"But... but how can that be? You call yourself Willi. You wear men"s clothes."
"Only so I can travel unmolested. My parents would send me off to a convent if they knew."
"Your hair-"
Willi, or whatever her name was, smiled ruefully. "I was almost disowned for that." She ran her hands through the curls. "It was much shorter than this, but I promised mein Vater I would let it grow out again."
For a few moments Charlotte could say nothing. So many thoughts raced through her mind. She"d never encountered a girl like this. "So, what is your real name?"
"Wilhelmina."
"I like that much better than Willi, but I will call you Mina."
Mina took Charlotte into her arms again. This time Charlotte did not resist. She was inexplicably drawn to this unusual girl. "I would like to see you again."
"I would like that too." And in that instant, she knew it was true. She did want to see this strange girl/boy again. She rested her cheek against Mina"s chest. The leather tunic was soft and warm. Despite the fact that Mina was female, it felt so right to be in her arms. Charlotte pulled away reluctantly. "But now I must get back. I"m sure my maid is wondering where I am, and she"ll give me quite the scolding as it is."
Wilhelmina kissed her hand. "I"ll come back here every day until I see you again."
Chapter 2.
"Where have you been all day?" Elke scolded when Charlotte returned. "And look at you, dressed like a common peasant. I should never have given you those clothes."
Safely in her s.p.a.cious bedchamber, Charlotte stripped off the skirt and blouse so she was wearing only her linen chemise. "Better that I wear these in the forest than my finery. What would Papa say if he had to keep replacing those expensive dresses?"
Elke poured hot water into a tub. "I don"t understand why you like to go there. Those woods are all full of spiders and snakes and such." She shuddered. "And bears."
Not even Elke knew of Charlotte"s menagerie in the woods. "I find it peaceful." She stepped into the tub and sighed with contentment as she slid into rose-scented water. As much as she enjoyed her forays into the wild, she did like coming home and getting clean again.
Elke shook her head. "It"s no place for a girl like you. You should be studying, learning how to be lady of the manor. You"re getting to the age when you can marry."
Charlotte wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I will never marry." An unexpected image of Wilhelmina flashed through her mind. She felt momentarily confused. It wasn"t as if she"d never thought of marriage before. After all, what other course was there for a girl like her? But suddenly now the thought of marriage to some boorish man held no appeal.
Elke laughed. "You say that now, but one day soon a young man will come along who will sweep you off your feet. And I"m sure your papa will make sure he is very handsome and very rich."
"I don"t think Papa will do anything of the sort. He is too busy with his business to care about me." Again, Charlotte visualized Mina. She was very handsome.
Elke combed Charlotte"s hair, gently working out the snarls. "You poor dear, I know it hurts that your papa is away so much. You know that he loves you though." She stroked Charlotte"s cheek. "It"s just that you look so much like your mother. She was a lovely lady, so kind and sweet."
Charlotte yanked away, scowling fiercely as her hair pulled painfully from the comb. "It is not my fault that I look like her. He shouldn"t punish me for it."
"There, there, dear," Elke soothed, "he does not punish you. I have never seen a man suffer as much as he did when your mother died. And the fact he has never remarried... Well, there aren"t many men who would stay alone that way."
"Perhaps it would be best if he did. Remarry, I mean."
Elke continued combing Charlotte"s hair. "At times I think so too, but would you like a new mother?"
"She would never be my mother."
"Of course not."
The maid finished with Charlotte"s hair and helped her wash. The girl then stood and wrapped herself in a big, fluffy towel. "I suppose I should dress for dinner. It seems so ridiculous since it"s just me. Why won"t you let me eat with you in the kitchen?"
"When you were a child, that was acceptable. But you are a young lady now of fourteen. You need to act like one."
Charlotte threw her arms around Elke. "I love you so much. You"re my best friend in the whole world, and I"d rather be with you. Please don"t make me sit all alone in that big dining room."
The maid smiled. "All right. Just this once. Your papa will be home tomorrow, and you can be a lady then."
After dinner, Charlotte went early to her room. She needed to be alone with her thoughts-thoughts of a girl named Wilhelmina. Would she really come to Charlotte"s secret place as promised? She found herself almost in tears, thinking that it might all have been a lie. She"d never felt this way about anyone, ever. As she drifted off into an uneasy sleep, she feverishly prayed that she would indeed see Mina again.
There was a great commotion in the courtyard the next morning. Charlotte had snuck out early as usual to care for her animals, but this day had returned soon afterward because she knew her papa was coming home. She had lingered for a little while, hoping Mina would show up, but then hurried back. She"d actually gone back to bed, and it was the clattering of horse"s hooves against cobblestones that woke her. She rushed to the window and looked down. There was not one, but three coaches in the yard. Charlotte couldn"t help but admire the magnificent horses-perfectly matched pairs on all three. She wondered where her father had found the money to pay for such an extravagance.
