She landed in Valten’s strong arms. They held her like iron bands, one under her knees, the other under her back.
“You are so strong.”
“I have to find Sieger now.”
“Of course.”
Still, they stared at each other. Still, he held her in his arms.
Shouts split the air, coming from the front of the church.
Valten set her on her feet, grabbed her hand, and started running toward the trees.
Chapter
29
Gisela ran as fast as she could, tree limbs slapping her in the face and snatching at her clothes. Suddenly, her foot sank into a hole, her ankle twisting painfully, and she went down.
Valten knelt at her side.
“I’m sorry. I stepped in a hole.”
“Can you walk?”
“I don’t know.”
Valten helped her up, holding her under her arms. She put weight on her left foot and gasped. “I think I can —” She took a step and bit her lip at the pain.
Valten swept her up in his arms and started walking.
“You can’t carry me.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Where are we going?”
“I want to get you far enough away from the church so that Ruexner won’t see you. Then I’m going back for my horse.”
“Do you think they know we escaped?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, as if he was listening. Then he turned around and started walking back toward the church.
“What?”
“I thought I heard the captain of the guard.”
Whose guard? Gisela wanted to ask, but kept quiet so he could hear.
As he continued to walk toward the church, Gisela watched his face for signs of what he was thinking.
Valten gazed through the trees. Men rushed around, and Gisela thought she recognized the Gerstenberg colors.
Valten set her on her feet beside a tree.
“Where are you going?”
“My men and Ruexner’s are fighting. They must have found us somehow.”
“But you don’t have a sword!”
“I’ll find one.”
Gisela held on to his arm. “Don’t! Please don’t leave me!” If she had to pretend to be fearful to keep him safe, she would do it.
Valten looked out at the fighting men while Gisela kept hold of him with both hands. He turned to her. “I must go help my men.” He pried her fingers off his arm in a moment, as if her strength was nothing.
“No!”
Her voice had no effect as he ran away from her and into the melee.
Gisela left her place at the tree and hobbled closer, until she was standing at the edge of the woods and could see the men battling in the grassy courtyard of the church. Friar Daniel stood on the outskirts, at odds with the swarm of fighting men in his brown robe, his eyes and hands lifted in prayer.
She quickly spotted Valten. He had apparently found a sword and was taking on two men at once. And then one of his men came to his aid and started fighting the extra opponent. Valten quickly divested his adversary of his sword and sent him to stand with several of Ruexner’s men who had lost their weapons and were being guarded by two of the Hagenheim knights.
Duke Wilhelm was also among the men from Hagenheim. He defeated his challengers almost as efficiently as did Valten. Most of Ruexner’s men went down easily to Duke Wilhelm’s well-trained knights and soldiers. It was clear Ruexner was outmatched, with less than half of Ruexner’s men still fighting. Soon, the few that had not been captured surrendered — everyone except Ruexner.
Ruexner battled his way to Valten and raised his sword in a massive arc, aiming for Valten’s head. Valten blocked the blow, and Ruexner retreated.
“Surrender, Ruexner!” Duke Wilhelm shouted.
But Ruexner continued fighting, roaring with each blow he inflicted.
Valten was obviously tired. He was fighting with a broken hand, a broken rib, and little sleep. But Ruexner was also injured, since Valten had stabbed both his sides with his sword in the tournament, and Ruexner had gone without sleep just as Valten had. But Ruexner seemed to fight with an unearthly strength, as though his rage was driving him.
Valten’s sword suddenly seemed to take on new life. He took the offensive and struck with new speed and force. He came at Ruexner with blow after blow at a rapid pace, forcing Ruexner to retreat, until he was bent backward over the front steps of the church.
“Surrender to me!” Valten yelled.
Ruexner said nothing, only growled and tried to kick Valten’s feet out from under him. Valten sidestepped and slammed his sword into Ruexner’s so hard that the weapon went flying, landing harmlessly on the stone steps several feet away.
