The River Maid (16 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Three days after the ball, Gaspard stood waiting on the riverbank for the fishermen from the town to gather to report back to him. They had been helping search the river for Lorelei. He could already tell they had found no trace of her by their faces. Each of them shook their head as they came up and joined the group.

“I take it you found no sign of her,” Gaspard said when it looked like they had all assembled. Their silence was his response. A few shook their heads. None of the fishermen looked upset by the news, but then they hadn’t known Lorelei. She meant nothing to them.

“We won’
t find her,” one man said, speaking up. He was a huge red-haired man, who the other men all seemed to defer to. Gaspard remembered the man from when they had been looking for Adrianna. He had kept searching long after others had given up hope. “She came from the river and now she’s gone back to it.” The man spoke bluntly. The other men nodded their agreement.

“Well, I’
m grateful for your help,” Gaspard said, feeling uneasy at the man’s words. He was paying the men from the town to help with the search, but the red-haired man and his sons had refused the coins he had offered them. 

“Do you want us to keep looking?” another man asked.

Gaspard hesitated. They were all waiting for him to decide. He knew there was little hope now and the men had already spent too much time away from their fishing boats. Summer was nearly over and winter would soon be upon them.

“No,” Gaspard said finally. “Tell the rest of the men to call off the search.”

They weren’t going to find her. She could have hit the rocks as she fell, but the men hadn’t found her broken body or seen any traces of blood. But, something told Gaspard that Lorelei had made it and that she was still alive. There were the bruises on Christian’s arm and whenever he was down at the river, he felt prickles on the back of his neck as if he was being watched. The men had been uneasy as well and unwilling to venture too close to the river’s edge. He looked up at the castle. He just hoped that Christian would recover.

~~~~~

“Christian, you’re not well. You need to rest.”

Christian ignored his mother and dragged himself out of bed, gritting his teeth against the pain. He clung to the bedpost as his legs threatened to give way.
“I’ve been lying here for two days. I have to help find her.”

“Gaspard
has men out looking for Lorelei. You won’t be of any use to them like this. You need to rest.”

He knew she was right. He was exhausted just getting out of bed. At the moment, he doubted he would have the strength to even get on his horse. Defeated, he sank back down on the bed.

“Do you think Lorelei is dead?” he asked.

“
I don’t know.”

“
I shouldn’t have told her I didn’t love her. I didn’t think she would jump.”

His mother sat down on the bed next to him. “What happened is not your fault. None of us knew how deeply she cared for you.”

“I have to help them look. It’s my fault she’s missing.”

“
It would be best if you stayed here. Gaspard is leading the search for Lorelei. You will only distract him as he will be worrying about you.”

Bruises circled his forearm. He touched them, trying to remember. He had been in the water. Something pulled him down. And then there was a girl, brushing his hair back from his forehead. He had seen her clearly.

“When I was in the river, I saw the girl from the town. The one who went missing.”

His mother sighed.
“Christian….”

“
It was her. You should tell them to look for her as well as Lorelei.”

“
It wouldn’t be fair to her mother to give her hope when there is none. You nearly died. You must have imagined it. It would just cause her more pain, if she thinks her daughter could be alive and then they don’t find her.”

He nodded, his head down.
“You’re right. I’ve caused enough pain already.”

His mother pressed a kiss to his forehead.
“I will leave you to get some rest.”

Christian sat staring into the fire. If he shut his eyes he could see Lorelei, tears running down her face, stepping back off the cliff. She had been in the water too long now. If they found her, they wouldn
’t find her alive. He closed his eyes and put his face in his hands. She had been so happy that night. He could still see her smiling up at him as she danced, her eyes shining with happiness. But Lorelei was dead. There was no way she could have survived in the water. She must be dead and it was all because of him.

He had to get out of the castle. Under orders from his mother, his valet refused to help him dress when he summoned him. He sent the man away and set about trying to dress himself. He struggled to bend his arm to get his shirt on and it seemed to take forever to do up the row of buttons that ran down the front. His breeches were easier to get on, but he had to sit down as dizziness washed over him. He pulled on his jacket, but left off his stock and cravat. He wrestled his boots on and went down the stairs and out of the castle to the stables, making no effort to hide what he was doing.

“Bring me my horse,” he ordered the first groom he saw. The boy froze, unsure of whether to obey Christian’s command or whatever order his mother had given to the servants. “I said bring me my horse.”

The groom rushed off to do his bidding. He shouldn
’t have been so harsh on the boy, but since the ball a dark cloud seemed to hover over him that he couldn’t shake off. This was the second time he had nearly drowned in the river only to find himself saved.

The boy saddled his mare and led her out. The mare nickered on seeing Christian and danced to the side, eager to be free. He stroked her velvet nose and then tried to pull himself up into the saddle, but he didn
’t have the strength to mount. Exhausted, he rested his forehead against the leather, panting from the effort. He tried again to heave himself up and fell back down.

“Do you want
some help?”

Christian looked up. Gaspard had appeared behind him and the groom was now saddling a second horse.

“Are you going somewhere?” Christian asked, still leaning against the horse.

“
I thought I might go for a ride.”

“
You hate riding.”

Gaspard lifted Christian
’s leg and boosted him into the saddle. Feeling shaky and weak, Christian wrapped his hands around the reins as he waited for Gaspard to mount. Gaspard took his horse over to the mounting block to mount; something Christian hadn’t thought to do. 

As soon as Gaspard had mounted, Christian kicked his mare into a trot. Gaspard hung back, letting Christian go his own way. The Frenchman knew Christian
’s moods and he would know he wanted to be left to ride in peace. Christian cantered down the hill and along the riverbank, letting the horse run. Finally, he slowed the mare to a walk to let Gaspard catch up.

“
How can I live with myself, Gaspard?” he asked when the Frenchman stopped beside him. “When Lorelei is dead because of me?”

“
She chose to jump. You didn’t push her.”

“
You know what I mean. She killed herself because of me.”

“