Just as she was about to leave her window view and rush downstairs in her nightgown, a footman opened one of the coach doors and helped a finely dressed woman step out. Awed by the sight, Charlotte could only stare in open-mouthed astonishment as not one, but three ladies alighted from two of the coaches. She could not see their faces, but the colorful bird plumage on their hats was exceptional indeed. The sun glinted off silver and gold threads in their travelling coats, and the brilliant flash of diamonds on one gloved wrist almost blinded her.
The door banged open behind her. "Lady Charlotte," Elke said, her face all flushed, "you"ve got to get dressed quick! Your papa has brought home a new wife and daughters."
"A wife and daughters? But that can"t be true. He said nothing to me."
Elke was already taking off Charlotte"s nightdress. "We were all caught off guard, but that is neither here nor there. We have to make you look beautiful for they are fine indeed."
"I don"t want to see them. I want my Papa!"
"Hush, child. You want to make a good impression on your new Mutter."
It was with some trepidation that Charlotte descended the stairs a half hour later. Elke had done her best to make her presentable. Just as she reached the bottom stair, she saw her father follow someone into the receiving room. Trying to collect her thoughts, Charlotte paused to look at the portrait of her mother. There had been a time when her papa used to tell her she was her mother in miniature. She could only hope she was half as beautiful.
With a nervous flutter in her stomach, she entered the room. Still wearing travelling clothes, four people turned as one to look at her. She held her head high and smiled, but the three women who stood before her were frightening indeed. Tall and bony, they all had hair as black as coal and dark, beady eyes like crows. The younger of them had a pockmarked face, probably from some childhood disease, and they all had blood-red lips compressed into a thin line. Their ruddy complexions made them look as if they spent too much time outdoors. It was obvious indeed that they were related.
"My darling," her father said as he came over to give her a big hug. "I have brought you a ready-made family." He guided her to them. "This is your new mother, Gudrun, and her two daughters, Lisette and Truda."
Charlotte curtsied. "Pleased to meet you, madam."
With a disdainful raise of an eyebrow, the older of the three looked her over like she was examining a piece of meat for the family dinner. "Charlotte." Her voice was scratchy, as if she had something stuck in her throat. "Your father, my new husband, has told me much about you."
Charlotte"s stomach flip-flopped. How could her father have done this? And with no warning! She struggled to control her dismay. She faced each sister in turn and bowed her head.
"She"s not very pretty, is she?" the one called Lisette said.
Truda with the pockmarked face laughed. "So rough looking."
The baron laughed, too. "That"s my Charlotte for you." He took Gudrun"s hand and kissed it. "I trust, dear wife, that you will take my child under your tutelage as if she were your own. You can see that she has sorely missed a woman"s guidance."
Mortified, Charlotte could feel herself blushing furiously. How could they talk about her this way, as if she wasn"t even in the room? "Papa," she hissed under her breath.
He turned from them with a swirl of his great cloak. "I will leave you four to get acquainted while I attend to other matters. It is wonderful to be home."
Charlotte watched him leave, feeling as if she was going to be sick. Taking a deep breath, she indicated the ornate brocade and silk couch. "Please, sit down. I will ask the servants to bring tea."
Without a word, Gudrun pulled off her gloves and hat, placing them carefully on a settee. Her two daughters did the same. Then they took off their cloaks and all sat down, mirror images of each other as they carefully smoothed their stick-straight black hair before spreading their skirts around them. Only then did Gudrun look at Charlotte. "Well child, what are you waiting for? Where is that tea? We have had a long journey, and the roads were very dusty." Charlotte turned to go. "And would you mind terribly taking our travelling coats and hats to our rooms?"
"I... but of course, madam." She piled the items in her arms, taking care with the hats and their extravagant feathers. One of them tickled her nose, and it was all she could do to keep from sneezing. Elke met her outside the door.
"Lady Charlotte, what are you doing? Give me those."
Charlotte allowed the maid to take them from her. "My father"s new wife asked me to take them to their rooms." She frowned. "Do they even have rooms? You"ll have to get some aired out."
"The housekeeper has already ordered it done." Elke leaned close. "She"s not very happy."
"I didn"t think she would be. Thank you for taking those. I have to get to the kitchen. Her Majesty wants tea."
"Oooo, you"d better not let her hear you talking like that."
Charlotte hurried to the kitchen and ordered tea, as well as brotchen with b.u.t.ter and strawberry jam. Then she returned to the receiving room to discover that the three women were in exactly the same positions as when she had left. They looked up expectantly at her entrance.
"The tea will be here shortly," she said, observing Gudrun"s frown. Sitting in an overstuffed chair, she continued, "This is all much a surprise to me."
"Well, the marriage was very unexpected. Your father asked me not two weeks after we"d met."
