Page 56 of The Noble Servant

“Very well. I won’t tell him—yet. But in exchange you must not allow any harm to come to either Stoffel or Lenhart, because as soon as you do, I will tell your husband everything.”

“Well.” Agnes tossed her head, turning half away from Magdalen. “You have no proof. He won’t believe you.”

“Perhaps I do have proof. Proof I can show to Lord Hazen.”

Agnes’s lips parted and her chest rose and fell.

“But you must tell your guards not to beat Stoffel again, and tell your father and the stable workers to be kind to Lenhart.”

Agnes clamped her fists on her hips. “I cannot tell the guards not to beat some particular servant. What would they think? They might tell Lord Hazen. And I certainly can’t tell the stable workers what to do.”

“And why not? You are the Duchess of Wolfberg. I should think it would be well within your authority.”

“What would Alexander say? If I were to single out two obscure servants and tell the guards and other workers to give them special treatment, he would think I had lost my senses.”

Magdalen shrugged. “If you do not wish to risk it, that is all well and good. I shall tell the duke and the baron the truth.”

“Very well. I shall speak to the guards and the stable workers.”

Magdalen had never done this sort of bargaining before. It felt foreign, but her situation, as well as that of Steffan and Lenhart, was desperate.

She smiled. Avelina would be proud of her.

“You were ruthless enough to steal my place in life, but Agnes, surely you are too shrewd to fall in love with the duke.”

Agnes crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You probably think I’m evil for what I did to you. But it was all my father’s idea.He was tired of being told what to do. He said, ‘Why couldn’t we be the ones telling others what to do?’ He made it sound easy and as if we were entitled to do it. Why did you have all the privileges? What had you ever done to be the daughter of a baron? Nothing. But when I met my husband ... I would do anything to keep him from discovering the truth.”

Perhaps Agnes did love Alexander, in her own warped way. Was Alexander evil? Or was he only a pawn of his father’s? Steffan called Alexander a whey-faced imbecile, and yet Agnes seemed to care what he thought of her.

“You need me as well, to protect you.” Agnes made her voice sound gruff, but the fear lingered.

As if Magdalen would ever accept help from Agnes. But if she and Steffan were not able to find his portrait so he could prove his identity, Magdalen would need help to prove that she was Lady Magdalen. She couldn’t expect to get that help from Agnes, however.

Regardless, in two weeks guests would arrive in Wolfberg to celebrate the fake marriage of Agnes and Alexander.

Chapter Nineteen

Magdalen glanced around the dining hall while waiting in line for her food. Where was Steffan?

He walked in, and she moved to the end of the line with him.

“In two weeks,” she said softly, “there will be a wedding celebration. Lord Hazen will invite all the nobles, but Agnes’s father will make sure my mother and Lord Thornbeck will never receive their invitations.”

He said near her ear, “It was very clever of you to discover that.”

“I want to send my letters.” She glanced around to make sure they weren’t attracting attention to themselves by whispering together. “Where are they?”

“I put them somewhere safe before I came into the castle.”

“I can retrieve them and find a courier to deliver them.”

“You might get caught leaving the castle. I’ll fetch them.”

“Forgive me if I do not trust you.”

Steffan stared down at her, a pained look in his eyes.

They had reached the front of the line and took the proffered bowl of food. The people sitting in front of them were quiet and kept looking across at them, so neither Magdalen nor Steffanspoke as they ate. Then Katrin came and sat on the bench beside Steffan.