One Last Adventure Pt7
This is a bit of a long one...
Part 7
Guy was seated at the table with the Stephens family for dinner that evening, as he was most evenings lately. There were times when he preferred a little solitude, but with Cassandra’s arrival, he had found it to be safer to have dinner with the family since she would just use the opportunity to seek him out at his house anyway. Guy had over the last year learned so clearly what he had missed out on in his life...family. How different his life would have been if Marian had actually married him. No, he thought, it would not have been like this. Marian did not love him the way he could tell Lady Margaret cared for Robert. Marian would have been miserable married to such a wretched human being as he was. Guy glowered at his dinner, lost in his dark thoughts.
Lady Margaret interrupted those thoughts by saying she had good news for the family. Another guest was to be arriving in two to three days time. Guy closed his eyes in silent prayer, No, don’t say it, not another..."My niece is coming and she has business nearby as well." Guy dropped his head in defeat. God help him, another woman. Do these people have any male relatives?
Robert spoke up just then, "Sir Guy and I may not be here for her arrival, love. Remember we have some business to attend to with our trip to speak with Sir Roger about additions to our livestock." Thank God, Guy thought, a small reprieve.
"Oh, dear, I had forgotten about that," Margaret said. "Well, you should only miss her by a day or two if your business concludes quickly."
"Robbie," Cassandra started sweetly, "I’ve always been fascinated with how you acquire livestock and such." Guy could see where this was going and looked to Robert to say the right thing.
"Cassandra, I had no idea you had such an interest," Robert said. Oh, no, thought Guy.
"I can show you some fascinating research I’ve done after dinner if you’re truly interested," he continued on. Guy looked up at Lady Margaret who winked at Guy. Well, it seemed Lady and Sir Stephens were more aware of Cassandra’s motives than Guy had thought. Cassandra, of course, had no choice but to drop the subject and her angling for an invitation on the trip.
Marian and Allan arrived the day after Guy and Robert had departed. Margaret apologized for Robert’s absence and explained that they had gone on a business trip.
"They?" Marian queried.
"Yes, we’ve hired someone to be Robert’s right hand man, but he actually does everything himself. Sir Guy has been a godsend to our family."
No, it can’t be, thought Marian. It just can’t be the same Guy. "Sir Guy?" she said.
Just then Catherine chimed in, "Oh, yes, Marian. He’s soooo handsome. You won’t believe it when you see him."
"Handsome?", I can’t even ask a coherent question thought Marian.
Catherine began warming to her subject now, "Yes, he’s very tall with black, longish hair, the most beautiful blue eyes and he’s very strong."
Mary spoke up then, "How do you know he’s strong, Cate?"
Catherine blushed, "I’m just saying he looks strong, Mary," and glowered at her younger sister.
"Nice backside too," Cassandra said under her breath loud enough for only Marian to hear.
"What was that, Cassie?" Margaret asked.
"Nothing sister dear," Cassandra said and winked at Marian. On that note, Marian’s mind raced, Oh, no! It is Guy!
Okay, get a grip, Marian, and ask something relevant. "Does he live in that house just beyond the yard?" Shoot, that was not what I needed to ask, where is my mind?
"Well, yes, he does," Margaret said with a concerned look on her face. "Are you feeling all right, Marian. You look rather pale all of a sudden."
"No, I am well, Aunt Maggie. So, when did you say Uncle Robert was returning?"
"I’m not sure, dear. It could be another day or two or even three."
Marian excused herself to find Allan to share this mind boggling news. Marian found Allan out in the yard playing some sort of game of tag with the twins. Since their arrival, the girls had been quite taken with Allan in Guy’s absence. Ester remained a little more aloof and seemed to miss Guy the most. Unlike Guy, Allan was comfortable immediately around the girls. Margaret expressed some concern that they were bothering him to which Allan replied, "It’s no bother, I’m good with children."
Marian asked Anne and Kirsten if she might have a moment to talk with Allan. Cassandra never asked their permission when she tried to steal Guy away from them, so feeling rather important now, they graciously ran off to find other mischief.
"Allan, I think Guy is here," Marian started.
"Marian, I don’t see anyone. Are you okay?"
