Valten and his men stopped their advance.
“Give her to me, Ruexner.” Valten’s heart was in his throat. He knew he couldn’t get to Gisela in time if he truly wanted to kill her. “Don’t hurt her and I’ll give you gold, jewels, anything you want.”
Ruexner laughed. “Why would I turn over my prize to you? You don’t have the gold with you, do you?”
“No, but I can get it.”
“You would take her and go, then have your men kill me! At least, that’s what I would do.” Ruexner laughed again.
Gisela looked pale, but also brave. Ruexner could kill her in the blink of an eye, and still she had a look of courageous defiance in her eyes. The point of the knife had pricked her chin and a dribble of blood dripped off his blade. O God.
Valten forced himself to focus. “What do you want, Ruexner?”
“I want what I’ve always wanted — your defeat and humiliation. I want you to grovel before me. I want you to lose something you care about.” He yanked Gisela’s hair, pulling her head back, but she didn’t scream. “I want you to surrender to me now and send your men back home. You must come with me, and your men must swear they will not follow.”
Valten couldn’t let Ruexner hurt Gisela. Just seeing her in anguish was like a sword piercing his heart. There was a chance that Ruexner wouldn’t kill her, that he wasn’t evil enough to slay an innocent maiden, but Valten wasn’t about to take that risk.
“I will surrender, but let the girl go home with my men. You only took her to get to me. Take me and let her go.”
“No!” Gisela’s eyes were wild and she seemed about to throw herself off the saddle, but Ruexner held fast, his arm her around her waist.
“Why would I let her go when I can use her to make you do whatever I want?” He laughed his wicked laugh again. “Now come, or she dies.” He pressed the knife blade flat against her throat and ran his grimy finger down her cheek.
Gisela’s face was stoic.
“I am coming. My men will go home.” Valten started walking his horse toward Ruexner. Valten’s guards mumbled behind him, sounding angry, unsure.
“If your men follow us, I will kill their lord. Do you hear?”
“We hear,” Valten’s men shouted sullenly behind him.
“Throw down your sword, Valten.”
He took off his scabbard and threw it to the ground. Somehow he would find a way to free Gisela and escape with her. Ruexner would make a mistake and Valten would take advantage of it. He simply had to keep his head and not fly into a killing rage until the timing was right.
Valten walked his horse slowly toward Ruexner and his men. Gisela looked more frightened now than she had before — frightened for him rather than for herself, if he read her expression correctly. He looked her in the eye. I won’t let you down. I will save you.
When Valten reached them, Ruexner barked, “Tie his hands.” A man dismounted and approached Valten with a piece of rough hemp rope. He could kick the man away, could probably take out his other man with the dagger concealed in his boot, but by the time he did, Ruexner could have slit Gisela’s throat. So he held out his hands and let Ruexner’s henchman jerk them downward, crushing Valten’s broken hand in a viselike grip that sent a searing pain up his arm.
“Don’t hurt him!” Gisela cried out. “Stop it!”
The henchman laughed and began wrapping the rope around his wrists, then tied it, cinching it so tight it cut into his skin.
Ruexner chuckled and put away his knife. Gisela kept her eyes on Valten. Even though her bottom lip trembled, she still looked like the bravest woman he had ever seen. Hold on, he wanted to tell her. I will save you. But then he thought he’d better pray, because, if he was honest with himself, he knew Ruexner could easily kill him before he had a chance to do anything. He was completely at Ruexner’s mercy.
Chapter
19
Ruexner’s man put a lead rope on Valten’s horse, helped Valten back into the saddle, and took away the reins.
“Let’s ride.” Ruexner turned his horse around and headed down the other side of the small hill.
He was thankful for Sieger’s sake that the pace was slower now.
Valten’s hand throbbed; the man had moved the broken bone out of place. Frau Lena would not be happy with having to set it again. If he ever made it back to Hagenheim and Frau Lena. But he wouldn’t think like that. He would escape from Ruexner and his men and return with Gisela too.