Gabe chafed at Duke Baldewin’s slowness. The man hadn’t been on a horse in fifteen years, but it seemed as though he would remember how to ride at some point on this supposed-to-be-two-days trip that threatened to stretch into a multiple-night journey. Gabe reminded himself, for the hundredth time since midday, that he couldn’t afford to lose his temper with Sophie’s father. He tried to distract himself with thoughts of how happy she would be to learn her father was alive and how she would react when he told her that her father had promised to help them to wed.
As twilight began to set in, Gabe began worrying that he might go off the trail in the dark woods and get lost. He forced himself to slow his pace so as not to leave Duke Baldewin behind. Gingerbread picked his way through the dense trees and undergrowth until Gabe saw the cottage in the waning glow of the sky. He heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you, God.”
As his heart quickened, he couldn’t help urging his horse to walk faster. A woman came out the kitchen door and dumped a pan of dishwater on the ground, but her form wasn’t quite right to be Sophie. She was a little heavier and her hair was lighter. Had he come to the wrong house? But no, he was sure this was the cottage.
The woman looked up and saw them coming. She stood perfectly still as she watched them draw closer. Finally, Gabe realized her gaze was focused not on him, but behind him, on Duke Baldewin. He turned in his saddle and saw that Baldewin’s eyes were wide as he stared back at her.
The duke halted his horse, got off, and walked toward her, obviously forgetting his saddle sores. He strode toward her as if striding toward home.
Such a strange thought. Duke Baldewin had never been to the Cottage of the Seven before, so it certainly wasn’t his home. And how could he know this woman? Who was she?
The woman waited. She looked like Petra, the cook from Hohendorf, and it looked as if she was crying. When Baldewin had come within two feet of her, he stopped.
Curious, Gabe nevertheless turned away from the pair and led his and Baldewin’s horses to the stable. He unsaddled them himself, anxious to see Sophie and tell her the good news, to see the reunion between father and daughter. He forked some hay to the animals in their stalls and then latched the barn door before hurrying to the house.
Not bothering to knock, he burst into the large front room and found all seven of the men gathered around.
Siggy, instead of playing his lute, sat smiling at a young woman about Sophie’s age who was smiling back at him, and for a moment it was as if Gabe were watching himself and Sophie. But this girl was not Sophie; Gabe recognized her from his first day at Hohendorf as Roslind.
Where was Sophie? A quick glance around the room told him she wasn’t there.
The men quickly noticed him standing there and jumped up to greet him.
“Gabe!” Several of them came and grasped his shoulder or his hand, welcoming him back.
“Is Sophie upstairs?”
The men’s expressions immediately changed and their smiles fled. Only Bartel could look him in the eye. “She’s gone. Your father and Valten came earlier today. They set out immediately for Hagenheim Castle.”
Gabe’s stomach sank to his toes. He’d missed them, missed being there to explain things to his brother and father. Sophie had had to face them alone. And now they were a full day ahead of him.
Or, he should say, them — he and Baldewin. He couldn’t go to Hagenheim Castle without Duke Baldewin. More’s the pity. The man’s slowness would try the patience of Job.
Where was Duke Baldewin anyway? If he didn’t know better, he’d say the man was trysting with that woman behind the kitchen.
He rebuked himself for having such a thought about a monk.
“Can I help you with your horse?” Vincz asked.
“Thank you, but I already stabled them.” He looked back toward the kitchen. “I arrived here with Duke Baldewin. Have any of you seen him?”
The men muttered, asking each other if they’d encountered the duke, already deciding to search for him and who should go where, when Baldewin and the woman entered the door from the kitchen.
For a moment, no one said anything as they all stared at Baldewin and the woman, and the woman stared at the floor, her cheeks pink. Baldewin returned each stare with a leveled one of his own.
“Everyone,” Gabe spoke up. “This is Duke Baldewin of Hohendorf. He is Sophie’s father.”
They all bowed — all except Heinric, who grinned.
