Page 65 of The Piper's Pursuit

Now he would think she was weak and silly. She trusted him, but getting too close was still frightening. Would she always be this way?

Twenty

“I can make it to Hagenheim,” Steffan repeated. “I’ll keep reapplying the salve every time we stop. It will cure me. You will see.”

“Then let us go to Hagenheim. And pray that Hennek’s men do not circle around and find us.” But her hand was shaking as she reached for her horse’s bridle.

Steffan was still thinking about how Katerina had let him put his arm around her, then had placed her head against his shoulder. His heart had soared. He’d been afraid to move, afraid he would scare her. It hadn’t lasted long, but it gave him hope that she was beginning to trust and care for him.

They mounted their horses and set out for Hagenheim, riding a bit slower now that they knew Hennek’s men were ahead of them. And now that they were riding slower, they were able to converse more easily. Katerina asked him questions about his family, and he told her about the adventures he’d had in the last year since he left Poland. She told him about the funny things that she and her friends had done when they were children, ways she had outsmarted Hennek, and how she had bribed Hennek into allowing her to study under one of the priests in Hamlin.

He’d never heard her talk so much, but he liked it.

“Father Bogdan always encouraged me in my studies, telling me I was more clever and studious than any boy he’d ever tutored. I did enjoy learning. What about you? I’m sure you must have had an excellent tutor.”

“I only enjoyed being outdoors and learning about fighting, improving my skills of sword fighting and jousting, that kind of thing. I’m sorry to say I refused to do my assignments most of the time.”

“I’m sure that’s only because you just enjoyed battle skills more than science and mathematics.”

Steffan sighed but didn’t comment further. He should have obeyed his tutor, if for no other reason than so that he wouldn’t have to admit to Katerina that he was a terrible student.

They rode on in silence. Steffan was listening for Hennek and his men. They went on for the rest of the day, stopping to rest the horses, get water, and reapply the healing salve to his chest and arm. Each time they stopped, she looked at him longer, smiled at him more, and just seemed... less guarded. But he was getting better, feeling less feverish and probably looking less feverish, so she had no reason to press her hand to his forehead. And he was purposely allowing her to decide how close she wanted to get to him.

Soon they mounted their horses again and started back down the road. Unfortunately, the clouds were growing dark and the wind was picking up. A storm was brewing.

***

Katerina hated storms. The lightning, the thunder, the wind, the stinging, drenching rain. And it was all coming down on them hard. Soon their horses were struggling in the thick mud.

They’d hardly encountered anyone on this road for hours when they saw a man traveling toward them, riding on a mule.

Steffan hailed the man, practically shouting to be heard over the wind and rain. “Can you tell us if the road to Hohendorf is near?”

He must have been thinking of waiting out the storm at his brother’s castle in Hohendorf.

“Straight down this road, but turn south when you get to the fork beside the large tree with the broken branch.”

“Large tree with the broken branch?”

“About a mile from here. You will see it.”

“How far is Hohendorf from there?”

“Two or three miles, I know not.”

“Thank you.”

“Will we spend the night with your brother?” Katerina asked.

“Yes, if the rain doesn’t let up. There’s too much risk of the horses losing a shoe or breaking a leg.”

As they continued down the road, she prayed that the children were still safe in the homes of the women in Keiterhafen, hidden from Hennek, although it seemed likely he had followed them there. Many people had seen them traveling on the road—a man, a woman, and over fifty children. Hennek would surely hear of it.

A streak of lightning flashed. Ahead was the broken tree and the fork in the road showing that Hohendorf was still at least two miles away.

More lightning flashed as they rode the rest of the way to Hohendorf. The rain continued to pour down in sheets, and the castle suddenly loomed ahead of them at the top of a large hill.

A few villagers stood in doorways, and they all stared at them. She and Steffan faced the castle mount and urged their horses up the road leading to the castle.