The Wandering Harlot (The Marie Series) by Iny Lorentz Read Free Book Online Page A

the pole, tied her hands over her head, and with a violent tug pulled her dress down and threw it aside. Marie froze in shame.
    Hunold untied the rope behind Marie’s neck and ripped the gag out of her mouth. Then pulling a knife from his belt, he cut off her braids.
    Marie turned her head to the side as much as she was able with her arms stretched over her head. “May God damn you to the darkest reaches of hell.”
    Hunold smirked and made room for the court bailiff, who stepped up to the pole and began reading the judgment in an ostentatious tone. In the meantime, Mombert had leaned his half-conscious brother-in-law against a cart and made his way to the front row of spectators. He didn’t know what he thought he could do there. Didn’t anyone see that an appalling injustice was being committed? Why didn’t anyone intervene? The miracle he had hoped for did not happen.
    The people around him didn’t know what to think of the whole matter. Some of them knew Marie and affirmed they had considered her a virtuous young woman, but most proclaimed loudly that she had duped them all, and their voices sounded malicious and complacent. A few levelheaded citizens inquired about the kaiser’s magistrate who was responsible for prosecution and punishment of crimes in Constance along with the city council, but they were informed that the magistrate had left town two days ago and was not expected back until the beginning of the following week.
    The crowd quieted when a court bailiff handed Hunold three hazelnut branches. Marie clenched her teeth at the first blow. Again, the lash struck her back, and it felt like her body was in flames. The blows kept coming, and soon she could no longer think clearly, as every part of her body and soul was overcome with pain. Not even the torment of purgatory could be worse.
    Finally, Hunold untied the ropes binding Marie to the post and watched as she sank to the ground. After a moment, he poured a nearby basin of cold water over her. Marie groaned and struggled to lift her head. “You are no longer human, Hunold. You are a monster.”
    He laughed and turned away, leaving her to the two court bailiffs who would lead her out of the city. The men pulled her to her feet. While one of them held her, the other dressed her in a bright yellow robe that only reached her thighs. More of a sack than a garment, the cloth showed two grimacing faces that represented fornication and lust. Then the bailiffs beckoned to the servant holding their horses.
    “Come, whore! Now we’re leaving town!” One of the bailiffs wrapped the end of a long rope around her tied hands and fastened the other end to a stirrup. Without giving her a second glance, he and his comrade leaped into their saddles and spurred their horses forward, Marie staggering along on foot behind them through a dense crowd of onlookers. As she passed through the Rhine Gate, the golden rooster perched on the cathedral ridge jeered a final farewell over the roofs of the old city.

VIII.
    Matthis Schärer and Mombert Flühi had joined the crowd following the bailiffs. Marie’s father had aged decades since her arrest, but his strength suddenly seemed to return as he shoved his way through the crowd so fast that his brother-in-law could barely keep up with him. His mind still seemed to be clouded, however, as he babbled incomprehensibly, stretching his trembling hands out to his daughter. Mombert’s eyes were also fastened on his niece, whose yellow robe was turning red from her blood. He thought of his daughter, Hedwig, who had just turned twelve, and he shuddered to imagine her in Marie’s place.
    As the bailiffs were guiding their horses through the city gate, Marie caught sight of Michel pushing his way through the crowd, and their eyes met fleetingly. His face reflected his horror and helplessness, but also his sympathy and willingness to stand by her. When she tripped over a protruding cobblestone and fell, he started to hurry to her aid, but