The lawyer foamed with rage as he beat against the door several times to no avail. He had no other choice but to give up and amble away. The man had tricked him. It made no sense to stay around here any longer. At least, he believed the women definitely weren’t here. The man certainly would have let himself be paid well to bring them to Johannes.
Next, Johannes went to the White Stallion, but the answer was the same. It started to dawn on him that Roswitha had probably led him astray. But he disregarded that notion. She knew that Johannes would return to Worms and inevitably confront her. Johannes doubted that a simple maid would lie to him knowing the consequences; she wouldn’t want to leave everything behind and start somewhere new. No, her answer had been truthful. The question was whether Maria and Agathe had decided not to go to Emmerich after all. Johannes’s stomach lurched at the thought. He wondered how the women were able to make a living. He’d asked the spice merchants and the cloth merchants. Either Maria was using herbs to heal people, or she and Agathe were sewing dresses, like they’d done in Worms. He couldn’t imagine they were able to support themselves any other way.
He sat down sullenly on a bench in the White Stallion and ordered a beer. Lunchtime was already over; though his stomach growled, he had no appetite. Johannes listened in to conversations at neighboring tables, but there was no mention of a woman that fit Maria’s description. Everyone seemed to be much more interested in talking shop and chatting about the new, magnificent church that would be built soon. Nothing else seemed to be of interest. He paid, got up, and went toward the door.
As he walked through the threshold, he froze. Was that a shadow that had immediately disappeared around the side of the house? Johannes waited a moment then surged around the corner to catch whoever it was. But nobody was there. He felt silly. Who would be interested in following him? He shook his head and made his way to the tavern where he’d been with Andreas this morning. The Golden Rooster wasn’t far. The women were probably staying there. After all, they had to be somewhere.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“How do you like it?” Madlen held up a dress so high that she disappeared behind it. Then she lowered it to see her aunt’s expression.
“Can you put it on again? I’m concerned that the chain might be pulling the collar down. It’s not sitting right.”
“All right.” Madlen stripped her own dress off and pulled the new one on.
Agathe stood, then went over to her niece. She gathered up some fabric from the back, taking up any extra. “It sits on you like a sack,” she noted. “So we can hardly tell how the chain lies. We don’t have any other choice but to try. You’re getting very scrawny, child. Even scrawnier than usual.”
“I know,” Madlen said, somewhat frustrated as she slipped out of the dress again. “I try to eat for the child’s sake. But when I see food, I want to throw up.”
“What is it?” Agathe held Madlen by the shoulders, trying to meet her eye. “The tension has subsided somewhat lately.”
“I miss Johannes,” Madlen admitted as she bowed her head in shame. “Sometimes I can hardly breathe, I miss him so much.”
“If you were to go back, then you really wouldn’t be able to breathe. Now, you have to force yourself to eat. I don’t have to tell you that it’s not good if your baby isn’t getting the nutrition it needs.”
“I’ll try to do better. I promise.”
“That’s good. Come on and get dressed. We need to speak with Fronicka and go visit this customer. Perhaps we’ll sell our first dress today.”
“That would be wonderful.” Madlen slipped her own dress on and quickly tied up its laces. “Well, I’m ready. Let’s finally do some business again.” She smiled, but Agathe could see that it was halfhearted. She didn’t say anything. “That’s right. We need to look ahead. Come on. Let’s go sell a dress.”
They went downstairs to see Fronicka and found her at the stove tasting the soup the cook had prepared.
“Fronicka, do you have a moment? The dress is ready.”
The landlady laid her spoon aside. “I have some things to do, but they can wait. Where’s the dress?”
“Upstairs in our room.”
“Good. I’ll need just another moment, then I’ll come up and get you.”
“Take your time. We’re not in a hurry.”
Agathe and Madlen went upstairs; the tavern door opened.
“Greetings, my lady.”
Fronicka recognized the man she’d seen early in the morning. She nodded. “Well, you’ve passed the time a little.”