Duke Baldewin nodded — Gabe had been half afraid he would take issue with being called a duke, as he had when Gabe had addressed him as such at the monastery. But instead, he stood to his full height, seeming to throw off the humble demeanor of a monk. He looked as majestic as any nobleman, though without a nobleman’s attire.
“And this,” Baldewin said in his most kingly tone, “is Lady Petra, daughter of Baron Otto Kukelbrecht, a woman I’ve been wishing to talk with again for many years.”
Valten was almost home; his bride was riding her own horse — the horse he had personally selected for her — safely in the center of his father’s knights. And he had hardly said two words to her. But the important thing was that she was safe. And it didn’t hurt that she was quite beautiful.
He hoped Gabe wasn’t too disappointed that the attractive girl he had risked his life to rescue was marrying Valten, her rightful betrothed. He was surprised his brother wasn’t even there. Walther had made it sound as if his injury had been life-threatening, but when they’d arrived at the Cottage of the Seven, Gabe had apparently recovered and flitted off on a quest to find Duke Baldewin at the Gemeinhart Abbey. Which was fine; Gabe could do all the gallivanting he wanted while Valten escorted his betrothed back to Hagenheim.
The problem was that Sophie, as they all called her, was lovely to look upon, but she didn’t seem the least interested in even acknowledging his presence. But to be honest, he’d only tried to converse with her once or twice. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was a bit intimidated by the cold look on her face and the way she seemed determined to avoid him, staying as far away from him as possible. Valten reassured himself there would be plenty of time for talking and courting before they wed. After they arrived home, they’d likely wait at least three weeks while they cried the banns before the wedding.
Plenty of time.
Still, he should probably start to at least greet her every day, make sure she wasn’t afraid of him.
Many maidens seemed to react with fear to him. He was much larger than most men, true, and usually wore some armor and carried at least two weapons at all times. And he did have a few scars on his face that women seemed to have an aversion to, though he didn’t understand why. His scars were all small. It wasn’t as if he had a big, jagged scar all the way across his face or was missing an eye or anything like that.
Perhaps his bride-to-be was simply timid around men. And she hadn’t known until recently that she was even betrothed. Though surely she must have been pleased to find out her betrothed was the future duke of Hagenheim and a tournament champion known all over the Holy Roman Empire and beyond. He straightened in his saddle and looked over at Sophie. She met him with the same cold stare she’d been giving him the entire time.
He would make an effort to speak to her tonight. It would be the last night before they arrived in Hagenheim, after all.
Sophie was so exhausted when they stopped at the inn — the first inn they’d stopped at since they left the Cottage of the Seven — that she sighed with relief. It would feel good to sleep on an actual mattress and with a roof over her head.
Does Gabe have a roof over his head? Does he know I am on my way to Hagenheim with his brother and father? Does he even care?
No, she wasn’t going to think like that. Gabe had asked her to trust him and she would. He had never given her a reason not to. Well, until he’d left without telling her where he was going, without telling her her father was still alive.
Trust, trust, trust.
But I need you no
w, Gabe. I don’t know what to say, what to do. You’ve abandoned me with a very off-putting man, to whom I happen to be betrothed.
Who had dismounted and was coming toward her that very minute.
“Lady Sophia,” he said, reaching up to help her down off her horse.
She accepted his help, as there was no way to refuse. His big hands reached around her waist and lifted her with apparent ease. His shoulders were as broad as Walther’s, and she felt small as he set her down beside him. Oh, Gabe, where are you?
“We shall stay at this inn tonight.” His eyes stared into hers with complete openness, but without any affection. He didn’t even give her a slight smile.
She supposed she should feel bad for him, as he thought she was to become his wife, when in fact she was in love with his brother. Somehow, though, the only emotion she could feel for him was aversion.
He wasn’t Gabe.
Sooner or later she would need to tell him that she couldn’t marry him. What would he say? Would he become angry?
“You will have your own room, of course, and I will sleep outside your door.”
“Oh.” He looked fierce, as if contemplating the ruffians he would relish defending her from. “Thank you, but that isn’t necessary. I can bar the door.”