Charlotte couldn"t help herself. "And where was that?"
Gudrun frowned again. "It will not do for you to talk to me in that manner. Your father told me you were an unruly child. You"re worse than I imagined."
"I quite agree, Mama. She is so coa.r.s.e. To think I have to call her Sister."
"Now, now, Lisette. You don"t have to do any such thing. She is, after all, just a stepsister. Why, I expect you won"t even have to share the same floor with her."
Furious that once again they spoke as if she wasn"t there, Charlotte retorted, "All the sleeping chambers are on the same floor. Unless that is, of course, you"d rather bed below stairs."
"Mother!"
"Insolent girl! You apologize to Lisette immediately."
"I have nothing to apologize for."
"Your father will hear about this, and then we"ll see. You may have had your own way all these years, but that will change. I am mistress here now, and you will do as I say."
Charlotte stood up. She could feel the blood rushing to her head and the sting of hot tears in her eyes. This nightmare could not be happening. She blinked once, then again, hoping this was a bad dream and they would all disappear. It was not to be.
Clutching her skirt so tightly that her nails stabbed her through the material, she turned away and ran from the room, almost knocking Elke over in her haste. She bounded up the stairs and flung herself into her bedroom, where she ripped off her expensive silk gown with its accompanying pannier and corset, replacing them with the drab peasant garb. Overcome with an anger at her father that she"d never felt before, she hurried down the stairs and snuck out through the kitchen, taking time only to grab a bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, some fresh-churned b.u.t.ter, and an apple to stuff into her rucksack.
Running most of the way, it wasn"t long before she arrived at her hideaway. Its calm beauty and the animals she kept there couldn"t cheer her up. She flung herself onto the boulder and wept, deep gulping sobs that tore through her whole body. She gave a small scream when someone touched her shoulder.
"Charlotte, what is wrong?"
It was Wilhelmina, looking exactly as she had yesterday.
"This is the most miserable day of my life since the day my mother died."
Mina sat next to her. She pulled a handkerchief from a pocket. "What happened?"
"My father came home with a new wife and two horrible daughters."
"Did you not know?"
Charlotte shook her head. "He said nothing before his trip. And not even one letter while he was away. I can"t go back there. I just can"t."
Wilhelmina stroked Charlotte"s hair. "But you can"t stay here. It"s fine for woodland creatures, but not for one such as you."
Charlotte angrily pushed Mina"s hands away. "I am no weak girl. I can take care of myself."
"I did not mean to imply otherwise." She gestured toward the small rucksack. "It does not seem to me that you have come prepared to spend many a night in these woods."
Charlotte felt her anger drain away. "You"re right. I left without thinking. I just had to get away from their smug faces and cruel smiles." She was silent for a moment. "I"ll sneak back to the manor and take extra food and then I"ll run away."
"And what about your animals? Who will take care of them?"
Charlotte threw herself into Wilhelmina"s arms. "Oh, Mina, what am I going to do?" She pulled back. "You can come to my father as Willi and ask to marry me."
Mina laughed. "But as you said yesterday, you don"t even know me."
Charlotte sighed. "You have a good and kind heart, and that"s all I need to know. I don"t care if you"re a farmer"s daughter. You can come to my father as Willi and tell him we"re getting married. Then we"ll go away together. You can be Willi or Wilhelmina, whatever you"d like."
"You"re a sweet girl," Mina said as she brushed the tears from Charlotte"s eyes. "I wish it could be so easy."
Once again, her touch sent shivers of delight through Charlotte. Were these the feelings Elke meant when she said Charlotte would one day meet a boy who would change her life? But Wilhelmina wasn"t a boy. As confused as she was, Charlotte"s only thoughts right now were of her plight. She was, after all, only a girl of fourteen who"d been left to her own devices for these past seven years. And now, suddenly, she had a new stepmother and two new stepsisters who obviously disliked her. Her father was as oblivious to Charlotte and her needs as he had been ever since her mother was killed that awful day.
She pushed all thoughts of stepmothers and stepsisters away and let herself relax in Mina"s arms. It felt so safe. "Where do you come from?" she asked. "I know you"re not really a huntsman or even a farmer."
"I guess I"m like you. I want to get away from my everyday life. I will only tell you that my father is a very important man, and because of that I live under so many expectations. Sometimes I just want to be an ordinary person."
"It"s not very ordinary for a girl to dress and act like a boy."
Wilhelmina laughed. "If you think about it, sweet Charlotte, you may be wearing a dress, but you are no ordinary girl either. That"s something that could make me go mad, trying to live up to the expectations of our parents."
"I never really thought about it. I was always allowed to do whatever I wanted. I can ride and hunt as well as I can embroider and dance."
"You"re lucky then. And your father must love you to have taught you."
"No, his gamekeeper. I don"t even think my father knows."
"I"m sure he does."