The Piper's Pursuit Read online

  “Which way is Hagenheim?” Katerina was holding a child’s hand on either side of her, looking as stalwart as he had ever seen her. But he had a sudden urge to moan. How were they going to get all these children all the way to Hagenheim? Without any carts or horses? With a madman chasing them?

  “It’s that way,” Steffan said.

  The children quietly turned in that direction and started walking down the hill.

  The sky was clear, and as he and Katerina brought up the rear, the sea of children brought a strange unsettledness to the surface. Hadn’t he always said he didn’t like children? Now he had fifty-two of them looking to him to save them. Because if Hennek caught up to them again, he would surely kill them all.

  “Fifty-two children,” he said quietly under his breath, for Katerina’s ears only. “We can’t hope to outrun Hennek, or to escape his notice, as he’ll surely scour the area for us in the morning.”

  “Maybe we should turn around and take them home. There’s no safer place than their own homes with their fathers. But I’m not sure we could sneak them past the guards at the gate.”

  “Could we boost them through the opening in the wall?”

  “Perhaps.”

  Steffan thought about how they could possibly get that many children quietly and safely through the wall. “No, that’s too dangerous. Hennek’s guards would surely see us before we could get even the first child home.”

  “Maybe we just need to get to a town or village nearby where people don’t know Hennek and aren’t afraid of him. Perhaps we can hide the children there while we travel to Hagenheim and alert your father.”

  “How do we hide fifty-two children?”

  “We will find a way.” She looked so brave, and yet he thought he saw and heard a hint of doubt.

  “Yes, we will find a way.” Steffan reached out and touched her shoulder. “We will. The children are brave, and I won’t let any harm come to any of them. Or you either.”

  She looked askance at him. One side of her mouth rose in a crooked smile. “Our protector?”

  He shrugged and nodded.

  “You don’t sound like the prodigal son I’ve heard so much about.”

  He winced. “What have you heard?”

  “Only a little carousing, drinking, and breaking women’s hearts, that kind of thing.”

  Steffan’s chest grew heavy again. “It is true. I drank too much and was not the son my mother and father raised me to be, but I did not carouse with women.”

  It was a pathetic protestation, perhaps, but he wanted her to know he had not broken any hearts, not by making false promises to any young woman or fathering illegitimate children, as dukes’ sons were so often known for doing.

  “No women?” She was still looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

  “No.”

  She turned her gaze forward and nodded.

  Katerina was so good. She was brave and strong and determined.

  “Why did you stay?”

  “What?”

  “Why didn’t you leave and get away from Hennek?”

  “I told you, I couldn’t leave my mother.”

  “You could have married Hans. Surely he would have protected your mother too.”

  “Hans? He’s been my friend since we were children. Besides, he’s been planning to marry a maiden named Hilda.”

  His heart expanded inside him at this news.

  They were nearing the road, but it was probably close to midnight, judging by the position of the moon, so they were not likely to encounter anyone. They allowed the children to walk down the hard-packed dirt ruts. As they walked, he imagined what Hennek would do when he discovered they had all escaped.

  “What is the closest village of more than a hundred families?”

  “The closest village of that size would be Keiterhafen, just east of here, maybe five miles.”

  “We should be able to make it there by morning, then.”

  “Children walk much slower than we do.”

  “We can carry the little ones and let them rest when we must. We can make it.”

  “Hopefully.”

  Albrecht and Verena were leading the children, who were all strangely quiet, while Steffan and Katerina brought up the rear.

  One of the little girls was lagging behind, the same little girl he had taken on his back up the ladder. When she was very near to him, he scooped her up and held her in his arms. Looking into her eyes, he was reminded a bit of his little sister Adela. How old must Adela be now? Nearly grown, he would imagine . . . oh yes, nineteen. It had only been a year since he’d seen her, but she still remained a child in his mind.

  “What’s your name, little one?”

  “Johanna,” she whispered. Her body was stiff, and she was holding herself away from him.

  “If you’re tired, I can carry you. Is that all right?”

  She only stared back at him.

  “Do you want me to put you down?”

  Johanna did a slow cringe, pulling her arms into her body and dipping her chin to her chest, her bottom lip protruding. Then she whispered, “Yes.”

  Steffan lowered her to the hard dirt road. He was being impulsive again. Of course she wouldn’t want a scary-looking man picking her up, especially after what she’d been through. He should have asked her first.

  “She just doesn’t know you very well yet.” Katerina gave him a gentle smile.

  One of the little girls who was holding Katerina’s hand grabbed Johanna’s, and they walked beside him.

  As slow as their pace was, he was not at all sure they would make it to Keiterhafen by morning.

  After they had turned off the north road onto the road that led east, a child just ahead of them stumbled and fell. He got up slowly. Another child, a little girl, started crying, a soft wailing. Another said, “Where is my mother? I want my mother.”

  This was not good.

  “Let’s take a rest,” Katerina said. “We’ll lie down in this nice soft grass off the road and take a nap, shall we?”

