There. He caught a glimpse of the brown thing again. It had a somewhat reddish glow.
He dismounted the horse and tiptoed closer.
A bit stupid, he thought with a laugh. He and the horse were an excellent eye-catcher. He was dressed in a purple jacket and jodhpurs. The sleeves were slit so that golden-coloured silk peeped through, and the lace collar covered the shoulders. He wore tall, soft animal skin boots. Of course, the horse could be seen and heard by everybody.
When he was only a few metres from the brown object, the “animal” jumped up suddenly and dashed off.
It was a girl dressed in a brown coat with a hood.
Tancred hesitated for a moment then followed her. She ran lightly in front of him – leading him further into the forest. But her skirts got caught in the shrubs and Tancred was quicker. He threw himself at her and grabbed her.
“No, no.” she moaned. “Please let me go!”
She was dirty and her hair was unkempt. It was full of pine needles and small branches and her clothes were in tatters. But she had a pretty face. Her blue eyes stared at him, shocked.
“Who are you, sir?” she said in surprise. “Are you one of them?”
He was still holding her down.
“I’m Tancred Paladin, and I’m visiting Countess Ursula Horn at her mansion. I don’t think I’m one of ‘them’.” He did not mention to her that he was of noble birth because she seemed so simple ...
As Tancred spoke to her, the girl began to shout. She managed to break loose – mostly because Tancred didn’t want to hold her too hard. She ran off, lifting her skirts high to move faster.
But now Tancred had become curious. He wanted to know more about this fleeing little creature.
The forest was thicker than he had imagined, and he had a vague idea that it might be difficult for him to find the horse again. But he did not give up.
She probably thinks that I’m a rapist, he thought with embarrassment.
At last the girl was exhausted. She collapsed in the dead leaves with a slight moan.
Tancred tried to lift her up but she could hardly stand on her legs.
“Don’t be afraid of me,” he said gently. “I don’t want to hurt you. Who are you and why are you hiding?”
She tried to collect herself. “Molly,” she gasped. “Molly, sir. I’m just an ordinary servant girl.”
“And who are ‘they’?”
Her glance looked somewhat upset. “Nobody, sir. Just the kind of men who ... Well, you know what they do to girls.”
Tancred smiled. “Well, I’m not like that. May I take you home?”
“I don’t have a home, sir.”
“But you just said that you’re a servant girl.”
The girl was very pretty. Tancred had never seen anything like it.
“Not any longer. I was fired.”
“Where do you want to go now then?”
“I’ve thought of looking for a job in the neighbouring parish, sir.”
Tancred took a coin out of his pocket. “Look. Take this – then you don’t have to go hungry.”
The expression on her face surprised him. Her eyes sparkled and her nostrils flared for a brief moment.
Then she accepted the coin and curtseyed.
“Thank you, sir. You’re much too kind.”
He did not want to let her go. “Molly ... if ever you run into difficulties, you can call on me. I’m living in the Countess’s home, but only for a few weeks. After that I’ll be going back to Zealand, and then we won’t be able to see each other any more. I’m staying in the corner room facing the church. Promise you’ll call on me if you need anything?”
She nodded. “I promise.”
“May I ... meet you again?”A frightened expression crossed her face. “I’d rather not, sir. But thank you for your kindness. And ...”
She hesitated. “Don’t say anything to anybody about having met me.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” he said somewhat surprised.
She left and hurried away through the forest.
Tancred found his horse much quicker than he had imagined and rode back to his aunt’s fine mansion, deep in his own thoughts.
For the rest of the day he was very absentminded.
He could not get the modest Molly out of his thoughts.
‘It’s as if I am transformed,’ he thought. ‘Our family has a tendency to fall for people who are beneath our station. My dad did so. So did my sister – and my granddad, Dag Meiden.
Well, I suppose I’ll never see that girl again.
But she was pretty ... and her eyes were gentle!
It was so good to embrace her ...’
“Tancred!” Aunt Ursula’s sharp voice cut through the beautiful reverie. “The guests will be arriving shortly, and you haven’t changed yet.”
He hurried and changed into his finest clothes: A magnificent suit in moss green velvet, edged with gold lace and a white silk shirt with lace on the collar and broad cuffs. When he was ready, and looked in the mirror, he had to admit that he looked handsome. After a grimace at his self-admiration, he went down to welcome the guests together with his aunt.
