When they were nearly finished, Steffan came running in, breathing hard with a large bundle under one arm and a sword at his hip.
They strapped their belongings onto the saddles, and all four of them took the reins of a horse and walked quietly through the stable yard. Would anyone stop them? Would someone warn Lord Hazen that they were leaving, the same person who had given him enough information about Steffan and Magdalen that he was able to figure out who they were?
God, please let the darkness hide us, Magdalen prayed as they skirted around the edge of the castle bailey toward the gate and bridge that led away from the castle. As they passed the gatehouse, the guard was slumped against the wall on a stool. Magdalen moved as quietly as possible, watching each step she took, even though it was still too dark to see very much.
They had proceeded several steps past the guard, with Lenhart taking up the rear, when a voice called, “You there! Where are you going?”
Katrin, who was beside Magdalen, gasped and whimpered. Steffan was in the lead, and he turned and whispered, “Keep going. Don’t stop.” He quickened his step, and they all followed suit.
The guard grumbled something undiscernible behind them. Magdalen listened hard, afraid to look behind her as they made their way down the castle mount in the semidarkness of early dawn.
“Let’s mount.” Steffan sprang onto his horse with such haste it took her breath.
She grabbed the reins of her own horse and quickly mounted. Lenhart had to help Katrin, but when everyone was safely mounted, Steffan took the lead and galloped his horse the rest of the way down the castle mount and through the still-sleeping town of Wolfberg.
They passed the cathedral where Agnes and Alexander had been married, passed the shops and houses along the main street, then took the southwest fork in the road that would lead them to Mallin.
Katrin did not seem as if she had much experience with riding a horse, but her face was scrunched in a look of determination as she stayed close behind them. Lenhart stayed close to her as well, often glancing over at her.
Thank You, God, for Lenhart. Please help us escape from Lord Hazen. Her heart was pounding, and she could think of nothing else to say. If the man would kill his own nephew for no other reason besides greed, he’d have no scruples killing all four of them if he caught up to them.
They had been riding for about two hours, Magdalen would guess from the position of the sun, when they drew near a village. Steffan slowed and guided his horse off the side of the rutted dirt road into the trees, eventually halting when they were out of sight of the road.
“You three wait here and I’ll go into this village alone to buy us some food. We don’t want anyone to see us together and tell Lord Hazen.” He twisted and reached to the back of his saddle and took his money pouch from his bag. “I’ll also try to find someone to take your letter to Thornbeck while we head for Mallin.”
Their eyes met for a moment before he nodded and moved off toward the village.
They had not exactly discussed what they would do once they reached Mallin. Magdalen was eager to discover the mystery behind why Lord Hazen had taken her father’s mining books and why he had a map of Mallin’s copper mines. But she was not eager to see her mother and let her know what she had been doing for the past few weeks.
Lord Hazen was surely following them, or at least his men were. He might only be a few minutes behind them, and probably no more than an hour or two. But she prayed that somehow God would show them favor and put obstacles in their enemy’s path.
Steffan soon returned with a large bundle of food.
“Did you find any possible couriers?” she asked softly as he passed the food bundle to her.
“Yes.” He gave her the tiniest half smile. “I don’t know how reliable this person is, but I paid him to deliver your letter. It is also possible that he might be intercepted by my uncle’s men, but . . . we can pray he makes it to Thornbeck.”
They ate quickly and then packed the rest and remounted their horses.
“How long will it take to get to Mallin?” Steffan’s expression was tight, as if he was focused solely on the task at hand.
“On horseback we should be able to make it in two days, especially if we are able to change horses along the way.”
He nodded once, then urged his horse to speed up to a fast walk.
They could not afford to exhaust their horses with too much galloping, as they rode all day, stopping only a few times to eat and get water for themselves and their horses. Steffan was able to buy a few water flasks at the last village and filled them up at the town so that, hopefully, they would not be caught without water if they could not find a stream.
As it grew dark, Katrin was drooping in her saddle, leaning over the horse’s neck. Lenhart and Steffan were still sitting tall, but the hollowness around their eyes and the heaviness of their eyelids betrayed their exhaustion. Magdalen’s back was aching—not to mention the pain in her backside—after riding all day.
They approached a village. Steffan said, “I know of an inn here where we can sleep for the night.”
An actual bed seemed too good to be true, although she knew these inns were often crawling with lice and other vermin.
“I’ll go in and rent the rooms,” Steffan said. “Lenhart, you watch over the maidens.”
Lenhart stood a little taller and his chest expanded. Katrin glanced up at the tall boy—truly, she should cease calling him a boy. He was nearly sixteen years old.
They let their horses graze the small amount of grass thirty yards or so from the inn while they waited for Steffan to return. Would he get them two rooms, one for Steffan and Lenhart and a second for Katrin and Magdalen? Or would there only be one room available?
Her face heated at the thought of sleeping in the same room with Steffan. Would it be uncomfortable? If he was only able to get one room, they would all behave themselves in a mature manner.
He came out of the front doorway looking rugged and handsome after riding hard all day, his hair tousled and a certain manly confidence in the tilt of his shoulders.
