The Wandering Harlot (The Marie Series) (2 page)

Wina emerged at the top of the cellar stairs, shoving the scowling maids ahead of her. “You’re still here,” she snapped at Michel. Reaching into the leather purse she carried on a cord around her chubby waist, she pulled out a coin.

“I suppose you’re waiting for your tip. Here, take it!” Michel thought Wina’s gesture expressed the great difference in status between a gentleman like Rupert Splendidus and himself, and he was tempted to throw the coin at her feet.

Michel didn’t know what he had thought he might accomplish by coming here. Marie had clearly long forgotten him and was looking forward to becoming an important man’s wife. He knew she would never be happy with Rupert, but it wasn’t within his power to save her from her fate. Sadly he turned around and left without saying good-bye. In the yard he dropped the coin on the ground in disgust.

II.

Master Matthis was feeling good about himself. Nodding proudly, he eyed his friends and guests. His two friends and business partners, the cooper Jörg Wölfling and the linen weaver Gero Linner, couldn’t take their eyes off his future son-in-law, Counselor Rupert Splendidus, a respectable and mannerly man who knew how to behave in the presence of older and wiser people. Mombert Flühi also admired Rupert and didn’t bother hiding how jealous he was of his brother-in-law’s good fortune.

Rupert Splendidus appeared neither arrogant nor excessively proud, but behaved quite modestly despite his high standing. His clothing was made of good material but was not flashy or faddish like that of most young people. His overcoat hanging on a hook by the door was of the finest brown wool, and his gray jacket was simple. His forest-green trousers fit tightly but were not offensively loud or garish like the trousers worn by other men from the better families.

Indeed, in many respects Counselor Rupert was a man after Master Matthis’s own heart. Considered quite young for a scholar at the tender age of twenty-four, he nevertheless was already one of the advisers to Constance’s bishop, Otto von Hachberg. Most of the time, however, he was traveling on behalf of his father, Count Heinrich von Keilburg, one of the most influential men in the area and subject only to the kaiser. Master Matthis had seen the count only once, but he knew exactly which Rhine and Danube estates the man owned in addition to his ancestral castle in the Black Forest. Yet the difference in their social standings did not seem to trouble Master Matthis. As the bastard son of a servant woman, the counselor could not expect an inheritance, and all of the family possessions would instead be passed on to Konrad, the count’s legitimate son. The situation created the perfect opportunity for the union of the counselor and Master Matthis’s daughter.

Master Matthis’s personal wealth made him feel pleasantly secure. In addition to his father’s house in Constance, he owned an equally impressive estate in Meersburg, as well as some of the best vineyards on the lake’s north shore and an excellent winery. His international trade had amassed him even more of a fortune.

His great wealth was evident in his home. As was commonplace in leading families’ homes, dark wood paneled the walls, and the ceilings were brightly painted. A large table imported from Italy stood in his favorite room, where he regularly entertained his friends. It had elegantly wrought legs and a top inlaid with silver plates where elegant goblets stood ready to welcome his guests. The windows were hung with embroidered brocade curtains carefully selected to blend with the arched, yellow bull’s-eye windowpanes.

Matthis Schärer raised his goblet again and toasted his guests. In contrast to the others, Rupert only sipped his drink. Though afternoon had not yet given way to evening, he could see how much Master Matthis had already imbibed, further evidence of the man’s pleasures of good wine. His broad, somewhat uncouth face was flushed above his corpulent figure, and his astute gray eyes that usually searched for every business advantage were now dull and bloodshot.

Rupert’s smile broadened as he handed Master Matthis two large parchment sheets full of writing. “I’ve prepared the contracts just as you wished, Father-in-law. Please make sure everything is proper.”

Master Matthis admired the counselor’s straightforward approach to his upcoming marriage, feeling that he could safely entrust his daughter and his wealth to such a man. Picking up the parchment, he read it through carefully and was not disappointed. Rupert had stuck to their verbal agreements almost word for word. He glanced at the part that guaranteed his daughter’s virtue and virginity, something he could attest to without any qualms as his daughter had always been a good child. In addition, Wina had watched like a hawk to make sure no man had approached her too closely.

