Page 52 of The Piper's Pursuit

Steffan knelt on the floor as Katerina lifted the girl. “Hold on to him. That’s good.”

Her hands clutched his shoulders. Steffan stood and, leaning forward, grasped the ladder and started climbing. He prayed the wooden ladder would hold their weight and moved steadily up. When he reached the top, hands appeared in the opening and pulled the little girl up and off his shoulders. Steffan pulled himself out and turned to see if Katerina needed any help. But she hoisted herself out before he could offer.

“Which way is Hagenheim?” Katerina was holding a child’s hand on either side of her, looking as stalwart as he had ever seen her. But he had a sudden urge to moan. How were they going to get all these children all the way to Hagenheim? Without any carts or horses? With a madman chasing them?

“It’s that way,” Steffan said.

The children quietly turned in that direction and started walking down the hill.

The sky was clear, and as he and Katerina brought up the rear, the sea of children brought a strange unsettledness to the surface. Hadn’t he always said he didn’t like children? Now he had fifty-two of them looking to him to save them. Because if Hennek caught up to them again, he would surely kill them all.

“Fifty-two children,” he said quietly under his breath, for Katerina’s ears only. “We can’t hope to outrun Hennek, or to escape his notice, as he’ll surely scour the area for us in the morning.”

“Maybe we should turn around and take them home. There’s no safer place than their own homes with their fathers. But I’m not sure we could sneak them past the guards at the gate.”

“Could we boost them through the opening in the wall?”

“Perhaps.”

Steffan thought about how they could possibly get that many children quietly and safely through the wall. “No, that’s too dangerous. Hennek’s guards would surely see us before we could get even the first child home.”

“Maybe we just need to get to a town or village nearby where people don’t know Hennek and aren’t afraid of him. Perhaps we can hide the children there while we travel to Hagenheim and alert your father.”

“How do we hide fifty-two children?”

“We will find a way.” She looked so brave, and yet he thought he saw and heard a hint of doubt.

“Yes, we will find a way.” Steffan reached out and touched her shoulder. “We will. The children are brave, and I won’t let any harm come to any of them. Or you either.”

She looked askance at him. One side of her mouth rose in a crooked smile. “Our protector?”

He shrugged and nodded.

“You don’t sound like the prodigal son I’ve heard so much about.”

He winced. “What have you heard?”

“Only a little carousing, drinking, and breaking women’s hearts, that kind of thing.”

Steffan’s chest grew heavy again. “It is true. I drank too much and was not the son my mother and father raised me to be, but I did not carouse with women.”

It was a pathetic protestation, perhaps, but he wanted her to know he had not broken any hearts, not by making false promises to any young woman or fathering illegitimate children, as dukes’ sons were so often known for doing.

“No women?” She was still looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

“No.”

She turned her gaze forward and nodded.

Katerina was so good. She was brave and strong and determined.

“Why did you stay?”

“What?”

“Why didn’t you leave and get away from Hennek?”

“I told you, I couldn’t leave my mother.”