The Secret Healer(96)

“To an innocent woman,” Fronicka clarified.

Johannes knew that it was the truth. He’d fallen in love with a beautiful, honest woman, and she was in love with him. A pure, innocent creature that never harmed anyone. And now, due to his own stupidity, she was in the hands of a maniacal murderer who’d stop at nothing to get his way.

“We need to head out immediately.” He looked at his brother-in-law. “He’ll take her to Heidelberg the quickest way possible, and we have to do the same. Even though he’s got a head start, it will take a minimum of one or two days until Madlen’s trial starts. All is not lost. Will you help me?” Johannes stretched his hand over the table and Kilian grabbed it. They shook.

“We should get some horses and get under way immediately.”

“I’ll go with you,” Agathe said, defensive when she saw the men’s reaction. “I’m a very good rider. You’ll see.”

“There’s no time to wait.” Johannes stood up. “Fronicka, where do we get horses?”



Less than an hour later, Agathe, her nephew, and Madlen’s husband saddled up. Fronicka attempted to find out whether anyone had seen Matthias, but to no avail. They ruled out the harbor. The Rhine’s current would make rapid travel impossible, and it wouldn’t matter to Matthias whether riding a horse made Madlen suffer in her condition.

“We can’t drive the horses like this the whole time,” Kilian cried out to Johannes, as he let his horse go at a full gallop.

“What?” Johannes strained to hear.

Kilian gestured to slow down a little. “If we drive them like this for too long, we’ll have to change horses quite often,” Kilian tried again.

Johannes was reluctant; he wanted to try to catch up with Trauenstein. But Kilian was right. The more often you changed horses, the slower you arrived at your destination. So, he reined in his mount.

“You’re right,” Johannes said. “I was so deep in thought that I didn’t notice how fast we were going.”

Agathe sighed with relief; it had taken all her effort not to lose the others. They rode through the night, stopping when they reached a small grove of trees that could protect them a bit. They let their horses graze, and Agathe took off the bundle Fronicka had given her. “When do we ride again?”

“As soon as dawn breaks and we can see the road ahead,” Johannes replied. “Let’s try to get a little sleep after we get something to eat.”

“We need to keep a lookout,” Kilian insisted. “I can take the first watch.”

“Good. Wake me up when you need a replacement.”

They barely spoke as they chewed their bread and dried meat, washing it all down with a little beer; before they left, Fronicka had filled up their leather drinking pouches. Agathe and Johannes lay down, while Kilian sat up and kept watch. In the deep of the night, Kilian struggled to keep his eyes open; he gently shook Johannes’s shoulder. “Can you take over now?”

Johannes blinked. “Yes, I’m awake.” He blinked again, yawned, and rubbed his eyes. Then he sat up. Kilian rolled up in his cloak and turned onto his side. A few moments later, he fell asleep.



Dawn broke over the small clearing at the edge of the forest. Johannes woke his companions. Although Kilian had only had a few hours of sleep, he was wide-awake. Agathe yawned; she’d fallen into a deep slumber.

They decided to eat a little as they rode and let the horses canter, instead of letting them rest too long and then driving them too hard later. Agathe watched Johannes and Kilian as they talked. The two men understood each other very well. No wonder Madlen loved them both, though in very different ways. She was the link between the two. Johannes and Kilian seemed to understand that they could only free her as a team.

They rode until noon. The sun was high in the sky when the three agreed to water the horses and dismount for a moment to stretch their legs. They had only crossed paths with other people once, with a small group of merchants. Otherwise, the whole area seemed to be deserted. They didn’t stay long. Once the horses had turned away from the river and grazed for a while, the three travelers picked up their reins and got back in the saddle again. They would arrive in Mannheim hours later; it was already starting to get dark.

They decided to stay overnight at an inn they saw along the way. Agathe hoped that the landlord might have seen Madlen, Matthias, and his henchmen, but he had not. She thanked him and ordered food for everyone. Then she sat down at the table with the men.

“I wonder whether they went by boat.” Agathe looked at Johannes and Kilian.

“That would definitely take longer. The Rhine’s current is quite powerful,” Kilian stated.