The Secret Healer(115)
“No, and she never claimed to be. You heard it from some of your own witnesses. There were also people that she couldn’t help.”
“Because the devil failed when these desperate wretched souls resisted him!”
“The only failure here lies in your complete lack of faith,” Andreas shot back. “How you can presume to credit such power to Lucifer while your God, our God in fact, you credit as weak and helpless, unable to give a woman, one of his flock, the help she needs to cure another?”
“How dare you!” Johannes smacked his hand loudly on the table. “How dare you suggest that God gave her the gift of healing!”
Andreas stood, turned away from Johannes, and gazed at the spectators. “Was this prosecutor listening? I can hardly believe it! Here is a young woman, just like you, eager to learn about the rich diversity of herbs that the dear Lord grows among us so that she can use this knowledge along with the Holy Scriptures to bring about healing. But that man there”—he turned around to face Johannes—“talks of Lucifer? Tell me, is this man in his right mind? I can’t believe that you would freely admit to such a delusion in front of your archbishop.” Andreas shook his head as he sat back down in his seat.
Johannes remained rooted to his seat, struggling for words.
“We will break for lunch,” the sheriff announced. “The trial will continue in exactly one hour.” He stood and indicated that the members of the jury should rise.
Matthias Trauenstein left his table and walked over to Johannes. “I thought you would be better at this, but even if you cannot convict her on this charge, in the end she’ll hang for murder. You can be quite sure of that. The little bastard that sprang from your loins will bring no shame to you. Just like his whore of a mother, he’s as good as dead.” Matthias left.
Johannes glanced furtively over at Madlen, who sat behind two guards posted to ensure she did not escape. She spoke with Andreas, but seemed to notice her husband looking over at her. She met his gaze. Johannes’s heart broke. He was overwhelmed by the desire to walk over to her and hold her in his arms. But that wasn’t going to happen right now. She looked at him uncertainly. Could she really believe that he had not meant even one word of what he said during the trial when he dragged her through the muck? At the moment that his lips formed words, the guards indicated that she needed to come with them. Andreas nodded, as she followed the guards through one of the side doors of the church. Andreas gathered his papers together and briefly looked over at Johannes. Their shared look betrayed the mutual agreement between them. Andreas went outside, too.
“Do you really know what you’re doing?” Agathe went to Andreas’s side as he left the church. She guided him firmly out from the middle of the crowd to avoid prying ears.
“Johannes seems to want to see Madlen hang.” Agathe looked worried.
“And that’s exactly the impression we want to create so that no one gets suspicious. We know exactly what we’re doing.”
“Good.” She sounded relieved. “If I didn’t know better, I would think that Johannes hates Madlen so deeply that he can’t wait to see her swing from the gallows.”
“He’s much more persuasive than I thought he’d be, I’ve got to admit.” He smirked. “It’s fun when he makes assertions I can rip apart. I’m enjoying this trial.”
“What’s going to happen next?”
“Frankly, I don’t know. I’ve never attended a double trial.” He made no mention at all of Madlen’s first trial. “As it currently stands, I believe we can cease questioning the witnesses in regard to the so-called devil healing. Then the hard part begins.”
“Defending Madlen against the charges of murdering Adelhaid Trauenstein?”
“Correct. Matthias is on a mission to see Madlen hang. As far as I know from Kilian, it’s not really about the death of his wife. He wants a position on the city council when the city wars settle. To be awarded this kind of political office would be of great benefit to him, quite apart from the status and recognition.”
“And do you know how you’ll fight these allegations?”
“It’s going to be difficult,” he said evasively. He didn’t want to admit that he had few ideas on how to effectively defend Madlen in this regard. He hoped for a way to prove that Matthias Trauenstein was lying, as he’d done with great success in the first trial. But the evidence against Madlen was overwhelming; of this he was all too aware. “If only I could find the maid, Barbara.”