  She was so brave. Could she tell he was more afraid of taking care of these fifty-two children than of battling a hundred guards with swords?

  Seventeen

  Katerina nearly stepped in goat dung and called out, “Watch where you step.”

  Steffan herded the children, watching until every child was on the grass and either sitting or lying down. Then he started walking toward her. Why did her heart thump at the way he was looking at her? He sat down near her and propped himself on his hands.

  Her mind wandered to what he had said earlier, admitting the excessive drinking and that he hadn’t been the best son but saying there had not been any women. Did she believe him? Her first thought was that if he was going to admit all the other things, why not admit that too? He hadn’t lied to her before, that she knew of.

  Her eyes started closing on their own, her head nodding.

  She forced her eyes open and slapped her face lightly. She had to stay awake.

  A little boy was whispering in Steffan’s ear. Steffan got up and walked with him to the edge of the woods. He stood guard while the little boy went into the trees. A few moments later he came back out and smiled at Steffan.

  When Steffan sat down beside her again, he said, “Go to sleep and I will keep watch. After an hour or so of rest, we will continue on.”

  “I shouldn’t.”

  “Yes, you should. There is no sense in both of us staying awake.”

  Perhaps he was right. “I shall stay awake and let you sleep the next time we stop for a rest.”

  “Of course.” One side of his mouth went up. Did he wink? She wasn’t sure.

  She lay down on the grass. She probably wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway, but she would close her eyes.

  “Katerina?” Steffan’s voice drifted into her dream of lying in a meadow in the sun.

  Katerina opened her eyes to see him kneeling beside her in the dark, with only the pale moon to see by.

&nbs
p; She sprang up. “I’m awake.”

  “We need to get everyone up and keep moving.”

  “Of course.” Katerina felt a little sick. No doubt the children would feel even worse to be awakened from their short rest, but they had to do it. They had to be cruel, at least for tonight, in order to save them.

  She and Steffan called softly to the children to wake up, having to gently shake some of them. Albrecht and Verena helped as well. When they finally had all of them back on the road, they moved forward at the slow pace of the youngest children, who looked as if they were sleepwalking, their eyelids nearly closed.

  One little boy walked with his head practically resting on his own shoulder. When he gradually came to a stop, Steffan knelt in front of him, said something in a low voice, then picked him up and held him against his chest, the boy’s head on Steffan’s shoulder.

  The rest of the children plodded along, but how long could they last?

  Two hours later, Katerina carried one little girl in her arms. Steffan was now holding two, and Katerina was already seeing a bit of gray in the sky, brightening up the night. Was it already dawn? How would they escape Hennek now? They were still quite a way from Keiterhafen, and several of the children had been stumbling, unable to keep their eyes open or lift their feet high enough to avoid the dips in the road.

  How much farther could they go without rest and sleep?

  The sky grew lighter. Her arms burned under the weight of the little child sleeping on her chest. Her shoulders ached and her eyes hurt as if they’d been scratched by grains of sand. But they had to keep going.

  She hadn’t realized she’d slowed her own pace until Steffan’s broad shoulders were in front of her. If he could keep up his pace while carrying two children, she could surely do it with one.

  The other children marched on like little tired soldiers.

  The sun was over the horizon now, shining through the trees at their backs. She kept walking, though her feet and legs ached and her stomach felt sick. Still no sign of life, besides the occasional hare that flew swiftly in long leaps over the road in front of them. Soon Hennek’s men would discover the dead guards and missing children and come after them.

  Sounds drifted toward them from the opposite direction as a man came into view driving a donkey loaded with sacks.

  Her spirit rose. She could ask this man how far they were from Keiterhafen.

  Steffan slowed, peeking over his shoulder—and over the child’s head that rested on that shoulder. He waited for Katerina to catch up to him.

  “Don’t ask the man anything about Keiterhafen. We don’t want him to be able to tell Hennek that’s where we were going.”

  Yes, that was wise. “But don’t we need to know how much farther it is?”

  “It doesn’t matter how much farther it is, we have to keep walking. Or find another place to hide.”

  It was true enough.

  Steffan quickened his pace as the man was getting closer. He was nearly to the front of the group of children when the man said, “Where are all you children going? So many of you?”

  Steffan said in a loud, cheerful voice, “We are headed to Hagenheim. Can you tell us if we are on the right road?”

  “As a matter of fact, you are not. This is the road north to Keiterhafen. To go to Hagenheim, you need to go east.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Steffan said quickly. “Are you headed to market?”

  “My master, the Baron of Rotterfurt, sent me to market at Keiterhafen, and I am now returning with the goods he bade me buy.”

  “All the way from Keiterhafen? You must be tired.”

  “It is only about two miles.”

  Two more miles! Katerina’s heart sank.

  Steffan nodded and smiled and conversed with the man a few more moments. Then Steffan bid him fare well and began to walk again.

  The man looked slightly chagrined at not getting to talk longer. Katerina did not even acknowledge him, but kept walking with her bundle.

  When they were out of sight of the stranger, the little girl in Kat’s arms, apparently awakened by the voices, lifted her head and yawned.