"No, not here right this minute, but here as in living here," Marian said in exasperation.
"What are you going to do?" asked Allan.
"I don’t know," she answered looking lost in thought.
"Look," Allan began, "I know Giz did a lot of bad things, but it sounds like he’s, what do you call it, reformed now."
Marian looked at Allan with hurt. "Do you think me so cold hearted that I would expose him now?" she asked. Allan said nothing, but looked at her with raised eyebrows as if to say he did think her capable of such a thing where Guy was concerned.
Marian knew that of all people, Allan knew the best how shamelessly she had manipulated Guy. She always had felt justified in whatever actions she had taken, but now the prospect of facing Guy was making her doubt those same actions. She wondered what kind of reception she would get from Guy. She hadn’t really thought it all out to the point in her adventure where she would come face to face with Guy and she certainly hadn’t anticipated finding him so easily and so soon.
Marian felt restless that night and decided to make a clandestine visit to Guy’s house to see if there was proof positive this Guy was indeed the same. She knew it was a very thinly veiled excuse to see where he had been living for the last year, but she could not stop herself. She dressed in her Nightwatchman’s outfit minus the cape and mask. Thank goodness her now repaired trousers fit better with the weight she had lost in travel and denying herself any sweets. She climbed down from her window and took off across the yard to his house. She climbed up to what she hoped was his window and tried jumping lightly in as she used to, but ended up catching her foot on the window sill and landing flat on her face with a thud. So much for moving in stealth. I really have to start training again she thought.
Luckily, it was a clear, bright night with a full moon illuminating the room for her without the need for a candle. She looked around at the spare furnishings and saw that Guy was very neat with his belongings. She saw a trunk at the end of the bed and went to it. She hesitated for a moment remembering another time she had snuck into Guy’s room in Locksley to steal his money. She had a moment of guilt and a moment of relief that she had not died that night. She opened the trunk and saw on top his gloves he had always worn with the metal wolf heads sewn on. She moved them aside and saw something that made her catch her breath. There under the gloves was a large lock of her hair the Sheriff had ordered cut. Someone had braided the hair and fastened both ends with ribbon. Marian’s eyes filled with tears as she touched the lock of hair. "Oh, Guy," she whispered.
Just then she heard men’s voices outside and they sounded as if they were singing, off key and very loud. She rushed to the window and there in the middle of the yard was her uncle and another taller figure with their arms around each other’s shoulders, their heads thrown back, and singing what sounded like a very naughty Scottish ditty. Guy drunk and singing??? The pair of them finished and Marian could hear her aunt yelling for Robert to get inside before he woke the girls.
Robert turned to Guy, "Shhhhhhh, we don’t want to wake the wee little ones," causing both of them to laugh again in what can only be described as a mannish giggling.
Robert turned then to walk back to the manor house belting out another song with Margaret meeting him halfway shushing him and helping him inside. Guy stood there watching for a moment and then turned to walk towards his house singing more softly this time to himself. Marian had been so intent on watching the bizarre scene in the yard, she had forgotten she was standing in Guy’s room and most definitely uninvited. She saw the trunk lid still open as she heard him climb the stairs, rushed to close the lid, and ran to take cover behind a decorative wooden screen halfway between the bed and the window. My usual instincts for this sort of escapade are not as sharp as they used to be she thought.
Just as she had moved to her hiding spot, the door crashed open and she could see Guy leaning against the doorjamb for a moment before he pushed himself off and began to remove his jacket with a great deal of difficulty. The jacket dropped to the floor and he continued to the bed where he sat down heavily and attempted to take his boots off. Marian’s ears burned with the curses that accompanied that particular task. He stood once more and wrestled his shirt off over his head tossing it across the room. His upper body was just as beautiful as she remembered possibly a bit more muscled. The moonlight in the room gave Marian a pretty good view and she was torn between watching and looking away as he reached for the laces on the front of his pants. He gave up halfway through the task though and dropped back down on the bed sprawled out on his back with his feet still on the floor. Marian was both relieved and disappointed.
