The Wandering Harlot (The Marie Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

that moment Marie began to scream. “No! No! For the Mother of God and all the saints, you cannot do that! You are violating God’s commandments.”
    Utz and Hunold nudged each other and doubled over with laughter. While the bailiff was still holding his belly, the carriage driver pointed up at a small opening just below the ceiling, warning Hunold against making so much noise. Then he stooped, slapped Marie in the face, and stuffed a dirty rag into her mouth so that now she could only whimper.
    Still laughing, Hunold jumped on Marie.
    Her world seemed to fall to pieces. Silently she called on God and all the saints. Why are you allowing this? she asked, What have I done that you are punishing me like this?
    Hunold finished, rolling off her, and Marie doubled up, overcome by a wave of nausea before Utz forced himself on her. Afterward, her whole body was wracked with pain. The world around her seemed to have been transformed into a pitching and rolling ship, and all she wanted was for the surrounding ocean to open up and devour her. Through a veil of tears she could see Utz and the bailiff walking toward Linhard, who was holding on to the door and trembling all over.
    “Now it’s your turn,” they told him.
    When the secretary said nothing, Hunold grabbed him and forced him toward Marie.
    “I don’t know . . . I can’t . . .” Linhard stammered.
    “Are you going to perjure yourself tomorrow, or back out and betray us? Either you go along with us, or your corpse will be floating down the Rhine tonight.”
    Utz kicked him so hard, he fell down on top of the girl.
    Marie struggled to catch her breath and tried to push Linhard away, but Utz placed his foot down so hard on her right leg that she thought the bone would break. Marie’s feelings suddenly transformed. Just a moment ago she had been awash in a sea of despair, but now rage built up within her and she felt pure hatred for the first time in her life. The carriage driver and the bailiff were crude, conscienceless characters, but the secretary had served in her father’s house for many years and was something like a member of the family. His betrayal hurt her so deeply that if she could, she would have torn him to shreds with her bare hands. At the same time, she wished she were dead.
    Linhard stood up, turning his back to her as he buttoned up his trousers. Utz spat on the floor, ignoring Marie. “We’re done here. What do you say we go to Guntram Adler’s and share a tankard of beer?”
    “Yes, but at your expense. The little secretary looks like he could use a stiff drink.” Hunold opened the door, pushed Linhard outside, and waited until Utz had walked past him with the torches. Then he pulled the door closed and locked it carefully.
    Inside, it was once more as quiet and dark as the grave. Marie could feel the cold creeping into her body, more so than before, but not enough to soothe the burning inside her. She struggled to sit up, laid her head on her fettered hands, and pulled her knees up to her chest to make the pain easier to bear.
    She wondered anxiously what would happen now. People wouldn’t ask if she had been violated, but they would instead issue blame and speak ill of her. Even if her father offered her weight in gold, no honorable man would seek her hand in marriage, not even a poor fellow like Michel. The best her father could do would be to marry her to some drunk like the sheepshearer Anselm, for whom the wine he could buy with her dowry would be more important than her virginity and reputation.
    Marie kept thinking about the men who had first slandered her, then destroyed her life so brutally. She no longer asked why, but, almost choking on her hatred, she yearned to see the three men punished, whipped, and then driven out of town amidst shouts and jeers. Impatiently she waited for the morning to come when she would be examined by an old woman from Constance and the truth would come to light. She tried to seek solace from the Holy