“Can we go hunting now, Lady Ulla? And fetch Nåde at the stables?” Lukaz proudly returned his father’s arrows and looked up at his teacher, beseeching her with bated breath as he anxiously awaited her response.
Ulla smiled at her pupil, her slender hand stroking his soft brown waves. She raised her eyebrows at Cardin, as if to ask, “Are you ready to go?”
“I’ll put our bows and arrows inside the kitchen, Lady Ulla.” Lukaz slung her quiver of arrows over his free shoulder and took her bow in his left hand. He looked up at Cardin. “Do you want to leave yours here too, Papa? Or bring it with you?”
Cardin preferred to be armed—not only for the hunt, but for potential defense as well. “I’ll keep mine. Go ahead and put yours and Lady Ulla’s inside the kitchen. We’ll wait for you right here.”
With Vill at his side, Lukaz dashed across the clearing toward the stone cottage at the edge of the forest.
Cardin watched him disappear inside and reemerge with the wolf a few moments later. He smiled at Ulla. “You’ve taught him well. He’ll become a fine archer. I look forward to seeing the two of you hunt together. I’m anxious to meet the falcons, Finn and Rask. And your Friesian, Nåde. Lukaz talks about her—and you—all the time. Thank you for all you’ve done for him. My parents and I are most grateful.”
Ulla blushed and lowered her eyes as Lukaz and Vill rejoined them.
“All set?” Cardin placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. When the lad nodded eagerly, Cardin tilted his head toward the stables with a cheerful grin. “Let’s go.”
****
“This is Rask, Papa. Lord Gauvin is helping me train her.” Lukaz introduced the small peregrine falcon perched on his gloved wrist. The bird observed Cardin with curious, intelligent eyes. “She’s too young now, but when she’s ready, Lady Ulla and I are going to train her to hunt with Finn!” He handed Rask back to the Lord of the Mews while Ulla fetched her falcon, who flapped her wings, eager for the freedom of flight and the excitement of the hunt.
Cardin marveled as Ulla released Finn into the overcast autumn sky, boosted Lukaz into the saddle, and climbed up behind him. She flashed Cardin a glorious smile and motioned for him to follow. Mounting his own horse—a chestnut Ardennes stallion from his father’s renowned stables—he galloped with them through the forest, a joyous Vill bounding along at Ulla’s side.
She’s an expert rider. And Finn is indeed a fierce hunter.Cardin was mesmerized as the falcon plummeted from the clouds and pulverized her prey with razor-sharp talons clenched like fists. He watched in awe as Vill retrieved the fallen fowl and laid it gently at Ulla’s feet for her to place in the satchel. When they’d gathered enough game, the trio of hunters returned to the castle mews, where Ulla fed Finn and Lukaz gave Rask fresh scraps from the hunt.
“She loves rabbit, just like Finn,” Lukaz explained to his father as his fledgling tore into the raw meat. “Vill loves it, too. Lady Ulla and I always feed him a full bowl when we get back to the cottage.” His bright blue eyes blazed with pride in the late morning light.
The glorious smile on Ulla’s beautiful face twinkled in her verdant gaze.
They returned to the stables, where Lukaz confidently stroked the muzzle of his sleek black Friesian colt. “When I’m ten, Papa, Kol will be old enough for me to ride. Then I’ll have my own horse when I hunt with Lady Ulla.” His flashed a gap-toothed, hopeful grin at Cardin. “MaybePapiwill let you keep Kalon,” he suggested, indicating the Ardennes stallion Cardin had ridden today. “Thenyoucan hunt with us, too!”
Cardin chuckled huskily as he handed the reins to the Master of Horse, Quentin. “We’ll see, Lukaz. For now, let’s escort Lady Ulla back to her cottage.”
“Not yet, Papa. We have to check our traps. Lady Ulla snares rabbits, and she feeds the meat to Vill. Sometimes, she even makes rabbit stew. It’s delicious, Papa. Lady Ulla is a great cook!” He beamed at his teacher, who flushed under the praise and lowered her gaze to her brown leather boots. “She’s teaching me how to cure the pelts so we can use the fur to make winter cloaks. Come on, Papa. I’ll show you where we set our traps.” Lukaz dashed off, with Vill bounding exuberantly at his side.
Her pretty face alight with a bemused grin, Ulla led a laughing Cardin away from the stables to follow their ebullient six-year-old guide and his loyal lupine companion.
“That makes eight,” Lukaz announced loftily as handed the strung rabbits to Cardin and reset the snares under Ulla’s watchful guidance. “Last time, we only caught four.” He glanced up at Ulla. “Do we have enough now for Mamie’s cloak?”
Ulla raised her eyebrows, smiled and nodded.
“We’re making a cloak for Mamie as a Yuletide gift. Lady Ulla is showing me how to sew the pelts together to make a fine fur cloak. It will be beautiful—and keep Mamie warm in the winter. She’ll love it, won’t she, Papa?” Satisfied with the snares, Lukaz stood, brushed the dirt and crumbled leaves from his grimy small hands along the sides of his woolen breeches, and looked up expectantly at his father.
“I’m sure she will. Especially since it’s made with so much love.” Cardin ruffled his son’s dark hair and met Ulla’s enigmatic gaze, where gratitude warred with apprehension. “Shall we head back to the cottage now? I’m sure Vill is famished. And don’t forget—you and I promised Uncle Gaultier that we would train with the knights fromMontmarinthis afternoon. Remember?”
“Oui, Papa.I can’t wait!” Lukaz grabbed Ulla’s hand and pulled her toward the cottage. “Come on, Lady Ulla. Let’s feed Vill!”
Inside the cottage, Lukaz laid the strung rabbits upon the counter while Ulla retrieved a flat wooden board. Using the dagger strapped at her waist, she carefully scraped the flesh from the hides.
“Lady Ulla cuts the meat off the pelts so we can feed it to Vill. When she’s done, we wash the hides in a bucket of soapy water, rinse them off, and let them dry.” Lukaz pointed to a few pelts hanging in a corner of the kitchen. “Those aren’t ready yet. But these are.” He fetched a few rabbit hides from a small table near the drying pelts and brought them over to show his father. “Feel how soft they are. We’re going to use them for Mamie’s cloak.”
After Cardin complied, Lukaz returned the rabbit hides to the tabletop. He hoisted a bucket of water, lugged it across the kitchen, and placed it on the floor at Ulla’s side.
With an unexpected pang of jealousy, Cardin wished he could be part of the closeknit bond that Ulla and Lukaz had obviously formed. He watched in amazement as his impressively efficient young son worked closely and collaboratively with the mute priestess.
Lukaz added soap to the bucket of water, stirring with a long handled wooden spoon. He carefully placed the meat-free pelts which Ulla handed him into the frothy liquid. “We have to wash the blood off first,” he explained sagely to his bemused father. While Ulla smiled proudly at her expert pupil, Lukaz strode across the kitchen and fetched a second bucket of water, which he lugged with considerable exertion, placing it at his feet beside the first. “Then, we rinse them, like this.” He removed the pelts from the soapy mixture and dunked them into the clean bucket, gently squeezing the excess water and placing the fur on the towel that Ulla had laid upon the counter.
Despite the lad’s best efforts to avoid spills, Lukaz had nevertheless slopped soapy water all over the wooden floor. With a soft smirk, Cardin fetched a few drying cloths from the oak kitchen table and knelt down beside his industrious, drenched son. “Here, let me help.” He sopped up the mess, wringing the rags over the bucket of soapy water while Ulla laughed silently from the kitchen counter.
“Should we dump the dirty water in the backyard?” Cardin asked as he rose to his feet.