“It is my duty to protect you from anyone who may wish you harm. I take my duty seriously.”
She could certainly believe that, if the look on his face was any indication. But she couldn’t help contrasting … Gabe protected her just as fiercely, and he did it with a cute smile and a wink, not to mention doing it out of love instead of duty.
Valten turned and seemed to be waiting for her to pass in front of him. She did so, hoping he didn’t expect her to take his arm.
Inside, Valten and his father spoke with the innkeeper and ordered dinner and bedchambers. There weren’t enough rooms for all the knights who traveled with them, so Duke Wilhelm’s men arranged to stay in the stable with the horses. She wasn’t sure which was worse: sleeping in the stable with smelly horses or sleeping on the hard wood floor in front of the door of a girl whom you thought you were going to marry — but weren’t.
At least, she hoped he wasn’t going to marry her. But if Gabe couldn’t make the arrangements …
No, I will trust Gabe.
The inn’s stew tasted good, especially after eating nothing but jerky, apples, and stale bread for three days. She sat between Valten and Duke Wilhelm. The duke was a good conversationalist, asking her, gently, about her childhood. She told him and Valten that she didn’t remember her parents, and she hadn’t known that Duchess Ermengard was her stepmother or that she was the daughter of the duke of Hohendorf until Gabe came and told her.
“I am glad my son found you when he did.”
Sophie smiled. “As am I.” She felt Valten stiffen beside her, but she couldn’t stop herself from speaking the words rushing through her head. “He was so well-mannered and chivalrous, and very brave — even after he was struck by the arrow that was meant for me.”
Valten stared at her, unblinking, his jaw clenched, as if her words didn’t exactly please him. But she refused to be intimidated by him.
“I am very thankful to the men at the Cottage of the Seven. When we arrived at the Cottage, Gabe was so ill. I was terrified for him, but Bartel, one of the seven, was very knowledgable in the healing arts, and was able to save him, and all the men there were so gracious to us. They all came to love Gabe — it would be impossible not to.”
Duke Wilhelm’s eyes remained kind, but Valten was scowling at her so darkly, she wondered if she’d gone too far.
“Do you think Gabe will follow immediately to Hagenheim?” Duke Wilhelm asked. She was suddenly very grateful that he had accompanied Valten on this trip.
“He said he hoped he would only be gone for a few days, and he would follow us to Hagenheim if you and Valten had already come to fetch me when he got back.”
“Had it all planned out,” Valten muttered. “He would.” He crossed his arms, bulging with muscles, and glared at the wall.
“Brothers,” Duke Wilhelm said, smiling a lopsided grin that very much reminded her of Gabe. “Always a bit of rivalry there.”
Yes, especially if the older one is a bully. But she smiled back at Gabe’s father. He was a handsome man, and her heart swelled at the thought that he would one day be her father-in-law.
Valten continued to scowl. He had spoken very few thoughtful words during the meal. In fact, he had hardly spoken at all during the three days she’d known him. But now he looked at her and said, with his usual, serious expression, “I’m glad you and Gabe are well and safe after your escape from the duchess.”
She searched his eyes for sarcasm but saw only sincerity. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. Gabe seemed to love him, even if they had not always been kind to each other while growing up. Not that I want to marry Valten.
She held his gaze and allowed her eyes to soften slightly. “Thank you.”
“It is growing late,” Valten said. “If you are tired, I will accompany you to your room.”
They all stood up and made their way upstairs. Both Duke Wilhelm and Valten inspected her room, looking under the bed and combing every foot of the room, as if someone could be lurking. They tested the lock on the door, and then Duke Wilhelm sprinkled dried pennyroyal on the bed “to keep away fleas.”
“Thank you,” Sophie said as they left her room. She had no doubt that Valten truly would sleep outside her door on the hard wood floor.
Unfortunately, he was doing it because he thought she was soon to be his wife.
