C5 Chapter 5

Lillebror entered the impressive hall and shouted: “Mother, Father! Are you still up?”

A pleasant woman’s voice replied: “We’re here, Lillebror.”

He said to Elisabet: “Come. They’re in the small salon, probably sitting by the window, enjoying the last of the twilight. That’s something Mother enjoys.”

Elisabet followed Lillebror uneasily through the rooms, which were so beautiful that Elistrand and even Graastensholm seemed like paupers’ shacks by comparison. She saw sofas and armchairs in white and gold with petit-point backs, marble tables with rococo legs, and massive chests of drawers. The walls were divided into panels bordered with swags of flowers, and the mirrors reflected exquisite paintings and curtains.

Lillebror announced their arrival as they walked through the rooms: “Here I am with Vemund’s and my latest acquaintance: Ulf Paladin’s daughter, Elisabet.”

A couple got up from their seats in a very beautiful salon. Although the daylight had not entirely disappeared, lights were burning in several big silver candelabra at various places in the room. Elisabet had no difficulty seeing her future parents-in-law.

The woman walked up to her with an outstretched hand: “Elisabet Paladin of the Ice People! Welcome to our humble abode. I once had the pleasure of meeting your mother, the margravine ...”

The margravine? Elisabet was surprised at the title because nobody used it any more. Unless, Mum ...? She managed to conceal her shock with a cheerful smile, curtseying politely to the brothers’ mother. Just as Elisabet’s mother had said, Mrs Tark was certainly an attractive woman. Not young, no, she was probably older than she appeared, but she was so gracious in her movements that Elisabet felt like an elephant next to her. She was quite tall, with high cheekbones and a beautifully shaped face. Her eyes radiated zest and dignity and she held her back very straight. The hand that locked around Elisabet’s was slim and cool, and her smile was genuinely friendly. This was a chatelaine who filled her position perfectly, a woman of the world and a charming, feminine creature. A mixture of strength and style ... Elisabet felt terribly inferior.

The brothers’ father was almost invisible next to this woman who had such a strong personality. He appeared behind her, took Elisabet’s hand and kissed it politely. Elisabet gave a slight start.

“Please be careful, Father,” Lillebror said, smiling. “Elisabet is allergic to the scent of hair powder. It makes her sneeze very badly.”

Mr Tark straightened up immediately with a kind smile in his eyes. “Is that so?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” replied Elisabet, embarrassed. “That’s why my own hair doesn’t follow the current fashion.”

“I think it’s adorable,” Mrs Tark said. “When you have hair like yours, why conceal it?”

Were these words sarcastic? Elisabet didn’t think so. She smiled at Lillebror’s father. Now she understood why the two brothers were so handsome. Not only was their mother a beauty, their father was also one of the most attractive men she had seen. His youthful face was immensely kind and gentle, and he had features in common with his two fine sons. Elisabet would not have been a normal woman if she had not noticed that his wife was the older of the pair. It was impossible to say by how much, because she concealed her age well and he had gained many concerned wrinkles from years of stressful work in his large business. Vemund’s peculiar behaviour was also bound to have taken its toll. Mr Tark was dressed just like his son – that is to say Lillebror – in complete accord with the fashion of the day, with white hair, a lace cravat and stockings. Elisabet disapproved of this style, which she regarded as vain and unmanly. She would have liked to see Lillebror dress like Vemund. If she married him, she would soon cure him of such nonsense.

She couldn’t help herself. The more she got to know Lillebror Tark and his family, the more tempting marriage with him seemed.

What a home! It would have been just about enough to make her choose anybody.

But only just about. Elisabet only wanted to marry somebody she liked: that was her least demand. But somebody she loved? That thought did not really appeal to her. “Like” would do, and she already liked Lillebror a great deal. Besides, it seemed that his parents had nothing against her. Or had the title of margravine swayed them? Her mother was stupid and Elisabet would tell her off for that!

They invited her to stay for supper and conversed with her effortlessly. Elisabet could not help noticing that they tried to question her about the lady she was acting as a companion to. She intuitively felt that they thought she was keeping company with Vemund. However, she insisted that it was an elderly lady, who was very shy and did not want Elisabet to talk about her to other people. She wasn’t even allowed to mention her name. Elisabet thought: I must have a name I can use because this can’t go on much longer.