With all of her attention on Guy’s removing his clothes, Marian had not heard the door to Guy’s house open and close, but she did hear as someone was making their way up the steps. She saw Cassandra appear in the open doorway in her dressing gown and with her hair down around her shoulders. Marian’s eyes narrowed...what is going on here? She watched as Cassandra made her way to Guy’s bed and saw her look down at Guy sprawled there. There was no mistaking the look on Cassandra’s face and Marian raised her eyes heavenward to pray as she had never prayed before that she would not be trapped here witness to Guy and Cassandra making love.
Cassandra sat down on the bed next to Guy and her eyes focused on the half undone laces of his trousers. Cassandra bent down as she placed her hand on Guy’s chest, that beautiful, muscular chest thought Marian.
Cassandra said softly close to Guy’s face and ear, "Guy, wake up love." No response. "Guy?", this time with a gentle nudge. Nothing. "Guy!", this time with a more insistent nudge.
Marian held her breath, stay asleep, Guy, stay asleep, please for the love of God, stay asleep. Guy mumbled and turned to sit up slightly and climbed further up on the bed to collapse on his stomach. Marian’s face flamed as she saw Cassandra’s hand smooth down from the middle of Guy's back to reach for the part of Guy that Marian had been mesmerized by so many times as he left a room. Marian felt helpless and murderous at the same time. Just as Cassandra’s hand made contact, Guy mumbled and then clearly whispered, "Marian" in a dreamy sighing kind of way. Both Marian and Cassandra snapped to attention with mouths dropped wide open. Cassandra backed off the bed as if she had been stung. Marian was equally shocked and had the sudden urge to go to Guy to tell him she was there.
Cassandra regained her equilibrium and with a look of sudden clarity on her face, she reached down to smooth Guy’s hair from his face, kissing his cheek, and said softly, "Gotcha," and quietly left the room.
Marian stood there giving Cassandra time to make her way back to the manor house and be safely inside before she stepped out from behind the screen. She looked at Guy’s sleeping figure, though his face was in shadow, a face she had longed to see for so long. Her hand reached out to touch his hair as she had seen Cassandra just do, but she brought her hand back knowing she did not have the right to touch him any longer. She quietly left the room leaving the way she had come in. Tomorrow was a day of reckoning...she would come face to face with Guy.
Part 7
Guy was seated at the table with the Stephens family for dinner that evening, as he was most evenings lately. There were times when he preferred a little solitude, but with Cassandra’s arrival, he had found it to be safer to have dinner with the family since she would just use the opportunity to seek him out at his house anyway. Guy had over the last year learned so clearly what he had missed out on in his life...family. How different his life would have been if Marian had actually married him. No, he thought, it would not have been like this. Marian did not love him the way he could tell Lady Margaret cared for Robert. Marian would have been miserable married to such a wretched human being as he was. Guy glowered at his dinner, lost in his dark thoughts.
Lady Margaret interrupted those thoughts by saying she had good news for the family. Another guest was to be arriving in two to three days time. Guy closed his eyes in silent prayer, No, don’t say it, not another..."My niece is coming and she has business nearby as well." Guy dropped his head in defeat. God help him, another woman. Do these people have any male relatives?
Robert spoke up just then, "Sir Guy and I may not be here for her arrival, love. Remember we have some business to attend to with our trip to speak with Sir Roger about additions to our livestock." Thank God, Guy thought, a small reprieve.
"Oh, dear, I had forgotten about that," Margaret said. "Well, you should only miss her by a day or two if your business concludes quickly."
"Robbie," Cassandra started sweetly, "I’ve always been fascinated with how you acquire livestock and such." Guy could see where this was going and looked to Robert to say the right thing.
"Cassandra, I had no idea you had such an interest," Robert said. Oh, no, thought Guy.
"I can show you some fascinating research I’ve done after dinner if you’re truly interested," he continued on. Guy looked up at Lady Margaret who winked at Guy. Well, it seemed Lady and Sir Stephens were more aware of Cassandra’s motives than Guy had thought. Cassandra, of course, had no choice but to drop the subject and her angling for an invitation on the trip.
Marian and Allan arrived the day after Guy and Robert had departed. Margaret apologized for Robert’s absence and explained that they had gone on a business trip.
"They?" Marian queried.
"Yes, we’ve hired someone to be Robert’s right hand man, but he actually does everything himself. Sir Guy has been a godsend to our family."