Valten pressed the point against Ruexner’s chest, over his heart. “Tie him up!” Valten yelled. “He has harassed my betrothed and showed himself unworthy to be called a knight of the Holy Roman Empire.”
Several men moved forward and took charge of Ruexner, whose expression was stoic now that he was surrounded. After wrongfully capturing her and Valten more than once, tying them up and lording over them, now he was the captive.
Valten and his father, Duke Wilhelm, stood talking as the men led Ruexner away. They would have to decide what to do with Ruexner and all his men. One knight shouted for someone to go fetch the town barber, or healer, if there was one. A couple of men ran off down the street. Meanwhile, the townspeople milled about, talking and trying to stand on their toes to see what was happening, while the Hagenheim men seemed busy, checking on the injured and watching the prisoners.
A woman walked toward Gisela. She was well dressed, with plump, pink cheeks and a ready smile. “Gisela Mueller?”
“Yes?”
“I am Hette Schwarcz, and I knew the Baroness, Ruexner’s mother. I was telling the truth when I said you were her sister’s daughter.”
Gisela shook her head. “So it was you who said our mothers were sisters. How do you know this?”
She squeezed Gisela’s arm. “Because you look so much like her, and her name was Gisela Russdorffer. Baron Ruexner’s mother and her sister promised to name their first daughters after each other. I knew who you were as soon as you said your name was Gisela. But you are tired now, I can see, and no doubt famished. Come with me to the baker’s shop. The baker’s wife is my friend and she will give you whatever you want to eat. Come.”
Feeling curious, but also thirsty and hungry, Gisela started to go with Frau Schwarcz. The woman looked down at her foot, as Gisela was limping.
“Oh, you are hurt!” The woman moaned. “You poor thing.”
“I injured my ankle, but it is nothing.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Valten coming toward her. “Where are you going?”
“I —”
The woman interrupted. “I am taking her to get some food, just here,” and she pointed to a shop barely thirty feet down the dirt street. “I promise I shall take good care of her.”
Valten looked at the woman, then at Gisela. He moved closer. “Can you walk?”
“Of course. It is only a little sprain. But you come with us. You need to eat too.”
“I will. You go with this woman, but only there. I shall come soon.”
Gisela followed the woman, who took her arm and insisted she lean on her. Once inside the little bakery, which was warm and smelled of bread and roast pig, the woman sat her at a small wooden table and brought out a bowl of pork stew and hot buttered bread, with wine and water to drink. Gisela hadn’t realized how tired and hungry she was, and as she ate, Hette Schwarcz told her about becoming friends with Friedric Ruexner’s mother when Hette was married to her first husband, a merchant who lived in Bruchen.
“Gisela Ruexner, your aunt, was taken by Baron Ruexner when she was but sixteen. He forced her to marry him, since her father was dead and she had no one to object for her. By the time she had her first child, she became resigned to her fate and stayed on w
ith the baron.”
“That is terrible. Did my mother know what had happened to her?”
“Not at first. Baron Ruexner wouldn’t let her write to anyone. By the time she got word to your mother, Gisela had two babes and felt she must stay for her children’s sake. But it wasn’t a happy marriage.”
Hette Schwarcz sighed wistfully. “She loved her children, and then she died in childbirth, bringing forth her third baby. I believe your mother died about the same time. You must have been still a child when your mother died.”
“Yes. I was only two.”
“You are as beautiful as your namesake.” Frau Schwarcz patted Gisela’s cheek. “I couldn’t bear for you to marry that Friedric, and against your will.”
“Thank you for that. I was very grateful.” Gisela felt much better after eating.
“And now everything is well. Ruexner is captured and you will be with your love.” Frau Schwarcz shook her finger at Gisela. “Don’t think I couldn’t see the love in his eyes when he looked at you. He would have fought to the death for you, that handsome Valten Gerstenberg.” She patted her cheek again. “You shall have a happy marriage.”