“Magdalen, if you and Katrin will go inside, Lenhart and I will settle the horses in the stable and feed them. Your door is at the top of the stairs, first one on the right. Lenhart and I will be in the next room down from yours.”
She and Katrin entered the low-ceilinged inn. An older woman with a round face greeted them. “I shall take you to your room.” The woman turned and started toward some stairs.
Magdalen felt the eyes of several men in the room watching them. She linked her arm with Katrin’s and marched purposefully to the stairs and straight up the rickety wooden steps.
“Here you are.” The innkeeper paused in front of a door. She turned the handle and pushed the door open.
Two thin mattresses lay on the floor of the bare room. Magdalen and Katrin stepped inside.
“Alma will be up soon with some water.” The woman hurried away.
Magdalen examined the door and its handle. Before she could turn around, a woman came up the steps.
“I have some water for you.” She carried a pitcher into the room and set it on the small table in the corner. “Two towels.” She handed them the cloths draped over her arm. “Sleep well.”
“Please, miss,” Magdalen said, blocking the young woman’s way. “Is there any way to lock the door?”
“I am sorry, but no. The owner has a guard who keeps watch over the place.” With reluctance Magdalen allowed the woman to leave, and she closed the door.
Magdalen had a sick feeling in her stomach. Should she tell Steffan that she was afraid to sleep in a public inn with no lock on her door? Or pretend to be brave and unconcerned?
Katrin started washing her face and Magdalen joined her, using the water and one of the cloths. Truly, she was dirty and probably smelled like a horse, but she was so tired she hardly cared.
After they cleaned themselves the best they could, they sat on the straw mattresses.
&nb
sp; “I still cannot figure out who could have told Lord Hazen about me,” Magdalen mused aloud, “and especially about Steffan. Hardly anyone knew his real name.”
Katrin only stared down at her dress and started scratching at a stain.
A knock came at the door. “It’s me,” Steffan said.
Magdalen opened the door. “There are no locks on these doors.”
“I just discovered that myself.” He frowned. “Come, we’ll go downstairs and eat some supper and talk this over.”
They sat at a corner table and ate the stew and bread set before them. The meat in the stew was mostly chunks of fat, but Magdalen ate it anyway. She did not want to faint tomorrow because she was too fine to eat rustic food.
They were all quiet during the meal, and when they were nearly finished, Steffan said in a low voice, “If you do not object, I think Lenhart and I should stay in your room tonight, for the purpose of making sure no one comes in.”
“I think we would feel safer if you did.” Magdalen hadn’t realized how much she’d wanted him to say that.
Upstairs Steffan and Lenhart dragged their mattresses into the maidens’ room, put them in front of the door, and lay down with their bodies between their charges and the world outside.
“They’re heading south.” Hazen’s tracker pointed in the direction of Mallin.
Hazen clenched his teeth. He could not allow them to reach the baroness. If they were able to discern what was happening . . . He’d simply have to murder Lady Magdalen and marry her oldest sister. No matter what he had to do, he would not be thwarted.
“How far ahead are they?” Hazen asked as the tracker mounted his horse again.
“Two, maybe three hours.”
Where were all his spies? Why did no one warn him for two hours that they had stolen horses and escaped? They even took the mute boy with them.
Hazen and his men headed out. If they rode after dark they might be able to catch up with them the next day. And when he did, Hazen would not spare any of them. He would silence Steffan and the real Lady Magdalen forever. And the other noblemen and King Karl—the only people powerful enough to object to his plan—would never know.
Steffan awoke and scrambled up. Had he slept all night? He hurried to the window and opened the shutters. Dawn was beginning to lighten the sky. “Get up,” he said softly. “We need to go.”
He never should have slept so late. He’d intended to get going two hours before dawn, in case Lord Hazen was near.
Everyone groggily grabbed their things. They’d slept in their clothes, so it was only moments before they were leaving the little inn and saddling their horses.
He glanced over at Magdalen, who was saddling her own horse and tightening the girth, her hair coming loose from her braid. What baron’s daughter was as full of grit and gumption as Magdalen? And she was so fair. Any man would be fortunate to have her for his wife.
They rode a long time. He didn’t want to push the horses too hard, but when they did stop, he found a horse breeder who agreed to give them fresh mounts, and they left their horses with him.
With fresh horses, they were able to ride a bit faster and longer. The sun was just about to set on the second day of their journey when Magdalen called out, “Mallin is just ahead.”
The area was mountainous, and the road wound around hills and valleys, slowing them down. They halted and Steffan took out the map, walked over to Magdalen, and held it out so she could see it. He pointed to the mine that was marked with an X. “Are we anywhere near here?”
“It’s just over this hill, but we’ll have to leave the road and traverse through the woods.” She pointed toward the east. “Do we want to look in the mine first? To see what Lord Hazen thinks is so valuable? My mother’s home is a bit farther over those hills.” She pointed south.
“Since we are so close, I’d like to look at the mine.”
