The Forgotten Keepsake

Chapter 18

XVIII

"Do you know something Marian...?" the Sheriff paused for effect, he enjoyed how it put people on edge "...I think you might have competition."

Marian frowned for a second but then fixed him with an unimpressed look, she expected taunts from him, it was all he ever did and so she tried her best to repress her irritation as it only made things worse.

"My Lord Sheriff?"

"Gisborne..." He wandered around the room as if this was a casual conversation, which of course it wasn't; Vaisey never did anything casually, everything was calculated, "I think he has... how shall I put it? ...another pretty one..." he smiled greasily, relishing her discomfort. At first, she pretended that his remark was of no interest to her but then as his words sunk in, she began to wonder, "Yes, he thinks I don't notice his little rides off to Clun, or that he has been buying trinkets again..." Vaisey was circling her now, watching her reactions closely, she was, in that moment, unwittingly confirming his suspicions, "...at first I thought his little gifts were for you but now..." he trailed off, not needing to say anymore – his work was done here. He was a picture of smug self-satisfaction with an enormous gap-toothed grin plastered all over his face - he could see her confusion and it thrilled him to goad her so.

He was of course right. Marian had received no gifts from Guy of late; the gifts had stopped after the wedding along with all the other clumsy attempts to win her. She was frowning now, trying to make sense of it all, wondering if what the Sheriff was saying could be true or if he was just saying these things to taunt her. Could there be another explanation? Perhaps Guy had been meeting with a spy; Robin had told her that very morning of the possibility of a spy in his gang but then what of the gifts? Could Gisborne be planning to try to court her again? Nothing in his current behaviour suggested it – he was no longer angry with her but he remained distant at best and suspicious of her at worst... Could it be that he had another?

As all of this was running though her mind the Sheriff had been gradually edging closer to her and she was suddenly startled to find that he was standing practically right up in her face. He brought a hand up to cup her chin, roughly tilting her head up to his, she flinched but he held fast and with a malicious leer whispered, "Better buck up your ideas eh missy? Or you'll not be getting him back for all of your night time visits and finest silks."

*****

Guy was sitting on the ramparts and pondering the enormous differences between his private and professional life at the moment.

On the one side, he was joyous, happy, positively rapturous; everything seemed so easy, so simple, so wonderful.

On the other, it was as if he was being pulled in many directions at once; everybody seemed to want something from him, be it Allan asking him for a job, Marian all of a sudden wanting to 'spend some time with him' or the Sheriff requiring all manner of assistance in the usual carousel of ridiculous plots; bringing the 'pestilence' to Nottingham, employing quacks to get some idiot messenger to talk or last but not least dunking 'witches'.

He supposed he should be flattered to be so sought-after but instead, he merely felt as if he was being used. Allan had no choice but to come to him for a job, Marian was manipulating him for her own ends and the Sheriff, well, he nearly let him drown for a bag of rocks not so long back - no need to say anymore there.

Since he'd met Mina, it had made many things easier to deal with. He found it easier to do his job knowing that she would be there whenever he could make the time to visit - this was an enormous consolation to him. A few months ago, he would have been crushed to discover Marian was spying on him but then again back then he probably wouldn't have been able to see it, he would've swallowed her lies not wanting to believe what she was doing. But now he saw it all so clearly and it wasn't all that tragic – hey, it wasn't even all that unexpected.

Thank God, I have you little one.

He decided to go to Castlebrook. It was late afternoon and would soon be nightfall but he was damned if he was going to hang around here with this lot and perhaps he could coax Mina out for an evening walk along the river. Yes he would go; go and be where he knew he was wanted.

*****

Guy thought he should never grow tired of kissing her.

It was a glorious summer evening with not a cloud in the sky and Guy had saddled his horse and was on his way before anybody could say anything about it. He surprised her at the house, silencing her startled gasp with a kiss, but not before checking carefully to make sure that the coast was clear, taking particular care to avoid the ever-watchful Mary.

He took her hand and led her out to the fields nearby, he had thought to take her down to the river but they didn't make it that far, he hadn't been able to resist a kiss on the way and the next thing he knew they were both lying down in the long grass with him on top her, cradled between her thighs and kissing each other as if their lives depended on it. If he had been worried about pushing her too far too fast, he needn't have been - every kiss was greeted with a smile against his lips, every move to pull her closer with a sigh, as his tongue begged entrance to her mouth it was welcomed with a moan and as his fingers slid down her body to explore her, he felt her arch into his touch.

It was heavenly.

And who knows how far it would have gone had it not been for...

"What's this?"

She was panting heavily, one hand at the back of his neck pushing him harder against her, the other tangled in his necklace. He didn't respond immediately, he was busy pressing hot open-mouthed kisses against her neck and wondering if it would earn him a slap if he began undressing her. He came back down to earth to discover that she had already long since began undressing him, his shirtfront was open and his necklace was dangling on her chest, attached to which was a ring.

He froze the instant he saw what it was.

"It's a wedding ring."