Iny Lorentz - The Marie Series 02 Read Online Free PDF Page A

wondered which one of them would align with him first. Falko von Hettenheim would not, but maybe Godewin von Berg, whose posture and expression showed his uncertainty. Nodding at him with a cheerful smile, Michel noted that the young man returned his greeting almost shyly.

4.
    Marie stayed in the courtyard until the last wagon had rolled through the gate and she could no longer hear the crunch of the iron-rimmed wheels on the cobblestones. All that remained were a few horse droppings to bear witness to two hundred brave men having just gone to war. Shivers ran down her spine at the thought of what might await Michel and his men in faraway Bohemia, and she wrapped her arms around herself tightly. Would it be a brief, glorious battle and a happy return home—or death?
    Trying to shake herself free from the grip of her dark premonitions, she reluctantly turned back toward the drafty chambers of Sobernburg Castle. Although she’d been living there for a decade, she knew that it would never fully feel like home. If she and Michel hadn’t shared every joy and sorrow together and tried to make their life there as pleasant as possible, she never could have stayed as long as she had. But they had managed to make the little town at the foot of the castle flourish so that now it generated three times as much revenue for the count palatine as it had under the previous castellan.
    Their own wealth had likewise grown with the city, and Marie didn’t even know offhand which vineyards, farms, and houses belonged to them. Indeed, most neighboring knights in their ancestral castles didn’t have a tenth of what she and Michel now called their own. Even after they had to use twelve purses full of three dozen gold ducats each—their entire savings from the last three years—to finance the military campaign, they were far from poor. In any case, Marie didn’t mind spending the money for weapons, clothing, flour, bacon, peas, wine, and other provisions, because they would contribute to Michel’s safe return home. Though Michel was convinced that he’d handily recoup these expenses with war booty, Marie wasn’t so sure. The uprising had lasted more than six years now, and so far Sigismund hadn’t had a single victory over the Hussites worth mentioning. Regardless, Marie didn’t care whether his pockets were full or empty when he came back; she only wanted to see him again as soon as possible.
    Realizing that she had been standing in the courtyard for a while, lost in thought, she suddenly remembered her duties. She opened her book of accounts but put it away shortly thereafter when she couldn’t get the numbers to add up. Wandering into the chamber that held the chests with clothes, bedding, tableware, and other necessary household items, she made a halfhearted attempt to identify everything in need of replacement. But she couldn’t focus on that task, either. Eventually she gave up trying to pretend that everything was normal and called for her housekeeper.
    “Marga, tell Timo to saddle my horse!” As she spoke, she remembered that Timo was with Michel and hastily added, “Or any stable boy.”
    The housekeeper nodded and quickly left the room as silently as she had entered. A few minutes later, Marie heard her powerful voice ringing across the yard.
    The woman had also served as housekeeper for the previous castellan of Sobernburg Castle. Hardworking and an expert in every aspect of her duties, Marga was able to assert her will with a few well-placed words, so Marie had kept her on. But even after all those years, their relationship had remained chilly. Marie regretted this because she would have liked to have enjoyed the same close, trusting relationship that her friend Mechthild von Arnstein, the energetic mistress of Arnstein Castle, had with her housekeeper, Guda. In that relationship, the two women not only chatted about household issues but also discussed personal matters, sharing sorrows and joys. Now more than ever, Marie