The more she was with the family, the more she grew to like them. The distinguished father seemed to worship the ground that his wife, Emilie, walked on. He would often caress her hand, almost submissively, and she would look longingly at him, a picture of eternal love. It was not difficult to see who was the stronger of the two, which did not matter since Mrs Emilie behaved so graciously. They made an exquisite, handsome couple with two handsome sons.

Nevertheless, this idyllic image was beginning to show signs of strain: Vemund had upset the family harmony. His parents, especially his father, seemed to take this very heavily: every time Vemund’s name was mentioned, for instance when the management of the family business came up, a new wrinkle was added to Arnold Tark’s perfect face.

Elisabet exceeded herself. She was so lively and courteous that her parents would not have believed their eyes or ears. However, the atmosphere and the setting of the house did not lend itself to spontaneity.

She must have made a good impression, because they expressed the wish that she would visit again. Then Lillebror took her back to Vemund’s house. It was dark as they drove through the park and the forest, and once again Elisabet experienced the sensation that everything seemed to take on a dreamlike atmosphere. The scene might have been taken from a fairy tale, with the muted sound of the horse’s hooves, the forest, barely visible, lying secretively in the darkness and then this handsome man sitting next to her. Of course, Lillebror behaved absolutely impeccably. Nevertheless, she sensed his proximity, heard his soft, kind voice as he spoke of a ball he had attended and people she ought to meet. He did not mention Karin, and Elisabet was too afraid to ask anything about her.

He dropped her by Vemund’s house.

“Are you sure you can get home safely from here?” Lillebror asked, concerned.

Elisabet replied: “Yes, it isn’t very far. Thank you for a wonderful evening!”

Lillebror smiled back: “We’re the ones who must thank you. It’s a long time since we’ve had such a delightful evening. You’re so spontaneous and unconventional!”

Thank you! And she thought she had behaved herself impeccably and absolutely correctly!

He said goodnight, cracked the whip and the coach rolled away in the darkness. Elisabet hurried on her way towards town.

Vemund was waiting for her in the kitchen in Karin’s house.

“Oh, there you are at long last,” he said brusquely. “I thought you had moved in up there.”

In a way, it was nice to hear his unpolished manner after all the etiquette and politeness.

“They invited me to dinner,” she said breathlessly as she sat down opposite him. She loosened the silk ribbons of her hat. “How have things been here?”

Vemund said: “She’s slept all the time. Do you want something to eat?”

“Just a glass of malt brew, thank you,” Elisabet said to make Vemund stay a bit longer. “Have some beer yourself!”

“I’ve already had some. Actually, I drink far too much but it gives me a few hours’ rest and sometimes that’s absolutely necessary. Anyway, how did things go?”

Elisabet spoke eagerly: “What a magnificent house, Vemund! And what fantastic parents you have! And your brother is awfully sweet!”

“In that order?”

Elisabet blushed. “Not necessarily. I liked everything I saw. I believe they also liked me. I behaved very courteously,” she added quickly.

“I would really have liked to see that,” he said.

“Oh, I liked them so much,” she said dreamily. “Your father is so charming, Vemund. I wouldn’t mind having a husband like him!”

“Ha, you would boss him to death. You need somebody who is domineering.”

“So why have you chosen me for Lillebror?” she asked in a low and serious voice. “He’s just as gentle as his father.”

Vemund replied: “You’re very much mistaken. Lillebror’s quite a handful. He demands a great deal of a woman. His mother is his ideal and living up to her won’t be easy.”

Elisabet put her elbows on the table, leaned forwards and said impulsively: “Yes, she’s handled her position very well. She’s the natural authority, and oh, so strong. But watch how she obeys her husband, watch how soft and affectionate she is! I can also be like that.”

Vemund’s sceptical snort was very offensive. Elisabet grew a bit careless: “Isn’t she ... somewhat older than him?”

“Somewhat? You probably won’t believe it but she’s sixty-three. Eighteen years older than her husband. She was a widow when they met.”

“It’s quite normal for men to marry older widows. You come across them everywhere. It can be advantageous because widows tend to be quite well-off.”

Vemund said: “Not in this case. The wealth comes from the Tark dynasty. I damn them for sponging off the poor!”

