The fine brocade crinkled as Marian buried her fingers in it, trying to wrestle her feelings down. With a pinched expression, she sank back onto the cushion of her chair. However, This time, she remained upright and stiff, not possessing the composure to lean back and relax.

The Sheriff's gaze lingered on her a few seconds longer, and Marian hated how he looked at her. Disapproval and censure mingled with suspicion in his eyes. A disdainful look, as if she were a small, helpless, but valuable bunny that was best locked up in a secure gate - until it could finally be skinned and used for its intended purpose. Then he strode along the table as if this were his home while he began to pluck the black leather gloves from his fingers.

"Because of our long friendship and bond, my lord, I have refrained for as long as possible from bringing the Crown in London into the picture of, shall we call it, 'unpleasantness' here in Nottingham," the Sheriff began. His voice flowed like black velvet. Far too soft, far too smooth, and at the same time dark and cool. There was scarcely a sound that Marian loathed her so much as this one. This presumption to actually believe that he was in the right - simply because he based his actions on a law.

'Friendship and attachment?' echoed in Marian's mind, and she would have preferred to laugh out loud with a sneer. The only thing that held the Sheriff back was fear for his own reputation and the fact that this friendship gave him advantages. Otherwise, he would have discarded those like a useless card in a deck of cards. Even though there might have been little more than a thimble of royal blood in her, the marriage between her and Guy would finally be a way to join the ranks of the higher nobility. The Sheriff might have described himself as ambitious. Marian called it power-hungry.

Her eyes fell on her father, whose posture had changed barely noticeably. The smile from his features had become weak and meaningless, no more than polite twitching of the corners of his mouth. Her father was wise, and he knew what those words implied. If the Sheriff wrote to London, the crown regent would look for someone to blame. And in this case, it was either Earl De Burgh or the Sheriff of Nottingham on whom his royal anger would be vented.

"The incident yesterday is no longer tolerable. Customs houses being stolen from outside the walls is one thing, but repeated theft from behind the walls is something entirely different." The Sheriff's eyes hid his mortified pride. "He escaped again, and this time, he seems to have had allies within this castle."

"Those are serious accusations," her father now put in, and Marian struggled to keep a relaxed expression on her face. "And what will you report to the Crown? May I remind you that your attempts to stop Robin Hood have so far been as futile as mine? My job is to administer this principality. Yours, Sheriff, is to keep order and catch a cowardly thief!"

Marian saw a muscle twitch at these words under the Sheriff's right eye."Yesterday, not only were taxes stolen, but a prisoner was freed from the dungeon. Someone helped him escape. Someone with knowledge of the castle and its corridors," the Sheriff said sharply, now turning his gaze on Marian. A bird of prey, he set his sights on his prey, thinking flashing claws and threats would be enough to draw them out. For most young girls, that might have even worked. On the other hand, Marian felt nothing but icy hatred, shielding her like a shield against the intimidating effect of the Sheriff. "And then I run into your daughter in the hallways in the middle of the night. With dirty feet at that."

Marian felt the air grow several degrees colder. This time her father's eyes narrowed as they fixed on the Sheriff. "My daughter tends to sleep poorly sometimes. Besides, there was quite a commotion in the castle. I suppose it would be rather surprising if she hadn't been awakened by it," her father commented, his voice also taking on a hardened tone. He defended her to the Sheriff, even though he himself had doubts. All the disappointment and resentment she had felt before fell away from hers like snow from a tree branch on the first day of spring.

"It was warm and stuffy in my chamber, sire. I sometimes walk in the gardens at night. The grass and earth beneath my bare feet, and the sky above me, makes me feel closer to the Lord God," Marian lied, jutting her chin. "Besides, I am hardly forbidden to be in the corridors of my own house! Or have I broken some law in doing so?"

The Sheriff himself had once cruelly shown her that the word of nobles would always be above that of men like him or poorer souls. Simply because they held a title. He might be the Sheriff. But she was the Earl's daughter.

"Enough." Now Earl De Burgh interfered, already anticipating the escalation of this conversation. "Sheriff. I suppose the insinuations you are making here are due to the pressure on your shoulders," the Earl spoke in a firm voice, reaching for his goblet. As if the Sheriff's request and his threats were not worth more than a penny, he gave him the cold shoulder, reminding him of his place. It was a special way of showing the Sheriff that he was superior to him. And he knew that the Sheriff bowed to that inclination. Because it was the law.

"I will certainly not stop you from writing to London. After all, reporting to the Crown is your duty and obligation. But you should remember that guarding the prisoners in the dungeons was also your responsibility. Also, securing taxes is strictly your responsibility alone, not that of my soldiers, Sheriff. I am willing to take responsibility for my failure. But are you also prepared to do so?"

If the situation were not so serious, Marian might have smiled gleefully as she watched the Sheriff's fists clench and the leather of his gloves crunch sorrowfully under the pressure."It can't go on like this, my lord!" Now the Sheriff actually grew louder. "I can neither cover nor excuse the disappearance of the tax money. How severely he assesses the factual situation will be up to His Majesty. You have as much responsibility as I have, Earl De Burgh. You have the manpower and the means-"

Then the Earl raised his hand, and the Sheriff's lips formed a thin line as he fell silent.

"My willingness to support you has never been lacking either, Sheriff," her father now said sharply, "After all, I even let you move the counting house into the castle, or am I mistaken? But further accusations against my only child, the daughter of an Earl, will not be approved even by the Crown." Earl De Burgh was a good-natured man. But his patience ended when it came to protecting his child or threats like this.

"Of course, I will continue to pledge my assistance to you. It is not sustainable to continue to have this thief at large. It is, of course, of the utmost importance to me as Earl to catch the thief so as not to cast a bad light on Nottinghamshire. Besides, we are old friends, after all," at this the Earl now fixed the thunder-gray eyes of the Sheriff, who had ventured into his home and felt he must challenge him, and who now looked almost humbly out of the window, trying to avoid the Prince's accusing gaze. "We will provide you with men to bolster your ranks, and of course, there will be a full survey of the guards and servants - which I leave in your capable hands. And now you may excuse yourself, Sheriff. Surely much work awaits you."

The hall was so silent that Marian did not even dare to breathe. The tension literally prickled like little pinpricks on her skin.

"Your lordship. My lady."

The Sheriff's tone was muffled as he turned on his heel and left the hall with large, angry strides.

Marian only now noticed that her fingers had dug into the chair's armrests. Slowly she loosened those and felt an unpleasant tugging in her fingers, but still, the tension would not let her go.

"You too can go, Marian."

The addressed blinked in irritation, completely caught off guard. After all that the Sheriff had said, she had expected questions or reprimands. At least, that she should not leave her chambers at night. But he said nothing of the sort. He just looked at her, and there seemed to be sorrow in his ice-blue eyes.

"Yes, Father." Marian was unwilling to push her luck any further. Therefore, she nodded eagerly and rose to leave the hall as quickly as the Sheriff had just done. Out of sight, she pressed her hand to her still wildly pounding heart. That was close. Now she had to talk to Robin about this event. Quickly.