Without taking even a moment to consider her action, and while the guard was staring at Colin, Margaretha swung her candlestick with both hands and hit the side of the man’s head. He reeled, then fell like a tree to an ax’s blade.
Bezilo had looked up when Margaretha struck the first guard. He stared as though dumbfounded from beneath eyelids swollen almost shut. But when he saw that Margaretha had knocked out the two guards, he seemed to revive. He walked to where the guard’s sword had fallen to the ground, and, still holding his arm close to his body, picked up the sword. Then he stood over the first of the two guards.
Colin was staring at Margaretha, his mouth open.
“Lady Margaretha,” Bezilo said, “please turn aside. I don’t want you to see this.” Bezilo was holding the sword above the guard’s throat.
With a start, Margaretha realized Bezilo was about to kill the man. “Liebe Gott.” Margaretha immediately turned around.
Colin turned his head as well as his expression sobered.
Behind her, Bezilo grunted, and his grunt was followed by a gurgling sound. Margaretha covered her ears and began walking away, as she thought she heard Bezilo walking to the other guard, no doubt to kill him as well. What had seemed like an exhilarating adventure had turned into a stomach-turning moment of the harshest reality life had to offer: death.
God, forgive us.
“It was necessary.” It was as if Colin had read her mind, as he appeared beside her, looking at her with those intense blue eyes of his. “He had to kill those men so they wouldn’t go back and tell Claybrook.”
Margaretha nodded. For once, she had no words. But she had seen what they had done to dear Bezilo, one of her father’s most loyal guards and a kind-hearted bear of a man. He was a trained soldier, but his killing the two guards turned her stomach just the same.
A wave of dizziness came over her. “I need to sit.” She barely made it into the shade of the trees before she sat down hard, hung her head forward, and concentrated on breathing. She kept her hands over her ears so she wouldn’t hear anything Sir Bezilo was doing.
She felt something and looked up. It was Colin’s hand resting gently on her shoulder as he bent to look at her face. “You did well, Lady Margaretha. You were incredibly brave, and you saved Bezilo’s life.”
Margaretha swallowed hard. Yes. She would think about that. They had saved Bezilo from Claybrook’s men. “And you too,” she said, forcing her lips into a wobbly smile. “Thank you.”
After a moment she reached her hand toward him and let him pull her to her feet. The dizziness was mostly gone, which was good, since she had no time for it. Her people, everyone she loved, were in danger.
Men had died, and more would die, possibly a lot more.
Bezilo strode toward them.
“You need a healer,” Margaretha said to him.
“I cannot go to Hagenheim Castle looking like this. Those men back there found the note I had written for Duke Wilhelm. I wanted to pass it off to a messenger, someone who could get to him faster than I could, so I could stay here and help you. That plan went amiss, as you can see.”
There were cuts above both his eyes. His cheekbones were bloody and bruised, and he seemed to have trouble catching his breath.
“Is your arm broken?”
“It doesn’t matter. Lady Margaretha, you must go for help. You must go” — he paused as if to catch his breath — “to your mother’s family in Marienberg, to ask the Duke of Marienberg to come with all his fighting men and help your father. I will do my best to get word to your father of the danger.”
Anne and Britta came toward them, Anne with a look of disgust on her face as she stared at Bezilo. How dare Anne look at the brave and honorable Bezilo that way!
Lord God, give me patience.
“We will go to Marienberg. Do not worry. But we must get help for you. I am worried about you.”
“If you could think of a place . . . where I could rest, I would not . . . refuse it.” His breath was coming in wheezing gasps now.
“The woman who gathers herbs for Frau Lena! I believe her cottage is near here.” But would Bezilo be able to walk there?
“Let us go, then. Or simply point me in the right way.”
“I will show you. But first . . .” Margaretha turned to look at the others.
“I shall go back into Hagenheim and buy horses for us.” Colin was obviously impatient to be doing something.
“No. We shall have to buy horses outside the town wall. It is too dangerous for you to be seen inside Hagenheim. Britta.” She turned to the pale-faced maid. “We need you to go back to the castle. Or better yet, send a messenger to the healer, Frau Lena, and ask her to come to the cottage of the herb gatherer who lives near the river. She will know who I’m talking about. Tell her I need her to tend to an injured person there. Let her know it is urgent, but do not mention anything that has happened. Lord Claybrook and his men must not find out that we escaped or what we are doing, and we can only hope they will not stop Frau Lena from leaving the castle grounds. Will you do this for us?”