I’d been left in my shift during my illness and I was able to find my dress in a pile of discarded clothing and quickly pull it over my head. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have allowed myself to be so careless with my appearance, but things were far from normal. In fact, I had begun to wonder if I’d ever know any sense of normalcy again.
As I paced the room and pondered what to do next, something at the back of the room caught my eye. Momentarily distracted, I peered closer until I realized that it was a door. A door, at the back of the room! Why, whatever could it be for? As soon as the question crossed my mind, the answer supplied itself. It had to lead to a public bathhouse. And mayhap there was a way for me to bypass the bathhouse altogether and find the road that would take me home.
As soon as I’d thought of home, my feet began moving as though of their own accord toward the door. Once I’d opened it, I saw that my theory had been correct. Only a few short feet away was a stand-alone building where the common folk went. Turning my head, I saw that there was a path between the two buildings that surely must lead to the road.
Excited for the first time since my ordeal had begun, I closed the door behind me and walked around the inn to follow the road that had brought us here. I hadn’t the faintest idea where I was, but surely if I followed the road we’d traveled, I could find my way home. And if not, God might put someone in my path that could show me the way.
With hope in my heart, I walked as quickly as I dared, though I forced myself to try to act naturally so that I did not call attention to myself. Then again, how did one who had been kidnapped against her will act as though she wasn’t afraid, as though every step she took didn’t make her fear being caught again? I didn’t know, but I did my best.
I had to hurry, as there was no telling when my captor would return to check on me. Mayhap he was there, even now, finding the room empty. Whatwould he do when he found me gone? Would he be relieved to be rid of me? Or would he charge the stables, saddle my horse, and come galloping after me? The thought made me quicken my pace, despite my fear of being seen as out of place.
I should have taken the horse,I thought, glancing back over my shoulder and wishing that I’d had the foresight to head in the direction of the stable. I hated to lose her, yet if I were to go back for her now, my chance would slip through my fingers, and well I knew it.
With each step I took, I began to feel more uncertain in my unexpected freedom. Surely, I should have been elated, and though I wanted to be home more than anything, the barrage of doubts that began to plague me overrode any joy I might have felt otherwise. I’d been too hasty, I realized with a sinking heart. What if I couldn’t find my way home? I’d slept a bit along the way, and though it had been a fitful sleep, still it had kept me from noticing if we’d made any twists and turns along the way to finding this inn. What if I got lost? Already, hunger was gnawing at me. If I should find myself in the woods, what hope did I have of finding nourishment? Had I foolishly stranded myself, trading one predicament for another? What about shelter? What about vandals on the road? I had been most unwise to think I could ever look like one of the common folk. Despite the dust on my gown, it clearly was fine cloth and like nothing these people had ever come across. My hair hung free and was not plaited as the women who worked in the fields wore it.
Never mind, I told myself, my lips coming together in a thin, determined line as I marched on. I couldn’t afford to worry about that now, not if I was going to have a chance at making it home. Somehow, I would find a family loyal to Hohenzollern and the princess, and they would see me safely returned to the castle.
With my resolution renewed, I clenched my hands into fists at my sides and picked up my pace. The sooner I saw my family the better. And what a tale this would make! I could imagine the entire dining hall listening with rapt attention as I told how I’d been abducted and forced to walk while my captor rode! Who’d ever thought such a thing could happen to a duchess?
A smile quirked at the corners of my mouth when I imagined my cousin’s reaction. I knew she’d be horrified and full of sympathy, yet the thought of me forced to live as a commoner would make her laugh and the thought of hearing her familiar peals of laughter made me smile, too.
“What’s a fair lil’ thing like yourself doin’ out here on her own?”
Oh, no! Fear rose like bile in my throat as my head jerked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. I’d thought that being caught and dragged back to the inn, kicking and screaming, would be the worst thing that could happen to me. As I took in the leering, gap-toothed man who’d pulled his horse over to speak to me, I revisited that assessment. He was thin, in clothes that boremore resemblance to rags, with stringy black hair and a long, crooked nose. I did my best to school my features so that I didn’t visibly wince. It was hard, since the sight of him—and the smell that soon followed—turned my stomach.
“Would you be needin’ a ride, miss?”
The way he looked me up and down with those narrowed, beady eyes sent a chill of revulsion along my spine. I swallowed hard to stifle the cry that rose to my throat the moment I realized I was being followed.Please, not again,I thought, trying to calm my racing pulse. “I am a woman wed, sir,” I said at last, hoping he didn’t hear the quaver in my voice. “I am the Duchess of Württemberg, if you please.”
His eyes lit with amusement at my tone and his smile widened, revealing a mouth full of dark gaps where teeth had once been. “Beggin’ your forgiveness,my lady.”
I didn’t care for the sing-song tone he used, and as he looked down at me with greed in every line of his expression, I realized I’d made yet another mistake.I never have known when to hold my tongue,I thought ruefully.Mother had always said so.
“It’s quite all right.” I changed my tune, speaking gracefully with my head held high. “You didn’t know. Now, you can see for yourself that I am fine, just out for a stroll. My husband should be along any moment.”
“Husband, eh?” His grin stretched even further and I began to feel my heart pounding hard in my breast, certain that he must know that I was lying.
A frisson of fear ran the length of my body at the thought, but I did my best to hide it. “Yes. The Duke of Württemberg.”
“I’d be pleased to help you find your, er, husband.”
My smile froze, prickling like tiny shards of ice on my face. Somehow, I knew that he intended to do nothing of the kind. “Thank you, but—” I broke off as he swiftly dismounted from the downtrodden animal that had carried him.
“No, I must insist, m’lady.”
I backed away, my eyes darting from him to his animal, and I wondered if this was the chance I had been waiting for after all. He was a long, lean man, but even so I doubted I could win in a skirmish. If I could outwit him, there was a chance I could claim the animal as my own. It was clear that it needed a better master, and in any event, it would get me that much closer to returning home.
He stepped closer, his stride confidant as if he could smell my fear. He reached out to seize me, but I ducked, stepping out of his grubby grasp, which only made him laugh. “You know, now that I’ve had a proper look, your fair complex’ion and your fine clothes make me wonder if you reallycouldbe a duchess.”
“I am,” I replied in a voice that wobbled despite my efforts.
“Imagine that. Me, with a duchess.” He grinned, seeming well pleased with himself, and I chose that moment to act.
I darted around him as quickly as I could managed and sprinted for the horse. He made a grab for me, but I yanked my skirt away and kept running. I climbed atop the animal as quickly as I could, my heart in my throat the whole while. When I was astride, I kicked my heels, but to my surprise and disappointment the animal did not budge. I looked down in dismay and realized that the man had managed to take hold of the reins, which he clutched like a prize in his grimy claws.
He peered up at me, a mean smile on his face as he sniggered at my misfortune. “Thought you’d steal my horse, did ye? That doesn’t seem like somethin’ no royalty would do, now does it?” Which a sneer, he jerked the reins and the horse responded by rearing up on its hind legs, bucking me from its back so quickly that I hardly knew what was happening.
A scream lodged in my throat and I had mere moments to process what was happening, during which I became certain that I would break every bone in my body when I hit the ground.
