The Beautiful Pretender (A Medieval Fairy Tale #2)(22)
The ladies stared at each other with open mouths. One or two scowled and grumbled under their breath, but they all complied.
How would Lady Dorothea have reacted? No doubt she would have been as indignant as Fronicka and her friends appeared. Dorothea might have even protested, saying something like, “We are noble-born ladies. We are not accustomed to soiling our feet on the common streets of town.”
But no one complained loudly enough to be heard, and they all dismounted, including Lord Thornbeck, who was only a few feet away, observing them.
She supposed she could not blame him for watching them, for wanting to know the character of the woman he would marry, wanting to make the wisest choice. Still, it made her feel a bit like cattle, lined up and waiting for the farmer to choose who to kill for the king’s Christmas feast. But these ladies, especially the three or four who always had such passive expressions on their faces, were used to thinking of themselves as pawns to be married off to a powerful or wealthy man in order to benefit their fathers. They were well aware they had no say in the matter of who they wed. Therefore, they could have no say in how someone as powerful as the Margrave of Thornbeck chose his bride from among them.
Avelina had always imagined that someday she would be fortunate enough to marry someone who fell in love with her first. She had written about such a happening in many of her stories, imagining all the ways it might happen for her.
She was a poor servant girl. And even though it was unlikely she’d ever be wed to someone wealthy or powerful, no one was telling her who she must marry.
At least there was one blessing to being poor.
After handing off their horses to the stable workers, they set out on foot.
“It seems a pleasant town,” Magdalen said as they walked side by side.
“Yes, it does.” Avelina caught sight of Lord Thornbeck. She subtly tried to move Magdalen closer to him, hoping he would notice how pretty Magdalen looked today, with her pale, reddish-blonde hair only partially covered by her thin veil, wearing a silk dress that was a very attractive shade of light green.
Fronicka was at that moment calling out to the margrave, asking him to walk with her and tell her what to think of his quaint little town. “None of these buildings compare to Thornbeck Castle, of course, but you shall tell me the more favorable parts.”
The margrave replied in a voice too quiet for Avelina to hear. He must have begged off, for he walked toward Chancellor Jorgen and talked privately with him. Fronicka did not look pleased.
As they continued on, Odette said, “Bakers Street is just ahead, and you can probably already smell the fresh bread.”
Avelina took in a deep breath through her nose. The smell reminded her of the kitchen at Plimmwald Castle, and she felt a tiny pang of homesickness. What mischief were Jacob and Brigitta up to today? She hoped they stayed out of trouble and did not annoy Father too much.
Father should not be too cross with them. Surely they knew to go to their neighbors if they got hurt or needed anything. Father was not the most tender man. Since Mother died, there had been much less order in all of their lives, and there would have been even less if Avelina did not provide it.
But surely they could survive three weeks without her.
“. . . And this is the new Thornbeck Orphanage, which is in the old Menkels home. Our margrave has graciously established, with the help of the citizens of Thornbeck, a home for orphans who have no family to take them in.”
Most of the other ladies were talking among themselves, but Avelina was staring up at the beautiful brick-and-timber house. She could not even imagine Lord Plimmwald wanting to establish an orphanage. Lord Thornbeck must be at least somewhat kind to care enough about poor orphans to start an orphanage.
She looked over her shoulder at him. He was staring straight ahead but then took a couple of glances at the home.
Through the open upper-floor window, Avelina could hear children’s lively chatter. A laugh, then an exclamation, then more chatter.
She suddenly missed Jacob and Brigitta even more. Would they be proud of her for going to Thornbeck, for helping Plimmwald, for securing Lord Thornbeck’s protection over their town and everyone she knew and loved? She imagined her father telling her, “Good work, Ava. And quick thinking, asking for the pork and goose for our table and dowry money for you.”
Of course, that was assuming Lord Plimmwald made good on his promise. He might very well renege and pretend not to remember what he promised her. And it was not like her father to give her praise. Even so, she would have the satisfaction of knowing she had done something no other servant girl in Plimmwald had ever done.
A woman’s face appeared at a third-floor window of the orphanage, smiled as though she had been expecting them, then disappeared.
They moved on down the cobblestone street, attracting the attention of everyone who saw them. Some people even followed them, staring curiously. It probably was not every day that the margrave came to town and walked the streets, along with ten—or nine, as it was—noble ladies who hoped to marry said margrave.
“And this is called Merchant Street,” Odette went on, “because many of the people who live here are merchants and their families.”
The homes were the most beautiful she had seen yet, besides the orphanage. They were truly impressive in their beauty, size, and artistry, and Avelina could not stop staring. There were not nearly so many wealthy merchants in Plimmwald.
Finally, they came to Thornbeck Cathedral, a massively tall structure with intricately carved spires ascending into the sky, and statues built into the eaves and walls. The front was dominated by an enormous stained-glass window that followed the shape of the door beneath and the roof above. Samson grappled with lions in the colorful depiction. Samson was a symbol of the region of Thornbeck and appeared on the town crest and on tapestries and paintings she had noticed in the castle.