Master Matthis admiringly patted his future son-in-law on the shoulder. “Excellent! If you have no objection, we can sign the contracts at once.”

“It would be a pleasure.” Counselor Rupert bowed and spread out both copies in front of Master Matthis, who beckoned to his secretary sitting silently in a dark corner of the room. Linhard was a tall, haggard man with thin, light blond hair, a narrow face, and sharp features; his devotion to his employer seemed almost obsequious. But Master Matthis didn’t notice and thought very highly of him.

The secretary bowed to Master Matthis and hurried to the office. Shortly after, he returned with a small tray on which he had placed a silver inkpot, a container of quills, a small knife, and some sealing wax.

Master Matthis picked up one of the quills, shaved it to a fine point, and dipped it in the inkpot. He glanced once more at the most important passages of the marriage proposal and signed his name on the parchment. Heating the sealing wax over a candle, he dripped the wax onto the document beneath his signature, then pressed it with his signet ring.

Linhard now handed the tray with the writing utensils to Counselor Rupert who then applied his own seal to the contract and passed it on to the other men to verify and sign.

Amazed, Master Jörg stared at the document. The bride’s rich dowry was described piece by piece, followed by a listing of her father’s assets that would be hers upon her father’s death. At last he thought he’d solved the riddle of why the esteemed son of one of the mightiest noble families was wooing a girl whose grandfather had fled to the city as a bondservant and only later, through hard work and a favorable marriage, had acquired wealth.

Master Matthis watched his old friends as they read the document, and he took great satisfaction at their stunned expressions. Members of well-placed families had never viewed either him or his father, Richard, as their equals, but rather saw them as runaway slaves who were merely tolerated in the city despite their growing wealth. Richard Schärer had succeeded in amassing a fortune despite local opposition, and Matthis had increased it almost tenfold. Today, Matthis had finally outdone them all, and even the patricians of Constance would be envious of his son-in-law.

Matthis Schärer remembered how the nobleman had asked for his daughter’s hand. At first Matthis had thought it was a bad joke. But Counselor Rupert had courteously reminded him that no one else in Constance or anywhere for many miles around could offer such a generous dowry for his daughter.

Jörg cleared his throat and turned to Rupert. “Excuse me for asking, Counselor, but I would be interested to know why your father didn’t have you trained in the knightly arts, as is customary in noble circles, but instead made you a man of books.”

Rupert’s narrow lips broadened into a hint of a smile. “I was very frail as a child and not suited for training as a fighter, so my father judged it better to train me as his secretary and later have me study law.”

It was apparent that the men were thinking that most illegitimate children of noblemen weren’t given such preferential treatment, so Rupert had to be special. The counselor enjoyed their admiration even though it served as a painful reminder of his past.

From the time of Rupert’s birth, Heinrich von Keilburg had taken no interest in him, and so he spent his unhappy childhood living in a remote, drafty corner of the castle with the servants. Only after the castle chaplain had reported to the count what a good head his bastard son had on his shoulders did his life change. Heinrich sent him to the Waldkron monastery, whose monks were known for their strictness, and inquired once a year about his son’s progress. Rupert was instructed only superficially in theology but drilled in grammar, rhetoric, and the basics of law.

Count Heinrich had learned by painful experience that rules and laws could be more dangerous than swords, and he wanted a counselor who would support him in all matters. When he felt Rupert was ready, the count sent his illegitimate son to study law at the new university in Heidelberg. Rupert was aware that life would not give him such an opportunity more than once, and he did everything possible to succeed, surprising his father by graduating summa cum laude.

Later, Rupert served Count Heinrich and occasionally his friend Hugo, the abbot of the Waldkron monastery, as a legal counselor, winning one trial after another. His reward for this service, however, was far below his expectations, as Count Heinrich spent money only on himself. Even Konrad, his legitimate son, was given so little that he could not afford the trappings of his noble rank, but at least Konrad did not go hungry.

Now, the counselor turned Matthis’s elegant, bejeweled wine goblet around in his hand and pondered the course of his life, allowing his gaze to wander over the remnants of the sumptuous meal. From now on he would live as he chose, indulging in pleasures of which he had only dreamed.

