The Golden Braid (40 page)

“Thank you, your grace. I also wanted to speak to you about sending for Rapunzel's mother, Gothel, whom we left at Castle Rimmel.”

Duke Wilhelm raised his brows at him. “Why did you not let me know before? I did not know you had been able to apprehend her.”

“I had a reason for not telling you sooner.”

“I shall send some guards for her today. But what is the reason you waited—what?—four days to tell me?”

“It is a bit complicated. You see, Gothel was not Rapunzel's mother. She had stolen her away from her rightful parents when Rapunzel was a small child. She confessed everything, but there is a reason, which I will reveal in a moment, why I did not want you to confront and judge her just yet.” He took a breath and plunged ahead. “Duke Wilhelm, what would you say if I said I wished to marry one of your daughters? Would you be angry?”

Again, Duke Wilhelm gave him a hard stare. “I don't know how to answer such a question. You wish to marry Rapunzel, not Kirstyn, correct?”

“Yes, your grace. I was just wondering what your reaction would be if a knight fell in love with one of your daughters.”

“Is one of my knights planning to ask for Kirstyn?” His brows lowered, his mouth open. His expression was the same as it had been when he had led his men into battle when they took back Hagenheim Castle from Claybrook. Not a look he would want directed at him.

“No, your grace, not that I know of. I was only asking because . . . there is something important you should know, something Rapunzel is telling Lady Rose and will want to tell you. And they should be here any moment.”

He thought he heard them in the corridor. Soon Lady Rose and Rapunzel entered the library, their arms around each other. Both women's eyes were wet, their faces blotchy and red.

“My dear,” Lady Rose said, reaching out to Duke Wilhelm. Her voice was halting as she said, “Rapunzel has just told me something. It seems she was told all her life that she was left with the woman who raised her when she was a small child. But that woman, who took her away from here two months ago . . .” Tears started flowing down Lady Rose's face. “That woman, Gothel, confessed everything to Rapunzel after she stole her away. She said she took our Elsebeth from the river and ran away with her. This . . . is our Elsebeth, come back to us.”

Lady Rose seemed to make an effort to not break down in sobs. She took Rapunzel's hand and held it out, palm up, to Duke Wilhelm.

It seemed wrong for Gerek to be a witness to such an intimate family moment, but Rapunzel had insisted that she'd wanted him to remain.

Duke Wilhelm took her hand and stared down at it. Then he looked at Rapunzel's face. “Can it be true?”

“I think it is,” Rapunzel said.

He enveloped them both in his arms.

After several minutes, they seemed to realize Gerek was still in the room.

“Come here, Sir Gerek.” Lady Rose motioned him forward with her hand as she dabbed at her eyes and nose with a cloth. “My dear,” she said, speaking now to Duke Wilhelm, “Sir Gerek and Rapunzel are in love. They want to marry. You must give them permission.”

“Why should I give you permission to marry my daughter?” Duke Wilhelm said, but at least he wasn't glaring. “I haven't seen her in seventeen years. I'm not ready for you to take her away.”

“Your grace, I know I have no right to marry your daughter, but I fell in love with her before I knew she was your daughter. I know—”

“I'm not asking you to defend yourself, Gerek. But you will have to wait for her.”

“Yes, your grace.” His eyes met Rapunzel's. Her whole face seemed to emanate joy.

And even though he didn't want to wait, at least he had not forbidden him the request. Duke Wilhelm's answer was the best Gerek could have hoped for.

Rapunzel moved into the castle, into Kirstyn's chamber that she had shared with Margaretha, since Kirstyn said she missed having Margaretha in the room with her every night.

Rapunzel's days were full, spending time with Sir Gerek when he was not busy with his duties and getting to know her new family. She found she did not miss being alone. For the first time she had brothers and sisters and even a father who was tender and kind, though quieter than the other members of her new family. Still, there was a quality of strength and goodness about him that filled her with joy, knowing she was his own daughter and he loved her.

Sir Gerek was attentive and kind, so much so that one day when they were in the solar with the rest of the family, she whispered to him, “You know you cannot keep this up.”

“Keep what up?”

“All this kindness and goodness and giving me my own way all the time.”

He frowned, reminding her of his old self. “I can. You told me yourself that I'd changed.”

She laughed. “I don't mind if you want to be grumpy sometimes. I rather like it. It reminds me of the old you.”

His jaw twitched and he leaned down to growl in her ear, “I shall put up with your teasing because of my great fortitude and magnanimous heart.”

She couldn't help laughing again.

“What are you two carrying on about?” her mother asked.

“Sir Gerek is just reminding me of his good qualities,” Rapunzel answered.

He gave her a warning squeeze on her arm. “And she is reminding me of her sense of humor.”

Duke Wilhelm—Father—entered the room just then, instantly taking down the noise level and calming the younger children. He greeted them all, letting Adela give him a kiss, and then sat down in front of Sir Gerek and Rapunzel.

“Gothel should be here within the hour. Elsebeth, would you like to confront her? It is your choice.”

“I-I think I would, one last time, if I may.”

Her father nodded, then sighed. “You know she is my sister, my father's daughter—did she tell you?”

“Yes.”

