Winter Storm, page 11
Eldar nodded. “That’s fine. Now let’s go to the bridge.”
When they had placed the letter under the stone and hurried through the village, which was still asleep, they came to a forest. A road led up to the ridge on the other side of Moberg, heading northwards, not towards the Parish of Graastensholm.
At length he spoke to her. The road was broad so they could walk side by side.
“You do realise, don’t you, that the Woller People will chase us down? They truly hate us!”
“Because of those two men?”
“Yes, because of Mons Woller, the landowner’s son. But he wasn’t the one you thrust your knife into, that was the other one.”
Her stomach turned once more. “Eldar! Please! I can’t bear to think about it.”
“You’ll have to get used to the thought. Don’t suppress it because that’ll only make matters worse. You saved my life – whatever that’s worth.”
She smiled gratefully. It was as if it made him loosen up a bit.
“And your honour,” he added.
Then the smiled died on her lips. “That’s impossible to say,” she said.
“We’ll see.”
It sounded frightening all the same. She didn’t like such future prospects at all. She would see to it that they came to nothing.
“Your sister, Gudrun ... is she also in your insurgency group?” she asked uncertainly.
“Group?” he snarled. “Do you think we’re a small church choir?” Then he turned serious and somewhat ill at ease. “Gudrun has been brought up to hate the Danes. So has my whole family, of course. But we can’t have her with us in our plot. She’s far too unbalanced. And far too ...”
He didn’t seem to want to finish the sentence.
‘But I’m in the plot,’ Villemo thought. ‘However reluctantly, they’ve let me in.’
“I’ll be a good helper,” she promised, her voice trembling solemnly. “You won’t come to regret it.”
“Good,” he said absent-mindedly.
“The only obligation I want you to meet is that you don’t harm my family.”
“We shall spare them. But I can’t answer for what the bailiff’s men or Woller will do.”
Villemo stopped abruptly. “Oh, no! I have to go back home!”
He grabbed her arm. “Now don’t be stupid. I exaggerated. They can’t do anything against you because you have far too much respect. But my family, on the other hand ... Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We’ve been in dire straits before.”
He was silent. As they walked, Villemo listened to their brisk steps, the rustle of her skirts and their low breathing. It was high noon and turning into a bright and beautiful day. But Villemo was thoroughly frozen after being out the entire evening. In an attempt at alleviating the misery, she wrapped her big shawl closer around her.
“We’ll stop here and rest,” Eldar said.
They had left the valley and Moberg behind them a long time ago and had come to a valley on a higher plateau. The leaf-bearing trees looked like they were covered with coins of copper and gold. They hadn’t seen human habitation for a long while, not since Moberg.
“I’m not tired,” she objected. “Just hungry. Besides, it’s best that we walk as far as possible during the day.”
“You’re walking with difficulty. Sit down here.”
She obeyed and trembled. He was so determined that she suspected what he intended to do.
“Eldar, I don’t think that examination is necessary.”
“It’s absolutely vital. Don’t you understand? I’m not interested in seeing what the daughter of a landowner looks like underneath her skirts, but I have to.”
Villemo was on the verge of tears. “But I won’t allow it!”
“Suppose you have a child with that horrible Mons Woller as the father?”
“Child?” she repeated, pale-faced.
“Yeah, would you believe it! This is how these small creatures come into existence. I have to see how far he made it, whether he succeeded. You said you felt strong pain. If he succeeded, then we’ll have to visit a wise woman I know. She can help you remove the foetus.”
Villemo turned away in horror.
“I’m only thinking of myself,” he said brusquely. “Because I’m the one who’ll be blamed anyway.”
“But–”
“What do you honestly think?” he interrupted her.
She sat quietly for some time while he waited. Then she burst out in a sob and nodded.
She didn’t want to look at him while he kneeled down next to her and made her lie down. Villemo put her hands over her face and tried to stop crying as she could feel that he was pulling up her skirts.
“I suppose my dress is too sophisticated?” she said unclearly. “How am I to work as a maid in it?”
“It’s pretty dirty and tattered already and it will be worse by the time we get there. We’ll just say that you begged to get it from another estate you worked for. Your fine underwear is more of a problem. It’s far too nice, you’ll have to get rid of it.”
“But it’s so cold, and winter will soon be here.”
He began to pull it off her. Villemo began to shiver. She felt terribly ill at ease.
“There’s no blood on it,” he said. “Now lift your knees.”
“No, I ...”
“Do as I tell you so that we can have this over and done with!”
She obeyed ever so reluctantly. The ground was cold against her back and the sunlight dazzled her. She didn’t dare to open her eyes and look at him.
“You’re very blue,” he said, matter-of-factly.
“I’m freezing,” she whimpered.
“No, what I mean is that you’re covered in bruises all over.”
“Really? Well, that’s how it feels.”
“So long as it’s only that. Those pigs!”
She noticed that he wasn’t swearing quite so much any longer.