“Watch out that you’re not arrested for revolutionary ideas that will benefit the working classes! Nevertheless, you’re absolutely right. I would never have guessed that your mother was that old. She is certainly well preserved!”

Vemund sat with his side to her, looking out of the window. Once again, she was struck by the deep depression she could detect at the corner of his mouth. His unnamed offence against Karin had clearly robbed him of any joie de vivre. They heard distant sounds from the slum farther away, women screaming angrily at their snivelling husbands. But Karin’s street was peaceful. Perhaps this was because one of the police guardhouses was situated on the street corner that separated the two districts. Elisabet guessed that Vemund had arranged for a guard to stand there.

He turned to Elisabet once again and his eyes shone in the glow from the candles – he resembled a splendid predator. Now Elisabet could see that he was not quite as handsome as Lillebror. He was more like a sketch before a piece of art had been created.

“You liked my brother then?” Vemund asked.

“Yes, he’s gentle and kind. As handsome as an enchanted prince, but looks are far from important.”

“Enchanted princes are seldom handsome. They’re either beasts or frogs.”

“Well, a re-enchanted enchanted prince then,” Elisabet said, smiling cheerfully. “That has always been my favourite story. When I was very young, I always dreamed of meeting a beast and giving it all my love and kissing it to turn it back into a prince again.”

He looked at her inscrutably. Distrust, despondency at her childish personality, a search for God or goodness knows what ... She was unable to fully decipher the look on his face.

“Would you consider marrying him?”

“The prince?”

“No, Lillebror, of course!”

She hesitated for only a second but he registered it.

“There is nothing to prevent me from doing so as far as I’m concerned,” was her slow reply, as if the words had to be forced out of her. He turned towards the window once more. “Excellent,” he said stiffly. “I want you to take him away from here. I want him to settle down in your home at Elistrand and build a life after you marry. That is my only wish now.”

Elisabet did not quite know what to say to that. All of a sudden, she felt betrayed, exploited.

“Don’t let him use you,” Ingrid had warned. This was precisely what was about to happen. Or was it?

Why did she feel so empty inside? The feeling was the one you have when you are standing all by yourself in front of an audience, and all eyes are looking at you and nobody is there to help you.

Her thoughts were interrupted when he stood up.

“No, you’re bound to be tired. I will be on my way home.”

“No, I ...”

Her remark had come quite spontaneously and had made her suddenly blush. She was confused.

Vemund looked questioningly at her. It was as if the empty house in the forest did not appeal to him.

Elisabet also got up. “No, nothing. Oh, it’s awfully late and I’ve kept you up for so long. I suppose you’ll be back at work early tomorrow morning.” She spoke feverishly to conceal the request that was just about to slip out of her lips that he should stay. “Thank you for keeping guard,” she said gently. “You gave me a memorable evening.”

He murmured something that sounded a bit like: “Yes, that was what I feared.” But of course that was not what he said.

Vemund asked: “Do I have your permission to talk to Lillebror tomorrow? To say that I’ve asked for your hand on his behalf and that your parents have nothing against it?”

Elisabet started. “Surely it’s not that urgent?” she muttered.

He went right up to her. “Yes, it is urgent!” he said earnestly. “I can’t cope very much longer and ...” Vemund stopped abruptly and began all over again: “Can I tell him?”

“I suppose you could mention it,” Elisabet replied reluctantly. “A bit cautiously. Then see how he reacts. You shouldn’t say anything about my parents having given their permission. You’ll chase him up a blind alley and he will be forced to accept for reasons of politeness. First I want to know what he says about it all.”

“You’re the most pig-headed ...” Vemund began, his teeth clenched. “You must have it the way you want it. What if he’s delighted? What then?”

“Then you can say whatever you want,” Elisabet replied wearily. “I can’t be bothered to think any more this evening.”

“No, of course not. I understand,” Vemund said, more gently. “Take good care of Karin. And yourself! Goodnight!”

The house felt empty after he had left. Elisabet went upstairs to see how Karin was, but she was fast asleep. Having opened the door a little so that she could hear if Karin called, she went to bed. The sounds from outside died down bit by bit. She lay gazing at the beautiful room, though she could only see a little of the walls and ceiling and the wall mirror in the dim light. Her thoughts and emotions were confused. She could not make head or tail of them. But there was one thing she was absolutely sure of: as soon as she got the chance, she would journey to Holmestrand. She wanted to know more about Vemund’s terrible crime against Karin. Suddenly her thoughts made her shudder. This is the blood of the Ice People in me. I’m neither stricken nor chosen. I’m just Elisabet. But just now, I had a small taste of what Ingrid and Ulvhedin must experience.