So you think that you should have lied to her and said that you loved her?”

“
I should have found a better way to tell her.”

“
You cannot change what happened. You can only learn to live with it.”

Christian shook his head. “I don
’t know if I can.”

Shouts came from the river. For a moment, Christian thought they had found Lorelei, but then he noticed the ship. Such a sight was common on the Rhine, but the crew appeared to be dropping a heavy bundle into the river behind the ship.

“What are they doing?” Christian asked.

“
I don’t know,” Gaspard said, his face just as puzzled.

Christian turned his horse and trotted further up the incline to watch from the cliff where Lorelei had jumped. Gaspard followed behind him. It gave him a clearer view of the river. From here he could see the rocks below. He was lucky he hadn
’t been dashed against them.

Gaspard - who could always be relied upon to carry such things with him - pulled out his spyglass from its leather case and raised it to his eye.
“They’re pulling a net,” he said, one eye closed as he peered out. “They appear to be dredging the river.”

“
But why? What are they looking for?”

“
Whatever it is they appear to have found it.” Gaspard took his spyglass away from his eye, frowning, before raising it again.

“
What do you see?” Christian asked.

“
I’m not sure.”

They watched as the net was slowly pulled in. Something appeared to be caught up and tangled in the rope, but Christian couldn
’t make it out from this distance. Suddenly, Gaspard drew in a breath.

“It
’s impossible,” he said.

“What is it?”

Gaspard shook his head. “It can’t be.”

Chapter Nineteen

Adrianna peered hesitantly out from her hiding place in the wreckage of a ship. Despite her concealment, she could feel eyes upon her, boring into her back. Fearing someone was behind her, she turned around, but there was no one there. She had stayed away from the cave, too afraid of coming across Lorelei in the narrow tunnel leading to it. She emerged cautiously and darted quickly up to the surface. She kept the cliff against her back as she scanned the ground, looking for any sign of Lorelei. The maid still had legs as far as Adrianna knew.

High up on the cliffs, a figure cantered on a dark brown horse, perilously close to the edge. She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun’s glare. Relief washed over her as she recognised the prince. If he was out riding, then he must be well. He looked as if he was being chased by demons by the way he rode, with no regard for his safety. Gaspard followed behind at a more sensible pace. She wondered if the prince remembered seeing her that night or if he had forgotten their encounter. Some part of her wanted him to remember, but it was foolish. If he had seen her tail and seen what she was, he likely thought he had gone mad.

She ducked under. A huge shadow appeared above her, blocking out the light, like a dark cloud passing across the sun. She had been so focused on the prince that she hadn
’t seen a ship approaching. It was dragging something behind it. It was too late before she realised it was a net. She tried to swim away from it, but as she kicked out with her tail, her fins caught in the rope. She frantically tried to pull her tail free, but she only succeeded in tangling herself further. The net dragged her along behind the ship and then the net began to rise toward the surface as it was pulled in, taking her with it and lifting her up, out of the water.

It was a shock being out of the water. Rope, thicker than her arm, dug into her, cutting into her skin. She swung suspended in the air for a moment before she was heaved over the side of the ship and onto the deck, where she fell in a heap, the rope a heavy weight on top of her, pinning her down. Between the coils of rope, she could see a pair of legs approaching. The rope was cut away and the weight lifted from her. She pushed herself up onto her hands. She lay on her back, her tail flapping uselessly. The crew surrounded her, staring at her in silence. One clutched a cross and said something in French. A man, who must be the captain by the way the sailors stepped aside, walked around her, inspecting her. He grabbed hold of her dress and pulled it up to her waist.

“No, please don’t,” she said. She tried to pull it down and he slapped her. Stunned, she fell back. She tasted blood on her lip. She closed her eyes as her dress was yanked up. There were gasps and muttered prayers as they all looked at her exposed tail.

“You understand German?” the captain asked. His grey eyes were hard and cold. There was no compassion or kindness there. A black unkempt beard covered the lower half of his face, while the hair on his head was iron grey.

Adrianna nodded, her cheek throbbing where he had hit her.

The captain gave an order in French and gestured a man forward. The sailor shook his head and backed away. The captain spoke again, but the sailor refused to move. No one wanted to touch her, she realised. Eventually a stretcher was brought out and a soldier lifted her under her arms and dragged her roughly onto it. 

Two soldiers carried her below and into a cabin and tipped her out into a large metal bathtub, already half full with water. They disappeared, only to return with buckets of water from the river which they poured over her. Through the tiny round window, she saw the cliffs passing as the ship headed away from the town.

The captain entered and nodded to the men and they left. She realised she was in his quarters. A large desk covered with maps and charts was bolted to the floor while her tub was in the very centre of the room. The captain went to the sideboard and poured a dark gold liquid into a glass. He walked around her, sipping his drink, his cold gaze on her tail. She had pulled her dress down to cover as much of her tail as she could, but she still felt vulnerable and exposed under his eyes.

The fins that fanned out at the bottom of her tail stuck out of the water, draping over the side of the tub. He stroked them with a finger and she jerked her tail back at his touch.

“
Like touching a fish,” he said in German. He ran his hand along her tail and she tried not to shudder. “So warm. I thought it would be cold.”

“Please let me go,” she begged. “I’m not a mermaid. I’m just a girl.”

He smiled, amusement flashing briefly in his cold eyes. “My grandfather was a sailor. When I was young he would tell me stories about mermaids. How they would destroy ships and drag men down to their deaths. But you don’t seem to have any power. I was going to cut out your tongue; it’s said to be the source of a mermaid’s power, but I think I will let you keep yours.”

“
What do you want from me?” she asked.

“What do I want? I only want what I deserve. What I’ve worked for. They thought I was crazy, but I will show them. I will show them all.
I’m taking you to Paris, to the Emperor. The whole world will come and see you. You will be the jewel of the Empire and I will be wealthy beyond measure and then I will finally get what I deserve.”

