“Did you two have a fight? Did you say something that you now regret, insult her somehow? Please, Mother.”
“As I’ve already told you,” Elsbeth said loudly, “there wasn’t the slightest disagreement between us. Never. I loved her from the first moment I met her. You know that.”
Johannes covered his face with his hands. “I just don’t understand it.”
“What is it, Johannes? What’s happened?” His mother looked at him pleadingly.
He took a deep breath. “She’s gone, Mother. Maria left me.”
Elsbeth looked at him in disbelief. She wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. She opened her mouth and then shut it again.
“I ran into a little boy. Maria and Agathe left Worms two days ago on a boat. She’s gone, Mother. Simply gone.” He rubbed his eyes.
“That can’t be,” Elsbeth insisted. “I simply don’t believe it. The little boy must have been mistaken. Or he deceived you. Maria would never leave you. She loves you, Johannes. I know it.”
“Yes, that’s what I thought,” he replied bitterly. “But she must have fooled us.”
They both sat there for a few minutes, trying to comprehend what had happened.
“You have to look for her,” Elsbeth said finally.
“As soon as the skipper comes back, the boy will let me know. I’ll find her and confront her.”
“I’ll go with you,” Elsbeth said immediately. She put her hand on her son’s arm. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for this. Perhaps someone got sick. I thought you said that Agathe was a good friend of her mother’s? That’s it.” Elsbeth raised her index finger confidently. “Her mother. She’s ill, and the two women went to help her.”
“And Maria didn’t have time to let me know?” He raised his eyebrows. “You really don’t believe that, do you, Mother?”
“It’s the only explanation. They were in a hurry, a big hurry. She had no other choice. Or”—she held up her finger again—“she came to tell you, but you weren’t here. She couldn’t wait because the boat wanted to set sail. In a couple of days, she’ll be back and tell you all about it. Yes, you’ll see.”
He sighed. “The boy told me that both women quietly boarded the boat and left Worms. Neither of them appeared to be rushed. No. She didn’t think it was necessary to let me know. No woman that loves her husband would do that.”
“But your child?”
Her remark cut him like a knife. His mother was right. Maria was carrying his child. How dare she snatch their unborn child away from its father! “I’ll wait until the skipper returns to Worms. And then I’ll find them, even if I have to beat it out of him. I’ll find her, Mother.”
She quickly grabbed his arm. “Don’t become bitter. You don’t know the truth.”
He smiled joylessly. “It will be difficult for me to do that.” He turned to go.
“Oh, Johannes. Earlier, this Heidelberger you were expecting came here. I told him that you were away on an urgent matter. He’ll come back tomorrow.”
Johannes sighed. He hadn’t thought about Matthias Trauenstein at all. It didn’t suit him to fulfill his duty and meet this man right now when his thoughts were on his Maria’s disappearance. But he knew that he had no other choice. “Did he say when he’d be back?”
“Tomorrow around noon. I offered him accommodations here at the house, but he rented a room in the tavern instead.” Elsbeth was clearly displeased. She wouldn’t approve of her own husband staying in a tavern on business trips instead of accepting the hospitality of his business partners. Beyond any doubt, Peter Goldmann was a proper and magnificent husband, with a spotless reputation. But Elsbeth did not delude herself: when Peter was gone for several weeks, she’d rather not know what he did to make his time more pleasurable.
“Under the circumstances, it’s better not to have him in the house right now,” Johannes confessed. “But I do need to speak with him. I am obliged by the archbishop.”
“Agreed.” Elsbeth pressed her lips together. Though she was only too happy to contribute some words of comfort to her son, she still couldn’t believe her daughter-in-law had deceived them.
“I’ll be in my bedchamber, thinking all this over in peace and quiet.”
“Supper is almost ready. Helene has prepared a lovely—”
“Thanks, Mother, but I’m not hungry. I need to lie down.”
“All right. I’ll let you know if something comes up.” She smiled at her son as he returned to his room. The sadness in his eyes pained her.