Gerek slashed at the guard, who blocked the blow with his blade. They fought for a few moments before Gerek beat him back and pinned him against the wall. Behind him, Duke Wilhelm’s men were making their way through the corridor. Gerek once again turned his opponent over to them, and he rushed to see who was screaming.
“Over here!” Frau Adelheit was motioning him forward. “In the linen room.”
Another scream came from the linen room, but this time he recognized the voice. Rapunzel. Strength rushed through his limbs. He raced toward the open door of the linen room, which lay on the floor in splinters.
Another of Claybrook’s guards came at him, stepping into the corridor from the outside door, his sword drawn. With both hands, Gerek swung his sword and knocked the man to the ground.
Gerek yelled as he charged through the doorway. Rapunzel was lying on the floor, pushing her way out from under a man’s body. Gerek kicked the man off of her and onto his back. A knife was sticking out of his chest, over his heart. His eyes were staring up and blood was trickling out of his mouth. Balthasar.
Gerek placed his hands under Rapunzel’s arms and lifted her to her feet. She looked into his eyes for a moment, then threw her arms around him.
He pulled her close with one arm, still holding his sword in his other hand. “Shh. All is well . . . All is well.” Her golden hair was falling around her shoulders in disarray. How his heart swelled with joy at seeing her safe, her arms around him, the way it felt to touch her and hold her . . . which he should not be doing. But the way she was clinging to him felt so good he could barely breathe.
She suddenly pulled away and looked up at him, her face quite pale.
He glanced past her at the body lying on the floor. He was definitely dead.
“Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?” He held her at arm’s length and looked her over.
“No. He fell on my knife. I turned and he fell . . .” Her voice shook and she shuddered. “I was only trying to protect myself. Do you think God will forgive me?”
“Of course. He deserved it. And if he hadn’t fallen on the knife, I would have killed him myself.” He had such a strong urge to pull her to him that he wrenched his gaze away.
“Are you hurt? There’s blood on your face.” She reached out and touched his cheek.
“It’s not mine.”
Her mouth suddenly broke into a smile. “Good.”
Even with dark circles under her eyes, she was beautiful. So beautiful.
“I should get back to the fight.”
A cheer resounded inside the castle, and another cheer echoed from outside. He let go of Rapunzel’s arms and went into the corridor. Through the window he saw Duke Wilhelm’s men were rounding up Claybrook’s guards and confiscating their weapons. It was strange that they had prevailed so easily. Where were all of Claybrook’s men? The ones they were leading out of the barracks looked as if they were either drunk or sick.
When he turned around, Frau Adelheit was embracing Rapunzel in the corridor behind him.
“Oh, thank God, thank God,” she said. “You are safe and unharmed. You are so brave. Such a brave girl.”
She was brave, but she looked exhausted. He strode over to her. “Duke Wilhelm has defeated Lord Claybrook. Hagenheim is safe again.”
“Thank you. We are so grateful,” Frau Adelheit said.
He had been too late to help Rapunzel. A stab went through Gerek’s chest at what might have happened to her. “Are you sure he did not hurt you? What was that man doing, running around loose in the castle?”
“The first thing Lord Claybrook did was set all the dungeon prisoners free. He’s been trying to get me, and he finally almost did.” She let out a shaky breath. “Frau Adelheit and I were locked in the linen room for the last few hours, with him pounding on the door. Then this morning he started beating a hole in the door.”
No wonder she looked so tired.
A maidservant came running toward Rapunzel. “You are safe!” She threw her arms around her. “We were afraid something terrible had happened to you. Is that blood?” She gasped, staring at the bloodstain on the front of Rapunzel’s clothing.
“It’s not mine.” The edges of Rapunzel’s lips lifted as her eyes met Gerek’s. She took her friend’s arm and led her to the door of the linen room. She showed her Balthasar with the knife in his chest.
“Is he . . . dead?”
“Yes.”
