Morgarten (Book 2 of the Forest Knights) (12 page)

Leopold looked up from his soup to his wife seated
across from him. Three servants stood nearby but, in the manner of
all good servants, were almost invisible. In fact, the best members
of Leopold’s staff were people whose names he did not even know.
They were the best of the best, yet relegated to a life of
obscurity.

He set his spoon down. One of the older men stepped
forward and removed it.

“Yes, my dear?” He looked up, but Catherine’s eyes
still unnerved him. They were simply too far apart, and he found it
impossible to share prolonged eye contact with her. He glanced
away, under the pretense of reaching for his serviette.

Somehow, a clean spoon had appeared on the
table.

Remarkable. Which one of you was it?

“My lord. I am with child.”

Leopold realized that, with the proper incentive, he
actually could look his wife in the eyes. Albeit one at a time, and
with a slight head twist.

“Why, that is wonderful,” he said. “Have you spoken
with my physicians?”

“Of course, my lord. And they insisted I be the one
to tell you.”

Leopold made a mental note to have a little talk
with them both. He hated surprises. Even good ones.

He picked up his new spoon and dipped it into his
soup. But he did not put it into his mouth. Instead, he dropped it
once again on the table, making a small splatter.

“And have you had the child divined?”

Catherine’s head bobbed. A curt, enthusiastic
motion. But nothing more. Apparently, she would have him drag it
out of her.

“And… what do they think it is?”

The spoon was gone, but the splatter remained. He
caught the older servant in the act of placing a fresh spoon beside
the bowl. As he put the utensil down with one hand, the other wiped
up the small splatter with a square of cloth concealed in the palm
of his hand. Leopold had almost missed it.

“A boy, my lord.”

“Fantastic!” Leopold said, slapping his palm onto
the table.

Catherine’s eyes widened, but not even one of the
servants so much as blinked.

“I must admit, that is how I felt when they told me
as well, my lord.”

“This is cause for celebration,” Leopold said. He
waved to the servants. “Get rid of this broth. Bring us some
meat!”

“You seem pleased,” Catherine said.

“Of course I am. This is a special day. My first
child,” Leopold said.

Catherine nodded. “I am glad to see you happy, my
lord. For some women, that in itself would be enough.”

Uh-oh. Something is coming….

Leopold glanced down for a spoon to stick into his
soup, but remembered he had just had them both taken away. He shot
an angry glare at the nearest servant.

“I have tried to make you happy, my lord, in the
short time we have been married. Do you think I have been a good
wife?”

No soup, no spoon. Where is that meat?

“Of course. There is no man more fortunate in all of
Austria,” he said.

Catherine paused, and sat up straight in her chair.
“I am not content. I wish to do more. For both the House of
Habsburg and the Duchy of Savoy. My father always told me I had a
keen sense for politics, better than any of his sons. He did not
raise me to be a royal nursemaid.”

She punctuated her outburst with a curt nod, and
stared straight ahead at Leopold.

If Leopold had had a spoon in his hand at that very
moment, he definitely would have dropped it.

Well, well, well. What have we here?

He leaned back in his chair and looked at Catherine,
carefully, wondering how he had missed this side of her.

“And what exactly is it that you can do?” he
asked.

She did not avert her gaze, and surprisingly, this
time Leopold found himself in no hurry to look away.

“Many things. If you would but share with me some of
the problems you encounter in your role as Duke of Styria and
Further Austria, I am sure I could be of some help. You try to do
too much yourself, but you are only one man, after all.”

“Very well. I need money.”

“Money?” she said it like it was a subject she had
never given much thought.

“Yes. You know. Gold, silver, bronze. I would not
even turn away copper at this point, although, if you can manage
it, some nice florins or gold bezant would be preferable.”

“And what need do you have for all this?” Catherine
asked.