A knock on the door woke Rupert from his reveries. Standing in the doorway, Marie raised her hand shyly to get Master Matthis’s attention, blushing as she smoothed her simple gray dress. “Excuse me, Father, if I disturb you. The carriage drivers left the bales of cloth out in the yard, and it looks like it may rain. Someone must put a canvas over them.”

Master Matthis looked at his daughter gratefully. “The material is too valuable to get wet. Linhard, go and help the servant, and in the meantime Marie can fill our goblets. Mine is already empty again.”

Marie filled the goblets without looking at the man with whom she would be spending the rest of her life and for whom she had an instinctive dislike. She felt like throwing herself at her father’s feet and begging him to reject the counselor. But now it was too late—she saw the signed contracts on the table that bound her to the counselor. The wax seals looked to her like smears of blood, and she had to turn away. With lowered eyes, she served the men until Linhard and the servant returned, then left the room with a bow directed more to her father’s friends than to her future husband.

Watching her leave, Master Jörg turned to Master Matthis with a twinkle in his eye. “Your daughter is a rare jewel. The counselor must be eagerly anticipating the joys awaiting him in the marriage bed.”

The linen weaver had also partaken liberally of the good wine and told an off-color story that made them all burst out laughing. Rupert’s face showed no emotion, however, and he let the risqué remarks about the coming wedding night pass without comment. Now and then he stroked his chin as if his thoughts were engaged with something quite different.

III.

Long after Marie and the maids had gone to bed, the men sat up celebrating. No one noticed that the counselor was only taking sips from his goblet while the other guests had theirs filled repeatedly. Master Jörg’s words became almost incomprehensible, but that didn’t keep him from telling long, tedious stories.

“You’ve got to admit you could have done worse than my niece,” Master Mombert said, placing his arm around Rupert’s shoulder and drawing him closer. “If I may give you some advice as an experienced man to someone younger . . .” He didn’t finish sharing his wisdom, however, for at the same moment someone banged loudly on the courtyard gate.

“I’ll go and have a look,” Linhard said, leaving the room before his master could react.

Breathless, he returned shortly. “Counselor, there is a man downstairs who urgently needs to speak with you.”

“Why didn’t you bring him up?” Master Matthis asked angrily.

Linhard was trembling all over as if he’d seen a ghost. “The man wishes to speak privately with the counselor downstairs.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll have to go down.” Rupert arose and took his coat from the hook as protection from the cold night air. As the sound of his footsteps died away on the stairway, the remaining guests looked at one another questioningly. “It wouldn’t be a messenger from his father, forbidding the marriage, would it?” The smirk on the linen weaver’s face showed clearly how pleased he would be with this turn of events.

Master Matthis dismissed this possibility with a vigorous wave of his hand. “We have signed and sealed the marriage and inheritance contract, so Counselor Rupert has no choice but to marry Marie tomorrow.”

His brother-in-law, Mombert, nodded in agreement. “It would also be foolish of Counselor Rupert to pull back. After all, my niece brings more wealth into the marriage than the dowry given by Count Eberhard von Württemberg to his daughter Ursula. And her bridegroom was, after all, the count of the Rheinburg district.”

But when Rupert returned, his face was flushed with anger. He stopped in front of the master of the house and looked down at him with disgust. “Matthis Schärer, you’re a wretched swindler! Your so-called virtuous daughter is nothing less than a loose, unprincipled hussy.”

The effect of this statement was as strong as if the house had collapsed around the four men. Jörg Wölfling and Master Gero looked at each other in shock but also with a certain malicious satisfaction while Mombert’s gaze wandered uncertainly back and forth between his brother-in-law and the counselor. Several times, the master of the house began to speak, but all the wine he had enjoyed now paralyzed his tongue, and he was unable to comprehend the significance of the accusation.

“Someone is telling you a pack of lies, Son-in-law. I’d stake my life on my daughter . . .” he finally said.

“And lose. I have a witness who can swear it is true.” Rupert nodded at Linhard, who left the room and returned shortly thereafter with a powerfully built middle-aged man wearing a coach driver’s rough clothing. His bright eyes darted over the room, stopping at Master Matthis.

Rupert pushed him forward to the table. “This is Utz Käffli, a carriage driver I know to be an honest and good man.”