This was a warning! Don’t interfere in matters that are none of your business, Elisabet! Let Vemund be at peace with his secrets!

But how else am I to help vulnerable, sensitive Miss Karin?

One day Elisabet did something she was not supposed to do. Not long after arriving in Miss Karin’s house, she had realized that she would need her medical skills. Karin suffered from many ailments, neglected as she had been for many years in the mental hospital. The first thing Elisabet had to help her patient with was the state of her feet. Karin could hardly stand on them because they were so swollen and neglected. When Karin discovered what a treasure Elisabet was for her health, she revealed one minor health problem after the other. Elisabet had brought a great supply of medicines and herbs with her from home, and she did her best for the poor woman. The things Karin told Elisabet got worse and worse. Miss Karin was certainly in a poor state. Delighted at having a female “doctor” to confide in, she began to disclose more and more intimate health issues. But Elisabet had been taught by Ingrid and Ulvhedin, and she did not blush. She did what she could and wrote prescriptions for medicine (which she herself had brought with her but Miss Karin wanted everything to be correct and according to medical procedure).

This was why Elisabet went against Vemund’s wishes. She told Miss Karin that they would be taking a walk in the nice weather.

“Outside?” the patient asked, totally baffled. “I haven’t been out since I was at Bode.”

Bode! Elisabet immediately made a mental note of this place.

“Then it’s about time that you got out now. You see, Miss Karin, it’s not good for a person to lead a sedentary life indoors. The whole machinery gets out of order and you can become terribly sick, which you already are.”

Karin said with sentimental self-pity: “Yes, I’m awfully sick.”

“But you want to get well, don’t you, Miss Karin? So we’ll begin with a very short walk down the street.”

“With my feet?”

“Your feet need to be trained to walk again. It will hurt to begin with, but it will get better.”

“What about my fine, white complexion? It will be ruined if I’m out in the rain or blustery weather or strong sunlight!”

“Having a fine, white complexion and being sickly grey isn’t the same thing,” Elisabet said; she commended herself for speaking to Miss Karin in a patient tone of voice. “A spot of fresh air every day will make you look young again. Off we go!”

“What if he turns up when we’re gone? And finds the door locked? Then he might never come back again. I had better stay here ...”

“We won’t be going far: we’ll be able to see the house all the time.”

“Oh, well then,” Karin said helplessly. “If you think I can ...”

“Haven’t I already improved your ingrown nails? And isn’t your stomach already better? Believe me, Miss Karin, in this case I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been taught by the very best!”

Miss Karin nodded obediently. If only Miss Karin knew, Elisabet thought. My teachers were an old witch and a monster who could make a ghost sink into the earth. I had better keep quiet about that.

When they had staggered laboriously down the stairs and outside, Karin screwed up her eyes against the sun.

“Good heavens!” she whined. “My eyes! I’ll go blind!”

“It will only last a minute. Now then, we’ll take things quietly. This way.”

Elisabet was careful not to walk in the direction of the slum. They took one step at a time. Karin with her tender feet clung to her companion’s arm. She had plenty to do in manoeuvring her feet around the worst cobblestones, which meant that she did not really pay attention to her surroundings.

Elisabet was horrified by the sight of Miss Karin in full daylight. Now her decline was obvious: the old-fashioned clothes, the thin hair and the grey-white face that now seemed at least twenty years older.

It was as if Elisabet was dragging a tragic ghost who was half transparent in all her frailty.

What on earth had Vemund done to this woman? And now? He probably had the best of intentions, but it was not good for anybody to be locked up like his, even if it was in a golden cage.

Elisabet asked gently: “Miss Karin, what’s the name of your fiancé?”

“Bubi,” Karin answered, invigorated. “We just call him Bubi. It’s German and means ‘little boy’.”

Elisabet knew that, but she said nothing.