Leopold laughed. “Have you not noticed the new
barracks being erected in the woods? Come spring I expect to have
thousands more mouths to feed. Of course they are mostly infantry,
so it will not take much. But, by summer, the Archbishop’s knights
will arrive. Knights, and their equipment, make short work of any
man’s coffers.”

“But it is the Archbishop’s responsibility to
maintain his knights and provide funds for them while in the
service of the Crown, is it not? And I saw the chest you brought
back from Salzburg.”

“Oh, yes. That chest. Well, it only looked big,”
Leopold said. He may as well have thrown it in the Salzach river
for all the good it did him.

“I see,” Catherine said. She looked at her hands,
her slender fingers twisted about one another like a bird’s nest.
She raised her head. “I believe I can help. Give me some time.”

Leopold almost laughed, but a part of him believed
her. Or wanted to believe her.

“That would be lovely,” he said.

“In the meantime,” Catherine began, “In light of
recent developments, I trust that you will no longer see a need to
send your gorilla to our bed? I fear the posts have weakened, and I
am not sure they can withstand his weight any longer.”

“Of course. I will tell him to cease his visits
immediately.”

Leopold smelled the meat before he saw it. Steaming
beneath his nose was a generous portion of braised lamb, served
atop a freshly baked trencher made with white flour. He saw the
black specks, and a grin spread across his face. It was the latest
culinary craze, and like most people who could afford it, Leopold
could not get enough.

Pepper, lots and lots of pepper.

***

Evading Habsburg patrols lengthened the journey far
more than Noll had anticipated. It took them the better part of
four days to reach the Kussnacht, and another hour of traveling
after dark before they finally heard the sounds of Habsburg Castle.
Minutes later, light from torches on the outer walls peeked through
the trees. Noll tied the mule to a bush and checked to ensure
Landenberg’s gag was still in place. The Vogt’s eyes were closed
from exhaustion, but he was still very much alive. He did not even
wake when Noll slapped his face to crush a mosquito.

Seeing the man helpless before him, a man that only
a few short years ago Noll had sworn to kill if given the
opportunity, was not as satisfying as Noll had always dreamed it
would be. He knew he should slit the Vogt’s throat now and be done
with him. If their roles had been reversed, Noll was sure that
Landenberg would have executed him without a second thought.

Damn the council.

But he could not bring himself to do it. The last
few years had not only been about bringing justice to the man who
had maimed his father. They had been about fighting the system that
had condoned it. And that system would still exist even if
Landenberg was no longer part of this world.

Noll turned toward the castle and slid off into the
woods to get a closer look. After climbing a short distance through
the brush, he could make out the front gate. Several guards milled
about.

Perched on top a hill, Noll imagined that the
multi-floored keep within its walls commanded an impressive view of
the surrounding farmlands, but overall, the castle itself was
nothing extravagant. Its original design had been one of function
rather than form. The road leading up to its main gate was steep
and straight. At one time, there would have been no trees on either
side of the road, but over the last few hundred years the castle’s
owners had grown lax with their defenses. Forests had reclaimed
large parts of what had once been killing fields.

The castle was no fortress. But it did not need to
be one, for who in their right mind would dare attack the
hereditary home of the Habsburgs? Noll had never heard of anyone
ever laying siege to the castle. Which could have been because of
the political strength of its owners, but just as likely due to its
remote location and the relatively poor lands surrounding it. In
other words, no one wanted it.

As he crept closer through the woods, Noll allowed
himself to fantasize about marching his own army up the road and
storming the front gate. The thought of taking Habsburg Castle put
a smile on his face and he covered his mouth with one hand, on the
off chance that the white of his teeth reflecting torchlight might
give him away.

Even if it were possible, he quickly dismissed the
thought. What would he do once he had it? The place would be
completely indefensible.
But what a blow it would be to
Leopold!

