Emeline: A Gisborne Tale

Chapter One

England, March, 1194
Locksley Manor

Sir Guy of Gisborne gently carried the injured girl back to his home, Locksley Manor. He had been granted possession of the property by Prince John when the previous owner, Robin of Locksley had become an outlaw.

Since the prince was reliant on the sheriff and his master-at-arms, Sir Guy, to instill some discipline into the people surrounding the castle, especially as demands from the King to fund his Crusade against Salahadin in the Holy Land were immense, Guy took his job very seriously.

Guy forged the path through the village past the small cottages that flanked him to the left and right. Many villagers came out of their homes at the sound of the ringing spurs on the packed ground to see the lord of Locksley carrying what appeared to be a dead woman toward the manor house.

Reaching the entrance to the impressive double storied house constructed almost entirely from the wood of  the trees that grew in the forest around Nottingham, Guy carried the stricken lady up the staircase to his own bedchamber and called to his maidservant as he laid his burden on the bed.

"Clean this woman up!" he barked at Rose, the maid.

Unfortunately, Rose became dizzy at the sight of the poor woman. She stammered, "I--I can't, m'lord. The blood....it's ..." and she slowly slumped to the floor. Guy looked at the woman with impatience. His maid had passed out but was too angry to think about Rose's sensibilities. He called to his manservant.

"Pembleton, find the physician." Gesturing to the maid he raged, "And get Rose out of here and into her bed!"

Pembleton feared the consequences of Sir Guy's unbridled temper and was reluctant to inform him that the physician was out amongst the fields and hedgerows after scouring the manor's gardens gathering herbs for his precious medicines.

He knew he had to tell him, and when he did, the lord of the manor roared in anger.

"Then find someone to help this woman. She's half dead! Fetch Lady Marian's maid. Now!"

After helping Rose to her feet and into her own room, Pembleton ran from the manor to nearby Westbrooke Manor. There, he found Lady Marian tying up her horse, having just returned from her daily ride.

"Lady Marian, Sir Guy has need of your maid," Pembleton gasped, very much out of breath, for he had run all the way. He wasn't a young man anymore, and the unexpected exertion had taken its toll on him.

"What does he need my maid for? He has his own!" Marian replied sharply. Guy had stopped pursuing her sometime ago. Had he begun his infatuation again?

"There is a woman who has been badly beaten or attacked by a wild animal. She is covered in blood from head to toe. Sir Guy's maid fainted at the sight of her."

Upon hearing this, Marian ran quickly into her house, calling for Jesse, her maid, to accompany her to Locksley Manor.

"And find some bandages and a salve for wounds. Be quick about it, Jesse," Marian ordered, not unkindly.

Both ladies ran to Locksley Manor and entered the house without ceremony. Sir Guy was pacing the floor of the Great Hall like a cat.

"Guy," Marian began, "What has happened?"

"Three men were chasing a woman through the forest. I stopped two of them and brought her back here. She is bloodied, and I don't know all of what has been done to her, but my maid cannot stand the sight of blood. I need someone to tend to this woman's wounds."

Marian started up the stairs with her maid.
who sat in his high-backed chair, a goblet of wine in hand.

"Marian, you shouldn't go up. It will only distress you," Guy said, concerned that her sensibilities would be shaken.