Clouds had moved in, making it almost dark, even though the sun had not yet set. They moved off the road, and when the trees became too dense, they dismounted and led their horses.
The unusually long summer might just be relenting, as the wind that swept over them was cool. A cold rain right now would be quite unpleasant.
A sound like the beating of horses’ hooves drifted to him from the road behind them. Could his uncle have caught up to them?
Steffan glanced over his shoulder. Lenhart and Katrin were still plodding along behind them. All their lives were at stake. His uncle would show no mercy if he found them. At this point, Lord Hazen needed them dead.
They came to a clearing in the trees at the top of a hill where they could see several rocky hills around them.
“He is here now,” Katrin said suddenly, her eyes wide and wild. “We should turn ourselves over to him. Perhaps he will show us mercy.”
The realization came over him like a bucket of cold water in his face. “You were the one who betrayed us to Lord Hazen. It was you, wasn’t it?”
Magdalen’s mouth fell open.
Katrin took a step away from them. “I never wanted you to get hurt. If I had not warned you, Lord Hazen would have killed you.”
“Katrin?” Magdalen’s eyes showed confusion and hurt. “Were you Lord Hazen’s spy? Were you telling him about us?”
“I had no choice. Lord Hazen does not accept disloyalty from anyone. He would have killed me if he thought I was withholding information from him. But yes, he sent me to ask you questions, and he asked me if there was anyone around the castle with the name Steffan. But when I realized he meant to kill you, I came and warned you both.”
“Get away from us.” Steffan shooed her with his hand.
“The horses!” Magdalen said. “They’re getting closer.”
Katrin started walking backward. “Forgive me, but if I had not told him, he would only have found someone else to spy on you.”
“Go on back to Lord Hazen.” Steffan could not even look at her anymore.
Katrin took her horse and ran back the way they had come.
“Come!” Steffan took Magdalen’s hand, his other hand holding his horse’s reins, and ran toward the mines. Lenhart followed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Steffan wasn’t sure which way to go, so Magdalen took the lead through the heavily forested hills. The wind grew quite wild, shaking and twisting the limbs of the trees and whipping Magdalen’s hair across her face. They pushed on, trudging up and down and around three more hills, no longer able to hear horses’ hooves behind him.
Ten yards ahead of them was a hole in the side of a sheer face of rock. A well-worn but slightly overgrown path led up to it.
“Will the horses fit inside?” he asked.
“Yes. This is our widest mine.”
They went inside, leading the horses. It was completely dark, but Magdalen found a torch on the ground and Steffan set about making a spark with a flint and steel and tinder to light the torch. When he finally accomplished that task, he held up the torch with one hand and the horses’ reins with the other while Magdalen came in behind him.
“Wait.” Steffan stopped. “If Lord Hazen knows we stole his map, won’t this be the first place he’ll look for us?”
“It is true. He may.”
“I suppose we have little choice. We must either hide here or try to make it to your mother’s house to get help.”
Lenhart started making grunting noises.
“What is it?” Magdalen asked him.
Steffan could not see him in the dark mine, but Magdalen was closer to Lenhart and did not have the glare of the torch in her eyes.
“You want to go to Mother and try to get help?”
“That might be a good idea, but it is dangerous.” Steffan held his breath.
“He wants to do it, and he knows this area very well. He should be able to get there before Hazen and his men, if they are headed for Mallin Park House.” Magdalen turned to Lenhart. “Please be careful.”
Steffan imagined the compassionate, concerned look on
Magdalen’s face, the look that was so often there. His heart squeezed.
Soon Lenhart was gone, and he and Magdalen continued into the mine.
The dirt floor angled down, but it grew sharply more angled, tilting so much that they had to walk leaning backward and slow their pace, taking small steps.
The air must be getting thinner because he could barely breathe. He tugged at the neckline of his shirt. And suddenly he was five years old again and trapped in a hole in the ground. The low ceiling and walls seemed to close in on him.
Magdalen touched his arm. “Are you all right?”
“Of course.”
“Most people are nervous their first time in a mine. If you want to stay at the entrance, I can look around.”
“No. I can do this.”
How could he appear so weak and foolish in front of Magdalen? She who was so brave herself. They were supposed to be searching for what was so valuable that his uncle would force his son to marry Lady Magdalen for it.
He focused on his breathing—deep breaths in and out—and searching the uneven dirt and rock of the walls and ceiling. But he kept imagining the ceiling falling in on them, and his breathing went shallow again. His face started to tingle.
“Talk,” Steffan said.
“What?”
“T-tell me what happened to this mine.”
She placed her hand on his arm. “The copper ran out about five years ago. This mine is very solid, and there are two entrances. One of them is hidden and not everyone knows about it, but my father showed it to me once when I was a little girl. I used to take my sisters out here exploring. I know it well.
“I must say, I have no idea what Lord Hazen might think is valuable here,” she continued. “I have never known of any other kind of mines in this area except copper. Perhaps there is some sort of treasure hidden here that Lord Hazen knows about, but I cannot think why he would not have simply sneaked up here and taken it. Why go to all the trouble of marrying his son to me to acquire it?”