Castle of the Wolf (36 page)

Without hesitation, she took the last step and put her hand in his. His long, strong fingers closed around hers, and he drew her to him so she could kiss the smile off his face.

She would see that smile she loved so well often in the years to come as the bond between them grew stronger and the laughter of their children filled the castle with happiness. More happiness than either of them had believed to be possible.

They never heard from Leopold again, nor did they ever find any treasure of gold among the stones of the castle. Yet what they had found together was worth more than all the treasures of the earth.

Lavender’s blue, diddle, diddle,

Lavender’s green,

When I am king, diddle, diddle,

You shall be queen.

Who told you so, diddle, diddle,

Who told you so?

‘Twas mine own heart, diddle, diddle,

That told me so.

Postlude

Nobody ever counted the gargoyles, so nobody would ever know they had sucked up he who had no heart into the stone. Nobody would ever find the twisted face high up on the wall, just as no one had found the other enemies who had been absorbed and found a home there. Only the north wind, blowing harshly, visited this corner of the castle and whispered over the gnarled stone, stone which stayed cold and unmoved forevermore.

No, nobody ever counted gargoyles.

Nobody would ever know their secret. They basked in the sun and rumbled among themselves of love and laughter, and over the years the happiness of the humans they were guarding filled them to the brim.

Acknowledgments

As you will undoubtedly notice, this is a book about stories. Yet it is also a book about memories: my own memories of a childhood spent in the Black Forest. Even though Kirchwalden and Wolfenbach are fictitious places, I still hope I have managed to convey a sense of place—of the deep, dark forests I loved so much as a child.

I would like to thank the many lovely people who in one way or another helped me to bring this story onto paper and into shape: Gaelen Foley, who unknowingly inspired the story and later on gave me a cover quote for it; Hubert Leuser, who answered my questions about the Palm Sunday procession; Wolfgang Trenkle, who sent me information about the
Bürgerwehr
in Waldkirch and made sure I didn’t have the
Bürgerwehr
in Kirchwalden shovel snow; Martin Schupp, Advisor Extraordinaire in all things to do with How to Address the Titled. All mistakes I might have made are my own. (The bad French, though, is intentional!)

As always I’m deeply grateful to the members of the LOL Literary Forum, who critted parts of the manuscript and without whom I probably would have never detected the wolf in the morning-after scene. (Jen, sorry if you read this in the middle of a bookstore again!) Many thanks, too, to Karen, who did some more critting, and to Dorie, who graciously agreed to be my guinea pig.

About the Author

Award-winning author Sandra Schwab started writing her first novel when she was seven years old. Thirty-odd years later, telling stories is still her greatest passion, even though by now she has exchanged her pink fountain pen of old for a black computer keyboard. Since the release of her debut novel in 2005, she has enchanted readers worldwide with her unusual historical romances.

She holds a PhD in English Literature, is an expert on the Victorian magazine
Punch
, and has appeared on the BBC documentary
Great Continental Railway Journeys
to talk about the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. She lives in Frankfurt am Main / Germany with a sketchbook, a sewing machine, and an ever-expanding library.

Find her online at:

www.SandraSchwab.com

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A Tangled Web

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Did you love
Castle of the Wolf
? Then you should read
The Lily Brand
by Sandra Schwab!

Forever Marked
Troy Sacheverell, fifth earl of Ravenhurst, was captured in France. He'd gone to fight Napoleon, but what he found was much more sinister. Dragged from prison to an old French manor on the outskirts of civilization, he was purchased by a rich and twisted widow. And more dangerous still was the young woman who claimed him.
Lillian had not chosen to live with Camille, her stepmother, but nobody escaped the Black Widow's web. And on her nineteenth birthday, Lillian became Camille's heir. Her gift was a plaything: a man to end her naiveté, a man perfect in all ways but his stolen freedom. Yet even as Lillian did as she was told, marked that beautiful flesh and branded it with the flower of her name, all she desired was escape. In another place, in another world, she'd desired love. Now, looking into burning blue eyes, she knew there was no place to run. No matter if should she flee, no matter where she might go, she and this man were prisoners of passion, inextricably linked by the lily brand.
And while her heart remained locked in ice, his burnt with hate. Would they ever find true happiness?

"[A] powerful and sensual tale of retribution and redemption. Sandra Schwab casts a thrilling spell with her provocative, passionate story."
~ Teresa Medeiros,
New York Times
bestselling author
(First published in 2005.)