The Captive Maiden (30 page)

Valten turned to Friar Daniel. “Do you know the way to Hagenheim?”

The friar looked perturbed, his brows drawn together and his eyes misty. “Hagenheim? … I think so.”

“Go there and tell them I sent you — Valten Gerstenberg, Earl of Hamlin. Ask to speak to Duke Wilhelm. Tell him to send an army, as many soldiers as he can muster, and come after Ruexner, who is on his way to his castle in Bruchen. I will follow that fiend and do my best to make sure he doesn’t harm Gisela.”

The friar started wiping his face with his sleeve. “I must say, I am glad. I was wondrous sorry for the girl.”

“Go. Ride as fast as you can.”

Valten urged Sieger after Ruexner and his men — and Gisela. He turned back to Friar Daniel, who was nudging his donkey into a trot.
Thank you.

Someday Valten would thank the friar properly. Now he had to do what he could to get to Gisela. He’d do anything to get her back safely, but the most important thing he could do was pray and believe that, even though he was wounded, broken, exhausted, and desperate, God was strong.
God,
help me. Help Gisela.

The way Valten had pulled her away from him and handed her over to Ruexner haunted Gisela. Of course, he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t defeat twenty men. But no matter how often she repeated Valten’s whispered words — “I will come for you. Trust me. Trust me” — being torn away from him had felt horrible. She feared being at Ruexner’s mercy again, after escaping from him. Besides, Valten would risk his life again, would suffer pain, danger, and exhaustion to save her. Her greatest fear was that he wouldn’t survive this time — or that he wouldn’t think she was worth what he would have to go through to save her.

Always before, if something brought a pain to her heart, she could say,
I don’t care.
Even if she did care, saying she didn’t lessened the pain. But it was too blatant a lie where Valten was concerned. She did care, very much, and if she ever got another chance to tell him, she would. She would tell him she loved him. If he was still willing to marry her, she would marry him. And if what he wanted was love and complete devotion, he wouldn’t be sorry for marrying her.

But would she ever get a chance?

Valten stayed far enough back that he never saw Ruexner or his men, only followed their easy-to-read trail. After riding for several hours, staying alert for any sign of either Ruexner’s men or his own, Valten’s shoulders ached, the pain encompassing the base of his skull. His eyes burned and he found himself losing his balance, but the memory of Gisela on Ruexner’s horse and the terror on her face kept him going, kept him pushing himself, punishing himself for failing to evade Ruexner. How had the man found him? He must have met up with an expert tracker.
No doubt the devil was on his side.
But God, aren’t you supposed to be on my side?

Until now, he had depended more on himself than God.

Valten took a deep breath, tamping down the frustration that threatened to take over his thoughts. He rubbed the back of his neck, then ran his hand over his eyes. After riding all night, and now all morning, he had to stay awake. He couldn’t fail Gisela. He had to get her back. It was all his fault Ruexner had kidnapped her, and was using her to exact his revenge. He’d never be able to live with himself if he failed her.

The memory came rushing back, of lying in bed with a broken leg while his little brother, Gabe, rescued Valten’s betrothed. It was as if his careless little brother, who never had a serious, responsible thought in his life until he ran off to rescue Sophie, had bested him again.

But his desire to not let his little brother make him look bad didn’t matter now. Nothing mattered except saving Gisela. This was not about Valten looking like a hero. It was about relying on God to save the woman he loved.

Gisela, with her soft voice, perfect lips, and her beautiful blue eyes … “God, please. You can’t let her suffer at Ruexner’s hands. Please help me save her.”

What had his life meant? All his success, all the tournaments he’d won … they were like dust and ashes. Meaningless. Without Gisela, his life was meaningless.

By the time the sun sank behind the trees, Gisela was so weary she could barely keep her eyes open. There were moments she even forgot where she was, as the horse’s constant, jostling gait lulled her into something akin to sleep.

When they finally stopped to make camp for the night, Gisela let Ruexner lift her off the saddle. But when her feet
touched the ground, her legs wouldn’t hold her up, and she crumpled to the ground, too exhausted to stand. What did it matter anyway? Maybe Ruexner would leave her where she lay.

