“More than. Take some of these scarves for your mother and sisters and yourself.” He lifted a handful of them.
“May I? Are you certain it is all right?”
“Of course. Take as many as you like. I shall reconcile it in the books later.”
She chose one scarf each for herself, her mother, her sisters-in-law, and her sisters. Aladdin had them carefully wrapped and sent back to the house by one of the young men working in the warehouse.
“If you are not too tired, I’d like to take you for a walk along the river.”
“I would like that.”
They set out, and by the time they reached the river, they were walking closer than ever, her arm through his. They came to a stone bridge and strolled over it, then stopped in the middle to lean on the side and look down at the slow-moving water.
“You are doing so well.” Kirstyn turned her head to look at him. “You have everything you wanted—wealth, respect, and power. And you have people who love you—Herr Kaufmann and Abu.” She purposely avoided mentioning Grethel.
“Those are the things I thought I wanted.” He stared out over the water, his brows low over his eyes.
“Has that changed?” Her heart stuttered inside her. She had a feeling a lot had changed.
He turned toward her. “I thought if I made my fortune, I could make sure that I would never be poor and helpless again. I never wanted to feel the way I had when I was a child, overcome by the shame of stealing just to survive.”
He almost never mentioned how he felt about his childhood before he came to Hagenheim. Vulnerability shone in his brown eyes, and it made her insides melt. She rested her hands on his chest and wished she had the courage to kiss him.
“But I also went through life gathering people, forming my own family of sorts—Priest, my friends at the orphanage, Herr Kaufmann, Abu, you . . . especially you.”
“Do you still want me in your family?”
“More than anything.”
Then why didn’t he ask her to marry him? Or at least kiss her? Perhaps he would. He looked as if he wanted to.
“You look tired.” His expression changed, and he pulled back from her. “We should go back. I don’t want to exhaust you.”
“You’re not exhausting me.” But the moment had obviously passed, and the breath she’d been holding rushed out of her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Aladdin couldn’t think about anything but kissing Kirstyn. But was it right to kiss her when she was still very much suffering the effects of a cruel, traumatic event? When her father was a duke and he did not know if he’d ever give his permission for them to marry?
He forced himself to take a step back and suggest they go home. Her expression changed, like a cloud covering the sun. But he needed to be wise, now more than ever.
His gaze was arrested by a stork’s nest on a house nearby. The stork had flown to warmer climes, but the nest was still there, abandoned and empty. Before that stork returns, let me be free to kiss Kirstyn. It was a prayer he could feel good about.
He still needed to tell Grethel he couldn’t marry her. But surely Herr Kaufmann would tell his daughter. They had not set a date and the banns had not been announced, after all.
Was he that much of a coward? Coward or not, if he could keep from revealing his marriage agreement with Grethel to Kirstyn, he would.
Kirstyn sat at the supper table with Aladdin and his family. Grethel was very quiet and hardly looked at anyone. Herr Kaufmann was also rather quiet. But Abu chattered away to Kirstyn about all the times they had all gone to Lüneburg Heath.
“When we competed in footraces, Aladdin always ran so fast, no one could beat him. I did catch him a few times, but I think he let me do it.”
“You are very fast too,” Aladdin told him. “Someday you’ll be faster than I am.”
Abu eyed him with a bit of suspicion. “Perhaps. If I grow to be taller than you.”
Aladdin smiled and shook his head.
“And someday I will beat you at chess,” Abu said.
“Never.”
Kirstyn laughed. “He is very vain about his ability to win at chess.”
Grethel made a slight noise, like a snort. Kirstyn glanced at her, but Grethel was taking a sip of her wine and looking down.
No one spoke for a few minutes as they were all enjoying the roast pheasant. Kirstyn had a thought.
“My father could be here tomorrow, could he not?” Kirstyn looked to Aladdin, who knew just how long it took to travel from Hagenheim to Lüneburg.
“It is feasible for him to arrive tomorrow.”
“Oh?” Grethel suddenly seemed interested. “I suppose you will want to go back to Hagenheim immediately after he arrives, to be with your family.”
“Yes, I suppose I will.”
“She will have to wait until she speaks with the town council,” Herr Kaufmann said with a rather severe look on his face. “She cannot leave until then.”
“But shouldn’t they talk to me soon? I thought they would have sent for me before now.”
“It should be any day now.” Aladdin met her gaze, but only for a moment.
She had been so hopeful Aladdin might kiss her when they’d stood on the bridge, only to be disappointed. But neither that thought nor Herr Kaufmann’s and his daughter’s obvious unhappiness could dampen her spirits. She was too full of joy that she would soon see her father.
The next morning Aladdin entered the dining hall to find Herr Kaufmann sitting there sipping his warm compote.
“Good morning.” Aladdin smiled.
“Good morning, Aladdin.”
Herr Kaufmann’s expression made Aladdin’s step falter. His voice was heavy, and he stared down into his cup.
“Here we are.” Hilde entered carrying a platter. “Hot raspberry pasties, cream, and comfits and wafers.”
“You have outdone yourself, Hilde.” Aladdin could at least get a smile from Hilde.
