Her stomach settled to normal and her legs felt strong again as she placed her hand in his. Without a word, he tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and started out the door.
As they walked from the castle and through the town square and Marktplatz, down the street toward the cathedral, she caught glimpses of Evfemia. Her stepmother had Gisela to thank for her freedom, since Gisela had spoken to Duke Wilhelm and asked him to free her from the dungeon. But Rainhilda, Evfemia, Irma, and Contzel were formally reprimanded by Duke Wilhelm, in Gisela’s presence, for helping Ruexner to kidnap Gisela. The duke ordered them never to come near Gisela again without her expressed permission. Sir Edgar, Rainhilda’s father, was so angry with her, when he heard what she had done, that he sent her to live with relatives in the north, the land of frozen lakes.
She had given her stepfamily permission to come to the wedding, but they were not allowed at the wedding feast afterward. Now as her stepsisters stood with the rest of the crowd, Irma scrunched her face into a sour grimace. Contzel poked out her tongue at her sister, then moved to the other side of her mother, away from Irma. Apparently, no one else wanted to be around Irma either, after what she and Evfemia had done to Gisela. It seemed wise to their former friends to distance themselves from the family that Duke Wilhelm had forbidden to go near the Earl of Hamlin’s beloved bride.
Valten’s parents, Duke Wilhelm and Lady Rose, in contrast, were smiling and looking content and happy. Valten’s siblings — Margaretha, Kirstyn, Steffan, Wolfhart, Gabe with his wife, Sophie, and Adela — all smiled and waved from a few feet away. Valten gave them a half smile, but Gisela waved back. Gabe nodded and Sophie sent Gisela a tiny wave, then Sophie covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes filled with tears. Ava was always more prone to tears when she was pregnant too.
Gisela took a deep breath and hugged Valten’s arm. He glanced down at her. She tilted her head up and he rewarded her with a brief kiss. He bent lower to whisper in her ear, “I love you, queen of beauty and love.”
He smiled and faced forward again.
For a man of action and few words, the ones he did say were quite lovely.
THE END
Acknowledgments
Once again, I want to thank all the wonderful people who make my books a reality, including everyone at Zondervan in all the various departments, many of whom I don’t know but I deeply appreciate. Thanks to Gwen Hendrickson, Sara Merritt, Chriscynethia Floyd, and Marcus Drenth, who work behind the scenes to get my books noticed; to Jaime Krupp and all the wonderful people in the sales department who get my books in stores; and to my talented editor, Jacque Alberta, who is able to look at the big picture and point out plot holes, repetitions, and missed opportunities.
Thanks to Mike Heath of Magnus Creative for blessing me with another beautiful cover that I love. You always wow me!
I want to thank my horse expert, Cory Kohl, who is always willing to answer my questions. If there are equine mistakes in the book, it’s solely my fault, because Cory knows horses.
I want to thank my wonderful beta readers who help me so much more than they realize: Grace Dickerson, Joe Dickerson, Faith Dickerson, Carol Moncado, Debbie Lynne Costello, Linore Burkard, Regina Carbulon, Caren Fullerton, Jamie Driggers, and Suzy Parish.
I also want to express my thanks to Sir Walter Scott for inventing the historical novel, and for writing Ivanhoe, which inspired the tournament scenes in The Captive Maiden.
And in case anyone doubts Dan Doty when he says the character of Friar Daniel was named after him, it is true.
Thanks to my family—Joe, Grace, and Faith — for being so supportive when I’m doing edits! I love you.
And thanks again to my readers, who keep me writing and motivated and striving to make my stories the best I can. Thank you so much for your encouraging notes! God bless you.
Want more? Check out this excerpt from
The Fairest Beauty
for a taste of Sophie’s story, then buy the book, in stores now!
Prologue
Pinnosa passed through the town square and the cobblestone Marktplatz. Hagenheim Castle loomed straight ahead. Once she passed the guard at the gatehouse, she would need to find her way to the young lord.
A chill passed over her thin, old shoulders. This fever, brought on by rain and exhaustion, would probably kill her, but if she could only make it to the castle, could only tell them that Sophie was still alive, Pinnosa’s life would not have been in vain. Perhaps God would forgive her for helping the duchess perpetuate so many lies.
She plodded forward, wanting to hurry, but she could only force her swollen feet to take slow, mincing steps. Sweat dripped from her eyebrows even as she shivered and fought the urge to drop to the ground, close her eyes, and sleep.