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

Ch. 24 (PG-13): First Loves

"Sir Guy's Atonement" (Book 3), Ch. 24 (PG-13): First Loves, April 24, 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 Sir Guy of Gisborne, Clive Standen as Lord Archer of Locksley, Emma Watson as Lady Roseanna Gisborne, Tommy Bastow as the young Seth Gisborne, Lucy Griffiths as the spectre of Lady Marian, James McAvoy as Lord George Middleton, Toby Stephens as Prince John, Dakota Fanning as Lady Caroline Havorford, Chris Hemsworth as Sir Roderick Merton, Tamsin Egerton as Lady Rebecca Oxbridge Merton, Lee Ross as Sir Jasper, and Sir Derek Jacobi as Fr. Bale, 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/sensuous 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: Rebecca Lady Leicester and Sir Roderick Merton were married in London due to King John's eagerness to see the lovely lady wed-and to obtain the betrothal/marriage tax for tht marriage. King John's prize is for Sir Roderick to given him the valuable Staffordshire Ruby that has been in Sir Roderick's family for generations-a small price to pay for his love Lady Becca. Though hesitant to truly believe that her husband Lord John Oxbridge, Earl of Leicester, was fatally wounded in the Holy Land, Lady Rebecca consented to the marriage since King John was determined to marry her off to someone-and better her childhood love Roddy than anyone else. Theirs was a loving wedding night-to be followed by returning home to Leicester and then on to Staffordshire for Sir Roderick to attend to the management of his own estates. But as of yet, Lady Rebecca has not the heart to inform her children that their father is probably dead.

"Sir Guy's Atonement" (Book 3), Ch. 24 (PG-13): First Loves

The two and a half day carriage ride from London to Leicester in mid May 1199 was made less tedious for Lady Rebecca's children-little 3 year old Lord Graham Oxbridge and his 2year old sister little Lady Rachel Oxbridge-because Sir Roderick Merton has the gift of storytelling and he weaves fanciful tales for them. The children having already been around Sir Roderick as their and their mother's protector assigned by King John, helped the children to smoothly acclimate to their new reality of him being their mother's husband with nary a question. However, in truth, the young Oxbridge children cannot fully grasp what their mother remarrying means, they simply acknowledge that she has a husband and partner like most Mamas do-their never having known their own father mitigating any feelings of uncertainty for them.

Her children's acceptance is something that Lady Rebecca and Sir Roderick Merton are now hoping to find in her and his extended families. After arriving near Leicester in early afternoon on the third day of their travels-because they left early enough that the children napped-Lady Roseanna and Baron Guy welcome the Merton-Oxbridge blended family to Gisborne-Middleton Manor, urging them to stay overnight so that the cousins may play together unfettered by royal protocol and copious noble guests about them as they were at Leicester Castle for Baron Guy's investiture last month and during their brief time in London at Court. And Sir Roderick and his new wife Rebecca Lady Merton will find that they will not have to reveal their newly married status-because her children will unexpectedly take care of that announcement for them.