He was passing by the abandoned warehouse where Michael had kept Kirstyn before she had escaped. For that reason alone, it was almost a sacred place to him.
When he reached it, the door was unlocked. He went inside.
The large room was pitch-black. He left the door open and searched inside his bags, first the tapestry one, then the cloth. Finally, at the very bottom of the bag, his hand closed around the nub of a candle. At the same time his hand bumped a purse of money, or that was what it felt like. He pulled them both out.
He managed to light the candle. Then he opened the pouch, holding his breath as he dumped some of its contents into his hand—gold, silver, and marks. The money was a fraction of what was in Aladdin’s stored wages.
He closed the door shut on the rain and the deserted street outside. He lay on the cold, hard floor of the nearly empty warehouse, pillowing his head on the smaller of the two bags, and stared into the darkness.
He’d thought God had been good to him when he was working for Herr Kaufmann, making greater profits than any of the other merchants and salt masters in town. He’d thought God was making a way for him to be with Kirstyn. And then when Aladdin thought she was dead . . . the profits had made no sense to him. What good was a fortune without Kirstyn?
Memories swept over him . . . lying on a foul-smelling pallet with six or seven children piled up like puppies. Stealing food. Stealing a merchant’s purse. Mustapha calling him a rat. The look of desperation in Zuhayr’s eyes.
Why would Kirstyn want to marry him? He wasn’t good enough for a duke’s daughter. He had no family name, didn’t even have his own home.
He started shivering and sat up. Once again he searched through his bags. Not finding any blankets, he pulled out some dry clothing along with his cloak and changed out of his wet garments.
He lay listening to the cold rain hitting the roof of the warehouse until late into the night, then awoke several times to silence. Finally, when some light filtered in through the tiny window, Aladdin jumped up and looked around.
Various items were scattered over the floor. Food and a few cooking utensils lay strewn near the fireplace. But the thing that caught his eye was a bit of rope lying on the floor. Was it the same rope that had been used to tie Kirstyn by the wrist?
He picked it up and examined it, feeling the pain she must have endured during her long captivity. How she must have suffered. His own pain had been washed away when he saw her again, held her in his arms, and looked into her eyes. Though her trial must have seemed endless, was she glad she had the pain to compare with her joy?
Perhaps it was too soon for that.
He pulled his cloak tighter around himself and noticed there was a bright whiteness outside, even though the sun was just coming up. Everything outside was covered in fluffy white snow. The falling rain must have turned to snow at some point during the night.
Now he just had to help Herr Kaufmann balance the accounts and get the business out of its current chaos—secretly, while Aladdin’s reputation was ravaged—before leaving for Hagenheim.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kirstyn read through the letter she had just written.
My dearest friend Aladdin,
I have only been home a few days, but I am longing to see you again. Please don’t forget your promise to come to Hagenheim. I hope you don’t resent me for asking it of you. My family is being very kind to me, but I need my dearest friend.
My mother was overjoyed to see me. She cried so much. She still cries sometimes when she embraces me and feels how thin I am. But I am doing my part to fatten back up. I described those rolled wafers with the cream and preserved red fruit to Cook, and she makes them almost as well as Hilde.
The orphans were so kind and made me cry to see their joyful smiles when I visited them for the first time. The little ones cling to me and I can’t stop hugging them. I used to dream about adopting all of them. It seems you and I have the same thoughts, as you already adopted one—in a sense—when you brought Abu home with you. It’s easy to see how much he loves and admires you.
Perhaps it is foolish of me, but I feel as if I miss Lüneburg, even though I was only there for a few days. I fell in love with the beautiful buildings there, particularly the doors and doorways. Such color and creativity! It’s my favorite thing about Lüneburg—besides the fact that you are there.
Please write to me and tell the courier when you are coming to Hagenheim before you send him away.
