Page 70 of The Piper's Pursuit

Steffan rode toward his home with Kat and the guard from Hohendorf. Would Father and Mother be angry with him for waiting so long to come home? Father’s guards stared, and he recognized most of them. Then one broke into a smile as they approached. “Steffan? Is that you?”

A memory flashed in Steffan’s mind of getting drunk with this man and taking all the other guards’ clothes while they were asleep and hiding them in a field. His stomach sank at the remembrance.

“Yes, and this is Katerina of Hamlin. It is urgent that we speak to Father.”

One guard hurried inside the castle while another called for a groomsman to take their horses to the stable.

Steffan dismounted and then assisted Kat down from her horse. Two of the guards opened the doors, and he escorted her inside.

He’d never noticed before how high the ceilings were as they walked past the Great Hall to Father’s library door, where he suddenly appeared.

A lump formed in Steffan’s throat as Father started toward him.

“Son. Steffan.” He grasped him in a tight embrace. Steffan had to clear his throat to chase away a sob.

“Father.” He hugged his father back, but a wave of shame crashed over him, of all the bad things he’d done, of the way he’d left over a year ago, practically sneering in his father’s face. But this prolonged embrace... His father had forgiven him, even though he didn’t deserve it, hadn’t even asked for forgiveness yet.

He cleared his throat again. “Father?”

Finally the duke loosened his hold and stood back, looking at Steffan’s face. “It is good to see you, son. We’ve missed you.”

“It is good to see you too.” He coughed. “Father, this is Katerina of Hamlin, the stepdaughter of Bürgermeister Hennek Grymmelin.”

Father gave Katerina a serious smile. “I am pleased to meet you, Fräulein Katerina. I pray all is well in Hamlin.”

“No, Your Grace, I am sorry to say all is not well. We need your help.”

Katerina looked grim and serious... and beautiful.

“Please, come into my library so you can speak freely.”

They went into the place where his father wrote letters and met with various people who had business with him. They all sat, but on the edges of their seats.

“Go ahead. What is the trouble?” He looked from Steffan to Katerina.

Katerina began the story while Steffan’s mind flitted from Katerina to the rest of his family. Soon he would be able to see his mother again. Would his shame outweigh his joy? But he attuned his mind to the present moment and listened to his Katerina speak in a clear voice about why they were there.

***

When they had entered the castle, Katerina had tried to walk as regally as she could, but since she knew nothing about being regal, she decided to remember that she’d killed the Beast of Hamlin and rescued fifty-two children, and that helped her hold her head up high.

Duke Wilhelm was tall and broad-shouldered, very much like Steffan, but with gray hair mixed with dark brown. Though he must have been over fifty years old, he was quite handsome, and there was a strong resemblance between him and Steffan.

She had watched as the two men embraced. Tears pricked her eyes at the way they held on to each other. This was how good fathers treated their sons. And the way Steffan kept clearing his throat told her more than words could.

Then the duke had led them into a room full of books and shelves, chairs and a desk, and he had asked them to tell him why they were there. Katerina was explaining, “The mayor of Hamlin has kidnapped fifty-two children and trapped them in a mine underneath the town of Hamlin, where he has been working them as his slaves.”

“He has kidnapped fifty-two children? When did this happen?”

“Over the course of the past year.”

“Why have I not heard about this?” Anger hardened the duke’s expression.

“Hennek did not wish you to hear of it. He warned the people not to speak of it to outsiders, and people who had heard about it thought it was a myth or fairy tale. The Bürgermeister and his men were using two large wolves that they had captured and held in cages to attack anyone who came near the entrance to the mine. He made everyone think it was the Beast of Hamlin that had taken the children and killed and eaten them. But actually, he and his men had been stealing children off the streets of Hamlin and putting them to work in an underground silver mine.”

Duke Wilhelm was gazing at her very intensely.

“Steffan and I were captured by Hennek’s men and placed in the mine, but we escaped with the children.”