He turned around to dip more candles in the hot wax and found Sophie staring at him.
“Thank you for your help … Gabe.” She seemed to find it amusing to speak his name. “Is it a custom of yours to search out scullery maids and help them with their work?”
Gabe pretended not to notice her teasing tone. “Does it seem strange to you that I would help?”
“I must admit, there have been times a man has offered to help me with my work, but they’ve always expected something in return.” She eyed him critically.
“I assure you, Sophie,” Gabe said, gentling his voice and meeting her gaze, “I don’t expect anything from you.” No, that wasn’t exactly true. “I only hope to learn the truth of your identity and gain your trust.”
“Trust is something that must be earned.” Her eyes widened slightly, and she quickly turned her back to him. “But I hope you will remember my advice about what to say to the duchess.
You have a kind face, and I would hate for you to become another of her victims.”
Suddenly, they were surrounded by guards, each one armed with a sword. Rough hands grabbed Gabe around the neck and by his upper arms and began dragging him toward the castle.
Chapter 6
Sophie followed the guards who were dragging Gabe away. Walther was with them, and she hurried to his side.
“What is amiss? Where are you taking him?” she demanded.
Walther frowned sympathetically. “Nothing for you to worry about, Sophie. The duchess got word of this stranger being here. We are fetching him on her orders. You’d best turn back before she asks what you have to do with this fellow.”
Gabe turned his head and looked at her, even though the guards had his hands pinned behind his back. “Don’t worry, Sophie. I’ll remember what you said.” Then he winked, a confident glint in his eyes. He grew more sober as he said, “Don’t forget to ask Petra.” One thing was sure: The man was brave. Or just plain foolish. Or he still didn’t realize what the duchess was capable of. Probably all three.
She grabbed Walther’s arm. “Don’t let her hurt him. Please.”
The burly guard looked suspicious. “Does he mean something to you?”
“I just don’t want him to get hurt.” She tempered her words cautiously. “He’s innocent, and … he has a family who will be asking questions if any harm comes to him. Make sure the duchess knows that.”
“Now how would I be making sure the duchess knows that? She doesn’t exactly ask me how she should conduct her affairs.”
Sophie must have looked as upset as she felt, because Walther’s voice softened and he said, “I’ll do my best.”
After they dragged Gabe away, Sophie collected herself and hurried to the kitchen. Inside she found Petra pulling some bread from the oven. Miraculously, no one else was around.
“Petra, I have something to ask you.”
“Yes, my dear?” Petra placed the bread on the wooden table and wiped her hands on her apron. “What is it?”
Sophie looked into the blue-gray eyes that were starting to crinkle at the outside corners. Mama Petra was still beautiful, with her kind face and pink cheeks. Could she have kept the truth from Sophie all these years?
“Mama Petra, you were here before Duke Baldewin died, weren’t you?”
“Yes, my dear.” A sober look came over her.
“You were here when Duke Baldewin’s baby daughter died?”
Petra’s mouth went slack but she didn’t speak.
“The stranger who came here this morning seems to think that I may be Duke Baldewin’s daughter, that she didn’t die after all.”
Petra expelled an audible breath and looked away.
“Mama Petra? Is it true?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “It’s true. I wanted to tell you, but I wasn’t sure it would help for you to know. If the duchess found out you knew, she’d kill you. And she’d kill me as well.
“I’ve been trying for years to get word out to someone — I’ve sent word by a few visitors, but I don’t think they believed what I told them. Leastways, nothing ever came of it. So few people ever come here and even fewer leave. The duchess watches them all so closely that any letters I send will be read by her, I am certain. I have received a few letters from my brother, and the duchess reads those too. I haven’t yet risked telling anyone in writing. I was planning to tell this new stranger, to beg him to tell anyone he knew who could get word to the king. But now I hear he has been taken away by the guards.” Petra bit her lip and grabbed Sophie’s hand. “Can you forgive me for not telling you?”