“What are you doing here?” he asked. “You should be below, in the cellar. It’s far too dangerous.”
“I would see you, Father, before it’s too late.”
Ludwig could feel a lump forming in his throat. Was this also the last time he would see Lord Wulfram? Rosalyn moved quickly to her father"s side, giving him an embrace. The baron, for all his stoicism, enveloped her in his arms.
“It shall be fine, Rosalyn,” he soothed. “You will survive this.”
“And what of you?” she sobbed. “How can I take refuge knowing you will die here, in this very hall?”
He placed her at arm"s length. “See here now,” he said. “We all have to go, eventually. Better for me to die a heroic death than waste away of disease.”
Ludwig noticed her temper flaring.
“Heroic death?" she said. "There"s no such thing. Death is f
