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wherever man lays a pillow. I’m not trying to say that living in a castle is no better than in a hut. Clearly that’s bunk. Sometimes castles protect bad people from evil ones. But you still wouldn’t want anything to do with either of them.”
    Beate gulped water from a goblet, finishing. “My lord, respectfully, I’m not calling your brother evil or bad.”
    â€œHe’s bad,” Karl interjected.
    â€œVery well.” She spoke cautiously. “That was the feeling I got when he viewed Gisela as an unpleasant mess rather than a murdered woman. What I’m saying is your father is a fair man to the peasants. What happens in the event that your brother succeeds him?”
    â€œMy father is aware of my brother’s unkindness and what that might mean for the villagers and surrounding lords. The baron doesn’t seek to expand his reach. He’s content with what he has, and that has been instilled in us. And just in case the baron’s not here, he’s made it explicitly clear that Mumfred calls the shots—not Wilhelm.”
    Heinrich devoured his duck to bones, tired of the current conversation. “Your wedding, my lord. I promise you Beate will tailor you a fine outfit.”
    â€œI don’t doubt that, but if I may be so bold as to pull rank, my impending nuptials are not something I care to discuss. Let us just say I vehemently disagree with arranged marriages.”
    Beate finished her plate and pushed it toward the middle of the table. “Your brother is married, correct, my lord? How does he view it?”
    Karl rolled his eyes. “My brother and his wife are a perfect fit. They care not a wit about each other and neither gets upset about it. Each goes behind the other’s back at will. They dress nicely and show up at galas to keep up appearances, but beyond that, it’s a sham—what I fully expect my marriage to be. You two are lucky.”
    Beate reached under the table and squeezed Heinrich’s hand.
    â€œNow then, I see you are finished,” Karl said. “And I do not presume to rush your beau. So, please, Heinrich, stay here and eat while Beate fits me. I promise not to keep her long, and we will arrange to have you both sheltered here this evening.” He turned to Beate. “Your friend, Gisela, she made good headway on my brother’s outfit, so how about you get the unpleasant part out of the way and do what needs to be done to him, and then me? Is that acceptable?”
    â€œIt is. Thank you, my lord.”
    â€œAnd if he displays his obnoxious side to the point of you wanting to strike him—and that likely will happen—I’d advise you to not strike him, but simply leave the room. My chamber is across the hall from his, and you may retreat there if you feel threatened. And I mean that.”
    â€œThank you, my lord.” This time it was Heinrich.
    â€œFollow me, Beate.” He smiled and began walking to exit the hall when Otto barreled in, panting.
    â€œMy lord, a devil prevented a witch from killing me.”

Chapter Ten
    Inside the great hall, everyone—from the servers and scullions scuttling in and out of the kitchen to the chaplain seated at a table parallel to Beate’s—stared at the huffing knight, who realized all eyes were on him.
    â€œOtto, please, sit down.” Karl walked Otto to an empty table to seat him and then waved a servant to bring food and drink. The young lord grabbed a cloth napkin and pressed it against Otto’s bloody cheek. Otto took the cloth and kept the pressure steady. By this time, Lord Wilhelm had arrived from his chamber to see what was delaying his fitting. Noticing the commotion around Otto, Wilhelm joined his brother. “What happened to you?”
    Otto recounted everything. “I am not hallucinating. I have not partaken of too much drink. What the woman did to me was real and witnessed by guards in the barbican.”
    â€œDid