“Hugo, do you know of an inn suitable for two women?” Agathe asked the captain, who moored his boat, then accompanied them ashore.
“Try the Golden Rooster. I stayed there myself a couple of times when I had business here. There’s a woman in charge. Fronicka kept the tavern after her Ewald passed on. And believe me, she has everything under control there. A man who didn’t mind his manners could get a certain body part sliced off.” The skipper laughed throatily. Agathe didn’t actually want to know exactly what he meant by that remark.
“And where is the Golden Rooster?”
“Go straight ahead to the marketplace. You can’t miss it.”
Agathe paid him. “Here, as agreed. I thank you for everything. And you know that . . .” She held up her finger to warn him.
“If somebody asks me, I will say that I brought you to Rotterdam. From there, you wanted to go to Bruges.”
“Exactly. Thank you.”
“My pleasure. I’m indebted to Reinhard and you far beyond this little boat ride.”
“We were friends, just like we are now. We’re even now.”
He tipped his cap. “I hope that you’ll find happiness. May God protect you.”
“Have a safe trip home.”
The women waved good-bye, as the boat slowly pulled away from the dock and he set sail. It wasn’t long before he’d disappeared from sight.
“Then off we go to the Golden Rooster.” Agathe picked up their baggage.
Madlen did the same and gazed at the houses as she tried to keep up with Agathe. “I like this city,” she said. “It looks totally different than ours.”
“Do you mean Heidelberg or Worms?”
“Actually both. The land is so flat here. There are no hills.”
“You’re right. It didn’t occur to me. All right now, let’s go. Hopefully, they’ll have a room for us there. I just want to lie down on a bed and not see or hear anything more for today.”
They found the Golden Rooster immediately. Fronicka, the landlady, eyed the two of them before assigning them to a room on the top floor. “But the charge is the same.”
“I’ll pay you for one night in advance. We’ll do so every day.” Agathe gave her some coins.
“How long do you plan to stay here?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Neither one of you are from here. I can hear it in your speech.”
Agathe looked at the landlady evenly. “You have a fine ear,” she replied.
A little while later, they moved up to their room, furnished with three simple beds, a table with two chairs, and a chest. Madlen put her sack on the third bed, when there was a knock. A maid brought fresh water for washing up and quietly left.
“What do we do now?” Madlen sat on a chair.
Agathe chose a bed and lay down. “Rest,” she said, stretching out her tired limbs.
“But it’s not evening yet,” Madlen argued.
“You’re pregnant and I’m old. Let’s go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day; we can get started on our new life then. But I want to rest now.”
Madlen sighed. She hadn’t found the trip as strenuous. To lie down in the middle of the day and sleep seemed strange. She wanted to go out and see Emmerich. “Do you have anything against me going out alone?”
Agathe opened one eye. “Of course, I do. For the love of God, let me rest a little. If you go out running around in a city that you don’t know, I’ll be so worried that I won’t be able to sleep a wink. Please, can’t you just simply lie down?”
Madlen was moved by Agathe’s concern. Her aunt had sacrificed so much to make sure she was safe; shouldn’t she be able to indulge her aunt’s simple request? “You’re right. Let’s sleep. It will do me and my child good.”
“Thank you.” Agathe turned her head to the side and fell asleep almost instantly. The tension they’d felt since they departed Worms subsided a little. Agathe was completely worn out; she was unable to stay conscious for one moment longer.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Johannes was a nervous wreck. Two days earlier, Maria had disappeared from the face of the earth, as had Agathe. He searched all over Worms, but any clues to his wife’s whereabouts led nowhere. Was it possible that the women had fallen victim to a crime? He ran through the streets, asking everyone he met if they’d seen his wife. The answer was always the same. Consumed by panic and despair, he ran like mad, calling their names again and again. He went to the harbor, and for the umpteenth time went to Agathe’s house and knocked on the front door. Nobody opened the door, and there were no signs of activity inside. A boy no older than ten walked by. He looked at Johannes. “They’re gone,” he said simply.