He motioned to the man who had originally been holding Margaretha, and that man came toward her.
She stared him in the eye and said as menacingly as possible, “If you touch me again, I shall make you rue it.” Her blood still boiled, especially at the prospect of them finding and taking her money. At least she had left her bracelet at home. And the horses! If they dared to take their horses . . . how would she and Colin ever make it to Marienberg?
The man halted, uncertainty in his eyes. His leader snarled at him. “Get her. Now.”
What good would it do to struggle? Colin was still being held by the three men, and the leader held their only weapon. The man grasped her wrists and held them behind her back.
The leader walked back to Colin and felt all over him. “Your friend doesn’t have any money on him. Where is yours?” He turned to Margaretha.
The man holding her pushed her forward and forced her to walk toward him.
“We don’t have any money.” Father God, please forgive me for lying.
He curled his lip at her, then snapped his fingers. “Dog Face, go check their horses and bags.”
One of the men, a particularly ugly one, moved toward their horses, which had shied several feet away. He only had a little trouble catching them, then he started untying the bundles behind their saddles.
Colin was still being held by two men. If Margaretha could read the look in his eyes, he was calculating how to get away from them.
The leader crossed his arms, still holding the long dagger, and stroked his scraggly beard with his other hand. “If I had to guess, I’d daresay the girl has the money on her person.”
The men holding Colin called out places where they thought she might hide it, so crude and lewd in their speech that Margaretha’s face went hot.
“You are all disgusting, vile, and demon possessed to speak that way about me.”
They chuckled at her protest. No doubt they saw her as weak and helpless. She should again break free from the man holding her, just to show them she could.
The leader moved quite close to her, until he was only inches away. He wasn’t much taller than she was, and he leaned almost nose to nose with her.
“Tell me where your money is and I won’t hurt your friend.”
“You will get nothing from me.”
“Oh no?” He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently, causing her head to snap back and forth. The money in her sleeve rattled.
He stopped shaking her. “I do believe I heard something.” His thin lips curled into a smile.
He grabbed her left arm. Her captor let go and the leader stuck his hand up her sleeve. His fingers touched her bare skin and made her shudder in disgust. He found her purse and drew it out. He held it up with a shout.
“What do you think, boys? Shall we go to the inn tonight and feast?”
They all let out a whoop.
Margaretha’s chest turned inside out as she stared at her purse, all of their money, in the hands of these dirty thieves.
They searched the bundles on the backs of their horses and found their food and blankets. Once they had examined everything, their leader told them to pack it all back up.
“Shouldn’t we take the girl’s dress too?” one of the men asked. “It would fetch a good price at the market.”
“Why not?” the leader replied with his usual grin. “She won’t be attending any balls at Hagenheim Castle any time soon.”
They all turned lecherous eyes on her, every one of the men staring at her. Margaretha instinctively raised her fists as she felt all the blood drain from her face.
The dirty robbers let go of both Margaretha and Colin, but there was nothing he could do. He had no weapon, and the world had been spinning around and around ever since they’d kicked him in the head. Still, he was prepared to die protecting Margaretha.
His worst nightmare was happening all over again. Someone he cared about was under his protection, but he couldn’t keep her safe.
The men were all looking at her. They started to step toward her, and Margaretha’s face went white.
No! He could not let them hurt her. God, no, please. Colin didn’t know much German, but he knew enough to shout, “Nein! Hier ist Lady Margaretha! Herzog Wilhelm’s tochter!”
The men froze. They muttered and glanced at each other, wondering aloud if she was truly Duke Wilhelm’s daughter. They seemed to be discussing something among themselves. Would they have enough respect for the duke and the fact that this was his daughter, or at least enough fear of what he would do to them, to not harm her? This strategy would backfire if they decided to hold her for ransom. He had sensed the leader at least had a small amount of decency and respect — a very small amount. Besides, they couldn’t hope to escape from Duke Wilhelm’s wrath if they hurt his daughter.