I am, as ever, your loving
friend
Kirstyn Gerstenberg
She sealed the letter with wax and one of her family’s seals. When the wax had cooled, she kissed the letter. It still hurt to think he had thought she was dead and was planning to marry someone else. But she truly loved him, enough to forgive him and not hold him to a standard of perfection.
Several days later the courier returned, entering the solar where Kirstyn was reading with Adela, while Toby and Mother were playing chess. Kirstyn jumped up and hurried toward him.
He only stared at her with a sad expression.
“What is it?” Kirstyn’s heart stuck in her throat.
“I could not find Aladdin. It seems he . . . well, he is not living with Herr Kaufmann anymore. No one seems to know where he went, but no one had seen him in Lüneburg for several days. Word is that Herr Kaufmann is trying to get his son released from the gaol, blaming Aladdin for the kidnapping.”
Kirstyn clutched at her throat as the courier handed her back her letter.
“I could have continued looking for him, but I thought you would want to know the news.”
Kirstyn’s mind raced. What could have happened to Aladdin?
Mother came up beside her and embraced her. “I’m sure we will hear from Aladdin soon.”
Kirstyn spent the next few days alternately praying in the chapel and wandering around the castle. She wrote Aladdin another letter but kept it in her room. But why did he not come to Hagenheim as she had asked?
He had always made friends easily, whether they admired him for his brilliance or his integrity or his hard work. Perhaps he was already making his fortune elsewhere. But not knowing was haunting her. She lay awake most of the night, wondering if he was safe.
A few days later the snow melted and Aladdin had straightened out the accounts and given specific instructions, training one of the assistants to do Aladdin’s job. He spoke privately to Herr Kaufmann.
“I need to go back to Hagenheim to be with Lady Kirstyn.”
“What is the meaning of this? Go back to Hagenheim? I need you here, to help me with the business.”
“The people of Lüneburg think you believe me guilty of paying your son to abduct Lady Kirstyn. But I have remained faithful to you, preparing everyone for my departure.”
“So this is about your anger with me?” Herr Kaufmann lifted his chin, a wheedling note in his voice. “You are hurt that I have tried to make certain Michael doesn’t send his evil friends to hurt Grethel and my business?”
“No.” Aladdin closed his eyes for a moment and let out a breath. He needed to tell the truth. “I am hurt that you forced me out of the house and are pretending to believe Michael’s lies about me.”
Herr Kaufmann’s face scrunched. “That is only temporary. You know—”
“But that is not why I’m going to Hagenheim. I promised Kirstyn I would go and be with her. After the terrible thing that happened to her, she needs me there, and I want to be there . . . for her.”
“My dear boy.” One side of Herr Kaufmann’s mouth went down in a sympathetic half frown. “I know you love her, but . . . she has a family to take care of her needs. And though I can’t imagine anyone not admiring you for all your good qualities, I’m afraid . . .” He lowered his head and looked up at Aladdin with a baleful expression. “Duke Wilhelm will never let you marry his daughter.”
A heavy hand of dread grabbed Aladdin’s middle. Did Herr Kaufmann have to voice his own fear?
&nbs
p; “And why is that? Because I am an orphan? Or because I am a Saracen? No, don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter. The truth is, I will go and be there for her, be her friend and support her, even if there is no chance of my marrying her.”
“You would do this in spite of the fact that your life is here? The fact that you are making your fortune here in Lüneburg, more riches than you could ever hope to make in Hagenheim? Don’t you know you have become like a son to me?”
They both knew their relationship had been damaged by Aladdin breaking his promise to marry Grethel, even if Herr Kaufmann wouldn’t admit it. And being forced to pretend Herr Kaufmann didn’t trust him was even further damage, though he did still love the man.
“And you are like a father to me, but that does not change the way I feel about Lady Kirstyn. I’m sorry, but this is something I have to do.”
Herr Kaufmann’s face was drawn, his wrinkled eyes drooping more than usual. “I do not agree that this is a good plan. I need you here, and it pains me that you would abandon me, especially after all Cedric Michael has done.”