It was less than an hour past full dark, so there
was still plenty of activity near the front gate. Workers were
leaving for the day. Some carried axes and shovels, others lead
oxen hitched to empty wagons. A dozen soldiers, with the red lion
of Habsburg emblazoned on the chests of their tunics, marched forth
and relieved the current guards spread along the wall near the
front gate.

Noll became aware of an excessive amount of noise
and light coming from within the outer walls. Curious, he moved
away from the main gate and found a tall oak tree not far from one
of the side walls. He climbed, moving slowly in the darkness, and
after several minutes he turned his attention back to the castle.
There, suspended high off the ground with his arms hooked around
two branches, he had a view of the courtyard all the way up to the
front steps of the inner keep.

What he saw made him want to jump down from his
perch and run. The only thing that stopped him was he had no idea
where he would go.

He counted a full score of new buildings in various
states of completion. Most were long, rectangular structures that
Noll knew only too well, for he had seen them in every
Habsburg-controlled town he had ever visited.

They were soldier barracks.

Hundreds of tents surrounded these incomplete
buildings, and armored men milled around cooking fires that lit the
grounds like it was a full moon night. Noll had never seen so many
soldiers in a single location. His mouth went dry and images of his
own minuscule army of farmers, boys, and old men slapping one
another with wooden swords, mocked him.

As soldiers wandered in and out of the light, Noll
identified the red lion of Habsburg on many a chest, but far more
bore the black eagle of the Holy Roman Empire. Even though his
brother was embroiled in war against Louis the Bavarian, Leopold
had still managed to call in Empire forces.

Noll felt the beginnings of panic set in.

The panic became a wave of vertigo and the dark
night became darker still. He hugged the tree until it passed and
he could see clearly once again. He took a deep breath and gazed
out over the multitude of fires.

Perched in his fragile hiding spot, the reality of
the situation overcame him. Did he think he was in a struggle
against only Habsburg tyranny? Had he not considered Leopold would
use all the resources he could muster, including those of the vast
Holy Roman Empire?

Noll had assumed the German princes would be too
preoccupied with the war for the crown. They would have enough
problems of their own and would not pay any attention to a small
uprising in a remote alpine town.

He tried to tell himself that. But he realized the
truth was he had given the matter very little thought before
attacking the Altdorf fortress. He had been driven with a righteous
anger. Anger at what Leopold had done to Pirmin and what he was
about to do to Seraina. He did not give a moment’s thought to how
his actions would affect the people of Altdorf.

He had simply acted without thinking. Just as he had
when he smashed the fingers of Landenberg’s tax collector. That day
had cost his father his sight. What would the people of Altdorf
have to pay for his latest rash act?

Noll made the hazardous climb back down and then
crept his way from shadow to shadow back to Landenberg’s tethered
mule. He led the beast and its semi-conscious cargo to a spot on
the road that could not be seen from the castle. Without a single
wisecracking comment to Landenberg, he slapped the mule and sent
him trotting toward the front gate.

***

“Please forgive the intrusion my lord,” the oldest
servant said. He acknowledged Catherine at the other end of the
table with a deep bow. “My lady.”

“What is it?” Leopold said, putting down his eating
knife.

“A disturbance, my lord.”

“I could tell you as much,” Leopold said.

“At the front gate, my lord.”

“Does it warrant interrupting my evening meal?”
Leopold asked the question but he already knew what the man’s
answer would be. He was an impeccable servant and would not dare
bother his lord and lady with something mundane.

“I believe so, my lord.”

Leopold glared at the man, and although he avoided
Leopold’s eyes with his own, he continued to stare straight ahead
without flinching. Leopold stuck his knife into the table and left
it there, quivering.

“And I believe you,” Leopold said. Then he turned to
his wife. “Excuse me, my dear. I will not be long.”

He stood and Lady Catherine also put down her
utensils and pushed away from the table. “I shall accompany you,”
she said.

Leopold was about to protest, but remembering their
earlier conversation stopped himself.

“Very well.”

He walked around to Catherine and offered his
arm.