[WATTYS2023 - GERMAN WINNER/Most Engaging World] ** Marian, a thieving nobleman's daughter with too big a heart, meets Robin Hood, a daring thief with a huge ego. Will they be able to overcome pain, longing, and, finally the cruel Sheriff of Notting...
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Nottinghamshire - Castle DeBurgh
When Marian climbed over the rope Robin had attached to the castle wall for her into the castle garden, the sun had long since sunk behind the horizon, and stars twinkled in the night sky. Hastily she slipped into one of the side passages.
Sighing, Marian wiped a strand of hair from her face and slowed her pace a little as she approached the main hall. Prancing firelight radiated from the entrance onto the wall opposite and into the sparsely lit corridor. If she was not mistaken, she had just heard her father's voice?
'You should stop floating in your mind constantly and be more attentive!' Marian scolded herself, pursing her lips sorrowfully.
She just had to get past this hall, down the main corridor, and she could take the servants' stairs up. She had already sneaked away several times and had chosen this way as the safest. The most difficult and risky part was the few meters past the archway of the hall. Her heart urged her to hurry, but a step taken too quickly could be treacherous. So Marian forced herself not to leap past like a rushed deer.
"Marian."
Her name came from the hall as polished as a precisely wielded sword stroke. Immediately she flinched and almost tripped over her own feet.
As Marian stepped out of the shadows into the light, his face contorted momentarily in annoyance. She didn't even get to his reply. "God, girl, how are you dressed again!" Indignantly, he slapped his hand on the wooden board before him and shook his head. "You have a visitor, and you weren't here to receive him properly."
Marian wasn't sure if he was angry or just keeping up appearances. Her attention settled on said visitor rising from the wooden chair, and her stomach tightened.
"Guy," it escaped her, and another sharp look from her father made her hastily lower her head. "Sire," she improved appropriately to at least keep up appearances. "Forgive my behavior and demeanor," she apologized, feeling Guy's gaze like a prickle on the back of her neck. A breath that made one fully aware that one was being watched but not yet able to define precisely whether the breeze had been cold or warm ... or both.
"You need not apologize, my lady," he said as if they were two strangers in a crowded hall full of gawping nobles.
Immediately her pulse picked up, and nervousness spread through her like wildfire. Cautiously, she lifted her eyes slightly and peered under her long lashes at the table to see if the Sheriff was also present.
A hasty relief washed over her when her fear was not realized. But why was Guy here now and today? Surely he had already heard about the robbery. Had the Sheriff sent him? Did he want to check if she was here? Did he suspect something?
"How long do you wish to grace us with your presence, Sir Of Gisborne?" asked Marian. "If you wish to stay a little longer, I will change my clothes and keep you company afterward."Oh, how Marian wished she could see through Guy better. She met his eyes the color of an approaching thunderstorm beneath the raven blackness of his hair, yet she could not guess what was in his mind. He never wavered, his features as mysterious as ever. It sometimes gave him the same unapproachable coldness of his father. And she hated that quality in him.
