The Secret Healer(33)

“Thanks.” She felt his sleeve brush against her arm and grabbed it. “Why are you doing this?”

Andreas pondered for a moment. “It’s just my nature. I’ve always wanted to help people. This is why I’m here in Heidelberg studying with the great thinkers and professors of our time. Gone are the days where anyone can just take what he wants. There are laws now. And I want to defend and protect innocent citizens to the fullest extent of my knowledge of the law.” He paused. “And if all my knowledge of the law can’t help someone, I’ll do whatever else I can. It’s simple.”

“You’re a good person.”

Von Balge laughed throatily. “There are some in my hometown of Bremen who would certainly contradict that statement.”

“Do you have many enemies there?”

“I wouldn’t call them enemies. More like jealous and miserable fellows who were born rich and couldn’t compete with someone who worked hard to get what he wanted.” He laughed again, this time cheerlessly. “I left many bad memories behind.”

“Was it worth it?”

“To leave it all?” He thought it over again briefly. “To be able to study here and one day be called syndicus, corpus iuris civilis—a real attorney? Then to be able to return to Bremen and flaunt it under everybody’s nose? Oh yes, it’s worth it. It will all pay off in the end.”



They talked for a while longer. The advocate was able to give Madlen a feeling of security, although she never forgot the severity of the situation she was in, hiding in a dark cave wearing a bloodstained dress. But Andreas’s views, his wishes and dreams and the confidence with which he bore them, finally calmed her. As he left, she had to pull herself together so as not to show how much she feared being alone; she could not beg him to stay. As he crawled out of the cave on all fours, dawn announced a new day.

Outside, daylight came then turned into night without a soul discovering Madlen. She nibbled on the remaining crusts of bread that Andreas von Balge had brought her the night before. She wasn’t hungry, but she wanted to keep up her strength. She didn’t know what Kilian and her advocate had dreamed up to free her from her desperate situation. Were they able to think up anything at all? And when would this happen? Tonight, tomorrow, or next week? She didn’t know. She didn’t know anything more since she’d been tricked by Matthias Trauenstein. Life as she knew it two days ago was a thing of the past. Clara had always said that everything happens for a reason. Was that really true? And what sense did it make if she’d been blamed for a murder she didn’t commit? What about all her effort to convince Heidelberg of her innocence? Had all that been blown away like dust in the wind?

She had to think of Kilian. The cottage was only a stone’s throw away from this cave. She longed for him so much that she could hardly breathe. Should she dare come out of these confines and quietly sneak out in the hopes that the constables had grown weary of waiting? Carefully, she crawled toward the mouth of the cave, choked with fear. It had already gotten so dark that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. She knew this area very well, a lot better than the town’s constables, who spent most of their time standing guard in the marketplace to keep thieves at bay. Of course, they’d notice immediately if somebody stood close to the cottage. She crawled forward until the cold night air hit her. Madlen shivered but breathed deeply. The fresh air did her good. Yes, she would sneak to her cottage to see Kilian and tell him that she was doing all right. Just as she was about to take her chances and crawl all the way out of the cave, a thought held her back. Her father. He’d be there also, very close. Did he understand what had happened? Today was the day that Heinfried was supposed to come to Heidelberg and take her with him. How would her father react when he found out that Heinfried would no longer go through with their business deal? Above all: What would her father do when he laid eyes on Madlen? He’d gotten a deposit from Heinfried. Of course, Heinfried would either demand to be paid back or demand that Madlen herself be delivered to him. Her heart beat quicker. She’d certainly been gullible in her short life, but she wasn’t stupid. Madlen could only imagine her father’s reaction, and there wouldn’t be much that Kilian could do about it. Her father would drag her to the sheriff himself, maybe even enjoy the sight of her hanging after all the aggravation she had caused him.

Carefully, she pushed herself back a bit into the cave. Yet, she didn’t like the idea of not seeing Kilian. Her heart sank deeper and deeper every second. As she inhaled deeply, she recognized a smell. She stuck her head outside the cave for a moment. She had always loved snow, as it brought a beautiful stillness over the land and left her feeling peaceful and calm. Snowflakes fell onto her nose, her cheeks, and her forehead. It was the first snow of the year. She wondered for a brief yet horrible moment whether this would be the last time in her life that she would see, feel, and taste the snow. A layer of snowflakes covered her lips, and she licked them off, careful not to miss any. She blinked into the darkness. Far away, she saw the faint glow of a tallow lamp, clearly lighting the way for someone. She immediately slid all the way back into the cave, turned around, and crawled on all fours into the corner. She huddled there for a long while. With a sigh, she rolled over and listened for anyone approaching the cave. She hoped that it was Kilian holding the tallow lamp, sneaking over to the cave to visit her under the cover of darkness. She listened intently as her limbs trembled, but there wasn’t anything out there but silence.