The Forgotten Keepsake

Chapter 15

XV

"Thinking of me?"

Marian jumped and nearly brought her hand up to her heart but caught herself in time; she didn't want to give Robin the satisfaction of knowing he had startled her.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she smiled but her eyes showed her irritation.

"Come on, you can admit it you know?" Robin thought that his smiles were charming and often they were but Marian found that this one was just smug.

You'd like to think that wouldn't you?

"Sorry to disappoint you. I was thinking about whether to buy this dress or not." She gestured to the market stall

"Sorry to disappoint you my Lady but that can't be true, you must have enough dresses to clothe the entire town of Nottingham or has Gisborne not been buying you any lately?"

Sometimes I could just slap you...

"A woman can never have enough dresses..." She smiled sweetly but then the smile faded just as quickly for she knew he was about to begin one of his speeches about how most people could hardly afford such luxuries these days and she didn't want to get him started on that one, she just wanted him to get to the point.

"Is there something I can do for you Robin?"

"There's something going on with Gisborne."

Marian knew he was right, in fact that had been exactly what she had been thinking about before Robin had crept up on her.

"What do you mean?" She was curious to hear what the outlaw knew.

"Well for one he's always riding off somewhere on his own, to York or wherever..."

"Lucky him. I wish I could be so fortunate." Marian remarked bitterly. Being confined to the Castle and constantly shadowed by guards watching her every move was not agreeing with her - it was a wonder they could have this conversation, luckily Allan was keeping her escorts busy with some gambling trick or other.

"Could you not keep an eye on him for me?" Robin tried another attempt at a charming smile and once again, it didn't have the desired effect on Marian

Aha. Now we're getting to the point.

"And how should I do that exactly? You see my situation here..." She gestured furiously to the guards "...and you hardly seemed keen on having me near him the other night..." Marian had to turn away from him on saying this; she felt her face growing hot and it was not from being angry with Robin.

Oh, the other night...

She had never thought that she would ever dwell so much on an encounter with Gisborne.

God, the sight of him...

"He was stood there half naked, holding your hand! – how was I supposed to feel about that?"

Jealous. Very jealous, oh smug one.

"Ladies and Gents, it was a pleasure but I have to be gettin' along now..." Allan had obviously had enough of swindling the guards and as one of them was not looking at all happy about being parted from his money, it was probably for the best.

"We'll talk about this again soon." Robin whispered and started to take his leave

"Yeah, well you know where I'll be."

*****

Marian threw herself upon the bed and huffed in frustration. She wanted to help Robin but her wings were clipped. If she was honest, she would like nothing more than to know what Gisborne was getting up to but how? She quickly got up from the bed to look out the windows and her eyes drifted automatically to the stables. Guy's horse was not there and it occurred to her that she had not seen him all day.

Where do you always go riding to?

Marian sighed. If she were allowed to, she would love to go riding... she would love to follow him riding.

He always looks good on a horse.

Jesus Marian! Where did that come from?

You know where...

...And so her thoughts drifted back to the other night.

"Marian what is this all about?" Guy had asked her but she barely knew herself.

He had put her so off balance, she wondered that she had been coherent.

You catch him one time with his shirt off and get into a state, what would've happened if you'd married him?

It had not just been his bare torso that had affected her, though that had certainly done the job; it had been his whole intense... Guyness. It had been the juxtaposition of the bare torso and the completely closed off demeanour, the body radiating heat and the eyes pure ice, the tremors in his breathing and the directness of his words

"I had feelings for you; I make no bones about that but now... now I feel nothing."

How can you be so open, so bare and yet so closed, so hidden, so... hurtful.

Is this hurt you are feeling Marian? Is that what this is?

"I offer friendship."

Did you?

"No. This isn't about friendship... you want your freedom back... and I can't give that to you – you and your father have made your own bed."

And so it went on as Marian replayed the scene over and over in her mind wondering why it bothered her so.

Once upon a time, she would have reached out to him to try to cure the 'bad blood' between them but she knew the Guy she had been confronted with lately would not buy it.

He was suspicious. He didn't trust her. He could see through her. He didn't want her.

Do you want his love again?

It scared her that a part of her might.

The part that had wished Robin hadn't been spying on them that night.

The part that kept that image of him branded in her mind.

The part that whispered to her that if it had been a different Guy that night, the Guy that usually wanted her so ardently, she wouldn't have resisted him.