“That’s precisely what I intend to do,” Jonathan said.“As soon as Jacob returns with a horse.”
“Returns?”Henrik glanced toward the window.“Where did he go?”
“To procure me a mount.I don’t know where.”
Henrik’s expression shifted to one of determination.“I’ll handle this alone.You shouldn’t go anywhere near Lübeck.”He snatched up his hat and gloves and left the room.“Frau Kemper,” he called to the housekeeper.“Fetch me a jug of beer and some food.Whatever you can scrounge up quickly.”
“Scrounge,” the good woman repeated.“I believe I can do better than that, sir.”
Jonathan was close to dashing out the door and stealing the lieutenant’s horse, but thinking rationally, Henrik would have easier access to Lise anyway.Far less of an uproar if her brother knocked on Friedrich’s door to claim his sister.
Dammit!Jonathan couldn’t stand by and wait.It wasn’t in him.Besides, Henrik would need a secondary, even one who stayed in the shadows, should anything go wrong.If it went smoothly and Henrik brought Lise out of Friedrich’s house, then no one in Lübeck need ever know Jonathan had been there.But if something happened ...
“Begging your pardon, my lord!”Jacob’s voice rang out from the forecourt.“I’ve got one!”
Jonathan was out the front door like lightning to see Jacob grinning and holding the reins of a sturdy bay mare that looked as though she’d seen better days.Maybe a decade ago!
“She belongs to the blacksmith’s son,” Jacob explained proudly.“He’ll rent her for a reasonable sum, and he asks no questions.”
“Well done, Jacob.”Jonathan said, approaching to examine the animal’s feet and the saddle.Next to Henrik’s fine chestnut gelding, the mare probably looked worse than she was.
“Do you think she’ll make it?”Jonathan asked Jacob, who nodded enthusiastically.
“Oh yes, my lord.The blacksmith’s son said she has a lot of life in her yet.”
“God, what’s that?”came Henrik’s voice.
Jonathan caught sight of him in the doorway, shaking his head.He’d changed out of uniform to be less of a target.Then Lise’s brother turned and hollered over his shoulder, “Another jug of beer, Frau Kemper, and some more provisions forhis lordship.”
“Let’s not waste another moment,” Jonathan said, taking the bay’s reins from Jacob and swinging up into the saddle.But the food and drink were swiftly given to him anyway.Along with a pistol and a groom’s hat as a thin disguise.He would be Henrik’s servant for the journey.
Jonathan let him lead the way, up the drive and to the lane.Then both men urged their horses into a canter.The road to Lübeck stretched before them, and somewhere at the end of it, Lise waited, unknowingly residing in the house of a traitor.
Chapter Fifteen
Two nights.
Lise had been in Friedrich’s house for two nights now, and with each passing hour, her unease grew until she thought she would jump out of her own skin.
Standing at the window of the sumptuous bedchamber on her third day, she watched the street below as merchants and housewives went about their daily business in Lübeck.How strange that the world continued as normal while her life seemed to be fraught with futility and powerlessness.
Anna sat in the corner with little she could do for her mistress.She’d mended the hem of the riding habit, and Lise had worn her other day gown since she’d arrived.The maid’s presence was a comfort, but her worried glances only confirmed what Lise already felt.They were in a pickle of her own making, and something was terribly wrong.
Friedrich had left yesterday with promises to help secure Jonathan’s release.He’d returned in the late afternoon, his countenance unsettled, his movements agitated.Over supper, he’d informed her curtly that he could do nothing.Not yet, at least.Perhaps in a day or so.
“A day or so?”Lise had repeated, her soup forgotten.“Friedrich, he’s imprisoned.Surely you can tell me something.”
“These matters are delicate,” he’d interrupted, his tone brooking no argument.“I must proceed carefully.”
She understood that.After all, he wasn’t French.And even if they allowed him to do business that earned him a lucrative income, that didn’t mean they were suddenly going to dance to his tune.Far more likely, it was the other way around.
That had been yesterday.Now it was already the following afternoon, and she didn’t know whether Friedrich would leave his house again today to try to help Jonathan.She could scarcely bear the notion of her Englishman being tortured.Or worse.What if he had already been executed?
But Friedrich would have discovered that and told her.
Thus, with no progress and no answers, Lise couldn’t bear it any longer.
She found Friedrich in his study, seated behind an imposing mahogany desk that seemed designed to intimidate.He looked up as she entered without knocking, his expression darkening as he set down his quill with deliberate precision.Then he slowly rose to his feet.