Openmouthed, Master Matthis staggered to his feet and stared. “Of course I know him. He also worked for me. What’s the meaning of this, Utz? What is this all about?”

The carriage driver sneered at him and laughed. “May God strike me dead if I’m not speaking the truth. I never would have said anything critical of Marie, but I know Counselor Rupert is a noble and excellent man, and I do not wish to see him rush blindly to his doom.” Utz glanced at the counselor, then looked back at Matthis. “I have slept with Marie several times myself. Moreover, I know a number of others who have slept with her and from whom she accepted money and trinkets in exchange.”

Unobserved by the others, Utz Käffli poked Linhard in the ribs. Linhard swallowed, visibly shaken, then stepped to the table and raised his hand. “Excuse me, gentlemen, but my conscience . . .” He paused, took a deep breath, and spoke the following words so fast that those who heard him were stunned for a moment before realizing what he had said.

“I have also slept with my master’s daughter!”

It became so still in the room that one could have heard a pin drop.

“Linhard?! You . . . you rotten scoundrel!” Master Matthis turned red and gasped for air, as if his collar were choking him. This just can’t be, he thought frantically. Marie behaved like an angel and never showed interest in men. A pounding, searing pain coursed through his head. “How dare you both. These are lies, nothing but lies!” Master Matthis exploded in a fit of rage, and tried to grab the carriage driver by the throat.

The carriage driver stood up a bit straighter. “They are not lies, Schärer. I can prove what I say. The last time we were together, I gave her a mother-of-pearl butterfly.”

Master Matthis sneered at him. “My daughter has no such jewelry.”

“We will see.” Rupert beckoned to Master Jörg and Master Gero. “Gentlemen, I suggest we go to Marie’s room and look. If she should have a piece of mother-of-pearl jewelry in the shape of a butterfly, that would prove her guilt.”

At Utz’s command, the secretary fetched a tallow lamp and lit it over one of the candles. Master Jörg took the lamp from him and pointed in the direction of Marie’s room. They stopped in front of her door and knocked. “Open the door, child. Your father wishes to speak with you.”

Moments later Marie peered out sleepily, clad only in a thin nightshirt. “What has happened, Father?”

“Marie, there are serious accusations against you,” said the linen weaver, answering for Matthis. “Some men here assert that you are no longer a virgin but have given yourself to the evils of the flesh.”

Marie folded her arms over her breasts, for she was ashamed to be standing in front of the men so scantily dressed. “I swear by the Holy Virgin it is not true!” Marie looked at her father with pleading eyes, but Master Matthis ignored her, leaning against the wall and staring at the floor as if ashamed of his daughter.

“Father, why are you turning away from me? Do you really believe I did such a dreadful thing?” Marie tried to run to his side, but the counselor blocked her way and pushed her to the other corner of the hall. Then he pointed at her room. “We will soon have the proof. Meister Jörg, Master Gero, you are neither witnesses nor accused, and I ask you therefore to search the room.”

Shocked, Marie didn’t dare move as the two craftsmen entered the room and started searching her bed, the shelves, and her chest. Suddenly Master Jörg raised his hand with a shout. A white mother-of-pearl butterfly sparkled between his fingers. “Here’s the piece of jewelry! Utz Käffli spoke the truth.”

Marie staggered forward and stared at the butterfly. “But it doesn’t belong to me. I have never seen it before.”

Rupert pulled her back. “Denying it won’t help you now. You received this piece of jewelry from Utz Käffli for bestowing your favors on him.”

“I swear that I never had an affair with that man!” Marie reeled in confusion at the unfolding scene.

Master Gero pushed Linhard forward from his hiding place in a corner into the lantern’s circle of light. “Your father’s secretary also confessed that he lay with you.”

Trying to hold back her tears, Marie put her hands to her face. “But none of that is true! In the name of Jesus Christ and all the saints, I am still a virgin.”

“Denial won’t help you now! You besmirched my honor, and I insist on a trial in order to establish the gravity of your sin!” The counselor turned his back to Marie as if he couldn’t bear the sight of her, and he pointed at Master Matthis.

“In accordance with the laws of the holy church and the kaiser, a woman accused of fornication is not allowed to reside with honorable people. Your daughter must spend the rest of the night in the dungeon. Master Gero, please call the steward of the castle and his bailiffs to take this fallen woman away.”

