The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest
“Melanie Dickerson does it again! Full of danger, intrigue, and romance, this beautifully crafted story will transport you to another place and time.”
—S
ARAH
E. L
ADD, AUTHOR OF
The Curiosity Keeper
AND
T
HE
W
HISPERS ON THE
M
OORS SERIES
“Melanie Dickerson’s The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest is a lovely romantic read set during one of the most fascinating time periods. Featuring a feisty, big-hearted heroine and a hero to root for, this sweet medieval tale is wrapped in a beautiful journey of faith that had me flipping pages well after my bedtime. Delightful!”
—T
AMARA
L
EIGH
,
USA Today
BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
Baron of Godsmere
“Melanie Dickerson weaves a tantalizing Robin Hood plot in a medieval setting in The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest. She pits a brave heroine with unique talents against a strong, gentle hero whose occupation makes it dangerous to know him. Add the moral dilemma and this tale makes a compelling read for any age.”
—R
UTH
A
XTELL
,
AUTHOR OF
She Shall Be Praised
AND
The Rogue’s Redemption
“The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest is a wonderful romantic tale filled with love, betrayal, and forgiveness. I loved this book and highly recommend it for readers of all ages.”
—C
ARA
L
YNN
J
AMES, AUTHOR OF
A Path Toward Love
“The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest reminds me of why adults should read fairy tales. Author Melanie Dickerson shoots straight to the heart with a cast of compelling characters, an enchanting story world, and romance and suspense in spades. Reaching The End was regrettable—but oh, what an ending!”
—L
AURA
F
RANTZ, AUTHOR OF
The Mistress of Tall Acre
“For stories laden with relatable heroines, romantically adventurous plots, once-upon-a-time settings, and engaging writing, Melanie Dickerson is your go-to author. Her books are on my never-to-be-missed list.”
—K
IM
V
OGEL
S
AWYER, AUTHOR OF
When Mercy Rains
“Ms. Dickerson deftly captures the flavor of life in medieval Germany in a sweet tale filled with interesting characters that will surely capture readers’ hearts.”
—K
ATHLEEN
M
ORGAN, AUTHOR OF
T
HESE
H
IGHLAND
H
ILLS SERIES
,
Embrace the Dawn
,
AND
Consuming Fire
OTHER BOOKS BY MELANIE DICKERSON
YOUNG ADULT
The Princess Spy
The Captive Maiden
The Fairest Beauty
The Merchant’s Daughter
The Healer’s Apprentice
The Golden Braid
(Coming Fall 2015)
© 2015 by Melanie Dickerson
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.
Thomas Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].
Scripture quotations are from the KING JAMES VERSION and THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
®
, NIV
®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-0-7180-3199-2 (HC Library Edition)
ISBN: 978-0-7180-2625-7 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dickerson, Melanie.
The huntress of Thornbeck Forest / Melanie Dickerson.
pages cm.—(A medieval fairy tale romance; [1])
Summary: “Swan Lake meets Robin Hood when the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant by day becomes the region’s most notorious poacher by night, and falls in love with the forester”—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-7180-2624-0 (paperback)
[1. Love—Fiction. 2. Poaching—Fiction. 3. Middle Ages—Fiction. 4. Christian life—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.D5575Hu 2015
[Fic]—dc23
2014046890
15 16 17 18 19 20 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The year 1363, in the northeast German reaches of the
Holy Roman Empire, the Margravate of Thornbeck
T
HE TIP OF
the arrow found its mark, a perfect shot through the deer’s heart and lungs. The animal took two steps forward, then a side step, and fell over.
Odette’s five men—more boys than men, as they were around thirteen or fourteen years old—darted out of the cover of the bushes and ran toward the animal that would feed at least four families. They began to cut it apart and prepared to carry it, and all evidence of it, away in their leather game bags.
But far more than four hungry families and many orphaned children inhabited the town of Thornbeck, so Odette motioned to the two boys looking to her. They set off deeper into the forest that was the margrave’s game park. The only one reaping the good of Thornbeck Forest, rightfully, was the margrave. He could spare a few deer to feed the poor. He could spare them quite well.
Odette moved through the trees and undergrowth, trying to step as quietly as possible. The two boys stayed behind her. The moon was full, the night sky was clear of clouds, and enough light filtered through the trees to help her find her way to another of
the harts’ favorite feeding spots. Either a salt deposit was there or the grass was particularly sweet, because that was where she often found her most desired prey—fully grown red deer—with their necks bowed low as they ate.
Odette came within sight of the spot and crouched to wait, holding her longbow and an arrow at the ready. Soon, a hind moved soundlessly into the small clearing. Odette’s fingers twitched in anticipation of the meat that would assuage the hunger of many people, but the twinge of pity that pinched her chest kept her from raising her bow and taking aim. It was summer, tomorrow being St. John the Baptist Day, and the hind no doubt had at least one newborn fawn, possibly two or three, hidden away somewhere, waiting for her to come back and nurse them.
Creating more orphans, even of the animal kind, went against everything Odette strove for, so she resisted taking the shot. Instead, she sat waiting and watching. After a few minutes, her breath stilled as a large stag with huge antlers stepped up beside the hind. He kept his head high as he seemed to be listening.
Odette swiftly raised her bow and pulled the arrow back. She pressed her cheek close to take aim and let the arrow fly.
Just at that moment, the stag must have caught wind of her or heard a noise because he turned and leapt away in one fluid movement, and the hind was less than a moment behind him. Odette’s arrow missed them and disappeared in the night.
With the boys behind her, she went to search for the arrow. She did not want the margrave’s forester finding it. She was careful to poach only one or two large animals a night, and it was important to take away all evidence that they had been there.
Where was that arrow? Odette went to the spot where it should have landed, beyond where the deer had been standing. She hunted around the bush, then parted the leaves to peer inside and
underneath, searching for the white feather on the end. She felt around on the ground. No white feather and no arrow.
Her men were searching a little farther away. Suddenly, she heard laughter. She lifted her head, much like she had seen the deer do many times, and listened. Her two men looked at her, their eyes wide.
Voices drifted toward them, too far away for her to make out the words, but they seemed to be growing nearer. She clenched her teeth. Why couldn’t she find that arrow? With reluctance, she motioned for the young men to follow her and moved away, back toward the town. She couldn’t let anyone see her here, not with a longbow and a quiver of arrows on her back. The penalty for poaching was imprisonment, being fastened in the pillory in the town square, or having one’s hand or ear cut off.
The voices likely belonged to people looking for special herbs and flowers to burn in the Midsummer bonfire the next night. Tomorrow even more people would be out in Thornbeck Forest, wandering into the margrave’s game park. It would be too dangerous to go out hunting at all. If only she had not missed that stag.