Karin had become eager; she staggered on at a snail’s pace but she seemed to have forgotten the pain in her feet. “You don’t understand, Elisabet, he’s slightly younger than me but not much. Not at all much! He’s so boyish, so sweet and in love, you’re bound to like him, he said he would drop by this evening, he was just going to find some lilies-of-the-valley for my wedding bouquet. Everybody loves him and everybody envies me for winning him. Nevertheless, he says that he’s the one people should envy. Wasn’t that nice of him to say that? Oh, I’m beginning to feel very tired ...”

Elisabet said: “We’ll be on our way back home. That’s enough for today. We also need to keep an eye on the house. You’ve been very clever today, Miss Karin.”

“My eyes are watering because of the horrible sun, I can hardly see ...”

Karin stopped and dried her eyes with a handkerchief. “It’s very nice here,” she said in a surprised tone of voice. “But not as nice as at Bode, my childhood home. I don’t quite understand why I must wait for Bubi here and not at home, but he probably knows why. Anyway, it’s much nicer here than on that terrible estate where I lived for a while. That was where they locked me in and I had to share a room with a lot of people who screamed and the bed was nothing but dirty sacks of hay. It’s completely beyond me how anybody could live in such a mansion – I mean what sort of an estate owner would let his house fall into such decay so that it turns into a pigsty? It was an absolutely horrible time and I cried my eyes out every single day, but I’m also happy that Bubi didn’t see my complete humiliation because it would have made him absolutely furious with the owners. Vemund was certainly furious; he happened to drop by and he could see at a glance that I wasn’t used to such conditions so he got me moved from there straight away. Thank goodness my family knew nothing!”

Elisabet asked: “So you didn’t know Mr Vemund at the time?”

“No, not at all. He could see that I was of nobler birth than those horrible people they had locked into my room. He was very kind to me. That should go without saying because I’m of noble birth and he’s pretty rough, to be honest. But ... nevertheless very polite.”

“Did you spend a long time at the terrible estate, Miss Karin?”

“No, no, only a couple of weeks or so, but that was certainly bad enough!”

Only a couple of weeks? Elisabet was not too sure about that. Karin seemed to have lost any notion of time so she was bound to have stayed there for longer. More likely months. Perhaps years? Several years in a mental hospital – without understanding ...?

They met a young man, a simple workman by the look of his clothes. Miss Karin immediately straightened her back but looked down with a shy smile.

“One shouldn’t encourage that type of common person,” she whispered confidently to Elisabet. “Did you see how he stared at me?”

No wonder, Elisabet thought. It’s not every day that you meet a living ghost! How was she ever to turn Karin into a real, living human being? Was it really worth the trouble?

Yes, absolutely! Every individual is worth helping, and little Miss Karin had more to offer than most. She deserved to see a light at the end of the tunnel. But what if there was no light? What if there was nothing but a black abyss that Elisabet was going to reveal to her?

“Oh, see!” Karin whispered with tears in her eyes. “Those trees over there, aren’t they linden trees? I would really like to touch them ... It’s so long ago ... It feels like a very long time ago but I know that it was yesterday. May I?”

Elisabet knew that Karin could not walk any farther and the steps across the street must seem an eternity. So Elisabet asked her to wait and ran over to fetch some linden leaves for her. Karin stroked her hand over the fresh leaves and an extremely sad expression came into her eyes, as if a vague memory flickered momentarily only to disappear. For a second, Elisabet feared that Karin would realize her situation and understand what she had missed, all the years that had vanished without a trace. Then Karin looked at Elisabet again and her expression was just as empty and confused as it usually was.

Elisabet had a lump in her throat; she put out her hand and stroked Karin’s cheek. “You’re so fine, Miss Karin. A really nice, fine little woman!”

This could have gone wrong. A companion and servant should not behave like that. But Miss Karin was desperate for kindness. She reached out for Elisabet’s hand and held it in hers.

“You mustn’t leave me, Elisabet,” she said, her lips quivering. “I don’t know what it is but I’m so scared. I seem to be surrounded by dark shadows in every corner. The most horrible shadows lurk in the darkness!”

Elisabet was deeply moved and said: “Don’t be afraid, Miss Karin. I shan’t leave you in the lurch. Mr Vemund and I will see to it that the beasts won’t reach you.”

It was easy for Elisabet to say that, because at the time she had no idea of the battle the three of them – Karin, Vemund and Elisabet – would have to fight against the beasts.