Gabe stared at the baker until he turned and left the same way he had come.
Walking back out into the street, Gabe retrieved his horse and continued through the village. The few people he saw stared at him until he tried to make eye contact, then they invariably looked down. Should he try to talk to someone, try to get lodging for the night in the village, and try to find someone who would answer his questions about a girl named Sophie? If no one was any friendlier than the baker, he would be wasting his time.
Hohendorf Castle stood above the village, on a forbidding hill overlooking the valley inhabitants and surrounded by a dense forest of evergreen trees. Even though the winding road that led up the hill to the castle looked steep and long, Gabe felt a thrill of boldness stiffen his spine and make him walk faster. He was almost there, and he suddenly felt very close to what he was looking for.
At the top of the castle mount, he came around a bend in the road and found himself in the rear courtyard of the castle. He entered the copse of trees that surrounded the road and courtyard and tied Gingerbread to a tree.
Several yards away, a woman stirred a large black pot over a fire. She wore similar clothes to the women in the village, with a stained apron covering her front. As he moved closer, two maidens stepped through the kitchen door into the courtyard.
Gabe hid behind a tree to watch. It was probably best to find out as much as he could before he incited anyone’s curiosity.
The maidens were giggling, until the woman stirring the pot shushed them. She pointed to what appeared to be a heap of clothing resting against the wall.
“Quiet, now. Sophie’s asleep.”
Sophie! He’d only just arrived and had found the girl already. I may be able to leave this place before sunrise tomorrow. He hadn’t proven she was Duke Baldewin’s daughter, however. That would no doubt take quite a bit more time.
As the two maidens hurried off down a worn path into the woods, the woman left off stirring the pot and went toward the heap. Carefully, she peeled back an apron that was on top, revealing the face of a young maiden. After watching her for a moment, the woman left the girl’s face uncovered and went inside the kitchen.
Finding himself alone with the sleeping girl, Gabe crept toward her, keeping just inside the cover of the trees and bushes. When he was barely twenty paces from her, he stopped and studied her.
She lay curled into a ball, her head pressed against the hard stone wall. Her face was relaxed, her eyes closed, and he was sure she was the most strikingly beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her skin was pale and flawless, her lips a dark rose color, and her hair a glossy black. The girl’s eyebrows and lashes, the same black as her hair, stood out against her pale skin.
Was this Duke Baldewin’s daughter? His heart seemed to press painfully against his chest as he felt a deep yearning to protect her, to save her and fight for her.
This girl could be Valten’s betrothed and the daughter of a duke. But other than her extraordinary beauty, there was no outward sign she was more than a common servant. If the old woman, Pinnosa, had simply been senile, then this girl was no more a duke’s daughter than those people he had just seen in the village below.
What should he do now? As Gabe weighed his options, he heard breaking twigs and rustling leaves, the unmistakable sound of someone walking toward him.
A guard appeared around the side of the castle, a sword hanging down from his belt and bumping his leg with every step.
The man was enormous, and as he came around the corner, his eyes went straight to Sophie. He halted a few steps away from her, grunted, and then muttered angrily. Like a territorial bull, he lumbered forward, and Gabe held his breath again. If the man intended to harm Sophie …
Gabe crept out of the trees, trying to stay quiet, his eyes glued to the huge guard’s back. The guard went straight up to Sophie and drew his foot back to kick her.
“Halt!” Gabe leaped toward him.
The guard spun around with a fierce growl. His hand hovered menacingly over his sword hilt.
Gabe faced him down, even though he had no weapon except a dagger concealed in his boot. He wasn’t used to having to look up at anyone, since he was taller than most men. But the guard was even taller than Gabe, and his girth would make two of him, maybe three.
This giant could crush him with a few blows of his immense fists. Not to mention his sword could slash Gabe to death in the blink of an eye. But Gabe couldn’t back down like a coward, and he couldn’t let the brute kick Sophie while she lay there asleep, looking defenseless.
The enormous man’s eyes grew wide, his face turned red, and he roared, “Who are you?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Gabe saw Sophie sit straight up, then scramble to her feet.