He could feel the mantle of guilt his mentor was trying to place on his shoulders, but he also knew he was not responsible for Michael’s sins. “So you will not give me your blessing?”
Herr Kaufmann huffed out a breath as he turned his head away. “You ask too much.”
The hurt weighed on Aladdin, preventing him from asking his mentor and employer for his wages that were stored underground in the strong room. No doubt he would think that was also asking too much.
Aladdin bought a horse and left Lüneburg early the next morning. Instead of hard-packed dirt, the Salt Route was paved with stones, and the stones made a sharp sound with every strike of his horse’s hooves. He’d been traveling for hours. The sun’s position in the sky showed it was well past noon.
He wanted to marry Kirstyn. How could he be so near her, in the same town, and not think about it every minute? But he did not have enough money to buy a house big enough for all the orphans she dreamed of adopting. Besides, as Herr Kaufmann had pointed out, Duke Wilhelm might never approve of Aladdin marrying his daughter.
When Aladdin reached Hagenheim, he asked around and found a shop he was able to rent from Herr Goteken.
“If you don’t have a place to stay,” he said, “I have an extra bed in my servants’ quarters. You can sleep there and I won’t charge you any extra.”
Wanting to save as much as possible, Aladdin accepted the offer, though it made him feel as if he could not sink much lower.
Aladdin sat blowing on his fingers in the cold shop, surrounded by the wares he had bought with the money he found in his bag.
He tried to concentrate on the numbers in front of him, but the cold air only reminded him of times when he and Kirstyn would go exploring the forest in winter, or when she would visit the orphanage with her mother and they would play outside in the snow.
A customer entered. The wind blew in with her, making his eyes water, blurring the tiny lines and numbers in front of him.
“The anise and the cinnamon are much less than what they sell them for at the market,” the middle-aged woman said, looking over her shoulder at Aladdin. “Is this the correct price?”
“It is. Please tell your friends, because that price will go up eventually.”
She gave a slow nod and had him measure out some of each, also making several other purchases before saying, “Are you not the Saracen boy who grew up in the Hagenheim orphanage?”
“I am.”
She smiled. “You have done very well for yourself. God bless you, and a good day to you.”
“Thank you, and you as well.”
The cold blew in again as she left. Fresh pain attacked him. This was “doing very well”? To him it looked like failure. It felt like failure to have Kirstyn seem even more out of reach. But he needed to remember that he was here to offer support to Kirstyn. But couldn’t he love and support her more if he was married to her? He had to earn more, enough to buy a house, if he even had a chance to marry her. His striving to increase his wealth and reputation in Lüneburg was only a means to an end, and now he had walked away from them.
At least he wasn’t on the street, being used as someone’s pawn, stealing and being beaten. But even that thought left him hollow.
Aladdin cupped his hands over his mouth, trying to focus on the numbers in the ledger. But his mind went again to Kirstyn. What would she think when she read the letter he had just sent? He had written and rewritten it several times. What could he say? He no longer had the means to marry her.
He longed to see her, but to what purpose? He should probably wait until she sent for him. After all, as Herr Kaufmann had said, she had her family to care for her.
The next day Herr Goteken, the owner of his shop, entered with a grin. “I have found out who you are.”
“Oh?”
“You are the orphan from the Holy Land that Priest brought back. And then I found out from my friend over in Lüneburg that you are the golden boy with the Midas touch who was working with Herr Kaufmann and made him wealthier than the pope.”
Aladdin had no response to that.
“What were your duties when you were with Herr Kaufmann? Did you choose the goods to sell? How much to buy? The prices? Were you underselling the other merchants, or just selling superior goods?”
“Some of everything.” Aladdin was cautious in how he replied, not wishing to give away any secrets that might harm Herr Kaufmann in any way.
Aladdin forced a smile. Herr Goteken must have been handsome when he was younger, and at forty years old, he still had a strong face with hardly any wrinkles and was tall without the slightest stoop to his shoulders, but his stomach was paunchy and his hair was mostly white.
