Free Loyal Heart (The Von Wolfenberg Dynasty #1) by Anna Markland Page A

of Duke Heinrich who stood in a side chapel in conversation with the emperor and Brandt Rödermark. Sophia’s father was at Brandt’s side.  
    Judging by the ducal scowl Heinrich sent her way one would have thought the meeting was the prime reason for everyone being at the cathedral.
    She smiled weakly. Heinrich always made her nervous. He couldn’t be more than thirty years old, but his white beard and bushy eyebrows made him look ancient. Anyone who hadn’t met the emperor might be forgiven for thinking that the man with the most ostentatious feathered hat was the person who occupied the throne of the Holy Roman Empire.  
    It was no secret the Duke of Saxony expected to succeed Lothair. He was, after all, the emperor’s son-by-marriage. As a member of the powerful Guelph family he was probably the most likely candidate, though Brandt’s Duke of Franconia and his brother the Duke of Swabia would likely contest his election.
    Though he wasn’t a young man, the energetic Lothair wasn’t likely to die any time soon, and for the moment peace reigned.
    Heinrich’s son, also named Heinrich, seemed to accompany the duke wherever he went. It was surprising he hadn’t joined the hunt. The seven-year-old, who wore a miniature version of his father’s outrageous hat, sat crosslegged on the stone floor of the chapel, picking his nose, while his imperial grandfather looked on benignly.
    She closed the door a hair, just enough so she could still see Brandt and her father. Both had their backs to her, but she sensed something was wrong. Though she’d seen a vulnerable side of Brandt at the waterfall, he struck her as a man very sure of himself, almost too sure. Now his broad shoulders were rounded, as if standing erect was painful. Her father gripped the hilt of his sword and kept glancing at him. Perhaps the meeting wasn’t going well. Lothair’s jocular voice echoed off the stone pillars, so evidently an argument wasn’t in progress.
    That was a relief. It wouldn’t be a good omen if a political dispute were to erupt at Johann’s wedding, and Brandt likely wouldn’t leave Wolfenberg alive if it did. The prospect made her belly roil.
    She breathed more easily when the men headed for the entryway, little Heinrich holding his grandfather’s hand, but became alarmed when she finally saw Brandt’s face. The beads of sweat on Brandt’s forehead spoke of fever. His pallor and the stern set of his jaw betrayed pain. It wasn’t the handsome face she’d seen turned to the sun at the waterfall. Clearly something was very wrong.
    Heart pounding, she closed the door and hurried back to the vestry.  

CONFLICTING EMOTIONS

    When Sophia regained the vestry where the women had been allowed to dress for the ceremony she tried hard to hide her upset. “All clear,” she announced breezily.
    Her mother frowned at her, then led the way down the short flight of steps to the door into the church. Eugenia Halden followed.
    Kristina took a deep breath and smiled. “This is it,” she said.
    “My brother is a lucky man,” Sophia replied.
    “But something is bothering you,” her perceptive friend whispered, one eye on the door through which the older women had exited.
    Sophia took her hand. “It has nothing to do with you and Johann.” She ought not to say anything to mar the day, but fear for Brandt got the better of her. “It’s just…I think the Franken envoy is ill.”
    Kristina seemed not to grasp the depth of her concerns. “You care for him. I told you there’d be someone for you at the wedding.”
    Sophia was about to reply that she was worried for the man, but that nothing could ever come of a relationship between them. However, Frau Halden poked her face in the door. “Hurry, everyone is waiting.”
    Kristina linked arms with Sophia. “I will pray for both of you during the mass,” she whispered.
    The two girls joined their mothers and the four proceeded to the vestibule entryway where Johann waited with his