"Sir Guy's Atonement" (Book 3) by Gratiana Lovelace, 2015 (a Wattys2015 Nominee)

Ch. 27 (PG): More Valuable than a Ruby

Sir Guy's Atonement" (Book 3), Ch. 27 (PG): More Valuable than a Ruby, May 04, 2015 Gratiana Lovelace

[An Original Fan Fiction adaptation of the characters from the BBC's Robin Hood; & a Sequel to "Sir Guy's Dilemma"(Book 2) by Gratiana Lovelace] (All Rights Reserved; No copyright infringement intended)

[From time to time, I will illustrate my story with my dream cast of: Richard Armitage as Baron Guy of Gisborne, Clive Standen as Lord Archer of Locksley, Emma Watson as Lady Roseanna Gisborne, Tommy Bastow as the young Seth Gisborne, Lucy Griffiths as the spectre of Lady Marian, James McAvoy as Lord George Middleton, Toby Stephens as Prince John, Dakota Fanning as Lady Caroline Havorford, Chris Hemsworth as Sir Roderick Merton, Tamsin Egerton as Lady Rebecca Oxbridge Merton, Lee Ross as Sir Jasper, Sir Derek Jacobi as Fr. Bale, David Harewood as Brother Tuck, Judi Dench as Mother Superior, Lady Anne/Marian is Lucy Griffiths, Kevin McKidd as Lord John Oxbridge, Patrick McGoohan as Sir Gilead Merton, etc.]

Author's Mature Content Note: "Sir Guy's Atonement" is a story of romance and intrigue set amidst Medieval times. As such there will be some passages in this story involving heartfelt love scenes (S) and some passages involving highly dramatic moments (D). I will label the maturity rating of those chapters accordingly. Otherwise, the general rating for this story is PG or PG-13 due to some mature situations and topics. If you are unable or unwilling to attend a movie with the ratings that I provide, then please do not read the chapters with those labels. This is my disclaimer.

Author's Recap from the previous installment: Sustaining a memory loss since she was nearly killed seven years ago by Sir Guy of Gisborne in the Holy Land, the postulant nunLady Anne/Marian is resigned to being transported back to England from the Holy Land as the nurse companion of her friend Lord John Oxbridge Earl of Leicester. He had sustained life threatening and life altering injuries while in the service of the Late King Richard. He, too, was thought to have died. These friends know not what awaits them England. And those left behind in England have moved on to live their lives. Such that the now recently remarried widow of Lord John Oxbridge is beginning her life anew with her childhood sweetheart Sir Roderick Merton.

"Sir Guy's Atonement" (Book 3), Ch. 27: More Valuable than a Ruby

A world away from the Holy Land where Lady Anne/Marian and Lord John Oxbridge, Earl of Leicester, are soon to leave to travel to England with Brother Tuck, the newly married couple Sir Roderick and Lady Rebecca Merton in England have traveled from Leicester with her children Lord Graham and Lady Rachel Oxbridge to Sir Roderick's home in Staffordshire to greet his family. His parents are old and frail now-Sir Roderick being the child granted to them later in life.

And not being their first born-nor even their first son, Sir Roderick has always felt that he was following after someone else. It was sadly only when Sir Roderick's ten years elder brother Sir Baldwin Merton was killed in the Crusades that Sir Roderick felt his parents began to take an interest in him. But Sir Roderick did not begrudge his brother his position in the family and he and his brother had been especially close-even despite the age gap. Sir Roderick worshipped his brother Sir Baldwin, as most younger brothers do.

Baldwin means "brave friend" [(2a)] and Roderick means "rich in glory" [(2b)] -names at their births, both befitting the then future knights. Yet, until his brother's death, Sir Roderick was simply the other son with no legacy or lands to inherit-the spare heir not worthy of note by society nor even by his father as his harshest critic-Sir Gilead which can mean "stone forever" [(2c)] . Though Sir Roderick's Mother Lady Sharon was always kind and loving with Sir Roderick in private, he craved attention and as he grew older into adulthood respect from his father. So Sir Roderick has had to make his own way in the world as a knight for England-despite his father's protestations to the contrary-which Sir Roderick could never understand.