The little boy glanced behind him at the girl who was standing at the corner of the alley, sniffling and staring at them both.
The little boy’s shoulders slumped. “Can I go now?”
Jorgen’s heart constricted at the look on the boy’s face. “Do you have a mother or father?”
“I have a mother.”
“Where do you live?”
He pointed in the direction of the alley. “With my mother’s sister, but she says she cannot feed us.”
“If you need food, go to the gamekeeper’s cottage. Do you know where it is?”
“Outside the town gate, in the margrave’s forest?”
“That is where I live. My mother will give you food if I am not there.”
The expression in his eyes was much older than his years. Finally, the boy nodded. Jorgen walked him back to his sister, and the boy handed her a bread roll. They both put the bread in their mouths and bit into them. Then they turned and started down the alley side by side.
“Wait.” He couldn’t bear to let them leave with only a few small rolls. While he felt around in his pocket, he asked, “What is your name?”
“Martin.”
“Martin, do not lose this.” He handed him some coins. “Buy some food for yourself and your sister.”
The whites of the boy’s eyes flashed, as did his teeth, as he finally smiled. “Thank you.” He grabbed his sister’s hand and ran away.
Jorgen turned back in the direction of the town center and Marktplatz, blinking to try to erase the memory that the boy and his little sister had brought to the surface. The sounds of lute, hurdy-gurdy, and a Minnesinger’s voice singing a familiar ballad lured him on toward the music and dancing, where he might forget that he was ever as poor, hungry, and desperate as the two children he had just seen.
2
ODETTE’S FRIEND ANNA held up a braided wildflower circlet and placed it on Odette’s head. “Now you are ready for the Midsummer festival.”
“Do you not think I’m getting too old to dress like the other unmarried maidens on Midsummer?”
“Of course not. You are unmarried, are you not? You’ll be the fairest maiden in the town square.”
Odette embraced her friend. “And you’ll be the fairest married woman there.”
Anna laughed. “And the sleepiest. The baby woke me up three times last night.”
They stood admiring each other in the large ground-floor room of the half-timber house where Odette lived with her uncle. Odette wore the lightweight, white linen overdress that all the maidens wore on Midsummer’s Eve, while Anna wore a beautiful blue cotehardie with cutaway sides and a decorative belt.
One of the maidservants came down the stairs with the cloths, brushes, and bucket she used for cleaning the upper floors.
Had Odette hidden her bow and arrows before going to bed just before dawn? The sick feeling in her stomach told her she had forgotten.
Trying to hold on to her smile, Odette squeezed her friend’s arm. “Wait here while I go do something.”
Odette rushed up the stairs to her bedchamber on the third floor and nearly ran into her uncle in the stairwell. “Uncle Rutger. I didn’t see you. Did Heinke clean my chamber?”
He shrugged. “She may have. Did you need her to do something for you?”
“It’s nothing. I just need to . . .” Odette hastened away without finishing her sentence. Inside her chamber, the flagstone floor was swept clean and the bedclothes were straightened. But the old cloak she used to cover her longbow and arrows was lying folded across her bed.
Odette scurried to her trunk against the wall. She yanked off the bear fur that lay over it and raised the lid. Her longbow and arrows were not inside.
Glancing around frantically, she caught sight of them leaning against the wall in the corner. How could she have left them in plain sight?
“Is that what I think it is?”
Odette spun around. Rutger stood in the doorway. Her uncle was only a bit taller than she was, and he was thin, with thinning brown hair.
“Oh. I didn’t hear you there.” Her heart thumped against her chest, and she hurried to grab the cloak off her bed, then to the corner where her weapons were resting against the wall. She wrapped the bow and arrows in the cloak.
“Did you not think it would be a good idea to hide that from view?” Rutger quirked up one side of his mouth.
“Of course. I never leave them out where anyone can see them. Last night I must have forgotten.” She cringed as she placed them into the trunk and closed the lid, then drew the bearskin over it.
Odette closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath. Heinke would not tell anyone that Odette owned a longbow and arrows, would she? And even if she did, they would never suspect the niece of a respectable merchant of poaching . . . would they?
“People will wonder what Odette Menkels is doing with a bow and arrows in her bedchamber. You could say you were hunting for a husband.”
Odette rolled her eyes at him.
His dark eyebrows drew together. “But to be serious, if the margrave’s forester were to discover . . .”
“I know,” Odette said softly. She was in constant fear of the forester, whose job it was to capture poachers and bring them to the margrave to be punished.
She did not tell him she had lost an arrow in the margrave’s forest last night.
Anna called to her from downstairs, and Rutger asked, “Do you need me to go to the festival to approve or disapprove of any young men wishing to dance with you?”
“Anna and Peter will be with me. Their mothers are staying home with the children.”
“Very well.”
“Perhaps you should come and find yourself a pretty wife.” Odette raised her brows at him.
He shook his head. “I think not. My time is better spent planning how to make more money so that I can increase your dowry. But perhaps I should be trying to hunt down a husband that you will deem worthy.” He shook his finger at her. “The men of Thornbeck have been clamoring at my door, begging to marry you for years. There is not another maiden in Thornbeck who is as picky as you. I have offered you every wealthy man in Thornbeck, and you have turned them all down.”
