The Citadel and the Lamb by Ethel Herr

Author:Ethel Herr [Herr, Ethel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC014000
ISBN: 978-1-4412-6253-0
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2012-11-26T05:00:00+00:00

3rd day of Wine Month (October), 1573

It was still dark when Pieter-Lucas came wide awake. Never had the temptation weighed so heavily on him to turn over in the bed made warm by his vrouw’s body and ignore the call of loyal duty. He kissed his wife on a bare shoulder, then forced himself up and into his clothes. He tiptoed to the cradle and cot where his children slept. The light of a full moon shone through the single window and splashed a golden path across their angelic faces. He stooped over and placed a kiss on each little cheek and let his nose savor the delights of the warmth of soft rose-petal skins.

Halfway across the room, Aletta stood shivering in his way.

“So soon?” she whispered. “The night is not even over.”

Holding her gently against his chest, he stroked her long golden hair and murmured, “Nor is the war, so I must go. Now that you are so close and Alkmaar is nearly won, I shall see more of you—much more!”

Then he kissed her and went for the stairs.

In the dining room below, he found Dirck Engelshofen seated at one end of a table, his face golden and distorted in the light of a lone lamp.

“What do you up so early, ahead of the sun?” Pieter-Lucas asked, his voice almost a whisper.

“I had to talk with you before you leave. How long will you be away this time?”

Pieter-Lucas shrugged. “I really believe the end of the siege of Alkmaar approaches. The fields for miles around it are now flooded, and the people of the city have so brutally treated their would-be captors that the Spanish soldiers, to a man, have refused to fight them again. They are convinced the city is inhabited by demons with supernatural powers.”

“So what will it mean when the Spaniards let down the blockade of Alkmaar?”

Pieter-Lucas sighed. “I wish I knew. Only that I shall not so often run there. Beyond that, I dare not to think. How long must you stay here in this unprotected wayside inn with these people accused of the great ‘sin’ of being the family of a Jew?”

“You must have talked to Jakob before you came last night.”

“I did.”

Dirck made circles on the table with his finger. “I hardly know what to think—or do. Hiltje has been ever so kind to us all, and she and my vrouw have become fast friends. Even Robbin and Christoffel are warming to each other. And Mieke has found a way to persuade the baker to sell her bread.”

Pieter-Lucas smiled in spite of himself. He’d all but forgotten that she was here too. Nothing remained impossible with her on their side. “But…what happens when the Leydenaars discover you are guests here and decide to put you under whatever curse they’ve imposed on the innkeeper?”

Dirck looked hard into Pieter-Lucas’ eyes and said, “I must ask you simply to trust me, son. I know not what I may have to do before this is over. Just remember, your vrouw was first my daughter, and those children are my grandchildren.

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