The Noble Ladies' Orphanage

Chapter 18

Karolina took to haunting the tavern at night again. She was often exhausted in the morning, but she had to find out where to find Palacký or Gustav, whoever he was. Sitting under the window at the tavern, she heard all kinds of voices and all kinds of news, but she didn't hear Palacký's name or learn anything new.

One day, as Karolina cleaned up her stall at the dairy, Marcus came to the stall and whispered, "I need to talk to you. Meet me outside in a few minutes."

Karolina waited impatiently outside for him. She was hungry and wanted to get to the bakery.

"I'm going to Brno later this afternoon," Marcus said. Karolina's eyes grew larger.

"What for?"

"My brother is taking a load of eggs and vegetables to sell at the market there, and I get to go with him to help him load and unload," he said.

"You're coming back tonight?" she asked.

"Yes, because I have to be back for work early in the morning," he said.

"Could I come with you?" she asked. She tiptoed back and forth on her little feet and clapped her hands in front of her. "I wouldn't be any trouble at all, and I would even help you load and unload. I just need a few minutes to see if I can find Palacký or Gustav or somebody I could talk to about the orphanage."

Marcus looked down at her with an amused look on his face. "Of course you can come," he said. "Why do you think I mentioned it?"

"Thank you!" she squealed, and she threw her arms around him. He awkwardly patted her back, and she stepped back and smoothed her apron down. "Sorry. What time are you leaving?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "Probably within a couple of hours. Do you want to meet me at my house?"

"Yes," she said. "I'll figure out something to tell my parents and meet you there."

"I haven't exactly talked to Jan about it yet," Marcus said, "but I think it will be okay."

"Great! I'll see you at your place in a couple of hours," Karolina said. She walked home quickly and purposefully, her head and shoulders preceding her feet. When she got home, she neatly folded her extra shift and drawers. She wanted to take the comb, but she knew Eva would have a fit. There was the vest she'd been embroidering for years, which she'd never finished. Other people wouldn't know how long she'd been working on it, and it might make her seem industrious. She slipped the letter in between the folds of her shift, and wrapped the whole bundle up in a scarf.

"Oh, hello, Father," she said as she climbed down from the sleeping loft.

"Hello, my little gold," her father said. He sat on a kitchen chair with his shoes off and was vigorously rubbing his lame foot.

"Here, father, let me do that," Karolina said. She covered her father's lame foot with a cloth and started rubbing it. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. "Is it hurting a lot?" she asked.

"No, not much," he said, but the lines on his forehead told her the real story.

She continued to rub the foot, and he opened his eyes and looked down at her. "What's in the scarf, little gold?"

Karolina glanced at the scarf bundle at her feet. "Oh, it's nothing," she said.

"Nothing? How could something be nothing?" he asked.

"Father, could I ask you something?" Karolina asked.

"Of course," her father said. "Jan and Marcus are taking a quick trip up to Brno this afternoon to sell eggs and vegetables, and I really want to go with them. Could I go?"