“I did not respond to her as I ought to, when she first contacted me.” He stared at the wall behind them, then down at his folded hands. “I did not want to believe my father could have done what my mother later confirmed was true. And then, when I tried to find Gothel, to make amends, she had left Hagenheim. I had my men search for her but we never found her. I now realize she had taken you”—he nodded at Rapunzel—“and had fled the region. Perhaps if I had acknowledged and accepted her—”

“No, Father, you must not think like that.” Rapunzel reached out and squeezed his hand. He clasped it in his. “She was a woman with warped thoughts, full of madness and spite and vengefulness. You are not to blame. No one could have imagined what she would do.”

They sat, none of them speaking, while the rest of the family was oblivious to them and carried on their own conversations. Finally, Rapunzel spoke up.

“I do want to speak to Gothel one last time. There is something I have decided I want to say to her.”

As they made their way down the stairs to wait for the guards to bring Gothel, Rapunzel clutched Sir Gerek's hand, hoping to imbibe some strength from his firm grip.

Soon they heard a commotion in the castle yard. As they stood in the corridor, the door opened from the outside and two guards came dragging Gothel in, one on each side, while she kicked and spit at them, struggling against their hold.

“I will get free someday, and I shall kill you all in your beds!” Gothel's voice was so strained and her face so distorted, she was barely recognizable as the woman who used to braid Rapunzel's hair every night.

She suddenly saw Rapunzel standing a few feet away. “You.” Her voice was laden with accusation.

Rapunzel felt a tremor go through her. Was she able to do this?

Yes. She was strong. She was no longer a little girl, helpless and afraid. She was loved, protected, and safe.

She looked Gothel in the eye. “For all the things you did to me, I realize you were only afraid of being alone. You told me you loved me, but it was fear. Fear made you do cruel things. And for those cruelties, I forgive you.”

Gothel's mouth went slack and she stared back as if stunned.

The guards dragged her away, her body suddenly limp, and they half carried her toward the dungeon steps.

Once she was out of sight, Sir Gerek put his arm around her shoulders.

“What will happen to her?” she asked her father.

“She will probably stay in the dungeon.” Duke Wilhelm sighed. “I don't think I can take the risk of ever letting her go free.”

Rapunzel nodded. Some part of her still felt pity for the woman, but this was justice.

Every day Gerek managed to see Rapunzel, at least at mealtimes. She was no longer working in the kitchen, of course, and Gerek had other duties—more than the usual since the other knights were forcing him to make up for the time he was away. They loved teasing him about how he had been more diligent in searching for her than any of the others, and how he had snagged himself a duke's daughter in the process. He didn't even mind their teasing, much.

A few times Lady Rose had given him permission to take Rapunzel on a picnic, but never alone. She'd say, “Not until Duke Wilhelm sets a date for the wedding.”

But they had still found ways to snatch a few minutes alone, usually by the shady beech tree behind the kitchen. Those stolen kisses and conversations were sweeter than any he had ever imagined, perhaps because he had waited for them and had never broken his vows.

Today Duke Wilhelm was taking him and a few other knights on a journey to see Keiterhafen Castle. After hearing what the Earl of Keiterhafen had done, along with his heir, Lord Claybrook, the king had ordered that Keiterhafen no longer be under the earl's control and his heirs would not inherit. The earl and his knights had been
summoned to answer to the king for their crimes against Hagenheim, and the king had given charge of the castle and the region around it over to Duke Wilhelm.

Traveling west, it took them only one day to reach Keiterhafen Castle. It was in a bit of disarray, but there were still some guards there who had agreed to protect it from vandals and thieves until a new lord should arrive to take charge of it.

The gray stone castle brought back some vague memories of being sent here when he was a small boy. But he remembered little of it. This was where he had learned the news that his father had killed his mother, then killed himself. It had been the worst moment of his life, and he had returned to Castle Rimmel in great misery. His older brother had yelled at him—stricken with his own grief and misery, no doubt, so that he had been grateful to be sent to Hagenheim as a page.

He did his best to put those thoughts and memories from his mind.

All the guards showed deference to Duke Wilhelm when he arrived, recognizing him as the one in authority over them and over the castle. On the first evening, as they all sat down together in the Great Hall for a meal, Duke Wilhelm stood to give his speech.

“I want to thank the knights and soldiers who chose to stay with Keiterhafen Castle and defend it. And since the earl and his nephew Claybrook behaved with treachery, the king has placed me in charge. He has given me permission to grant this great castle and the lands belonging to Keiterhafen to the man I wish to give it, a man well able to defend it and its people against attack.”

He paused for a long moment, looking out over the crowd. “I hereby bestow it upon one of my noble knights, a man of great integrity, strength, and ability, a man who has not only been a faithful knight in my service, but whose tenacity and perseverance have restored to me my stolen daughter, Elsebeth.”

Gerek's mind went numb. Duke Wilhelm and the other knights were turning to smile at him.

“And not only did he save her life, but he won her heart. I wish to bestow this castle and its lands to Sir Gerek van Hollan, who is promised to marry my daughter, Elsebeth Gerstenberg. This castle shall belong to them and their heirs, from this day and forevermore, or as long as God gives them favor.” He motioned for Gerek to come and join him at the head of the table.