The harsh words of the counselor broke the silence that had been spreading in Master Matthis’s head, and he began howling like a wounded animal. “No! No! This is my house! I won’t allow you to take my daughter away.”

“Do you intend to disobey the law of the kaiser?” Although Rupert’s voice had not become any louder, those standing around him winced as if being lashed by a whip.

Mombert Flühi attempted to mediate. “Moderate your anger, Counselor Rupert, and let us discuss the matter. I have known Marie her whole life and cannot imagine she would become a woman of loose morals without any of us noticing.”

Rupert’s face remained as frozen as a mask. “I will let the court judge.”

Mombert wasn’t ready to give up. “But if this is all a mistake . . . if Marie is indeed still a virgin . . .”

“I will have her examined by an honorable matron tomorrow morning, and if she is still a virgin, the carriage driver and the secretary will be cast into the dungeon as slanderers while I will have a glorious celebration of my marriage to Marie.”

“We cannot object to that,” Master Jörg affirmed. “Counselor Rupert is a man familiar with the laws and knows what should be done.”

“Father! No! You mustn’t allow them to take me away. Do you really think I am as evil as these liars assert?” Marie seemed to be struggling for air.

She didn’t understand the turn her fate had taken. She desperately sought help from her father, but he just kept staring at the floor while mumbling something incomprehensible. Counselor Rupert seemed to take pleasure in damning her. Marie wondered in despair why he believed the statements of the two men more than he did her own.

She looked at her two accusers. Linhard turned his head away at once, but Utz grinned and ran his tongue back and forth between his broken teeth. The man frightened her, and Marie quickly turned away.

Master Gero returned almost at once with Hunold, one of the city bailiffs. Hunold stood more than a head taller than the men around him. His arms were bigger than the thigh of an ordinary man, and his abdominal muscles were as thick as ropes. He grinned broadly, seemingly enjoying the situation, and bowed to Counselor Rupert.

“Always at your service, sir.”

“Carry this woman to the dungeon. I’ll see to it that she is charged tomorrow.”

Hunold glanced lustfully at Marie, then took a rope from his belt, tied Marie’s arms behind her back, and pushed her toward the stairs. As he squeezed past her father, Master Matthis raised his head as if awakening from a bad dream and reached out to the bailiff.

“Take care of my daughter and see she has everything she needs. I’ll repay you handsomely for that.”

Hunold’s gaze, however, wandered from the owner of the house to the counselor, whom he looked at questioningly. Rupert Splendidus nodded crossly and gestured vigorously for the bailiff to take the girl away, then descended the stairs. Stopping in the entryway below, he looked up at Matthis Schärer who was leaning on the railing and gasping. “You will understand that I can no longer be your guest. We shall see each other again tomorrow in court.”

Master Matthis uttered a few incomprehensible sounds before his voice became clearer. “Go! Get out as fast as you can. And don’t forget to take with you the swine who sullied my house, or I’ll lose control of myself and throttle them.”

He staggered toward Linhard who was still leaning on the wall, exhausted. At that moment Linhard sprang back to life, ran down the stairs as if the devil were after him, tore open the door, and disappeared into the dark night.

Rupert followed him at a leisurely pace. At the courtyard entrance, he reached for the lantern he had set there but didn’t light it until he was outside in the street. Looking around, he saw Utz appear at the next corner, pulling Linhard after him.

An evil smile played around Rupert’s mouth as he asked, “You know what you have to do now?”

Utz laughed. “We’ll take care of everything, just as you wish, but first I’ll have to convince this coward that he has to play along.”

Rupert glared at Linhard. “Are you going to back out? Don’t forget it was you who hid the butterfly in the girl’s room. If you cross us, I’ll have you broken on the wheel for perjury, fraud against your employer, and a few other crimes.”

Linhard was visibly shaken and raised his hands, pleading. “No, sir.”

“Then do what Utz tells you. Now go! I’ll see you tomorrow in court.”

The counselor turned around and walked off without saying good-bye. Utz lit a pine chip, held it up in his left hand, and with the other hand pushed the secretary toward the shore of the Rhine.