“I don’t know if I told you, but I have a few shops in town, and I have sellers who go around to towns in the area to sell in the marketplaces on market day. Perhaps you could work some of your magic with my business—whatever it is you did for Herr Kaufmann—and even help me with my books. They’re in a terrible tangle since I don’t have time to keep up with them. I would pay you well.”
“Are you not afraid we’ll be in competition with each other since I have this shop?”
“No, no, your little shop cannot affect me. And I also want you to take your meals at my home—since you’re sleeping there as it is—as part of your payment.” He quoted a salary. “What do you say? Will you help me with my account books at least?”
Aladdin was pleasantly surprised at the amount. “I will take a look and help if I can.”
“Very good.” Herr Goteken’s smile grew even broader. “I’ll bring my ledgers to you tonight.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Kirstyn caught her father early in the morning as he was breaking his fast. “I am very worried about Aladdin. Could we not send a couple of soldiers to Lüneburg to find him? Surely someone knows where he went.”
Her father’s expression softened on a sigh, and he placed his hand gently on her head. “I’m a little concerned for him too. Let us wait another day or two, and if we haven’t heard from him by then, I shall send two men to Lüneburg to look for him.”
“Oh, thank you, Father.” But the fact that he was also concerned about Aladdin added to her own anxiety.
She hurried to the chapel, where a few candles burned. She knelt and bowed her face to the floor. “O God,” she whispered, “I cannot bear the thoughts that whirl around in my mind. I need You to take care of Aladdin. Don’t let him go hungry or without a warm place to sleep.” Tears dripped to the flagstones under her.
If he hadn’t wanted to make his fortune, he’d probably be safe and warm in Hagenheim, working for her father as his steward. But he had always tried so hard to prove himself, to win people over, to impress everyone he met. Why? Was he wounded, deep inside, because of having no parents? Perhaps that was why she loved him so much. She wanted to heal his wounds, to save him from whatever thoughts were driving him so
hard.
“But that’s not my job, is it, God? You’re the only One who can heal a soul wound.” Kirstyn lifted her head to gaze at the crucifix in front of her. Jesus was wounded so He could heal others. “By Your stripes we are healed.”
Could Jesus heal her soul wounds too? Being taken and held against her will for half a year had wounded Kirstyn. She had so many nightmares she had to have someone sleeping in her room with her. She woke up wondering where she was, imagining she could still feel the rope around her wrist. She would look around to see where Michael was, to see if she had a hope of escaping.
She and Aladdin were both wounded. “Please heal us, God, but please also let me love him.”
She stayed and prayed for an hour, perhaps two. Then she heard footsteps. She didn’t turn around until they entered the chapel.
Her father crossed himself and stood silently before the crucifix. Then he motioned to her with his hand.
Kirstyn quickly finished her prayer, lit another candle, and bowed herself out.
In the corridor outside the chapel, her father said, “A letter from Aladdin has just arrived.” He held it out to her.
She clutched it to her chest.
“It seems that Aladdin is in Hagenheim.”
“He is?” Her heart leapt, then crashed. If he was in Hagenheim, why hadn’t he come to see her? Why was he sending her a letter instead of visiting her in person? Tears pinched the back of her eyes.
It was dark in the corridor, so she ran to her bedchamber. Inside her room, she threw open the shutters to let in more light and opened the letter.
My most precious friend, Lady Kirstyn,
I pray this letter finds you well and content. I am imagining your joyful reunion with your mother and siblings and all the little ones at the orphans’ home. It fills my heart with warmth knowing you are loved and cared for. I pray every day that you will have no lasting effects from your harrowing ordeal. I know God cares for you very much, as do I.
I have come to Hagenheim as I promised and am here at your disposal. I want to support you in any way that I can, so please tell me in what ways I may serve you. I now have a small shop on White Stone Street, and you may send for me there.