Sir Guy of Gisborne comes back from the Holy Land, on his conscience the knowledge of having killed Marian. Appointed Sheriff of Nottingham in the place of Vaisey, he struggles to find a way to make up for his past wrongdoings, but it's a very hard...
[My heartfelt thanks to @JeannieGisborne for her invaluable help in correcting this story; pls check her lovely stories about Guy and the Robin Hood BBC fandom, I highly recommend them]
Chapter XV
Nottingham, July 1st, 1194
Guy rose when Violet entered his office.
"Thank you for receiving me with no notice, Sir Guy", the young woman said.
"You can come to me whenever you like, Lady Violet", the sheriff reassured her. "Please, take a seat", he added, showing her the chair in front of his desk. "What can I do for you?"
Violet sat down and smoothed the wrinkles of her lilac silk gown, trying desperately to hide her nerves. She had spent three days thinking and rethinking about Rebelle's suggestion and she had come to the conclusion that her cousin was right: among all the possible candidates she could imagine becoming her new husband, Guy was the most preferable. Therefore, in contrast to the custom of her father offering his daughter's hand to the selected man – when it wasn't the aspiring husband going to the father to ask for it – she had come to make him her proposal in person, because after all it was she who had decided, in complete autonomy, exactly as she had asked to be allowed to do.
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All the way from Chetwood to Nottingham, she had wondered how to formulate the difficult speech. She had decided to come at it sideways, beginning from the premise and explaining the situation to Guy, and then proposing him the marriage.
"Almost no one knows about the family relationship between Vaisey of Nottingham and William of Chetwood", she started. As she had foreseen, Guy became more attentive. "To be exact, Vaisey was first cousin to my father. Vaisey's father was Gerard of Nottingham's eldest son, while my father's father was the second-born son."
She paused to allow Guy guessing alone the obvious conclusion. The sheriff needed only a few moments: now the enigma of King Richard's reference to the title of Nottingham in his letter of condolence to William was solved!
"So your father is the legitimate heir to the Barony of Nottingham", he said in a low voice. He waited for Violet confirming it with a nod before going on, narrowing his eyes. "Why has Sir William been hiding it? And why are you telling me now?"
His sharp look made Violet uncomfortable.
"My father didn't tell you because he had no intention to take the title", she answered. "He wanted to pass it down directly to Jeffrey, therefore we sent immediately for him, certain that King Richard would send him back to England. Instead..." her voice trembled. "Instead my brother is dead, with no heirs."
"There are surely other relatives..." Guy began, but he stopped seeing Violet shaking her head. "Then Sir William could remarry and try to have another son."
Again, Violet shook her head.
"King Richard thinks that the issue of the succession can be solved in another way", she informed him in a low voice. "That is, through me."
