Sir Guy motioned Robert out of the private dining room and escorted him out the front door of the inn. Robert considered pulling his dagger and trying to kill Sir Guy and then running for his office, but with all of the French soldiers around, he knew he would never make it out of the gate.
“You will explain this instant why you deliberately kept the location of Lady Marian from me,” said Sir Guy.
Robert tried to hold onto the uncaring demeanor he had always tried to present to Sir Guy, but his emotions overwhelmed his good sense.
“You know damn well why, Sir Guy. You know why she is in hiding and you know why every Englishman and woman in this town doesn’t want you here. Lady Marian is well loved in Nottingham and what happened to her is deplorable. If my word had full command, you would be hanged for what you did. As it is, I did not want her accosted again, and so I kept news of her location from you.”
Sir Guy was shaking with fury. “How dare you speak to me that way. I shall have you beaten and dragged behind a horse.”
“Then do so!” Robert shouted at him. “Let me be punished for speaking my mind, but everyone will know that as much as you speak of your noble birth, you act as a bully to those under you and as a scoundrel to ladies who deserve better.”
Sir Guy’s hand rested on his sword hilt. “Depart from here, Sheriff. Be glad that I still remember myself even though you have lost all sense of propriety. If I lay eyes on you again, I may indeed have you flogged. Now go!”
Robert turned and walked toward his office. His mind raced. He now had all the pretense he needed to pack his things and be on his way tonight, but he couldn’t leave Marian behind and now he knew he could not leave Sir Guy alive. When Marian was attacked, he had planned to slay the Frenchman, but as Martinmas approached, his ardor for killing had diminished and he would have been happy with a gentle escape with Marian at his side. But things had changed once again. He knew that leaving Sir Guy alive would threaten not only his plans and future, but Marian’s as well.
Robert slammed open the door to his office and threw himself in his desk’s chair. When would Sir Guy go to the abbey? Not until morning at least, it was too late to go riding now, not when Sir Guy still feared the bandits on the road.
The bandits. Robert stood up and looked out the window towards the inn. He didn’t see Sir Guy out front. Robert pulled a winter cloak from his pack and pulled the hood up. He thought if he walked quickly past the inn he might not be recognized. Quietly stepping out of door, he crossed the street and stepped into some deep shadows. He counted to one hundred to make sure no one had seen him leave his office before he continued. He walked briskly past the inn, staying out of the light that the front lanterns gave off, and forced himself not to look at the door or windows. The barracks for his woodsmen were only a few streets past the inn, and when Robert entered the shadows off the main street he ran for Jack and David’s small doorway.
Both of his deputies were in their quarters when he burst in. Jack had his dagger in his hand and David’s was almost clear of his belt sheath before the men recognized Robert.
“You scared me to death, Sheriff. The last full night of danger for us, and you burst in. That is a good way to get a belly full of steel,” said Jack as he put his blade away.
“Sir Guy knows about Marian,” said Robert.
“What do you have planned?” asked David.
“I need one of you to get a message to the bandits of ours and any of our other men who would like to help,” Robert began.
After he had explained what he wanted them to do, Robert slipped back down the street to his office. As much as he wanted to head to the abbey immediately, he had to be seen in town the next day. He slept fitfully, waking every few minutes, until dawn broke on the day before Martinmas.
