It was eerie how the undead sprang to life again at sundown, instantly at full awareness.  Perhaps the newborn were different, but Wulf had never served one younger than five years in darkness.  Albrecht was all business the second he revived, but so was his squire, prepared for his task by years of apprenticeship in the Order’s headquarters at Mainz and in the field.  ‘Your change of apparel is here, my lord, and a comb and water if needed.  I brought them down earlier while making my rounds.’  He withdrew and waited till his master emerged in his fresh clothing and then led the way back to the master bedchamber.  The bed had, of course, been slept in by the squire himself, so that no-one should wonder why it did not need making up.  His own pallet was always rolled up before the servants entered.<br/><br/>Once the knight was ready, Wulf  hurried out and summoned the maid.  Nadya was a dark and saucy piece, one much to his own tastes, but Kyril the steward said she could be trusted to behave appropriately around the master, and Kyril had so far proved most reliable and well-informed.  And indeed she had adjusted the neck of her blouse, drawing the laces tighter so that less of her generous bosom was revealed, and the skirt she normally wore tucked up into her embroidered kirtle to show off her dimpled knees was now decorously lowered to cover her ankles.  The tray she carried held a hearty supper - venison pasties, roast duck, and honey cakes, with a flagon of mead to wash it down - which Wulf looked forward to enjoying while his master enjoyed her.  With a smile he admitted the girl to his master’s chamber.<br/>