“Odette, are you unwell? You look pale.”
“Only a little tired. I am well.” She needed to put the ghastly dreams out of her thoughts. She would ask her uncle about something else that had been bothering her. “I have been thinking about what Mathis said about the margrave at my birthday feast.”
“Oh? What did he say?”
“He said there were rumors that the margrave set the fire in Thornbeck Castle deliberately and that he had wanted his brother to die so he could be margrave.” And if it was true, if the man could do something so ruthless to his own brother, what might he do to her if she was caught poaching?
“It is only a rumor.”
“Do you think the rumor is true?”
Rutger shrugged. “No one knows, I suppose. Although it does seem likely. With his brother out of the way, with no heir and no wife, his younger brother would inherit everything. Otherwise, the younger brother would never be anything more than the captain of his brother’s guard.”
When thinking about it like that, it did seem likely.
“But I was speaking to you about the Burgomeister inviting us to his home for dinner. I thought you would be excited about seeing Mathis again. You seemed to enjoy dancing with him at your birthday dinner.”
“I do enjoy dancing.”
“I could imagine him asking you to marry him soon.”
Odette shook her head. “I do not believe I would ever marry Mathis.”
A look of disappointment flickered across his face. “I suspected as much.”
“I am sorry, Uncle Rutger. You have been so good to me, and I’m sure my marriage to Mathis could advance your interests.” She waited for him to confirm or deny the truth of her statement.
He shrugged. “While it is true that Mathis and his father could help my interests a great deal, I would not have you marry against your will.”
She felt a tinge of guilt. Was she being selfish? Some people would say she was—selfish, foolish, and oblivious to her own interests.
“I cannot marry anyway. Neither Mathis Papendorp nor any other man in Thornbeck would allow his wife to poach deer to feed the poor.”
Rutger smiled, but there was a solemnity in his eyes that belied his amusement. Then he shifted his head as he seemed to have a new thought. “Of course you would not poach deer.” He turned partially away from her and fingered a beautiful vase from the Orient that sat on a small table. “You could influence the mayor and others of the wealthiest people in Thornbeck to form a special society to help the poor. You would no longer be forced to go out hunting every night.”
It did sound appealing. She might stop dreaming these horrible dreams and finally be able to sleep.
“You don’t want to hunt deer every night for the rest of your life, do you?”
“No.” As she was realizing more and more. She couldn’t do it forever, and she was bound to get caught sooner or later.
“Then why not marry Mathis?”
Odette was silent for a few moments. “It is something to think about.” And another reason why she could never, ever marry Jorgen. He was not rich enough to help feed the poor. She might ask her uncle to help feed them, but because of his recent setbacks in losing his last three shipments of goods, she knew he was unable.
“You look sad, my dear.”
“I am not sad.” She shook her head, but even as she did, she had to blink away tears. How foolish. It was only because she was so tired, and exhaustion made her susceptible to tears.
“There is a reason why I am mentioning all of this.” He stared at the colorful vase. “I am worried about the forester discovering that you are the one poaching the margrave’s deer.”
“Why do you say that?” A fist squeezed her stomach.
“The men told me how you lost an arrow a few nights ago.”
“I know. Both very careless mistakes.” Her breath shallowed.
“These sorts of things will happen, no matter how careful you try to be.”
She supposed that was true. It did seem as though her only choice was to marry someone rich who would not mind helping the poor.
He said nothing for a moment. “Mathis Papendorp adores you. I think he would be easy to persuade. He would hardly miss the amount of money it would take to feed those children you teach. Unlike Jorgen Hartman.”
“I have not decided to marry either man. Nor have they asked me.”
“Forgive me. I have upset you with all this talk of marriage. You do not have to marry anyone, not as long as I am alive.” Uncle Rutger did not speak again for several moments while Odette’s thoughts churned. “But that is another thing to consider. I will not live forever, my dear. And if something unexpected were to happen to me, you could not go on as you have been. You would need to marry.”