The two of them stood talking for several minutes while droves of Duke Wilhelm’s men came in through the outside door to the Great Hall. They spilled into the corridor, and Duke Wilhelm and several more of his men came down the stairs from the solar. They began to swap stories about the guards they had defeated. Apparently Colin le Wyse, the Englishman, had disarmed Claybrook himself. Not a very difficult feat since he’d been poisoned the night before—or so they were saying.
Duke Wilhelm broke away and approached Frau Adelheit. Gerek heard him ask her, “Do you think Cook could have some food prepared for my men?”
“Of course, your grace.”
Rapunzel and her friend followed Frau Adelheit. Rapunzel hesitated and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes locked on his for a moment.
She was his friend, a maiden he had taught to read, to whom he had loaned some books, whose life he had saved twice and who had saved his once. But that was all. And if he thought about her a lot, it was only because she was his friend, and he was hers.
Soon he would be married and no longer living at Hagenheim Castle. He would forget her, and she would forget him. But if the pain in his chest was any indication, it might be a painful process.
He looked out the window. The men were clapping each other on the back, trying to be heard as they all told their tales of bravery and battle prowess. A woman caught his eye. She very much resembled Rapunzel’s mother. He stared, trying to make sure, but she was hidden from view as she slunk off behind the kitchen, as if trying to avoid being seen.
If it was Rapunzel’s mother, surely she wouldn’t try to harm Rapunzel or force her to leave, as she had once threatened. There were too many people around. But it was strange that she was here, especially now, while the castle was being freed from Claybrook’s clutches. Could Rapunzel’s mother have had anything to do with the capture?
Lord Glynval, Colin’s father, suddenly appeared and clapped him on the shoulder. He asked Gerek about his battles, and they moved toward the Great Hall where the rest of the knights and Duke Wilhelm’s men were congregating.
He didn’t want to worry Rapunzel, but perhaps later he should warn her that he thought he had seen her mother.
Rapunzel’s mind was still whirling as she went to the servants’ quarters and changed her kirtle, which was soiled with Balthasar’s blood. She braided her hair with trembling hands, replaced the head covering that she’d lost, and walked back toward the kitchen.
She pressed her hands over her cheeks. She had killed a man this morning, albeit in self-defense and rather accidentally. It still made her feel sick when she remembered it. But, truth be told, she had been willing to kill him, and had even intended to kill him if she had to. Besides, Sir Gerek would have killed him if she had not.
She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering how it had felt to see Sir Gerek appear, reaching down and pulling her up. She sighed deeply. His arms were so strong and comforting around her, holding her tight against his broad chest. She drew in a hiccupped breath, a cross between a laugh and a sob.
Oh, Sir Gerek . . . was it just as Mother had said? That she was in love and would do anything he wanted her to, no matter how wrong or foolish?
But she could not be in love with him, and she would not do anything Sir Gerek asked her to do. She would no longer allow Gothel to poison her mind and make her believe that all men were evil. Sir Gerek wouldn’t ask her to do anything foolish or wrong, not only because he was honorable, but also because he didn’t even want her.
He wanted his wealthy widow.
But she didn?
??t want to think about that. She would think about how her breath had stuck in her throat when he had looked into her eyes. How fierce and protective he had been. How rugged and masculine he had looked with several days of stubble on his cheeks and chin.
Why should she be so affected by Sir Gerek? He was only a man who had saved her life and had taught her to read. He was a knight in Duke Wilhelm’s service, so of course he saved her. He would save anyone who was in need of help.
But it was more than that. He liked her. She knew he did. He cared about her and considered her a friend. At this moment she had his books inside her kirtle pocket, where she kept them so she could reread them when she had a free moment. She should give them back to him, now that he had returned and all was once again back as it should be, with Duke Wilhelm in his rightful place.
Lingering outside the kitchen, she said a prayer for Lady Rose, her mother, that she and Rapunzel’s brothers and sisters were well now. She should be helping the others in the kitchen, preparing a feast for Duke Wilhelm and his men, who had freed them from Lord Claybrook.
