The Nightwatchman (English)(From Ashes Vol.2)

Chapter 15 - A Wedding in the Forest (Part 1)

Guy followed Marian through the market, from a stand to another, careful to stay back a few steps while the girl watched the goods on display. He realized that his presence worried the merchants.
The first time Guy had approached one of the merchants along with Marian, all the other customers had vanished, and the seller had glared at the girl, treating her with icy contempt as if the fault was hers.
Marian had found a cloth vendor who had good quality goods, and for some minutes she stood in front of his desk, carefully examining a cloth after another. Guy leaned back against the outside wall of a house, and he yawned, tired and bored to death.
Allan joined him after a while, and glanced at Marian.
"I have the impression that this will take a long time."
"I'm afraid so," Guy said, bleak "From what I understood, after buying the fabrics, we also have to choose dishes and pottery for the house, some jewels for the bride, and carpenter's tools for the groom. And maybe something else I forgot."
"It will take hours" Allan commented.
"Yeah, but it's still better than having to choose a gift myself."
"True, too. However I think your presence here is not necessary. I don't want to be funny, but probably Marian might be able to do better trades if the merchants don't see you hanging around, like a wolf ready to bite them at the throat."
Guy gave him a warning look and Allan smiled as if nothing happened.
"So what do you propose?" Guy asked.
Allan shrugged.
"Anything else looks more fun than this," he said, pointing to the bundles of cloth spread out on the counter and to Marian who was examining their quality.
Gisborne nodded, and, after a last glance at the girl, he decided to follow Allan.

Marian saw them going away, and for a moment she followed Guy with her eyes and she saw him disappearing amidst the market crowd, then she turned back to the fabrics she wanted to buy.
She felt relieved because she knew that waiting while she was shopping was an unpleasant and tedious task for Guy, but she couldn't help but feel anxious.
Allan probably would insist on going to the tavern, and she knew that those places were often frequented by women of dubious morality. She doubted that Guy would allow those girls to fondle him with her around, but her mind kept returning insistently at the memory of the bite she had seen on his neck.
She was set to forget that episode, but she still didn't entirely succeed, and usually that thought ended up dragging her to extremely unpleasant memories dating back to long before.
At that time there she had not given so much importance to it because she still didn't have any kind of feelings for Guy, but to think back to that episode now made her cringe. Before he began to take an interest in Marian, Guy had had an affair with one of the girls who worked in the kitchens of the castle and the young woman had given birth to a child.
Robin had found a small boy abandoned in the forest and Marian herself had held him in her arms before returning him to the mother.
Much time had passed since then, but Marian didn't like to think about that side of Guy, she had the impression of seeing a part of him that she didn't know at all, and that scared her. The man she was in love was not one of those who took advantage of servants and not one ready to let a child to die in the woods, yet in the past Guy had done both things.
A voice in hers mind hastily also suggested her other horrific acts that Gisborne did on behalf of the sheriff, but, although it was absurd, that part of his past bothered her less.
She was certain that Guy wouldn't repeat his mistakes, and that now he was free from the bad influence of the sheriff, she had no doubts. Jealousy, instead, kept haunting her.
She was sure of his love for her, but Marian knew that often even the happily married men allowed themselves some distraction without giving any importance to those girls. Often the wives were the ones who choose not to notice those unimportant escapades for fear of being betrayed by a real rival.
Marian wondered if all the other girls were tormented by those doubts, and if they felt so insecure when they fell in love with someone. She thought she'd love to have someone who she could talk to, but she hadn't any sisters to give her advice or close friends to share her thoughts.
She looked back at the fabric she wanted to buy for the bride, and she smiled: it wasn't true that she had no one to talk to. Maybe they weren't close friends, but for sure Djaq would listen without laughing at her, and perhaps she could give her useful tips.