Valten came into the little bakery with his father and several other men, and Frau Schwarcz served them herself. Gisela didn’t get a chance to talk to Valten, as he and the men discussed what had happened to them the last few days. She didn’t mind, as she happily watched Valten eat, thankful their long ordeal was over.
Gisela learned, as she listened to their conversation, that on his way back to Hagenheim, Friar Daniel had encountered Duke Wilhelm and his men, and he had led them to where they had been when Ruexner had taken Gisela. From there they had tracked them to this town and to the cathedral.
Duke Wilhelm spoke of what would happen with Ruexner and his men now. It seemed Valten’s father would be taking Ruexner and his two knights, Malbert and Lew, to face King Sigismund and to answer for their crimes against Gisela and Valten. His other men, little more than farmers who had been pressed into service, would be allowed to go home to their families.
Gisela was glad when the men got up to leave, but Valten stayed behind, all his attention on her as the others left.
He moved his chair close to her. “I need to get you to a healer,” he said.
“You need a healer worse than I do. Your hand is badly swollen. How far are we from Hagenheim?”
“Almost three days. But we are only a half day’s ride from the Cottage of the Seven, where we can rest. There is also a healer there who will look at your ankle.”
“Cottage of the Seven?”
“There isn’t a good healer in town, from what I hear, and the town barber has more than he can do to take care of the men who were injured in the fight. My brother, Gabe, is well acquainted with the men at the Cottage of the Seven and their healer, Bartel. He helped Gabe when he was shot with an arrow two years ago.”
Valten held her hand. “We can be there in a few hours if we leave now.”
It was a great relief to think that someone knowledgeable in the healing arts would tend Valten’s hand. And perhaps she could even take a bath.
She could hardly wait.
Once outside, Gisela saw Friar Daniel coming toward them. He immediately told her the story of how he had come upon Duke Wilhelm and a contingent of his knights and soldiers on their way to Ruexner’s castle in Bruchen. They had easily been able to find Ruexner and his men’s careless trail.
As they walked, they passed Ruexner and his men, who were tied up and sitting on the ground. “Brother Daniel,” Valten said, his arm around Gisela’s waist, “I do believe there are some men here who are in great need of your good message.”
“Indeed.” Friar Daniel smiled as though the prospect was a happy one. “I have already arranged it with Duke Wilhelm. He is taking me with him when he travels to King Sigismund’s court with these nefarious men. I have been given his full blessing to speak to them on the trip and to tell them of God’s goodness and how they might repent.”
“I am happy to hear it.” Though Gisela still was reeling over the fact that Ruexner was her cousin, her own mother’s nephew, she knew she would have to forgive him. She might never want to see him again, but she could pray for Friar Daniel’s success in turning him from his evil ways. “I hope you don’t mind the difficult task before you, of attempting to reform such depraved men.”
“My dear, I could not have asked for anything better. I am pleased to tell the good news to men such as these. After all, who needs the gospel message more?”
“Amen to that.” Valten looked rather grim as they walked slowly back to the church, but when Gisela caught his eye, he winked. “Brother Daniel, if anyone can reach these men with truth and goodness, it would be you. I have a great respect for your sincerity.”
Gisela’s heart filled with gratitude at how Valten’s attitude toward Friar Daniel seemed to have changed. Could it be that she and Valten had learned some important lessons since beginning this ordeal?
Valten clasped hands with Friar Daniel.
“It is the Lord’s truth that shall win their hearts and minds.” Friar Daniel looked adamant. “And while I am fulfilling my mission, I will pray blessings on your marriage, and that you will be a joy to each other and to your people in Hagenheim.”
Someone brought Sieger to Valten, and a mount was quickly rounded up for Gisela. The captain of the guard supplied two men to escort Valten and Gisela, and half of the rest were to travel with Duke Wilhelm to escort Ruexner to the king, and the other half would return to Hagenheim. They set out.