Chapter
27
Gabe had known Duke Baldewin would slow him down, but it couldn’t be helped. Without the duke’s blessing, there was little chance he would ever be allowed to marry Sophie. At least the duke had been willing to set out for Hagenheim the day after they arrived at the Cottage. Although he had seemed a bit reluctant to leave Petra behind. Twice before they left, Gabe had walked into a room and found the two of them speaking to each other, their heads together as if they were whispering. When Gabe asked the duke if Petra would be accompanying them, he said no. Petra and Roslind would stay with the Seven and help the men with the cooking. But something about his manner gave Gabe the impression that there was something unsettled between him and Petra. There had been plenty of opportunity to ask the duke about it during their slow trip to Hagenheim, but he decided to let the duke have his privacy.
Gabe was just happy to be on his way back to Sophie. And happy he had her father with him to grant permission for her and Valten’s betrothal to be broken.
Thank you, God.
Arriving in Hagenheim early in the afternoon after their night at the inn, Sophie tried to take in everything her eyes landed upon — the buildings, the streets, the people. Did Gabe know this person? Had he ever been inside that building? Was that young man a friend of his? She could see the towers of the castle rising above the rest of the town at the far end. Was his bedchamber behind one of those windows? Where was his mother? Would she be happy to meet Sophie?
Her heart gave a little lurch at the thought of meeting Gabe’s mother for the first time. Would she be as warm and welcoming as Gabe promised?
Valten brought his horse alongside hers, startling her. He kept his gaze straight ahead. The townspeople lined the streets, staring at them, some of them waving, others shouting “Willkommen!” An older woman called out, “Good health and long life to our young lord and his new bride!” More shouts rang out and people came running to join in the celebration.
Feeling like she was betraying them all, Sophie smiled sheepishly and waved back to the children who were calling after her, “Schönesjunges Fräulein! Lovely Lady Sophia! Lovely! Lovely!”
Valten kept his gaze straight ahead while his father nodded to acknowledge those welcoming them home. The people seemed to adore their duke and his son. Sophie couldn’t imagine the people of Hohendorf reacting in such a way toward Duchess
Ermengard.
Although they’d probably react in just this way when they learned she was dead.
Their entourage of knights soon traversed the length of the city, crossed the Marktplatz with its impressive buildings that surrounded the cobblestone square, and entered the castle courtyard. Before she knew it, she and all the knights were dismounting their horses, and groomsmen were leading the animals away.
Someone was taking her hand. She turned to see Valten placing her hand on his arm. Will he actually speak? No. Instead he silently led her to a huge wooden door in the side of the gray stone castle.
They entered, and as her eyes grew accustomed to the dark interior, she heard a gasp, then quick footsteps coming toward her. She focused on a woman just moments before that woman took both her hands and said, “You must be Sophie. I am Rose, Valten’s mother. Welcome to Hagenheim, my dear. I hope you will be very happy here.”
Sophie smiled. Gabe had been right. His mother was just as he’d said.
Gabe’s mother ordered a bath be drawn for her, reminding Sophie of the seven men’s kindness. She bathed in a large tub, with warm water and scented soap and a wonderfully fragrant liquid soap for her hair. She almost began to feel like a lady.
Every time guilt rose up to scold her for deceiving her new family-to-be, Sophie let the warm water distract her. After all, when Gabe arrived, he would make everything right. He would convince his family to let the two of them marry, and Valten could find himself his own wife. They would understand.
But without Gabe here to attest to their love, how could she tell them? Surely she could put it off until Gabe arrived.
Make haste, Gabe.
After her bath, Sophie received what she had been longing for — hours of talking to Gabe’s mother, who insisted she be called Rose. Lady Rose hinted that her own upbringing hadn’t been so different from Sophie’s. She’d grown up the daughter of a woodcutter outside the town walls, before the town healer befriended her and made her a healer’s apprentice. The healer had been kind to her and had taught her many things, including how to read. Sophie hoped to hear the rest of that story in the days to come, hoped to learn how she ended up marrying a duke when she was only a woodcutter’s daughter. But Lady Rose wanted to know about Sophie.