The sun was streaming through the window, and it appeared to be late morning. The healer had probably given her something to make her sleep since it was difficult to imagine sleeping through all the pain.
Jorgen suddenly lifted his head, and his blue-green eyes locked on hers. His eyes were bloodshot and his lashes were wet.
Her stomach clenched at the hurt in his eyes.
“Can I get you anything?” His gaze flicked from her face to the bed, as if he didn’t want to look her in the eye.
“No, I thank you.”
“The healer wants you to eat something as soon as you awaken. I’ll go get—”
“Wait. Please.” Odette touched his hand. She wasn’t sure what to say to him, but she couldn’t bear for him to leave. “Stay with me.”
He stared down at her hand and bowed his head over it. She couldn’t resist lifting her other hand to touch his hair. It was as soft as she thought it would be. When he didn’t move, she slowly wrapped a lock of it around her fingertip.
There was sadness in the way his shoulders and head were bowed. He must be so angry to discover that she was the poacher. Was he feeling bad that he had shot her? Or was he sad that he would have to take her to the margrave’s dungeon?
“I will not be angry with you if you take me to the margrave and tell him what I have done.”
His hand tensed beneath hers, but his head stayed bowed. Finally he said quietly, “You betrayed me. You deceived me.” His voice was hard. “Why did you do it?”
“For the children. I did it for the children.”
He lifted his head. “For the children?” His brows lowered as he gazed at her, his mouth open.
“We were giving the meat to the poor.” At least in the beginning. But she didn’t want him to know that Rutger was involved because then he would be in trouble too. “I mean to say . . . I was giving the meat to the poor.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Who? Who was helping you?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“It was Rutger, was it not? But he was not giving the meat to the poor, Odette.”
She closed her eyes as a sharp pain streaked through her leg. “I know.” Her voice broke and a tear ran down her face.
“What do you mean, you know? I thought you said it was for the children, but Rutger was selling it. He was selling the deer you were shooting and making money off it.” He leaned forward. Intensity made his eyes seem greener and his jaw twitch. “He had a black market set up in the back of The Red House.”
Odette’s stomach twisted at the words. “He confessed it to me yesterday. I confronted him when I found out the meat was not going to the children. Please believe me. I did not know he was selling it before.” Tears ran from the corners of her eyes over her temples and into her hair.
“Are you saying he was using you?”
“Yes, but it was because he was in debt. I didn’t know, but I had noticed some things were missing in the house. Rutger hadn’t intended to keep selling the meat, but he kept losing his shipments and . . . He said he was sorry.”
Jorgen’s jaw tensed, twitching as he clenched his teeth. “How could you break the law, Odette? How could you poach deer, knowing it was wrong? How could you ask me about the poacher, listening to me talk about my struggle to catch him?” He lowered his head again. He slid his hand away from hers and covered his eyes with his hand, as if he couldn’t bear to look at her any longer.
She yearned to touch him, to comfort him. “I am sorry. Perhaps I shouldn’t have done it. I thought I was doing it for the poor, that I was doing the right thing, until I met you. Then I wasn’t so sure. I did not want to hurt you. Please, please forgive me. I never should have deceived you.”
Rutger had deceived her, and she’d been furious with him. But she had done the same thing to Jorgen. “You must hate me for betraying you.” Please don’t hate me.
He slipped his hand under hers and bowed his head over it. His breath touched her skin and sent a tingling sensation up her arm. “I believe you thought you were doing it for the children.” He shook his head. “But how could you break the law, and at such great risk? How?”
How could she tell him she didn’t know? Now it seemed so obvious that it was wrong, when seen through his eyes.
Another wave of sleepiness came over her, and the next thing she knew, she was opening her eyes to see Jorgen’s mother beside her. Jorgen was gone.
Frau Hartman helped Odette up so she could use the chamber pot. Even though her leg hurt horribly when she put her weight on it, she was grateful it would still hold her up and grateful for Frau Hartman’s help.