Odette let her mouth drop open in what she hoped was an expression of shock. “Every ugly, fat, old”—she paused to emphasize the word further—“wealthy man. Are there any young men in Thornbeck who do not have a hairy wart on their nose and still have all their teeth who might be willing to marry me?”
“See how picky you are?” He gave a look of mock outrage. “I suppose you would be proud to have a handsome husband, even if he was also a poor peasant farmer living in a one-room hovel, but I happen to think you deserve better than that. You do not want your children begging for bread, do you?”
Odette frowned up at him, her hand on her hip. “Of course I don’t want to marry a poor man, but are all the rich men ugly and old?” She tapped her finger against her chin, then held it up in the air. “I know! You should marry a rich widow. Then she could support all of us, and I would never have to marry at all.”
“That is a very good idea. As soon as I find one, I will be sure to marry her as quickly as possible. And if she is unwilling to marry, I shall get her with child and then she will have no choice.”
“You are incorrigible.” She slapped playfully at his arm.
He winked and they parted. Odette headed down the stairs to her friend.
How fortunate she was to have an uncle like Rutger. Most guardians would have married her off years ago to the wealthiest man they could find and would not have allowed her any choice. But he had always asked her thoughts on the matter. If she were to marry, she could no longer do what she pleased—namely, hunt deer in the margrave’s forest. Besides, those men had not held any appeal for her.
Odette joined Anna and they ventured back into the street. The crowds of people buzzed like bees as they made their way to the open space of the Marktplatz.
“Who do
you think you will dream of tonight?” Anna asked as they walked arm in arm and passed the big cathedral, the tallest building in town, on their way to the festivities.
“I rarely ever dream of pleasant things.”
Anna gave her a frown and raised her eyebrows.
“But tonight I shall pray to dream of a handsome husband.”
Anna smiled her approval.
Already there was a large crowd of people dancing in the open plaza around the fountain where venders sold goods three days a week from portable booths. The weather was perfect as the sun sank behind the four-and five-story buildings that encircled the Marktplatz.
Jongleurs were throwing colorful balls in the air, keeping them moving in a continuous circle of three, while another young man played the flute and danced. Sellers shouted out various wares and foodstuffs for sale, but the bailiffs were forcing them to stay on the periphery to allow the people room to dance.
The Minnesingers and their accompanying musicians were set up at the head of the Marktplatz and were already singing an old familiar love ballad. One tenor voice rang out above the others as he sang:
You are mine, I am yours,
Of that you may be sure.
You’re safely locked away
Deep within my heart,
But lost is the key
And there you’ll ever stay.
The words made Odette wrinkle her nose. She did not like to admit it, but she did hope someday she might want to “lock someone away in her heart” and lose the key. But unless he was wealthy and willing to help the poor, she feared she might be destined to go on poaching deer until she grew too old to stretch a bowstring.
Straight ahead she caught sight of Anna’s husband, Peter, waiting for them at the fountain in the middle of the cobblestone city center. The fountain was a popular meeting place, so the crowd grew even thicker as they drew closer.
Peter lifted his hand to wave at them just as a young man, dressed in the garb of a wealthy burgher, was pressing through the people toward them. Mathis Papendorp, the Burgomeister’s son, was always smiling and bowing and kissing her hand. Rutger had long been speaking to her of his suitability as a husband.
The young man reached them and bowed. “Beautiful maidens, would you do me the honor of dancing with me this Midsummer’s Eve?”
“I’m afraid we cannot both dance with you.” Odette arched her brows at him. “At the same time, leastways. And although my friend is quite beautiful, she is also married.”
Anna nodded. “It is true. And my husband is coming this way.”
“I would dance with you anyway,” he said, “but I would not want to offend your husband or expose a gentle lady to gossip.”
Prettily spoken. His speech and manners were as smooth as she might have expected from the son of the mayor.
Mathis was somewhat handsome, she had to admit, with pale hair and blue-gray eyes. “But I should be glad of the chance to dance with this beautiful maiden.” He bowed again to Odette.
She extended her hand toward him. “It is my pleasure to dance with you.”
As Mathis took Odette’s hand and whisked her into the crowd, she caught a glimpse of her uncle approaching Anna and Peter. All three were eyeing Mathis.
During the dance, he was polite, talking of the weather and asking her about herself. When the song was over, he escorted her to where Anna, Peter, and Rutger were standing but excused himself, saying, “I shall return in a moment.”
Uncle Rutger leaned over and said, “I believe Mathis Papendorp is as taken with you as ever, Odette.” He gave Odette a stealthy wink. “You could do much worse than the Burgomeister’s oldest son.”
“Ah yes. He is very wealthy.” Peter nodded and raised his brows at Odette.
Soon Mathis returned. His eyes brightened as he turned to her. “Would you honor me with another dance?”
