"Sir Guy's Atonement" (Book 3) by Gratiana Lovelace, 2015 (a Wattys2015 Nominee)

Ch. 23 (PG-13, S): Wed in London

Sir Guy's Atonement" (Book 3), Ch. 23 (PG-13, S): Wed in London,  April 17, 2015 Gratiana Lovelace

[An Original Fan Fiction adaptation of the characters from the BBC's Robin Hood; 

& a Sequel to "Sir Guy's Dilemma" (Book 2) by Gratiana Lovelace]

(All Rights Reserved; No copyright infringement intended)

 [From time to time, I will illustrate my story with my dream cast of:  Richard Armitage as Baron Guy of Gisborne, Clive Standen as Lord Archer of Locksley, Emma Watson as Lady Roseanna Gisborne, Lucy Griffiths as Lady Marian in flashback, James McAvoy as Lord George Middleton, Toby Stephens as Prince John, Chris Hemsworth a s Sir Roderick Merton, Tamsin Egerton as Lady Rebecca Oxbridge, etc.]

Author's Mature Content Note:  "Sir Guy's Atonement" is a story of romance and intrigue set amidst  Medieval times.  As such there will be some passages in this story involving heartfelt love scenes (S) and some passages involving highly dramatic moments (D).  I will label the maturity rating of those chapters accordingly.  Otherwise, the general rating for this story is PG or PG-13 due to some mature situations and topics.  If you are unable or unwilling to attend a movie with the ratings that I provide, then please do not read the chapters with those labels.  This is my disclaimer.

Author's Recap from the previous installment:  Baron Guy of Gisborne having confessed his remorse over killing Lady Marian to the Madonna statue bearing Lady Marian's likeness in St. Matthews Church in Locksley—and having the penultimate nightmare about that fateful day in the Holy Land, which precipitates his wife Lady Roseanna to suggest they hold a memorial service at which Baron Guy buries and secret letter he wrote to the deceased Lady Marian seeking her forgiveness—Baron Guy vows to live in the moment and to value his family.  He is blessed with family—as are their extended family in the Middleton's and Locksley's.  However their cousin's the Oxbridge's family—with the Earl Lord John still away for many years in the Holy Land and now suffering with possible life threatening injuries—feel the void of not having their husband and father with them.  And Rebecca Lady Leicester will soon find herself at a crossroads of happiness or despair.

"Sir Guy's Atonement" (Book 3), Ch. 23 (PG-13, S): Rebecca and Roderick Wed in London

It is a week later still in May 1199 that as King John entertains the nobles of the land visiting him—along with emissaries from foreign countries—that he  learns through intermediaries at court in London and in Paris, that Lord John Oxbridge, Earl of Leicester was fatally wounded in the Holy Land and had succumbed to his injuries.  King John had sent that message to the Earl's widow, Rebecca Lady Leicester last week with his condolences for her loss.  And the lady in question has gone into deep mourning [(2) right]   and has yet to find a way to tell her children that the father they have never met has died.  But of course, the now widowed young and lovely Lady Rebecca is now a much sought after marital prize on King John's nobles marriage market.

So Prince John summons the Earl's wife, Lady Rebecca, to Court to match her with another noble—under the guise of providing protection to her, while really planning to reward one of his nobles and take a hefty betrothal tax from the lucky bridegroom. Lady Rebecca's dowry was long since settled on Lord Leicester—and that now falls to his three year old son, Lord Graham, the new Earl of Leicester.  But the prospective noble bride grooms are ripe for the fleecing in order to expand King John's coffers.

And as the widowed Rebecca Lady Leicester and her small children are presented at court—to give their oath of fealty to the New King John, Lady  Rebecca draws the interest of several nobles with hefty purses.   That is the way of noble marriages of this era—not necessarily made for love, nor with the women's consent being vaguely considered, let alone, deemed necessary.  Women are pawns, none more so than ladies of good breeding.