Eldar’s fingertips touched her very gently. She jerked.
“I should wash my hands,” he murmured. “I’m so dirty. Don’t cry. There’s nothing to cry about!”
She was unable to stop herself from weeping quietly. He pulled her dress down again and asked her to wait. They had heard a brook nearby and he walked in the direction of it.
Villemo lay quietly with her hands over her face, feeling that everything was far too embarrassing and unpleasant. She felt completely empty inside. This wasn’t how she had imagined the lovely adventure with her adored Eldar. She kept on swallowing to stop herself from weeping but it was impossible.
Then he returned and got down on his knees once more.
“Let’s see,” he murmured. “Now please lie completely still and don’t be afraid!”
Then she felt his hand, which the water from the brook had turned as cold as ice.
“No, you mustn’t move!”
“Your hands are so cold.”
Then he seemed to give a smile of relief. It probably wasn’t easy for him either. Gently, ever so gently, he examined her. His fingers hardly touched her. Villemo struggled to lie quiet and not dash away. It was all so embarrassing that she felt she was about to die.
Suddenly she pulled back. “Please stop!”
“Now then, please don’t move, just for another moment ...”
Then he looked at her with a quick, relieved smile.
“You’re still a virgin, Villemo.”
“Am I?” she said with relief. She quickly stood and turned away from him to get dressed. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. The pain came from the blue marks. You must have put up a brave fight.”
“I did,” she laughed shyly. “But he was very rough with his hands. He held me in such a firm grip. He was mad at me because I was giving him such a hard time ...”
“I can well imagine.”
She turned back to face Eldar. The mood had become a lot better.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, complimenting and caressing her neck and arms with his hands and his glance. “You’re absolutely damn beautiful. It’s a shame ...”
“What?” she said.
“That you’re untouched. Otherwise you and I could have lots of fun this coming winter.”
“What do you mean?”
Her eyes were alarmingly belligerent, which didn’t bother Eldar in the least.
“Widows, married women and girls that have been violated are legal prey,” Eldar said provokingly.
She managed to straighten out her clothes and took a deep breath.
“No,” she said sharply, and the next moment she had thrust herself at him, pulling at his hair. “No, no, no! Don’t you understand, you damned rude, conceited, pompous womaniser that I don’t want to have anything to do with you in that stupid, horrible way?”
Eldar broke loose so that her hands were full of blonde hair, but she didn’t give in that easily. Yelling in blind fury she went at him, kicking and hitting, until he finally got hold of her wrists, holding her firmly.
Villemo stared defiantly at him.
He was furious. “Do you think I want to have anything to do with a landowner’s daughter?” he said, hissing at her, his face close to hers. “Never in my life would I dream of touching you like that, not with a ten-foot pole! Nothing good would ever come out of that. And who would have to pay for it in the end? Me!”
Villemo relaxed. She seemed to resign. “Well, then we agree. I don’t know why, but I like you, Eldar ...”
“Thanks. You’ve made no secret of that!”
“I want to be your friend. Surely it’s possible to love a man in a different way than ... than ...”
“You mean the ‘stupid and horrible way’ we talked about a moment ago? Then let me tell you one thing, dear Villemo. Women can only be used for one thing and one thing alone, and it’s in that way. Otherwise they’re completely useless.”
“No, they are not,” Villemo said angrily.
“Oh, aren’t they? They have no idea what friendship and camaraderie is. They have no idea about loyalty and warmth. Their heads are empty like hollow eggshells and–”
“Forget it,” said Villemo and broke loose. “I don’t want to talk to you any more. You’re just as stubborn as most other men. Let’s move on!”
He agreed with her last statement at least. They walked on in offended silence. He was the one who was familiar with the road. They had walked a long distance and were beginning to feel famished when she finally said something.
“There’s one thing for which I am grateful to you.”
“What’s that?”
“That you don’t reproach me for having to take me along with you.”
Eldar had never said that. But he might have thought of saying it, all the same.
It was late in the afternoon and Villemo was feeling dizzy. She staggered so much that Eldar couldn’t help noticing it.
“Are you tired?” he asked grumpily.
She stopped. “There’s an evil creature inside me. He's called Hunger and he’s very busy gnawing at my empty stomach from the inside.”
Eldar nodded and cast a glance at her feet.
“Your shoes haven’t held up. I can see that. That’s good.”
“Good?” she said, speechless at his lack of empathy.
“Yes. Do you see that plateau? There’s a small cluster of farms on the other side, which is our destination. But there’s an inn before that where we can stay for the night.”
“But didn't you say that we would have to avoid people?”
“Yes, but I’m not completely heartless. You’re freezing cold and look pretty miserable, I have to admit. Besides, I’m also hungry.”
“I have no money. And I doubt that you have any.”
“I’ll fix it somehow.”
“Why did you say that about my shoes?”
“Because you’d look too sophisticated otherwise. A pair of worn shoes seem more convincing.”
