But Margaretha was determined to go with him, and she would not let him convince her she was being foolish. She wanted to help her family and her townspeople.
He would simply have to bide his time and wait for an opportunity to leave her somewhere safe. And the likeliest place remained Anne’s father’s house.
“How far is it to Lord Rupert’s house?”
“About an hour’s walk from here.”
Claybrook’s guards were still where they were several minutes before. They could get no horses here, so Colin set out with Margaretha and Anne, once again staying off the road.
When they had walked several minutes, they came to a tiny village. They decided not to show themselves together, and since Margaretha was the only one who had money, Colin and Anne waited in the woods while Margaretha went to the village to try to buy some food.
As he sat pondering the road ahead, Anne’s voice broke into his thoughts. In heavily accented English, she asked, “My cousin is very beautiful, ja?” Anne’s expression was coy. When he didn’t answer, she added, “But she is . . . how do you say in English? Very . . . close to her family. I have heard her say she could never leave her family to marry.”
He raised his eyebrows at her, wary of what she might say next. However, his curiosity made him say, “So Margaretha doesn’t wish to marry? Or hasn’t anyone offered for her?”
“Oh, she has suitors enough, but she has turned them all down.” She smiled. “I myself can marry anyone I choose.” Anne tilted her head down and looked up at him through her lashes, as if she was trying to look demure.
Margaretha had no desire to leave her family, and therefore she would never marry Colin and go back to England — or so Anne wanted him to believe. He didn’t doubt it was true, but it didn’t matter. He hadn’t come to the Holy Roman Empire to find a wife, and Margaretha had shown no signs of wanting him. So why did Anne’s words make his heart sink?
“I don’t know if you realize this,” Anne said, “but you have the most beautiful blue eyes.” She leaned back against a tree and smiled at him, fluttering her eyelids.
What a fool he was to tell Anne that he was the son of a wealthy earl. He liked it better when she pretended she only spoke German. In another minute, she would probably tell him she didn’t mind leaving her family to go to England.
“I think I had better see if Lady Margaretha needs any help.” He moved toward the road that led into the village.
“I will wait here.” Anne looked at him from beneath half-closed eyelids.
He had to force himself to walk, not run, in the direction of the village.
Chapter
18
Margaretha had never bought food before. She had never bought anything before. If she wanted something, she gave the money to a servant and let them go to the market or to a shop for her, or a family member or servant accompanied her to the market and paid for whatever she wanted. But how hard could it be? Besides, she hadn’t eaten anything all day. She’d woken up before dawn to spy on Lord Claybrook and the captain of his guard and had missed breakfast, and now the sun was directly overhead. She had been in too much turmoil to notice how hungry she was earlier, but now that there was hope that she might find food, her stomach was growling loudly enough to frighten the birds in the trees.
A woman was coming toward her. Her hair was covered by a cloth tied at the back of her neck. She carried something in her apron as she clutched the corners to her bosom.
“Guten Tag,” Margaretha said with a shy smile.
The woman stared hard at her. Finally, she answered, “Ja, Fraulein. Guten Tag.” But she still looked suspicious and almost frightened. Perhaps she was only surprised to see someone, especially a young woman alone, come strolling into her village, someone she had never seen before. The woman undoubtedly had lived in the village her whole life. Villagers of the Holy Roman Empire didn’t travel much, and they rarely left their village to go live elsewhere, except perhaps to marry someone from another village.