The Golden Braid (23 page)

Rapunzel was numb all over, her thoughts spinning. “I-I don't understand. Why would Mother lie about where she found me? Could she have known who I was?” She covered her own mouth as her lips and chin began to tremble. Was it possible? Could she be the daughter of Lady Rose and Duke Wilhelm?

“But I-I look nothing like Duke Wilhelm or Lady Rose.”

“There is a resemblance. Kirstyn and Adela both have blond hair, though not quite as golden as yours, and though your eyes are as blue as Duke Wilhelm's, they have the same look as Lady Rose's. I have heard that the duchess, Duke Wilhelm's mother, had golden-blond hair like yours. Oh yes, you definitely have the family resemblance.” She nodded over and over as she stared at her.

Rapunzel examined the scar on her hand, her heart thumping erratically. “Are you sure? Are you sure it's the same scar?” Could she truly be the lost daughter of Lady Rose and Duke Wilhelm? It made sense, but it also seemed the most far-fetched thing imaginable.

Frau Adelheit took her hand and turned it toward the light again. “It's exactly the way I remember it. And you look to be the correct age—three years younger than Gabe and two years older than Margaretha.”

“What . . . what should I do?”

“You have to tell Lady Rose.”

“I'm afraid to tell her. What if we're wrong? Perhaps I should talk to Mother first.”

Frau Adelheit looked thoughtful. “I suppose it cannot hurt to wait. But as soon as you show Lady Rose that scar, she will know you are her Elsebeth.”

Mother must have found Rapunzel . . . Elsebeth . . . in the river and didn't know who she was. “I have to find Mother and ask her.” But what if she had deliberately stolen Rapunzel away from her rightful parents? No, surely she could not have done anything so horrendous.

“I will first speak to Mother about this. I must find out what she knows, what she did . . . how this happened.”

“But didn't she threaten to give you a sleeping potion and take you away from here and lock you up? I do not think you should confront her, not alone. If she did take you, knowing you were the duke's daughter, then she may do something terrible. You don't know what she might do. Promise me you will not leave the castle.”

“Very well. I promise.” A heaviness settled inside as she thought about how her mother—the only mother she could remember, the mother who needed her to brush her hair and sing to her at night or she couldn't fall asleep—must have known whose child she was and took her as her own anyway. How could she be so cruel? The breath squeezed painfully out of her chest, her mind going blank with the horror of it.

Gerek was back at Hagenheim Castle. He had been gone for several days, as he had gone to visit Lady Lankouwen to arrange a marriage with her. He had found her quite willing. Although nothing was settled and they were not betrothed, Lady Lankouwen wished to send a letter to the king and await his approval. Then they could publish the banns and marry.

He should feel joyful about the prospect of securing his own
future, a sturdy castle, and fertile lands. The arrangement was wise and profitable, and Lady Lankouwen seemed pleased. She had even kissed him on the cheek when he left, and he had kissed her hand. Perhaps it would even be an affectionate marriage.

In his absence, Duke Wilhelm and Valten had gone and would not be back for several more days. So when he saw three of Claybrook's guards huddled together, he wondered why they and Lord Claybrook were not with the duke.

One of them looked up and saw Gerek, and they stopped talking and took a step away from each other.

“Good morning,” Gerek said.

“Good morning,” they mumbled.

He walked past them, but when he looked over his shoulder, they were leaning in to continue whatever conversation he had interrupted.

Were they scheming something? Gerek stopped just out of sight of them and listened, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Not wanting them to discover him eavesdropping, he continued on down the corridor.

Perhaps Gerek could find out something from listening in to some of the other guards' conversations.

He strode out of the castle and toward the gatehouse, trying to look like all the other people milling around the castle bailey who were either servants or skilled craftsmen, like the castle blacksmith and the saddle maker. Having just come back from Lady Lankouwen's estate, Gerek wasn't wearing his usual Hagenheim colors, and he hoped to blend in.

As he stood looking in at the blacksmith's open work area, he glanced at the gatehouse and noticed the same three guards he'd seen talking in the corridor now walking toward the gatehouse. Only one of Duke Wilhelm's guards was inside, and he stepped outside to greet them. The three of Claybrook's men moved toward him in a rush, then pushed him inside.

Gerek started forward, reaching for his sword at his hip, but then remembered he'd left it in the barracks. He glanced around, but no one else noticed what they'd done.

He watched two of the men drag the guard's limp body to a nearby shed. They soon emerged and walked back to the gatehouse to join the one who had stayed, as if he belonged there.

With a sick feeling, he realized Lord Claybrook and his men were starting to take over Hagenheim.

None of Duke Wilhelm's guards were in sight. He needed armed men loyal to Duke Wilhelm. He needed to warn all of the guards and knights at the castle, and someone needed to inform Duke Wilhelm.

He worked his way to the other side of the shed, where Claybrook's guards couldn't see him, and slipped inside.

An open window let in enough light for Gerek to see the poor man slumped on the floor, his head and shoulders propped against the wall. He placed his fingers on the side of the man's neck, feeling for the sign of a beating heart. He felt the blood flowing. A bleeding bump on his head seemed to be his only injury.

Gerek hurried out of the shed and back toward Hagenheim Castle. He went around to the barracks to retrieve his sword. No one was there, so he went inside. Many of the knights and guards had gone with Duke Wilhelm, including Valten. Were there enough men loyal to the duke to fight off the foreign guards?