She took a step and a shadow fell across her path.
“Here you are.” Gothel stood, her hands folded in front of her.
“You startled me.” Her skin prickled. Somehow Gothel had eluded capture by Duke Wilhelm’s men. Or perhaps no one realized that she had been helping Claybrook and Sir Reginald. She’d been their spy, bringing them news of what the people in Hagenheim knew about Duke Wilhelm’s whereabouts and who knew what else.
“Are you pleased with your decision to come to Hagenheim Castle to be a kitchen servant?” Gothel’s face twisted into a sneer. “Why have you not told Duke Wilhelm and his precious Rose that you are their daughter? Are you afraid they won’t believe you?”
“I was waiting until things settled down.” She need not defend herself or feel pressure to tell Gothel anything.
But this was the woman who’d raised her, the woman who took care of her when she was sick, who braided her hair every night and told her she was the most talented and lovable person in the world. To think that she was cruel enough to steal her away from her loving parents suddenly hit Rapunzel’s heart like a battle-ax.
“Where is Sir Reginald? Will you not try to rescue the man you love from Duke Wilhelm? Perhaps you can steal him away just as you stole me.”
Gothel’s face was nearly blank, her eyes strangely vacant as she stared down at the ground. “Sir Reginald . . . is dead.”
“Dead? Oh, Mother, I’m so sorry.” She had promised herself never to call her that again. But in her sympathy, it slipped out.
“He deserved to die. He would have betrayed me—again. He was only using me. He had already been granted permission from Lord Claybrook to marry Duke Wilhelm’s niece, Anne.”
Rapunzel took a step back.
Gothel stepped toward her. “I was still not good enough for him. And I was right. All those years that I told you never to trust a man, that men only wanted one thing from you, that a man would not marry you if he would gain nothing in the bargain . . . I was right. But I did not listen to my own words of wisdom. It was your fault.” She pierced Rapunzel with a look.
“My fault? How?”
Gothel’s breath seemed to come faster, even though she was standing still. “If you had not deserted me, if I had not been alone and weighed down with sorrow, I would not have been duped by him again. I would have realized he was not sincere, that he was using me and making a fool of me again.” She stepped closer to Rapunzel. “I would not have listened to his lies about marrying me. But things can go back to the way they were before . . . before I listened to him . . . before you abandoned me.”
Suddenly, Gothel grabbed Rapunzel by the nose and by her hair, stuffed something inside her mouth, and held her head back so far she became disoriented. She lashed out with her hands but was only beating the air. When she tried to kick, she nearly fell on her back. She tried to spit the substance out, but she couldn’t breathe and was forced to swallow whatever it was.
She clawed at Gothel’s hand, but by the time she was able to pry her loose, Rapunzel’s vision was fading. And she was falling.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gerek ate heartily while listening to the story of Lord Claybrook’s capture. Colin’s face turned pink while he and Lady Margaretha explained what happened. Apparently Colin had been distracted by Lady Margaretha, and Claybrook had come up behind him with a raised sword. But Colin defeated him in a brief sword fight, shortened by the fact that Claybrook had been poisoned the night before by the maidservants. In fact, many of Claybrook’s knights had been poisoned by the kitchen servants and were too sick to fight well.
That was one story he was anxious to ask Rapunzel about. She no doubt had a hand in that brave act.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see Frau Adelheit standing just behind him.
“Sir Gerek, I am sorry to interrupt your meal, but Rapunzel is missing. None of us have seen her since she went to change her clothing, and that was before the preparation of the meal.”
Gerek stood and stepped over the bench where he was sitting at the raised dais with the family. “Perhaps she went for a walk. She likes to sit under the tree in the south meadow.”
“No, I sent someone there to look for her. I am afraid something has happened to her.” Her eyes were round, and she was clutching her hands.
It seemed strange that Frau Adelheit was so anxious about a maidservant. But Rapunzel was special—strong, kind, and reliable.