Odette placed her hand on his arm and allowed him to lead her to the area of the Marktplatz where the Minnesingers and musicians were playing and singing. Rutger would consider the mayor’s son a worthy suitor. He was somewhat handsome, wealthy, and socially well placed. But as she glanced at Mathis’s profile, Odette couldn’t help wondering what sort of man he was.
As he lined up with her for the dance, she noticed a very handsome man coming toward them.
Jorgen made his way to the center of the Marktplatz when a beautiful maiden—the same young woman from the cathedral—caught his eye. She had the same golden hair hanging in ringlets down her back, unfettered by even a veil, and the same graceful profile and generous facial features. He was certain it was she—but she was dancing with Mathis Papendorp.
The good thing was that she wore the simple white dress and circlet of white wildflowers on her head that indicated she was a maiden and unmarried. How could such a beautiful woman, obviously older than sixteen or seventeen years, still be unmarried? Whatever the reason, his heart lightened.
Her face still glowed, even though it was now lit by the early-evening summer sun instead of the altar candlelight.
Mathis was obviously taken with her, with the way his gaze never left her. Would she dance all night with Mathis? Seeing her again in such a large crowd seemed like fate, and he could not let the opportunity escape him. But . . . the way she had been dressed at the cathedral earlier, she must be a wealthy burgher’s daughter. She might not wish to dance with him, as he wasn’t exactly part of the wealthy burgher class.
As the song ended, the dancers stopped. Mathis said something next to her ear. Whatever he said would be charming since Mathis was as good at making flattering little speeches as his father was.
Jorgen hung back as they walked past, wanting to approach her without Mathis around. Mathis bowed to the same man who had accompanied her in the cathedral and stood talking with him and the beautiful young woman.
Someone called his name, and Jorgen turned to see two maidens with flower circlets in their hair.
“Won’t you dance with us?” the red-haired one said, smiling flirtatiously. “Someone told us that you are the margrave’s forester. Is that true?”
He would have been pleased to dance with them—if not for the hope of meeting the blond maiden with the bright-blue eyes.
“I am the margrave’s forester.”
“Come, then.” The brunette reached for his hand. “Dance this one with me and the next with my friend.”
Jorgen allowed the bold girl to lead him to the group forming a circle for the carol.
As he danced to the lively music, he had to stop himself from searching the crowd for the beautiful maiden from the cathedral and to focus on his partner instead. When that dance concluded, he danced with her friend, the red-haired girl, who kept asking him questions while they danced. After the dances were over, he excused himself from them. But when he tried to find the mysterious blue-eyed girl, she was no longer standing where she had been before, and neither was the man he assumed was her father.
Then he spotted her with Mathis again.
Before he had time to think better of it, he walked forward and inserted himself in the circle of dancers just beside the beautiful maiden. As they spun around and clapped their hands above their heads, he caught her eye and smiled at her. A few moments later, she glanced in his direction, and when they had to turn all the way around again, she smiled back at him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noted Mathis’s look of warning but pretended not to see him.
When the music ceased, Jorgen placed himself in front of her. “Would you honor me with the next dance?”
She looked surprised but also a little pleased, if he read her smile correctly. “I will.”
Mathis’s face turned red, and he pressed his lips into a thin line. “Until later.” He bowed to the maiden and walked away, glaring over his shoulder at Jorgen. But Jorgen kept his eyes focused on her. “I am Jorgen Hartman.”
“Odette Menkels.”
“A beautiful name, Odette.” He let the name linger in his mind an
d on his tongue as he stared into her eyes.
The music started, and Jorgen’s heart beat faster as everyone joined hands with the people beside them and formed a giant circle. He clasped his hand with Odette’s smaller one on one side, and another maiden’s on his other side.
The circle moved first to the right two steps, then to the left two steps, then forward two steps, clapping twice, then back two steps as they grasped each other’s hands again. The steps repeated as the music grew faster and faster. The dancers shouted as they moved forward and clapped. His shoulder brushed Odette’s. He tried not to stare at her. She kept glancing up at him, and by the end of the dance, the pace grew almost too fast for the dancers to keep up. She laughed.
When it was over, she said, “I should get back to my uncle.”
So the man was her uncle. Jorgen wanted to dance with her again, but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. “I will escort you.” He held out his arm, and she placed her hand on his wrist.
As soon as they turned to move away from the dancing, Odette said, “This is my uncle, Rutger Menkels.”
“Forgive my boldness in dancing with your niece.” Jorgen bowed. “I am Jorgen Hartman, and I am honored to dance with the fair Odette.”
“Indeed. I know of no other maiden in Thornbeck as fair as she.” There was a challenging look in Rutger’s crooked smile.
“Nor do I.”
Rutger seemed to be sizing Jorgen up. But since her uncle said nothing to object to him, he turned to Odette. “I would be honored if you would dance with me again.”
She smiled. “It would be my pleasure.”
They moved back to where the dancers were readying themselves. But this time the music was slower and accompanied by a heavy drumbeat. They formed two lines, the men facing the women. Each man reached out and took the hand of his partner. Jorgen took Odette’s soft hand in his as they stepped toward each other, passing and turning around as they exchanged places. The lines of dancers were quite close now as the Marktplatz became more crowded.