Aladdin was just finishing a rolled-up wafer that he filled with cream and preserved cherries when he heard Kirstyn’s light footfalls.
Kirstyn smiled as she entered the room. “Good morning, Herr Kaufmann. Good morning, Aladdin.” Instead of sitting on the bench beside Aladdin, she sat across from him.
He was glad, for two reasons. He could look at her without drawing as much attention, and he would not have to fight the temptation to hold her hand as he would have if she’d sat beside him.
“Did you sleep well, Lady Kirstyn?” Herr Kaufmann was ever the polite host.
“Yes, I thank you. I’m so grateful for the soft bed. And you? Did you sleep well?”
“As well as can be expected, I suppose. I am thankful to God for sleep of any amount at my age.”
“Oh, you are still young enough to enjoy life,” Kirstyn said.
“I am thankful for the life I have,” Herr Kaufmann said. He turned to Aladdin. “I shall take care of business today. You may stay with Lady Kirstyn again, since I expect the town council will be sending for her today.”
“Have you spoken with them?” Aladdin had heard nothing.
“I spoke with Herr Reynart yesterday.” Herr Kaufmann’s expression became even gloomier.
The poor man. To have a son like Cedric. Aladdin wished he could comfort his mentor, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. No one spoke. Aladdin sipped his compote and tried not to stare too much at Kirstyn while she ate. But every time she caught him, she smiled.
“I shall go.” Herr Kaufmann rose from the table. “Good day, Lady Kirstyn. Aladdin.”
They bid him a good day, and Kirstyn wiped her lips with her napkin. “I suppose we cannot go for a walk today. Perhaps we will play chess?”
Aladdin strode to Kirstyn’s side. She stood and reached out to him. The next thing he knew, he was holding her close. He would never tire of holding her in his arms.
Kirstyn closed her eyes, putting everything else out of her mind except the tender way Aladdin held her. He was so tall and st
rong and warm. She tightened her arms around him. “You make me feel so safe.”
He stroked her hair and his breathing quickened. Did her words affect him so much?
He pulled away and gazed into her eyes.
A strangled cry came from the doorway. They both turned to see Grethel. Her lip trembled, but then her eyes narrowed.
Aladdin’s arms loosened, and they both took a step away from each other.
“How could you?” Grethel’s voice shook as she pierced Aladdin with her eyes. “You are betrothed to me!”
Kirstyn went numb.
“Grethel, I’m so sorry. Please don’t be angry, but we are not—”
“You horrible, hateful man!” Grethel stabbed her forefinger at Aladdin as tears flowed down her face. “Don’t come near me again.” She turned and ran.
Aladdin took one step toward Grethel, then stopped and turned to Kirstyn. His face was stricken. Her own pain stifled a momentary twinge of pity.
“Are you betrothed to Grethel?”
He shook his head. “We are not betrothed.”
“Did you promise to marry her?”
“Only after I thought you were gone forever. But it can be undone. There was no betrothal.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Had he forgotten her so quickly? Did she mean so little to him after all? The numbness was replaced by a sharp pain that spread from her chest through her body.
“Kirstyn, please.” He held out his hands to her. “I’m sorry.”
“I think you should go and beg forgiveness from that young woman.” Kirstyn turned and walked out of the room, holding her head high. Aladdin called to her, but she barely heard him through the beating of a hundred birds’ wings in her ears.
She grew dizzy walking up the stairs to her bedchamber. She made it inside and closed the door, then sank to the floor.
He’d promised to marry another woman. Aladdin. Her Aladdin. What did this mean? That he never loved her? Did he love this woman? The pain was so overwhelming she gasped.
A few moments later a knock sounded at the door.
“Lady Kirstyn?”
She forced the breath back into her lungs. “Yes, Hilde?”
“Two of the town soldiers are here to escort you to the town council.”
The veneer of toughness and strength that had served her through months of being held captive fell over her like a familiar shield.
“I’ll be out in a moment.”
She took several deep breaths, wiped her nose, and opened the door. Hilde walked down the stairs with her and at the bottom squeezed her hand. “Now, do not be afraid. All will be well.”
“Yes, of course.”
The soldiers bowed to her. “Please come with us,” one of them said.
Kirstyn walked between them as they exited the house and started down the street.
What was it Aladdin had said when she asked him if he would come with her to the town council? “I will be there with you.” Yet here she was, alone, and he was probably off apologizing to the woman he had promised to marry.
No matter. She did not need him or anyone else. Her father would soon arrive to personally punish whoever had hurt his daughter.
She would dwell on that. She could not think about Aladdin now.
Aladdin called after Kirstyn. His heavy heart followed her footsteps from the dining hall and up the stairs. He reeled from how quickly his euphoria at having Kirstyn in his arms had changed to cold, sinking horror at Grethel’s tears and Kirstyn’s refusal to even look at him.
What should he do now? Go after Kirstyn or beg Grethel’s forgiveness?
Oh, the wretchedness of what he had done. He could have at least told Grethel the truth—that he couldn’t marry her because he was in love with Kirstyn.
He’d always prided himself on doing the right thing, behaving honorably, earning the admiration of everyone around him. It was as if night had become day and day night. And he was to blame.
