Page 74 of The Piper's Pursuit

The first night on the road, they camped in a fallow field beside a stream. Duke Wilhelm invited her to sit between him and Steffan as they gathered around their fire and ate. She liked to think that if the other men weren’t around, Steffan would have tried to hold her hand. And she would have let him.

While the other men were mostly talking amongst themselves, Duke Wilhelm asked them questions and Steffan and Kat told him more details of the past week’s events.

The duke’s expression was very intense as he listened to her, his eyes only leaving her face to glance at his son.

“Your son is very brave and noble. He protected me several times. He placed himself between me and the giant wolf that was attacking us. And he helped the children escape who had been trapped so long in the mine they hardly remembered what the sun looked like. He killed three guards and carried the children out. He was tireless in seeing that they were safe.”

“Katerina is the one who deserves the praise,” Steffan said. “She was determined to save the children. I was only helping her. She risked her life constantly.”

“You are too modest.” Kat’s eyes met his and they exchanged a look that made her heart flutter. But when she glanced back at Duke Wilhelm, he seemed to have taken note of the look as well. Her cheeks heated and she stared down at her feet.

She slept near Steffan and Duke Wilhelm, and she felt as safe as she had at any time in her whole life. The guards also seemed like good men. They did not eye her salaciously, did not send crude grins her way or look her up and down the way Hennek’s guards did, and they did not even try to talk to her. Duke Wilhelm had treated her like a daughter, even though he had only known her for a day.

Anyone who thought wealthy, powerful dukes were arrogant and conceited had never met Duke Wilhelm.

And with that thought, she drifted off to sleep.

Twenty-Two

Steffan kept thinking about Katerina’s words praising him for being brave, and it was as if a deep wound were being healed, even more so when his father said again, in front of Katerina, that he was proud of him. But Steffan wanted more than anything to be able to prove himself somehow, to redeem himself in his father’s eyes and prove his worth to Katerina. He had told her about the bad things he had done, and he wanted to show her that was not the kind of man he intended to be in the future.

After almost a full day of riding, they made it to Keiterhafen and stopped within sight of the gate.

“Father, let me go in first. Too many men riding into town will attract Hennek’s attention. Let me go to Frau Goschen’s home and see that all is well, then we can all take charge of the children and get back to Hamlin.”

Father seemed to be thinking about it. Finally, he said, “I will let you go in and speak to Frau Goschen, but then come back here. If you aren’t back in an hour, we’re coming to find you.”

Steffan nodded, then urged his horse forward, slowing to a walk as he went in through the gate.

A man on the street up ahead, tall and broad, caught Steffan’s attention. Was he one of Hennek’s men? The closer he got, the more he was sure he had never seen him before. But he could still be one of Hennek’s guards.

He checked his surroundings, then headed to Frau Goschen’s home. He went around to the back and knocked on the kitchen door. He encountered a servant, a young man.

“Is Frau Goschen at home?” Steffan asked.

The man stared at him a moment. “Yes.”

“And the children? It’s all right. I am Frau Goschen’s friend.”

“Yes.”

“No problems, then?”

“No.”

“Very good.” Steffan went inside, brushing past the young man, and went through the corridor. He hadn’t gone very far when he heard a childish voice yell, “Steffan!”

He turned and spotted one of the boys from the mine, one of the little ones whom he had carried part of the way to Keiterhafen.

Steffan squatted and waited for the boy to walk to him.

The boy was shy now, walking slowly. Steffan hugged him. “Where are the others? Have you been a good boy? I think you’ve grown since I last saw you.”

The boy grinned. “We are playing with Frau Goschen’s puppies. I told her that my mother likes puppies and would let me take one home.”

“Puppies, eh?”

“We are all ready to go home. Are you here to take us back to Hamlin?”