is in possession of illegally obtained property. Serfs are not always happy to comply, we may have to conduct a thorough search from time to time… Which led us to this discovery.' He produced something out of his pocket which confirmed Marian's fears.

'You'll understand that a man in my position should always be weary of hidden messages. I had to make sure it did not contain anything that could… Well… Threaten the peace of our people. And its content did worry me.'

Nottingham took another step towards Marian, who stood her ground.

'Lady Marian, I haven't yet apologised for this early intrusion, but in your message, you mentioned trouble, and asked for the receiver to come at once. I was happy to comply. A young woman, alone in this wilderness, one can never be too careful. May I ask what trouble you were referring to?'

The young woman's annoyance rose, despite her fear. What was it with men thinking she was alone in her castle? She gestured towards her guards, Aymeric and Sarah.

'As you can see, I am far from being on my own. I entreat you not to trouble yourself with the content of this message, it was nothing of consequence to you.'

'I did not mean to offend you, Lady Dubois. However, I do feel obliged to keep a closer eye on you from now on… In the name of safety, of course…'

He walked forward and took her arm, guiding her away from the others. A worrying suspicion rose in her mind: he had a good enough reason to bring her away for questioning, so why hadn't he done so yet? She found that she dreaded the uncertainty even more than the possibility of being locked within the cold and damp walls of Nottingham castle. Judging by his attitude, whatever he had in mind obviously involved being in good terms with her. She did not have to wait long before she got some clarity.

'Part of me thinks I should insist a lot more to find out who this message was intended for, and what you meant by the word 'darkness'… But I know women to be of delicate constitution, they get alarmed easily. There there, don't fret My Lady' Nottingham added with a pat on Marian's arm, no doubt noticing her cheeks blushing with anger, 'I am not angry. All I wanted to say is… That I would love to help dissipate those fears. It is not proper for a woman to be left alone to manage an estate, even one half as remote as this one. I cannot believe that your brother agreed to this.' Nottingham smiled at that last sentence, which sent a pang in her heart. Dear, dear Peter…

'And what do you suggest, Sheriff? Like I said, I have my people here.' She asked coldly.

'You need a protector, someone to watch over you. Someone male, obviously…' He looked at Sarah with contempt. 'Someone who could have influence at court. I would be honoured to offer my services, Lady Dubois.'

'And in what capacity are you offering your services? Your position involves a lot of visits to other inhabitants of the Shire. I know you do not have extra time to devote to me…' Marian tried to sound as civil as she could, but the words seemed to get stuck in her throat. She pulled Nottingham's arm, forcing him to walk back to the others.

'I thank you for your visit, Sheriff, but once again you should not let a silly woman's musings get in the way of your busy day. I shall try not to alarm you in the future.' Marian said with a smile.

'Lady Marian…' the Sheriff tried to intervene, but she cut him off again by leading him to his horse.

'Have a nice day and thank you for coming by.'

Seeing that his words had not had the intended effect, the Sheriff finally saluted Marian and led his troop outside the gates. Only when the gate was locked again did she allow herself a sigh of relief. Even though it looked like getting a message out to Richard would be even harder than she had thought, the fact that the Sheriff had not taken her in allowed them a little bit more time. Even though it meant that she was going to have to bear a certain amount of scrutiny… She walked towards Sarah.

'Sarah, please tell Duncan to remain indoors. The sheriff suspects us enough as it is, I do not want him to see that we have taken in an outlaw's servant.'

'Yes, My Lady.'

All were relieved to see that despite having been discovered and searched, Aymeric had not been badly harmed. He told Marian that one of the Sheriff's men had struck him with a club, which had rendered him unable to resist to the search. They had easily recognised him as belonging to the house of a lady that had previously associated with an outlaw, and their suspicions that he was up to no good had been confirmed when they had found the roll hidden in his boot. Marian being unwilling to risk her serf's life again, she found herself back to the start.

As everyone left the courtyard to get ready for a new day of work, Marian, Duncan and Sarah met in the great hall to discuss what to do next.

'My Lady, I would be glad to carry the message, but I am afraid that with my eyes…'

'Duncan, you will be far more useful to us here. We need someone we can trust, but would not suspect…'

'I wish you would let me go… I could say that I have been sent to bring your mother a message… Would the scroll really be needed?' Sarah asked.

Marian shook her head.

'I do not think that the King will believe anyone telling him he should go back to England as quickly as possible without tangible proof of their good faith. The seal is the proof he will ask for.'

'That's a pity. I do think the Sheriff's men would not stop and search a woman so easily.'

Duncan and Sarah looked at Marian intently as she froze and considered her lady in waiting's words.

'You are right Sarah, they would not stop a woman. But I am not ready to risk anyone's life again let alone your own.' She breathed in slowly and said with a grave voice 'I don't think we have any options left. I will take the message to Richard myself.'