packed with her new wardrobe, her rifle in a saddle holster, and Lebkuchen clearly impatient to be on the road, Giselle stood at her stirrup, waiting for Tante Gretchen to come out of her cottage. It was a beautiful day, and under any other circumstance, she’d have been overjoyed for the chance to ride out under cloudless skies, with balmy spring breezes lilting through the trees.
But given that she was figuratively crawling to the Bruderschaft to beg for their help and hope she was forgiven for her part in killing a man . . . well . . . part of her wanted to stay hidden with Tante Gretchen, pretending to be her niece.
That was impossible, of course. The cottage was cozy and pleasant while the two of them were getting along and while it was always possible to get away by tending the garden or hunting for mushrooms in the forest. But in winter . . . or if for some reason they had a quarrel . . . well, it wouldn’t be cozy, it would be claustrophobic. Even with all the space in the abbey and her tower, sometimes that had been claustrophobic in winter when she and Mother were at odds.
Tante Gretchen finally came out with another, smaller bag she could fasten over the top of one of her bigger saddlebags. “Food for the journey, so you won’t have to waste as much money buying things to eat,” the old woman said, handing it to her. “Don’t fret. Something will turn up, I feel it in my bones.”
“I hope so,” she replied, with less confidence. Earth Masters could be quite powerful, but they weren’t known for their predictive talents. Impulsively, she hugged the old woman. “I think you have literally saved my life, Tante Gretchen. I don’t know what I would have done without your help.”
The Earth Master returned her embrace. “You would have managed. I have every confidence in you, even if you don’t have nearly as much in yourself,” she said firmly. “Now, just keep your eyes and ears open for opportunity, and if something turns up before you reach the Lodge, seize it! The Good God will put something in your path, but you have to be alert for the signs he is giving you something!”
Again, Giselle was nothing like as sanguine as Tante Gretchen was, but, well, who knew? And anyway, that sounded like something Mother would have said. So she gave the old woman another hug, then mounted Lebkuchen and turned the mare’s head down the path leading to the cottage, as the Earth Master waved goodbye. In a few moments, the thick underbrush and the winding of the path had hidden her and her home from view.
When the path came out on the road, there was no one in sight, which partially quieted Giselle’s fears that soldiers had been set to ambush her. It was a very silly fear, of course—the four who had been sent directly to Tante Gretchen to look for Gunther had not even considered that she might be the young man in disguise—but that didn’t keep it from being a very real fear.
The first village she encountered made her tense up all over, but nobody paid any attention to her, except for the handful of women who looked startled and offended at the sight of a woman riding astride even though she was probably less prone to showing ankles, or even (gasp!) calves than someone riding sidesaddle.
By the third village she felt as relaxed as she was ever likely to get, and then she could think. Lebkuchen was being very well behaved; she wondered if Tante Gretchen had had a “word” with her. It was Earth Magicians who were good with animals, and Earth Masters the best of all. Giselle had always found Lebkuchen a handful, but maybe that had been because the mare had belonged to Mother, not her. Perhaps Tante Gretchen had “explained” the situation to her in a way she understood.
I have food for a few days, she considered, as Lebkuchen ambled along the quiet, narrow road. Water I can get from the rivers and streams. It’s probably not wise for a woman alone to take a room in an inn. So my biggest problem between here and there is where am I going to sleep? I can’t ride day and night; Lebkuchen needs the rest even if by some miracle I don’t.
The easiest thing to do would be to make rough camps in