Hands grabbed her under her arms and lifted her up, then slid under her knees. She found herself being picked up and carried.

She decided not to bother even opening her eyes, as long as he didn’t try to molest her. Soon, she felt herself being lowered to the ground. Moments later, a warm blanket was spread over her. She never opened her eyes, but let herself drift away.

Gisela gradually awakened, wondering why her bed had grown so hard. She had replaced the straw in the mattress not long ago; it should be softer than this. One particularly prickly piece of straw was jabbing her hip. She rolled over on her side, but something felt different. She opened her eyes and realized she was sleeping on the ground outside, surrounded by sleeping men.

Then it all came back to her.

Was Valten following them? Or would he go to Ruexner’s castle to fight Ruexner in two more days? God,
please help him get his men first, then come and defeat Ruexner and rescue me.
She wouldn’t even pray that she would not have to marry Ruexner. She would just believe she would get away.

She trusted that Valten was coming for her. He might even come alone, and she couldn’t let him be killed. She had to find a way to escape her captors herself, to keep Valten from getting recaptured or hurt.

An owl hooted in the darkness, somewhere hidden in the dark forest. It was still night, and the sound of snores and heavy breathing was all around her. As she looked around, her watchman stared back at her, wide awake. No chance that he would fall asleep any time soon. So she let herself drift back to sleep.

The next morning, with the sun spreading the first vestiges of light over the dark forest, Gisela sat up. Ruexner and his men were milling about. A man with a deep scar on his upper lip, which cut a line all the way to the outer corner of his eye, stood propped against a tree, watching her with narrowed eyes.

She’d have to stay alert and wait for a better chance to escape. This oaf wouldn’t let her get away. Perhaps if she pretended to be docile and scared, some guard would get careless and give her an opportunity. But with this many men around, she needed to think of a clever plan.

Ruexner walked over, approaching cautiously.

Gisela purposely held back the defiance she was feeling and stared at him blank-faced. He might not be such an ugly man if he was not always sneering and behaving like a brute. He was not at all handsome compared to Valten, but she was sure the man didn’t have to kidnap a woman to get a bride. He was a baron, with a castle and most likely a great number of vassals and servants in his ancestral town of Bruchen. Perhaps Gisela could reason with him.

While he was eyeing her, she decided to give it a try. “I am sure there are many maidens — very pretty and sweet ones — in Bruchen who would be happy to marry you. Why would you want to force me to marry you? I have no fortune, lands, or title.”

“Don’t you know, my dear? I want to marry you for one simple reason — for revenge.” His smile was cold. “Besides, you remind me of my mother. She had the same shade of hair and eyes as you.”

“So I am only a pawn in your game.”

He did not deny it, and she felt heat creep up the back of her neck as anger rose up within her. “I won’t marry you.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have no choice.”

“You cannot marry me without my consent.”

“Do you think I can’t find a priest who will marry us against your will if I tell him to? It will not be so hard.”

Gisela forced herself to push away her anger and think rationally. “What will your people and your family say when you bring an unwilling bride to your castle? I will not go with you calmly. I will scream and tell everyone that you have taken me against my will.”

“And I will say that you are a peasant, and that I paid for you fairly, which is the truth. No one will question my right to marry you.” He stepped even closer and ran a finger down her cheek. “Besides, my father took my mother against her will and married her. Over time she came to accept her place as his wife. She bore two sons and one daughter before she died. In time you will come to accept your role as the Baroness of Bruchen.”

“I shall never accept you.” Gisela actually felt sorry for this man. Pity and outrage warred inside her as she stared at his weatherworn, battle-scarred face. “I’m sorry your father gave you such a bad example, but I assure you … I love Valten and I cannot love anyone else. I will never accept a life with you.”

“Perhaps, perhaps not.” The sneer came back, curling his lip, but he made no threatening moves.

“Don’t you wish your father had cared about your mother’s happiness?”