“What makes you think something has happened to her?”
She hesitated. She knew something that she didn’t want to tell him. “I have reason to think that her mother—Gothel—may be planning to do something terrible to her.”
Gerek felt the blood start to pump through his veins, as if he was preparing for battle. “I saw her mother. She was in the castle yard by the kitchen.”
Frau Adelheit’s lips turned white. “Oh no. She must have taken her. You must go after her.”
“Surely her mother wouldn’t hurt her.”
“She would. I believe she would! Please, you must find her and bring her back. She will give Rapunzel a sleeping potion. I believe she would do anything to get her away from Hagenheim.”
“I shall find her.”
Without pausing to tell anyone where he was going, Gerek hurried out to the stables, saddled his horse, and started out to the small house where Rapunzel and her mother had lived.
He arrived at the house in the woods without seeing them. He dismounted and knocked on the front door, which creaked open at the first knock.
“Rapunzel? Are you here?” He stepped inside. There were no live coals in the fire pit, and their belongings had been removed. He walked around the entire one-room house, which took only a few moments. He stepped out the back door, but there were no animals. She had undoubtedly taken the donkey, the ox, and the cart with her—and she must have stopped by the castle to get Rapunzel as well.
Where had they gone? What had she done to Rapunzel? How would he ever find them?
His heart sank a little more with each question. But he had no time for despair. He had to make haste and find her, find their trail.
As he mounted his horse and rode back toward Hagenheim, he urged Donner into a gallop. He had to see if he could pick up some kind of trail from the location where her mother must have taken her.
He arrived several minutes later at the castle. He walked behind the kitchen, where he could see the maidservants’ sleeping quarters—a small wooden building several feet from the kitchen. Between the two buildings he noticed the dirt path was slightly churned up. Was this where Rapunzel had encountered her mother?
He looked carefully at the new spring grass. The ground was soft from recent rain. He followed the two lines her feet had made until they ended beside some cart tracks.
During the confusion just after the battle, Gothel must have brought her donkey and cart into the castle yard and wa
ited for Rapunzel to come out. She intercepted her just outside the servants’ sleeping quarters, and must have either knocked Rapunzel unconscious or given her some kind of potion to make her lose her strength.
Rapunzel didn’t deserve to be mistreated. Inexplicably, the memory of his mother floated in front of his eyes. His mother had not deserved to be abused and thrown down the stairs just because she had wanted her son home for the Christmas holy day. And Rapunzel didn’t deserve to be taken against her will by an insane woman bent on only-God-knew-what.
“God,” he whispered into the air, “make me her champion. Give me the strength and ability to find her. Show me where to look, where to go, how to find her.”
He heard someone approaching and turned to see Frau Adelheit. “You didn’t find her?”
“I went to her house, but her mother has taken everything and left. I think she brought her donkey and cart here and took her. I’ll follow this trail as far as I can and hopefully overtake them, but they have at least a two-hour head start.”
“Should you take someone with you?”
“No time.” He mounted his horse. “Tell some of the men to follow me.” Although he didn’t truly think she would be able to convince Duke Wilhelm’s men to go after a maidservant.
He followed the cart wheel tracks in the dirt, but they did not stay on the road. He dismounted, frantically searching the ground for any sign of them.
Several of Duke Wilhelm’s guards stopped on the road where he had left Donner.
“I need a tracker over here,” Gerek yelled.
He recognized the first two men who reached him. “I lost the trail here. I’m tracking two women, a cart, a donkey, and possibly an ox. One woman is probably on the cart.”
The men went to work, touching the ground, sniffing bits of leaves and dirt. One called the other over and they consulted, then called out, “We found the trail.”
Gerek could just make out the cart wheel tracks in the grass. It looked as though they were following the road, but out of sight of it, in the edge of the trees. Gerek and the other men remounted their horses and followed the two trackers. They kept going for an hour or more before they lost the trail again. This time even the best trackers could not pick up any signs.