“Good night, Sophie.”
Sophie awoke in the night, and it took her a moment to figure out where she was. When she saw Gabe slumped against the rock at her feet, it all came flooding back — Gabe’s eyes begging her to trust him when he came searching for her after Lorencz left her tied to a tree. Gabe wrapping her bleeding arm, his face intent and serious. Gabe grimly shooting the wolf as it leaped toward her. Gabe smiling as he told her he was having the time of his life. But none of that meant that he cared about her. He was only doing it for the glory and to make his brother angry. It was a competition between them, as Gabe had said. Sophie would do well to remember that. He was not rescuing her for unselfish reasons. Besides, she would marry Valten, and she would belong to him and to his family, and they were all going to love her. Because she would do whatever it took to make him and his family love her.
When she woke up again, dawn was turning the world gray. Gabe was gone.
Sophie sat up and looked around. She eventually spotted him squatting by the river, filling his water flask. Gingerbread was grazing nearby. Sophie rubbed her cheek, then folded the blanket that had covered them. She tucked it under her arm and yanked up the horse blanket lying nearby. After shaking it out, she started toward Gingerbread.
Gabe started for the horse at the same time.
As he came closer she noticed the stubble on his face made him look rugged and achingly handsome. His boyishness was gone, replaced by an older, wiser look. His cheek was no longer swollen, but the bruising and scraped skin made her want to reach out and touch him, to soothe the hurt.
“Did you sleep well?” She tried to ignore her sudden confusion and the way her heart fluttered at the sight of him. He’d said Valten wasn’t as handsome as he was. She believed him. She couldn’t imagine anyone more handsome.
“I did. Did you?”
“Yes, thank you.” They were whispering. No need to alert anyone who might be nearby of their presence. It was a reminder that they weren’t out of danger yet. God, protect us today.
He carried his crossbow over his shoulder at all times now, his arrows within easy reach. He looked very different from when she’d first seen him. Then he had been clean shaven, and his eyes had been bright and well-rested. He’d had an unworried look about him. Now he had slight shadows under his eyes, and his soft linen shirt was wrinkled and askew at the neckline, revealing a bit of his collarbone and the hollow of his throat.
He was very easy to look at.
And even if he did have some wrong motives, she was thankful for him. Thank you, God, for freeing us and keeping us safe.
She may have a murderous archer chasing her, but, at least for the moment, she was free. She had finally escaped the duchess. She’d never been this far from Hohendorf. And she hoped she never went back.
If it turned out that she wasn’t betrothed to Valten, if for some reason he rejected her or didn’t believe she was Duke Baldewin’s daughter, then perhaps she could find someone to work for. She had heard that sometimes, in large towns, women worked as shopkeepers or sold their own goods in the marketplaces. How she would love to see those places and meet those women. Perhaps she could get a job in a town, maybe even Hagenheim, cleaning for someone who paid her money. It didn’t matter what she did, as long as she was away from Duchess Ermengard.
Even if she died here in the forest, at least she could say she was free for one, two, or however many days God gave her. And she had to agree, at least partially, with Gabe. This had been the best time of her life.
As Gabe tied their bags to the saddle, he couldn’t help but keep glancing up at Sophie. “We’re still about six days from Hagenheim, but your cook friend, Petra, said we could go to the Cottage of the Seven, about two days from here. Do you know what she was talking about?”
Sophie’s hair hung down around her shoulders, the black tresses brushing her cheeks. She normally kept it braided and knotted at the back of her head. Now was the first time he’d seen it completely down, and he couldn’t help noticing the way her black hair moved in the breeze. He blinked hard, then forced himself to concentrate on what she was saying.
“Petra used to tell me that if I ever escaped from the duchess and left Hohendorf, I would be safe at the Cottage of the Seven. She never explained who the Seven were, but she said I should ask for Dominyk the Wise. Petra is trustworthy. If she says we’d be safe there, then we’ll be safe.”
“If we need help, we will search out this Dominyk and his cottage. Perhaps he can offer us a knight to go with us the rest of the way to Hagenheim.”