Grant What I Wish

Grant What I Wish - Chapter 6. Castling

Chapter 6. Castling

Open your hands, 

if you want to be held. 

-Rumi

Nottingham 

1195

He was an outlaw now, an outcast from society. After confronting Prince John and fleeing from Nottingham, he made his way to the house in Locksley he had called home for over two years. As quickly as he could, he gathered as many of his possessions and monies as he could carry. He knew that all too soon, Locksley would be stripped from him, and guards would be posted throughout the village to apprehend him should he attempt to return. Therefore, he took all that he could carry and made his way deep into Sherwood Forest, steering clear of the area he knew to be inhabited and patrolled by Robin Hood and his followers.

He set up camp in a close thicket of beech trees and prepared a spartan meal with the provisions he had scavenged from his home-his former home, he corrected himself. It was a damp evening, but he decided against lighting a fire. As he sat on the ground and ate his cold supper, he thought over the predicament in which he found himself.

He was on his own once more, with nothing but his horse, a sack full of coins, and a bundle of clothing and belongings. Guy sighed-he had little more than he had owned when he first arrived in Nottingham to do the bidding of the Sheriff. How many times in his life had he started over? He had lost count. He mentally ticked off leaving home when his parents died in the fire, being chased from town to town with his sister in tow, striking out on his own as a soldier in a nobleman's guard, doing the bidding of numerous undistinguished nobles, and finally landing at Nottingham, in the service of Vasey. Always moving, never staying still or belonging to any place or anyone. Could not luck swing his way just once? Couldn't the fates grant what he wished-life in one place, where he could plant his feet and make a home with someone willing to share his fortune with him? Too late for that, he thought ruefully. That dream had died with Marian.

What would she say if she could see him now? Knowing her, he thought with a small, bitter smile, she would have told him he was well shut of the sheriff and the intrigues of court. She would have urged him to follow his conscience and do what was right. But what was right? He wished with all of his being that he could seek her counsel; it had been so long since he had sought to do what was right that his viewpoint was tainted.

Perhaps he needed to begin by making his peace with Isabella. She was consumed by hatred of him, and he could not say that he blamed her. He did not know how to begin to make amends, and perhaps it was too late for that. But perhaps he could tell her that he was sorry he had left her with Thornton-that he thought he was doing the right thing by marrying her to someone with property and stability. God knows their youth was one of constant instability, from the time his father left for war and his mother faced challenge after challenge to her right as chatelaine to the manor.

Coming to a decision, he swung up onto the back of his horse and wheeled toward Nottingham. He only hoped Isabella might be in a mood to listen rather than call forth the guard to put him in the dungeon.

********

It was market day in Nottingham, and the castle keep was teaming with people carefully studying the wares that each merchant had to offer. At the butcher's stall, chickens and game fowl hung by the feet from ropes strung across poles, ready for someone's dinner. Vegetables were piled in baskets at other stalls: early produce such a greens and leeks with a few cellared potatoes and carrots. At still other stands, brightly woven fabrics were on display along with plainer cloth for peasants and laborers.