Then he took a few steps backwards and studied her with expressionless eyes.
“I must make my clothes look as nice as I can,” he said. “And you’ll have to appear more simple so that we look alike. We’re supposed to be siblings, remember. Braid your hair!”
“Pardon?”
“It’ll make you look younger and more innocent. Remember, you’re my little sister. Fifteen years old and slightly stupid. Oh no, that won’t do, not with those eyes.”
She took that as a compliment. “I thought you said that I was a bird brain?”
“Yeah, but now I mean really stupid.”
“I see. I could act deaf and dumb. That way you get to hear a lot of strange things.“
“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. There would be numerous pitfalls and you would have to be alert all the time. That’ll be too complicated.” Before she gleaned what he was doing, he bent down and took a handful of mud. He rubbed her fine golden dress in it. From top to toe.
Villemo yelled, trying to reach his hand.
“Be quiet,” he snarled. “It’ll soon dry and fall off so that the dress will become an even grey.”
“You – you beast!” she managed to stammer. “You animal!”
“Does a dress mean more to you than all you’ve gone through since yesterday? Not to mention that which you’ll have to endure?”
She changed her mind, glancing sadly at her dress, which her mum had ordered especially for her, all the way from Copenhagen.
“It suits you much too well,” Eldar said. “But we can do something about that. You must wrap yourself better in the shawl. There you are – now you’re fine.”
“Fine?”
“And braid your hair while I tidy myself up.”
He left her and with frozen fingers she tried to braid her thick, curly hair in two braids, which she had never tried before, certainly not unaided. The result spoke for itself.
Eldar came back, hair combed and washed and his clothes looked neater. He looked so handsome that she felt her heart ache. He stopped abruptly when he saw her.
“God help us,” he murmured. Then he smiled and helped her put the two braids in place and tie them with straw.
They hadn’t spoken almost all day long. However, at one point he had told her of the suffering which people had to put up with during Danish rule. Villemo wondered if things wouldn’t be exactly the same under a Norwegian king.
“That’s possible,” Eldar said. “But it’s hardly the King or the Government of Denmark that has caused all this evil. It’s all due to the shameless bailiffs.”
She was shocked at all that he told her about how people were treated. About taxes so merciless that she found it difficult to believe. How the bailiff would take the only cow of a poor family if they were unable to pay their dues, and that if they had harvested a very small amount of barley it would be taken from them and tucked into the bailiff’s barn where it would rot. Eldar told her of desperate crimes and punishments so harsh that they were unreasonable in proportion to the offence. Of the homeless who froze to death in the ditches, their mouths full of grass and earth. Of the old and children who were maltreated so grossly that death came as a relief.
When Eldar had finished, Villemo was half-convinced that Norway should have her own government, and she felt enthusiastic about being part of the mission. While they continued walking across the plateau towards the little village, she asked, “What are we actually supposed to do on the farm when we get there?”
“We need to see how people are treated there. We’ll need to keep an eye on the farmer and everybody who works there. This will be one of the farms where the insurgency will erupt first, when the uprising comes.”
Villemo swallowed. And she was to stay there! She thought it sounded pretty ominous. But wasn’t this the sort of adventure that she had been yearning for? Didn’t she find that things became a bit too boring at times in the Parish of Graastensholm? Now she had been given all the adventure she wanted. And she didn’t want it after all!
She thought of her nice room at Elistrand and the bed, where the happiest person on earth slept. She was shocked to discover that she longed terribly to be at home. She wiped away a few tears, straightened her back and took a deep breath. Then she plodded on after Eldar, who took far too big steps and didn’t bother to check whether she could keep up with him.
Chapter 8
When at long last they reached the inn, she was so exhausted that she could hardly lift her feet. Eldar took her hand, which he hadn’t done the whole way, and led her in. Now he had to pretend that he was her protective big brother.
The dark serving room fell completely silent as they entered. Eldar went up to the landlord.
“Have you got a bed for my sister? She’s walked a long way and is tired, poor child.”
Could his voice really sound so tender? What a shame that this was merely an act! The landlord looked her up and down. She cast down her eyes, trying to look innocent. Then the landlord turned his attention to Eldar once more.
“Have you got something to pay with?”
Eldar did something strange. With his back towards the room, he pulled his left sleeve up to his elbow, and let it fall down again.
The landlord nodded. “She can have the little attic room.”
The two of them followed him upstairs. He opened a small, creaking door. “And you? Will you also be sleeping here?”
“We’re too big to sleep together,” Eldar answered. “I’ll sleep in the hayloft.”
“Where are you heading?”
“Tobrønn.”
The landlord raised his eyebrows.
“Good luck!”
“Thanks. We’ll need it.”
“Come find me later. Then we can talk a little.”
Eldar nodded. “I’m just going to put my sister to bed. Can we have some food brought up? I’d prefer not to sit with her among all these unknown faces.”