No, it can’t be, thought Marian. It just can’t be the same Guy. "Sir Guy?" she said.
Just then Catherine chimed in, "Oh, yes, Marian. He’s soooo handsome. You won’t believe it when you see him."
"Handsome?", I can’t even ask a coherent question thought Marian.
Catherine began warming to her subject now, "Yes, he’s very tall with black, longish hair, the most beautiful blue eyes and he’s very strong."
Mary spoke up then, "How do you know he’s strong, Cate?"
Catherine blushed, "I’m just saying he looks strong, Mary," and glowered at her younger sister.
"Nice backside too," Cassandra said under her breath loud enough for only Marian to hear.
"What was that, Cassie?" Margaret asked.
"Nothing sister dear," Cassandra said and winked at Marian. On that note, Marian’s mind raced, Oh, no! It is Guy!
Okay, get a grip, Marian, and ask something relevant. "Does he live in that house just beyond the yard?" Shoot, that was not what I needed to ask, where is my mind?
"Well, yes, he does," Margaret said with a concerned look on her face. "Are you feeling all right, Marian. You look rather pale all of a sudden."
"No, I am well, Aunt Maggie. So, when did you say Uncle Robert was returning?"
"I’m not sure, dear. It could be another day or two or even three."
Marian excused herself to find Allan to share this mind boggling news. Marian found Allan out in the yard playing some sort of game of tag with the twins. Since their arrival, the girls had been quite taken with Allan in Guy’s absence. Ester remained a little more aloof and seemed to miss Guy the most. Unlike Guy, Allan was comfortable immediately around the girls. Margaret expressed some concern that they were bothering him to which Allan replied, "It’s no bother, I’m good with children."
Marian asked Anne and Kirsten if she might have a moment to talk with Allan. Cassandra never asked their permission when she tried to steal Guy away from them, so feeling rather important now, they graciously ran off to find other mischief.
"Allan, I think Guy is here," Marian started.
"Marian, I don’t see anyone. Are you okay?"
"No, not here right this minute, but here as in living here," Marian said in exasperation.
"What are you going to do?" asked Allan.
"I don’t know," she answered looking lost in thought.
"Look," Allan began, "I know Giz did a lot of bad things, but it sounds like he’s, what do you call it, reformed now."
Marian looked at Allan with hurt. "Do you think me so cold hearted that I would expose him now?" she asked. Allan said nothing, but looked at her with raised eyebrows as if to say he did think her capable of such a thing where Guy was concerned.
Marian knew that of all people, Allan knew the best how shamelessly she had manipulated Guy. She always had felt justified in whatever actions she had taken, but now the prospect of facing Guy was making her doubt those same actions. She wondered what kind of reception she would get from Guy. She hadn’t really thought it all out to the point in her adventure where she would come face to face with Guy and she certainly hadn’t anticipated finding him so easily and so soon.
Marian felt restless that night and decided to make a clandestine visit to Guy’s house to see if there was proof positive this Guy was indeed the same. She knew it was a very thinly veiled excuse to see where he had been living for the last year, but she could not stop herself. She dressed in her Nightwatchman’s outfit minus the cape and mask. Thank goodness her now repaired trousers fit better with the weight she had lost in travel and denying herself any sweets. She climbed down from her window and took off across the yard to his house. She climbed up to what she hoped was his window and tried jumping lightly in as she used to, but ended up catching her foot on the window sill and landing flat on her face with a thud. So much for moving in stealth. I really have to start training again she thought.
Luckily, it was a clear, bright night with a full moon illuminating the room for her without the need for a candle. She looked around at the spare furnishings and saw that Guy was very neat with his belongings. She saw a trunk at the end of the bed and went to it. She hesitated for a moment remembering another time she had snuck into Guy’s room in Locksley to steal his money. She had a moment of guilt and a moment of relief that she had not died that night. She opened the trunk and saw on top his gloves he had always worn with the metal wolf heads sewn on. She moved them aside and saw something that made her catch her breath. There under the gloves was a large lock of her hair the Sheriff had ordered cut. Someone had braided the hair and fastened both ends with ribbon. Marian’s eyes filled with tears as she touched the lock of hair. "Oh, Guy," she whispered.