“Grethel?” He called her name as he slunk through the house’s corridors. He found her in the kitchen, sobbing in Hilde’s arms.
Hilde looked up at him. She patted Grethel’s shoulder. “You had best talk it over with him, my child.”
Grethel spun around, her eyes red and her face blotchy and wet. “What do you want? I told you I never wanted to see you again.”
“Please forgive me, Grethel. I know I should have told you. It was wrong of me. When I found out that Kirstyn was alive, I knew . . . I’m so sorry.”
Grethel stared at him as if he were the most loathsome creature she had ever beheld.
Someone was knocking at the front door. Hilde hurried to see who was there.
“So you don’t want to marry me? I want to hear you say it.”
Three of the servants were watching and listening, their eyes as big as chickens’ eggs. Better to have awakened Grethel two nights ago and told her then, in private, than to do it here in front of the servants.
“I hope you will forgive me someday. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Her face contorted. “Didn’t mean to hurt me? No, you’ve only humiliated me, rejected me, and the whole town will know. They’ll laugh at me, scorn me.” A tear dripped from her eye and she angrily swiped at it. “You’ve ruined me forever.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“How dare you say that to me.”
“I’m only saying that no one could disrespect you over this. Your father is wealthy and powerful. You are beautiful in every way. Every man in town will want you.”
“Don’t patronize me. I hate you.”
She stepped toward him and shoved his shoulder. “Stay away from me.” She stalked out.
A beating would have been preferable. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. And yet, in spite of his guilt, he felt a weight lifted off him at knowing that he would not be marrying Grethel.
When he opened his eyes, the servants were still staring at him, motionless as stones.
He tried to appear humble and remorseful, but the servants’ looks were baleful. After all, they’d known Grethel all her life.
“Don’t let it get you down,” Albrecht said with a half frown, finally breaking their silence. “It’s hard to love two women. Every man I know who’s tried it has come out the worse for it.”
“It isn’t like that,” Aladdin said, but perhaps he should stop there. Better if he didn’t tell them he’d never actually loved their mistress, not enough to truly wish to marry her.
“Take a tankard of wine to help you lick your wounds, sir.”
“No, thank you.” He nodded to them and walked away.
His heart was thumping hard as he took the steps two at a time to Kirstyn’s room. He knocked on the door and waited. No answer. “Kirstyn?” Still no answer.
“Aladdin,” Hilde called from the bottom of the staircase.
He came halfway back down. “Yes?”
“Lady Kirstyn is gone with the soldiers to the Rathous.”
“The town council.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, Hilde.” He ran the rest of the way down the stairs, grabbed his cloak from the peg near the door, and raced out.
Kirstyn stood before a group of ten men seated in a row behind a table in an enormous room. The ceiling was frescoed and so were the walls, framed between intricately carved wooden beams, reminding her a bit of the Great Hall in Hagenheim Castle.
One of the men rose from his seat. “Lady Kirstyn.”
Just then, the heavy door at the side of the room opened and several men entered, but Kirstyn only had eyes for the first man in.
“Father!” Kirstyn ran to him and threw her arms around him. He was still wearing his traveling clothes and smelled like horse, but she didn’t mind. Her father was here, and he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.
When she pulled away, tears glinted in his blue eyes. Rarely had she seen tears on her father’s face. It made the salt drops start in her own eyes.
“Yo
u’re alive. I thank God.” Her father seemed to choke on the words. He swallowed, his smile wobbling, and laid a hand on her head. “My beautiful girl.” He hugged her again.
“Is Mother well? All my sisters? How is everyone?”
“They are all well and overjoyed to hear you were found.” His brown hair was full of gray. It surely wasn’t that gray before she left.
“I missed you so much.” Tears stung her eyes again as the nights of longing for her family flooded her mind.
“I missed you too, precious girl.” He gently squeezed her chin. “And now I hear the town council is starting. Let us see this fiend from hell who stole you from us. Come.”
She took his arm, and he led her straight up to the council members.
Aladdin had told her how the town had fought the nobles who once owned and controlled Lüneburg and its wealth and how they expelled them from their midst. They subsequently established their own town council to govern Lüneburg. They naturally would not be as impressed by meeting a duke, but each of them did stand and bow to the Duke of Hagenheim.
“Forgive me, Your Excellencies, for interrupting your proceedings,” Father said. “I am here to take my daughter home as soon as possible and to see you enact justice, or if you prefer, you may turn the prisoner over to me and I shall take him back to Hagenheim to make certain he is duly punished for his crimes.”
Power exuded from his broad shoulders, and she had never felt prouder that he was her father. But honestly, she just wanted to sit at his knee and let him place his comforting hand on her head and listen to him tell her about home. How blessed she was to have him.
From the corner of her eye she saw Aladdin rush in. He moved through the people present to take a position near Herr Kaufmann at the front.
“Lady Kirstyn,” the white-haired man on the town council began. “Because you are the daughter of Duke Wilhelm of Hagenheim, you do not have to speak about what the accused has done. You will be allowed to write it out and give it to the council, and no one else need hear it. But if you wish to, you may give us your story now and we will be able to rule more quickly in the matter.”