As their horses settled into a comfortable trot, Gisela asked, “Why do they call it the Cottage of the Seven?”
Valten raised his eyebrows, remembering. “It is a cottage where live seven … rather unusual men.”
“Unusual?”
“They are good men, but society’s misfits, living away from people and their superstitions and fears. The important thing for us is that there is a healer who lives there who will take care of your foot.”
“And your hand?”
“And my hand.”
“Good, because I think my ankle will be well in a few days, but looking at your hand makes me want to cry.”
He hoped she wouldn’t cry. He didn’t like seeing her cry.
As they rode in silence, his mind went back to the image of Friar Daniel getting on his donkey, preparing to go with Ruexner and his men. Friar Daniel might not carry a sword, but the man was brave nevertheless. And though he didn’t own a sword of steel, the sword he did carry was more powerful in the spirit realm.
It was time. Valten knew it. Time to exchange his sword for a new life. He no longer had a taste for his old one. And just as Friar Daniel lived his life for more than tangible, earthly rewards, Valten wanted his life to be about more than winning tournaments and gaining prizes. He had fed his pride long enough, and now it was time to feed his spirit and live life at a deeper level.
Chapter
30
Gisela sighed at the luxury of sitting in an actual tub full of warm water. She had to draw her knees up almost to her chin to fit in it, but it was wonderful. The tub was metal with leather strips to reinforce the seams and make it more leakproof. And the soap smelled even more wonderful than the foreign soaps her stepmother and stepsisters used — like roses and lilacs. Roslind, the kind and generous maiden who had helped her fill the tub, told her the soap was made by Bartel, the former monk who was also a healer and one of the seven men who lived at the cottage.
Valten and his guards had gone to the creek to wash up, so Gisela took her time. Roslind had offered to help her wash her hair, but Gisela was accustomed to doing such things for herself.
Gisela dried herself, then she put on the dress that Roslind had brought for her to borrow while her other one — the beautiful, blue silk gown she had worn ever since the ball at Hagenheim—was being washed. The gown’s sleeves were torn and the skirt had a few rips in it, but it still looked better th
an any of the dresses her stepmother had allowed her to wear.
Roslind had lent her a simple brown work dress, but it was clean and fit Gisela well. Her ankle still hurt when she put her weight on it, but it was already feeling better than it had a few hours ago when she first injured it. She picked up a bucket and filled it with her bathwater and limped as she carried it outside. As she dumped it on the ground, Gisela met the pretty brunette, who seemed to be the only female living at the house of seven men.
“Lord Valten tells us you are his fiancée.”
Gisela was smiling even more on the inside at the thought of Valten telling people they were to be married. He wasn’t the most talkative man, after all.
“I am married.” Roslind wore a pleased look in her pale blue eyes as she helped Gisela empty the bathtub. “His name is Siegfried, but everyone calls him Siggy. I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him.” The girl sighed dreamily.
“How long have you been married?”
“Two years.”
Two years and she was still sighing. Gisela hoped for the same. Truly, she could hardly think beyond the moment, and certainly not beyond the next four weeks, for Valten had declared they would be married then. He’d already sent a messenger back to Hagenheim to tell his parents.
She was afraid to believe it, afraid it was too good to be true. After all, only a few days ago Valten knew her only as the girl who had a way with horses, with whom he had spent a couple of hours walking around Hagenheim. But after what they had been through together the last few days, she felt they knew each other well.
After they finished dumping out the bathwater, she and Roslind worked together to make dinner. As they prepared the meat pies, she wondered if Valten had finished his cold bath in the creek and was finally letting Bartel tend to his hand.
They set the food and drink on the table, and Roslind told her the names of each of the men as they all trouped in. The men looked like a band of traveling miracle players, or jongleurs and circus performers, instead of the woodsmen that they were. Dominyk, their leader, who barely stood as tall as the other men’s waists, sported a thick black moustache and black hair. He was as dignified as any duke as he seated himself at the head of the table.