  Just then another little one started crying as two others stopped and simply collapsed on the ground and lay down on the hard dirt.

  “Can you walk?” Kat pushed the hair out of the little girl’s face.

  She nodded and Kat put her down.

  “Let me carry you,” Kat said to the crying child.

  “The Piper is going to get us,” she said, sobbing.

  “No, Steffan and I won’t let the Piper get you.” Steffan must have seen the two children collapse on the ground, because he’d put down the ones he’d been carrying and was walking toward them.

  “I don’t think the children will make it two more miles. Not without another rest.” Kat felt the tears sting her eyes, but she blinked them away. She had to be strong.

  “They have to make it. They can and they will.” Steffan scooped up one child, then the other. Neither one even seemed to awaken as he settled them, one on each shoulder.

  Katerina bent and lifted the crying child into her arms.

  “I’m tired,” one of the children said.

  “I’m tired too.”

  “I’m thirsty.”

  “I’m thirsty too.”

  “Let’s sing a song.” Katerina made her voice as cheerful as she could. “What’s your favorite song?”

  No one responded, so she asked, “Does anyone know this one?” and began to sing a well-known troubadour ballad. Steffan joined in, his voice deeper than she might have guessed. Soon some of the children began to sing along. Katerina sang as many of the verses as she could remember, then fell silent.

  “I’m hungry.”

  The voice was so forlorn, tears stung Kat’s eyes.

  O God, don’t forget us. We are grateful to be free, but please have mercy now and help us.

  “We do need to find water,” Steffan said softly. “I think there might be some down this ravine.” He pointed off the road.

  Kat hadn’t even noticed the ravine. She stepped closer. It wasn’t terribly deep, but it was steep. Steffan started climbing down, sliding the last ten feet.

  “There’s a little stream down here,” Steffan called, “but keep walking with the children until the ravine gets less steep.”

  She kept the children moving. “Let’s sing another song. Do you know this one?” She started singing, “Under the linden, on the heath.” She sang of crushed flowers and grass and a nightingale’s song. If only her life were so peaceful, had ever been so peaceful.

  Would these children ever find their way back to their secure and pleasant life, at home with their loving families? Some of them were probably like her when she was a child, left with no father, caring for herself and her mother rather than the other way around. And many of them were orphans.

  She finished that song and started singing of King Wenceslaus, the saint, and of his good deeds for the poor and needy. After that song, she started one about the crusaders, “Palästinalied.” Steffan joined in from the ravine below, and the sounds they were making quite cheered her. She suddenly didn’t feel as tired anymore.

  Katerina stepped off the road to peer down and saw that the ravine was growing more gradually sloped. She readjusted the little girl in her arms, propping her on her other hip, and kept walking, a bit faster now.

  Steffan carried the tune well. Their voices seemed to blend as he sang the man’s part and she sang soprano, the lyrics all about seeing the Holy Land where their Lord once walked.

  Soon Kat spied the water below, in spite of the forested ravine.

  “This looks like a good spot,” Kat called down to Steffan. “Should I let the children come to you?”

  “Send them down.” Steffan climbed up most of the way and helped the younger children. The older ones were able to go down without help. Kat followed at the end.

  The children were kneeling and drinking out of their hands from the little fa
st-moving stream. Kat joined them. After she drank so much she felt a bit queasy in her stomach, she splashed her face, rubbing her cheeks with her fingers. The children were already lying down on the grassy bank, their eyes closed.

  Kat sat near the littlest ones. Gazing up toward the road, she suspected no one could see them, unless they got completely off the road and gazed down, and even then they might not notice them through the thick foliage of the trees.

  “Do you think we are safe enough here to stay for a while?” Katerina asked Steffan, who was sitting near her.

  Steffan seemed to be thinking, then he said, “I’ll go see if I can buy some bread. You rest.”

  “You need rest too.”

  “I’ll be all right. But when I come back and they’ve eaten a bit, we shall have to force them all to get up again. It may seem cruel, but we have to get them to the town and hide them.”

  “Yes. I understand.”

  Steffan met her eye a moment, then turned to go up the bank.

  “Steffan.”

  He stopped and faced her.

  What should she say? Be careful? Stay safe? “Thank you.”

  He smiled. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Steffan was not at all the spoiled and privileged duke’s son she’d thought he was. And he had never been unseemly with her, not even when they were alone together. Did that mean he didn’t find her attractive?

  “Ack.” Why was she thinking like this? With tears flooding her eyes? She was just tired, that was all. But should she stay awake and keep watch over the children? She should pray that Steffan didn’t get caught and that they would find kind people to help them in Keiterhafen. But she could lie down at least. She could pray lying down as well as sitting up.

  Kat glanced around, making sure all the children were resting and still, then pillowed her head on her arm and started praying.

  The next thing she heard was Steffan’s voice, so familiar and comforting.

  Kat opened her eyes and Steffan was standing over her. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, of course.” She sat up quickly, despising how groggy and slurred her words sounded.