Page 94 of The Beautiful Pretender

“Just what I need,” Avelina said softly, taking the dark robe down off its hook, folding it, and stuffing it under her arm. She quickly left the room.

Avelina hurried down the stairs and out to the kitchen.

Just as she was about to go inside, Odette came around the sideof the building. “Avelina.” She stopped, then motioned for Avelina to follow her.

She followed Odette to a hidden area between two buildings. No one was around.

“Our scout has told us,” she whispered, “that the king is on his way here.”

“The king? Coming here?”

“He was visiting the Duke of Pomerania and was on his way back to Prague when a missive from Lord Thornbeck found him somehow.”

“God be praised,” Avelina whispered.

“Yes, but I fear Geitbart will hear of it and will kill Lord Thornbeck before the king arrives. He will claim it was an accident, or make up some other story, so Lord Thornbeck cannot tell the king what Geitbart has done. We need to get him out of the dungeon and somewhere safe to wait for the king to arrive.”

“I don’t know if he will be willing to do that. He doesn’t want Geitbart to kill his men, and he’s willing to sacrifice himself for them. But I do have an idea.” Avelina confided her idea to Odette, who went to get the things she would need.

When Odette came back, she had a big, round gourd and a large sack. “Is this too much for you to carry?”

“No.” Avelina took the things from Odette.

“And here is a flask of wine, in case they are not giving him anything to drink.”

“If my plan works, we may be out in less than an hour. But if things do not go as planned . . .”

“I shall be praying for you.” Odette squeezed her arm.

“Thank you.” Yes, that was a good reminder. She began to pray as she walked away and reentered the castle.

She went down the stone stairs to the cool, dark room whereall the casks of wine and barrels of supplies were kept. However, this time the door was locked. Avelina pulled out of her pocket the small hooked rod and inserted it into the keyhole. After several moments the lock mechanism turned and the door opened. Avelina slipped inside with her bundles and closed the door most of the way.

Now she waited for the guards to leave their post in the dungeon. Since they’d already fed the prisoners their bread that morning, she was not sure when they would leave again. They might not leave until evening.

She pulled the stool where she had sat to churn butter up to the doorway so she would not miss the guards if they should go by. The room was cold and Avelina used the priest’s robe to cover herself.

“God,” she whispered, “please forgive me for using this priestly robe for something it was not consecrated for. But life is also sacred, and Lord Thornbeck’s life is in danger. And since I know the Holy Writ says You are compassionate, I will believe that You would want me to help him.” She paused a moment to get her thoughts together.

“God, if You will help me rescue Lord Thornbeck from the dungeon, I promise I will not ask him to marry me. Even though he kissed me—” She lost her breath at the thought of that kiss, savoring the memory. “I will not expect him to marry me. He is a margrave and it would be humiliating for him to marry a servant like me. But if You will allow him to live, I will be grateful, God, for the rest of my life. Forever and ever.” It was on her tongue to say that she loved him. But that seemed an improper thing to say to God. Still, didn’t God know all her thoughts?

“God, I love him, which is why I am willing to give him up and not expect anything of him when he gets out of the dungeon.Let the king realize that Geitbart is the evil one here and that Lord Thornbeck did nothing wrong. Restore the margravate and Thornbeck Castle to Lord Thornbeck.

“Although, if Lord Thornbeck was no longer a margrave he would be free to marry me. Oh God, forgive me for saying that! Such a selfish request. God, I take it back. If he is no longer margrave, my people, my family will be oppressed and possibly killed by Geitbart. Forgive me, God. Give Lord Thornbeck his rightful place. He doesn’t deserve to be stripped of his margravate and disgraced.” Besides, he might not even want to marry her.

After her prayer Avelina tried to do penance by forcing herself not to dwell on Lord Thornbeck’s kiss, but it was near impossible.

As she sat on the stool for hours with nothing to do, she found a churn and some milk that was being stored there and started churning. But the monotonous task did nothing to keep her mind off Lord Thornbeck. Memories of him would not leave her alone. Every interaction she’d had with him seemed to flit unbidden into her thoughts. She tried to tell herself he could never forgive her for deceiving him, but then the memory of his kiss flooded her senses and she had to close her eyes and relive it over again.

No, he definitely forgave her.

A few hours later Avelina’s stomach growled. Lord Thornbeck might be hungry, and if they were on the run, they would need food. Why had she not thought of that before?

Should she risk leaving where she was and go back to the kitchen for food? She had been sitting there for hours, and no one had gone in or out of the dungeon.

Avelina stood and peeked out the door. There was no one in either direction. She slipped out and hurried up the stairs to the outside. Quickly she made her way to the kitchen and asked Cook for some food.

Cook looked at her askance, but rather than questioning her, she gathered some fruit pastries and some bread and a small cheese round, wrapped them in a cloth, and tied the ends together.