~~~~~

In the courtyard, Christian slid down from his horse and almost fell to the ground.  Gaspard hurriedly climbed down from his own horse and put his arm around his shoulders. “I think we should get you back inside, my friend.”

“I just need to sit down,” Christian said, but he let Gaspard take most of his weight and help him into the castle. His mother hurried down the stairs as they came in.

“Is he hurt?” she asked Gaspard.

“He just needs to rest,” Gaspard replied.

Christian didn’t think he would have made it back to his bedroom without Gaspard’s help. Somehow, the Frenchman got him up the stairs and into his room, where he set Christian down on the bed.

“
You should have stayed in bed,” Gaspard said. He pulled Christian’s boots off and lifted up his legs.

Christian fell back against the pillows, too exhausted to argue. He must have fallen asleep, because when he opened his eye again the room was in darkness except for a fire burning in the fireplace. Gaspard stood before it, a troubled expression on his face.

“Have you been stood there all afternoon?” Christian asked, wincing in pain as he tried to sit up.

“Someone has to make sure you don’
t go wandering off.”

Christian smiled weakly at his words, but Gaspard continued to gaze into the flames, worry creasing his brow.

“What are you thinking about?”

Gaspard turned to face him.
“I was thinking about the night that Lorelei jumped from the cliff. Do you remember what you saw?”

“
It was dark. I couldn’t see a lot.”

“
Do you still think that you saw Adrianna?”

Christian hesitated, trying to recall that night. “
I’m not sure. At first I was sure that I had seen her. I think she pulled me to the bank. But now… I don’t know.”

“
Do you remember anything else about that night?”

He frowned.
“What do you want to know?”

“
Did you notice anything strange about Adrianna when you saw her in the water?”

He tried to think back. It had been dark, the water a black abyss beneath him. He remembered trying desperately to get to the surface. There had been something thick and scaly in the water with him. He tried to piece the images together, but his mind couldn
’t make sense of it. He shook his head. “I can’t remember.”

“
The ship we saw earlier pulled something out of the water. I believe they have Adrianna.”

“
She’s dead, Gaspard. There’s no way she could have survived in the river all this time.”

“I saw her through the spyglass. It was Adrianna. I’m sure of it.”

Christian would have laughed, but his ribs hurt too much. “You can’t seriously believe that she’s alive?”

“I know what I saw. I believe it was a French ship who took her. They flew no flag, but there were soldiers onboard wearing French colours.”

Christian shook his head. Gaspard had gone mad. He had to be mistaken.