He strode into the corridor and, upon approaching the Great Hall, he heard Claybrook's voice. He stepped cautiously forward until he saw one of Claybrook's men guarding the door.

Gerek went back toward the kitchen, but everywhere he looked, he saw only Claybrook's guards. Duke Wilhelm's guards were nowhere in sight.

He entered the kitchen. The only people inside were the servants.
Rapunzel, along with the others, was chopping vegetables. He went toward her and bent to speak near her ear.

“Have you seen any of Duke Wilhelm's guards this morning?”

“No.” She stared hard at him. “What is wrong?”

The other servants were talking as they worked and were far enough away not to hear if he spoke softly. “I think Lord Claybrook is trying to take over Hagenheim Castle. You should leave while you're still able to get away.”

“What makes you think that?” Rapunzel's blue eyes grew rounder.

“I saw them knock the guard at the gatehouse unconscious and hide his body in the shed. They're probably taking them out one by one to give themselves a greater advantage.”

Rapunzel set her jaw and narrowed her eyes. “We must warn Lady Rose.”

“You warn Lady Rose. I'll try to warn the duke's other guards, then I'll come back for you.”

“Shouldn't you go find Duke Wilhelm and bring him back here?”

“It will take two days or more to get to him, but yes, I will. But I had to warn you. I want you to be safe.” His heart squeezed at the truth of his admission.

“I can take care of myself, but I'm not leaving here without Lady Rose and her family. They mean a lot to me, more than I can explain at the moment.” She paused. “I'll stay here and do what I can to protect them, or help them escape.”

Was there ever a more courageous maiden? He wanted to at least squeeze her hand, but the other servants were starting to send furtive looks their way.

“Go on. We'll defend ourselves very well.”

There was nothing else to do but nod and leave.

Rapunzel ignored the questions of her fellow maidservants and hurried out of the Great Hall. But before she could get more than two steps into the corridor, she heard Lady Rose's strident voice. “This is outrageous. You may tell Lord Claybrook that I am angry and disappointed that he would dare to stop me from going on a picnic with my family.”

Rapunzel placed her hand over her knife, which was tucked in her pocket, as she crept forward. Four of Lord Claybrook's guards were leading Lady Rose and her children up the stairs toward the solar.

Rapunzel turned around—and came face-to-face with Gothel.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Mother had the same dark look on her face that she'd
had the night before Rapunzel left home.

“So you left your mother to become a maidservant.” Her face twisted as she said the word
maidservant
. “Did you think Sir Gerek would love you more than I did? He will never marry you.”

She stepped toward Rapunzel, and Rapunzel took a step back. They were in the castle corridor, halfway between the Great Hall and the door that led outside to the kitchen. No one was around.

“You threatened me,” Rapunzel said, her voice strangely calm in spite of the way she was feeling. “I was afraid of you, after the things you said and the way—”

“You broke your mother's heart. I didn't know where you were. After all that I have done for you, you rejected me. What a daughter you have turned out to be.” Her jaw was set, her eyes black and cold as stone.

“Have you come to give me your potion and drag me away? Why are you here, Mother?” She cringed at calling her that.

“I am here . . .” She smiled. It sent a shiver across Rapunzel's shoulders. “I am here because I am helping Lord Claybrook in his take-over of Hagenheim.” She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “Duke Wilhelm will finally get his comeuppance, and I will be a part of it.”

“Why would you do that? Did you know all along that they were
going to take over the castle?” She kept her voice low and glanced around to make sure Claybrook's guards weren't close enough to hear.

“Sir Reginald told me.” The look on her face was like that of a child who had just accomplished an impossible task. “When he left me, he became the captain of Lord Claybrook's guard. He still loves me and always hoped to come back and marry me. At first I didn't believe him, but after all these years, he wants to marry me after he and Lord Claybrook seize Hagenheim.”

Rapunzel stared at her. After all the things she had said about trusting men who said they loved her . . . “How could you?”

Mother suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her into the nearest open door—the linen storage room. “Sir Reginald was a knight in the service of the Earl of Keiterhafen. He left with Lord Claybrook and promised to return for me someday, and now he has. He and Lord Claybrook will defeat Duke Wilhelm, and the Gerstenberg family will finally fall. The Earl of Keiterhafen is just arriving with the rest of his guards and knights. And if you try to help Duke Wilhelm's family, you will not be spared.”

Rapunzel stared at the woman before her. “But why? Why do you hate Duke Wilhelm and his family?”

Gothel exhaled a long breath, her lips twisting, her eyes dark. “Because I was the illegitimate child of Duke Wilhelm's father.”

“What?”

“Yes, that's right.” Gothel sneered. “Duke Nicholas was my father, and Duke Wilhelm is my half brother.”

Rapunzel's mind reeled. “If Duke Nicholas was your father . . .”

“My mother was his lover. But when she got pregnant with me, he cast her off. She is the one who first taught me to distrust any man who said he loved me.

“Duke Wilhelm does not want to believe his father had a baby with my mother, but his mother knew it was true. Everyone knew. But
it's just like Duke Wilhelm to believe that his father could not have done such a thing.” She wiped her mouth with a hard swipe of the back of her hand. “My mother gave me to my grandmother to raise, and she never let me forget that no one wanted us in Hagenheim. But I got them back. I hurt them just like they hurt me.”