[WATTYS2023 - GERMAN WINNER/Most Engaging World] ** Marian, a thieving nobleman's daughter with too big a heart, meets Robin Hood, a daring thief with a huge ego. Will they be able to overcome pain, longing, and, finally the cruel Sheriff of Notting...
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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."
