Page 78 of The Noble Servant

“Lord Hazen must be truly evil,” she said as she tried to wring the water from her hair. “Did you not know how evil he was when you were a boy?”

“I was not well acquainted with him until I was older. He and my grandmother did not like each other, so I rarely saw him when she was alive.”

The rain was coming down more heavily now. She stood beside him while he continued to brush off the horses.

“Alexander was a sickly child and very pampered by his nurses. On the rare occasions we were together as children, he was forever getting some slight injury and blaming me for it. I did not have a good opinion of my cousin.”

“When was the last time you saw him, before you went away to Prague?”

“About three years ago, before my grandmother died, Alexander and Uncle Hazen came for a visit. When they left, my grandmother told me never to trust my uncle. ‘He is greedy,’ she said. ‘Greedy men are dangerous men.’ But she could be rather cynical sometimes, and it never entered my mind that my uncle would try to kill me.” After a moment he went on. “During that visit I remember I actually felt sorry for my cousin.”

“Why?”

“He seemed afraid of my uncle, defeated by him, as if he could not stand up to him and was not allowed to have his own opinions or do what he wanted.”

“That is sad.”

“But I should not have felt sorry for him. I should have told him what an immature child he was for not standing up for hisown desires and goals. Now he’s his father’s puppet in stealing my inheritance.”

“It is very unjust.” But what bothered Magdalen the most, when she allowed herself to think about it, was how her usurper, Agnes, had found love with Alexander. How unfair that they were enjoying married love when Magdalen, even when she did get her identity back, would be unlikely to ever be loved in marriage.

But she certainly did not plan to talk to Steffan about that.

“No more unjust than what was done to you. What did you say Agnes’s father’s name was?”

“Erlich. He’s one of Lord Hazen’s assistants, so he got what he wanted as well.”

“Sometimes it seems the wicked prosper more than the righteous, but I have to believe that they will get what they deserve eventually. And in our cases it will be in less than two weeks.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes, but not unless we stay out of sight of Lord Hazen and his men. I think these horses are well enough, since I have no hay or oats or grass to give them. Let us lead them farther in so they will be less noticeable, and we shall sit where no one passing by can see us.”

They did as Steffan suggested, and she found herself sitting with her back against the rock wall of the mine beside Steffan.

“Did you go away to Prague at your uncle’s urging? I suppose that was when he got rid of everyone who would know that Alexander was not you.”

“He did not urge me to go at first. I wanted to go ...” His forehead creased as he stared through the opening, into the rainy night. “I had a notion that I could help my people prosper if I went to the university. We were already prosperous, but I thoughtI could bring new sources of income to our town and region if I increased my knowledge.”

“That was very noble of you.”

“And I selfishly wanted to travel and learn things my tutors couldn’t teach me. My uncle was supportive. I thought he sincerely wanted me to help my people. Now I know he just wanted me out of the way. How imprudent I was.”

“You could not have known. Wicked people are good at being deceptive, I imagine.”

“That’s true enough.” He seemed to rouse himself and turned his body toward her. “What about you? How did you end up with a mercenary servant who would steal your position? She must know she won’t get away with it.”

“Agnes said it was her father’s idea, but I never would have thought he could do something so evil. He’s been with our family since before I was born.”

He was looking down at her so intently that it made her heart flutter.

Foolish girl. He does not fancy you.

“Did they harm you?”

“No, they just threatened Lenhart and me if I did not do as they said. I wanted to fight back, but I had no weapon. I felt helpless and angry because I did not know how to stop them.”

“It wasn’t your fault. You had no idea they would do such a terrible thing, and understandably so. You could not have been prepared.”