The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest (A Medieval Fairy Tale #1)(14)

“Do you know about him?”

“Why, yes. If the stories I’ve heard about the new forester are true, the old gamekeeper found him as a young boy in the Marktplatz, without parents or family, and took him home. He and his wife raised him. The old gamekeeper and his wife sent him to the town school, and Jorgen must have impressed the margrave because he appointed him the new forester. But after tomorrow night, I will not be asking him to any more parties, just to be safe.”

That seemed the reasonable way to approach the situation.

“What did you think of Mathis Papendorp? He is also a handsome man, is he not?”

“I suppose, though perhaps his status as the Burgomeister’s son makes him a little more handsome?” She raised her eyebrows in challenge.

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

Odette laughed. “His manner is polished but . . .”

“You do not approve of him either? He is at least young! You cannot say I am foisting another old man on you with this one.”

“I do not disapprove of him, but it is difficult to discern his true character after knowing him for so short a time.”

“You have certainly known him longer than you’ve known Jorgen. But take your time learning his character. All I ask is that you do not reject him outright. After all, think of the influence he could have over the town ordinances and in your cause to help the poor of Thornbeck. Surely you can see the advantages of such an alliance. You could refrain from poaching and still feed the poor.” He lifted his brows with a significant nod.

“I suppose.” She hated to admit it, even to herself, but Rutger was probably right.

“You will not be going hunting tonight?”

“After missing two nights because of Midsummer, I don’t want to miss another night.”

“Sometimes I think you push yourself too hard.”

“I am well and hearty. Do not worry.”

The servant returned to hang another tapestry. Odette needed to prepare for the hunt, so she gave Rutger a quick kiss on the cheek and went upstairs.

Though her uncle was only fifteen years older, he was a good guardian. She couldn’t imagine a better one. What need did she have of a husband? She was her own master, doing what she wished. Things like poaching that no husband would allow. As long as she avoided getting caught, she could see herself hunting and giving away the meat for a long time to come.





6





JORGEN MADE HIS way toward Rutger’s house. The sun was still shedding its light across the sky, but the people on the street were heading home after their labors.

He was still surprised he had been invited to Odette’s birthday feast. But unless Odette was a girl who cared naught for wealth, power, and status, she would never choose Jorgen over Mathis Papendorp. He would be foolish to get his hopes up about her.

A young man and woman were walking in Jorgen’s direction. The man was smiling down at her, her face was upturned toward his, and she laughed. He smiled even wider and put his arm around her. She leaned her body into his, and he kissed her on the mouth before they continued down the street.

He had avoided thoughts of marriage as long as he was still a gamekeeper, but seeing that couple, he felt a slight ache in his chest. When he married, would he and his wife be in love like those two?

Now that Jorgen was the forester, he could afford to take a wife—a wife who was willing to live a less wealthy life than the one to which Odette was accustomed.

Rutger Menkels’s house was a large four-story, half-timber structure not far from the Marktplatz. The lowest floor was made of stone and plastered white, and the upper floors jutted a little farther over the street with each higher level. Plaster was criss-crossed with wooden beams that gave it a decorative look, along with striped shutters on the bottom floor.

When he reached the house, the windows were open to the warm night air, and he could hear the voices inside. The door was also open, the servants nowhere in sight, so Jorgen walked in.

Odette stood in the large ground-floor room wearing a beautiful blue dress, her hair hanging across her shoulders and down her back, with a few tiny braids that were interwoven with matching blue ribbons. She was talking to Mathis—or, rather, listening to him.

“The old margrave was a great friend of my father, and his oldest son ran the region like his father had before him, but the new margrave . . .” Mathis shook his head. “A lot of people don’t trust him.”

Odette’s gaze shifted to Jorgen standing just inside the doorway and her smile widened. “Jorgen! Come in.”

She motioned for him to join their conversation, making room for him between her and Mathis.

“Jorgen would know something of the new margrave.” Mathis turned toward Jorgen. “What do you think of him?”

Jorgen considered how to answer Mathis’s question about the margrave, the man whose duty it was to protect all the people of the region, especially from invaders from outside the Holy Roman Empire, since they were so near the northeast border. “He is a good and competent leader, as much as his father and brother were before him.”

Mathis raised his eyebrows. “My father says he’s never done anything except train as a knight, and he had just started training the fighting men who protect the castle. He couldn’t know anything about being a margrave.”