Castle of the Wolf by Sandra Schwab

Author:Sandra Schwab
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: historical romance, gothic romance
Publisher: Sandra Schwab
Published: 2016-11-18T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

If she had hoped for a quick solution to her problem, Cissy was disappointed: after two weeks she still had had no opportunity to test her newly gained knowledge. The snow had started to thaw and had left the world in shades of muddy gray. Only the forest stood as dark and forbidding as ever.

Woodsolitude,

brings joy to me…

Or not.

Cissy grimaced. Actually, she was quite sick of it. She carelessly threw the book she was reading on her bed; it was late at night, almost time to extinguish the lights. Another day spent reading. If she continued at this pace, she would have gone through the whole Wolfenbach library before summer.

She sighed.

Another day spent without once seeing her husband. As much as she appreciated the contents of his library, she would have preferred to actually see him once in a while.

A knock on the door announced her maid, come to inquire whether she needed anything else for the night. Only my husband, Cissy thought wryly. “No, thank you, Marie, there’s nothing.”

Yet instead of leaving the room, the maid hesitated and shuffled her feet. “Gnädige Frau, I…um…” A soft blush appeared on her cheeks.

“Yes, what is it?”

Marie twisted her fingers. “I’ve meant to ask you if I could have a free afternoon on Thursday, gnädige Frau. It’s the start of the carnival, and I wish to go to town and watch the parade of the Hemdklunker.”

“The Hemdklunker?” Her interest roused, Cissy leaned forward. “What are these?”

“Everybody dresses in a white nightgown and nightcap and powders his face with flour.” Marie took a step toward the bed. “And then there’s a big parade.” She smoothed her hands over her skirt. “It is great fun…”

“Of course!” And because Cissy loved to discover new things, she asked, “Will you let me go with you? We can take the gig.”

“Actually, I’ve meant to walk—”

“To walk?” Cissy gaped at her. “Won’t that take terribly long?” It took over an hour to get to Kirchwalden by carriage!

Her maid shook her head. “Not if we take the footpath.”

“Through the forest?” A prickling sense of excitement filled Cissy. Here at last it was: an adventure to break the monotony of her days.

And thus, the following Thursday, shortly after midday, the two young women set out on their way down to the valley. The path dived deep into the forest, and the dark trees closed in on them. The air was filled with the scent of wet earth and rotting leaves. Sometimes a small animal rustled in the underbush or a bird chirped over head. In the distance Cissy could hear the gurgling of a small stream, and it almost seemed to her as if time itself had stopped in the musty twilight of the woods.

What joy to me,

Woodsolitude.

And who knew what they would find beyond the next bend? The castle of Eckbert the Fair and his Bertha? The gingerbread house from “Hänsel and Gretel”? Cissy giggled. After the winter and the thaw, the gingerbread would be all soaked and mushy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.