Just then she heard men’s voices outside and they sounded as if they were singing, off key and very loud. She rushed to the window and there in the middle of the yard was her uncle and another taller figure with their arms around each other’s shoulders, their heads thrown back, and singing what sounded like a very naughty Scottish ditty. Guy drunk and singing??? The pair of them finished and Marian could hear her aunt yelling for Robert to get inside before he woke the girls.
Robert turned to Guy, "Shhhhhhh, we don’t want to wake the wee little ones," causing both of them to laugh again in what can only be described as a mannish giggling.
Robert turned then to walk back to the manor house belting out another song with Margaret meeting him halfway shushing him and helping him inside. Guy stood there watching for a moment and then turned to walk towards his house singing more softly this time to himself. Marian had been so intent on watching the bizarre scene in the yard, she had forgotten she was standing in Guy’s room and most definitely uninvited. She saw the trunk lid still open as she heard him climb the stairs, rushed to close the lid, and ran to take cover behind a decorative wooden screen halfway between the bed and the window. My usual instincts for this sort of escapade are not as sharp as they used to be she thought.
Just as she had moved to her hiding spot, the door crashed open and she could see Guy leaning against the doorjamb for a moment before he pushed himself off and began to remove his jacket with a great deal of difficulty. The jacket dropped to the floor and he continued to the bed where he sat down heavily and attempted to take his boots off. Marian’s ears burned with the curses that accompanied that particular task. He stood once more and wrestled his shirt off over his head tossing it across the room. His upper body was just as beautiful as she remembered possibly a bit more muscled. The moonlight in the room gave Marian a pretty good view and she was torn between watching and looking away as he reached for the laces on the front of his pants. He gave up halfway through the task though and dropped back down on the bed sprawled out on his back with his feet still on the floor. Marian was both relieved and disappointed.
With all of her attention on Guy’s removing his clothes, Marian had not heard the door to Guy’s house open and close, but she did hear as someone was making their way up the steps. She saw Cassandra appear in the open doorway in her dressing gown and with her hair down around her shoulders. Marian’s eyes narrowed...what is going on here? She watched as Cassandra made her way to Guy’s bed and saw her look down at Guy sprawled there. There was no mistaking the look on Cassandra’s face and Marian raised her eyes heavenward to pray as she had never prayed before that she would not be trapped here witness to Guy and Cassandra making love.
Cassandra sat down on the bed next to Guy and her eyes focused on the half undone laces of his trousers. Cassandra bent down as she placed her hand on Guy’s chest, that beautiful, muscular chest thought Marian.
Cassandra said softly close to Guy’s face and ear, "Guy, wake up love." No response. "Guy?", this time with a gentle nudge. Nothing. "Guy!", this time with a more insistent nudge.
Marian held her breath, stay asleep, Guy, stay asleep, please for the love of God, stay asleep. Guy mumbled and turned to sit up slightly and climbed further up on the bed to collapse on his stomach. Marian’s face flamed as she saw Cassandra’s hand smooth down from the middle of Guy's back to reach for the part of Guy that Marian had been mesmerized by so many times as he left a room. Marian felt helpless and murderous at the same time. Just as Cassandra’s hand made contact, Guy mumbled and then clearly whispered, "Marian" in a dreamy sighing kind of way. Both Marian and Cassandra snapped to attention with mouths dropped wide open. Cassandra backed off the bed as if she had been stung. Marian was equally shocked and had the sudden urge to go to Guy to tell him she was there.
Cassandra regained her equilibrium and with a look of sudden clarity on her face, she reached down to smooth Guy’s hair from his face, kissing his cheek, and said softly, "Gotcha," and quietly left the room.
Marian stood there giving Cassandra time to make her way back to the manor house and be safely inside before she stepped out from behind the screen. She looked at Guy’s sleeping figure, though his face was in shadow, a face she had longed to see for so long. Her hand reached out to touch his hair as she had seen Cassandra just do, but she brought her hand back knowing she did not have the right to touch him any longer. She quietly left the room leaving the way she had come in. Tomorrow was a day of reckoning...she would come face to face with Guy.