Page 55 of The Noble Servant

She needed those letters. She needed tosendthose letters! But how would she find a courier, and if she found one, how would she pay him?

Voices drifted in from the corridor.

“I don’t want you to be ashamed of me,” Agnes said.

Magdalen tiptoed toward the door and listened.

“How could I ever be ashamed of you?” a man answered.

“I only care about what you think,” was Agnes’s breathy comment.

No one said anything for several moments and Magdalen imagined that they were kissing.Ick.

A bit later, the man said, “I have to go to my father now.”

“You mean your uncle?”

“Oh, of course. My uncle. He wants to speak with me.”

So, Steffan’s cousin was still lying to his “wife” about who he was.

“Will I see you later?”

“Ja.”

Magdalen started tidying up, moving to the other side of the room, picking up and putting away some articles of clothing that Agnes had left on the floor or draped over the furniture.

“What are you doing in here?” Agnes said.

Magdalen looked over her shoulder, pretending surprise. “I was just cleaning. You told me you would need me.”

Agnes huffed a breath, as if undecided about whether she should scold Magdalen. But she said nothing as she wandered over to a cushioned chair and sat down. Magdalen peeked at her occasionally as she folded Agnes’s clothes. Agnes stared at the wall with a pucker between her eyes, her lips pouty. Finally, she got up and came toward Magdalen.

“In two weeks Lord Hazen is giving my husband and me a wedding celebration and inviting the nobles from all over the northern regions. But your mother’s invitation will have to getlost. I cannot risk her being here, of course. And your friends, the Margrave of Thornbeck and his lady—that invitation will also be misdirected. My father has promised to take care of that.”

Magdalen forced her expression to remain unchanged.

“You are very quiet,” Agnes observed. “I heard that your imbecile friend, the shepherd who is so attached to you, was beaten by a guard again. You should keep a better watch over him.”

What a cruel, mean-spirited ... “What would your husband say if I were to tell him that you are not Lady Magdalen after all, but are only a stable worker’s daughter and a servant?”

“If you dared to tell him such a lie, my father would—”

“Your father the baron, who is now in heaven? Or your father the stable worker?”

“He isn’t a stable worker anymore. Lord Hazen promoted him to be the assistant to the captain of the guard.” Agnes actually smirked.

“So you don’t mind if your new husband discovers your deception?”

Her smirk disappeared. “You won’t tell him. You wouldn’t want Lenhart or Stoffel to be harmed.” But fear shone from her eyes.

“Do you care so much what your husband thinks? You know you aren’t really married to him, since you were married under a false name.” Should Magdalen tell Agnes that her husband wasn’t the real Duke of Wolfberg?

“Please don’t tell him. He would be hurt if he found out I lied to him. And you do not understand how ruthless Lord Hazen is.”

Magdalen felt a tiny pang of pity for Agnes at the anxiety on her face. Could Agnes actually care that Alexander would feel hurt at her deception? Probably she was only afraid of what would happen to her and Erlich when Lord Hazen discovered the truth.

“You cannot tell him, Magdalen. Vow that you won’t.”