What Ursula Horn meant by her “neighbours” were not the smallholders on the estate. No, the only ones allowed to mix with her were those who lived at the biggest and finest mansions in the area. That was why there weren’t so many guests. But those who did turn up were very fine. Only the great nobles, of course. Who else? Counts, barons and descendants of the Council of State. Most importantly, the family would have to be noble going back at least 300 hundred years.
Like most other elderly ladies, Ursula liked to try and marry off the younger family members. She had been most fervently against Gabriella’s marriage to “that Kaleb.”
“That is only because you’ve never met him,” Alexander had said calmly.
“He’s not of noble stock,” fumed Ursula. “May God prevent me from ever meeting him.”
“I doubt that will happen,” answered Alexander.
She had now made plans regarding Tancred. One of the guests was the young daughter of a Count, originally from Holstein, like so many Jutland noble families. She arrived with her parents, and Ursula introduced the two young people to each other with a beaming smile.
The girl was called Stella and was quite pleasant to look at. A clean, shining face and straight blond hair. Her eyebrows expressed a constant sense of surprise. Her parents were Holzenstern, which almost made Tancred laugh. Stella Holzenstern, which means Star Wooden Star. They probably had not thought of that when they baptised her. Her parents smiled at Tancred and seemed to like the idea of having him as their son-in-law. Well, this was because Ursula understood how to hint at it – in very hidden terms.
Tancred gritted his teeth as he had an awkward conversation with the family. But then a young man of his own age rescued him. They had already been introduced to each other. As Ursula had said: “Tancred, this is Dieter, who I thought of marrying off to your sister had she not chosen a miner.”
“Oh, there you are, Tancred,” said the young, blond Dieter. “I’ve been looking for you. Excuse me, but can I speak to him for a while? I need to know something about the training to become an officer. My parents are threatening to send me to the military.”
“And you don’t want that?” laughed Count Holzenstern.
“I don’t want to leave Jutland,” smiled Dieter. “Not at this beautiful time of year.”
Tancred was grateful for the interruption.
Dieter put his arms confidentially around Tancred’s shoulders and led him to another room.
“When I said this beautiful time of year, I meant that I’ve found a friend here,” he smiled openly. “But nobody’s supposed to know that.”
“Are the Holzensterns your relatives?”
&nbs
p; “Only neighbours. They live in Askinge and are trying to link me with Stella. Only I’ve got other interests. If only they knew ...”
He laughed secretly to himself.
“But now to the career of officer: is it anything worth concentrating on?”
“I don’t know,” said Tancred hesitatingly. “It’s a tradition in my Dad’s family so I wasn’t left with any choice. But I probably have some of my mum’s wild blood in me because I just don’t like the thought of being bossed around.”
“Neither do I. Wild blood, did you say? That sounds exciting!”
“Yes, she descends from the Ice People of Norway. And they’re capable of a bit of everything – although I probably belong to the quieter ones. No, I think you ought to give it a try ...”
They had an animated discussion on the pros and cons of the life of an officer.
Of course, Ursula had arranged it so that Tancred sat next to Stella at the table. Tancred tried to entertain his neighbour at dinner but either she was shy or else she was stupid and rigid because his small jokes were lost on her. The conversation close to him was not very witty either. He began to feel bored.
Ursula called to Countess Holzenstern across the table: “What a pity that your sister, the Duchess, had to return so early. I had been looking forward to seeing her.”
‘Confounded snob,’ thought Tancred, ‘making up titles like that!’ He took after his relatives among the Ice People more than he realised himself.
“She only stayed for one week,” the Countess called back across the buzz of the other voices.
A tipsy major barked at Tancred: “You’re a Paladin, aren’t you, young man?”
“Yes,” admitted Tancred.
“That’s something to be proud of,” said the elderly man, slapping him on the shoulder behind Stella’s back. “The first Paladin fought on Frederik Barbarossa’s side at Jerusalem.”
Wrong, thought Tancred. It was with Frederik II during the fifth crusade. But he did not have the energy to argue in the middle of all that noise.
When they finally left the table he sauntered dejectedly through the parlours with a fake smile. A couple of old hags were gossiping in a sofa.
“Of course, it’s young Jessica once more,” said one of them. “I heard that she’d run away.”
“Yes, and it’s the third time she’s done so,” said the other old hag. “They’re doing everything for that girl and this is her way of thanking them. It’s so embarrassing for them. We all know how people like to talk.”
‘And that comes from you,’ thought Tancred.
The first gossiper said: “It’s the impossible Molly who’s leading her astray. That servant has a lot to account for. Only God the Almighty knows what those sluts are up to when they’re on their own!”
Tancred’s heart missed a beat when he heard what she said. He pretended to stop to fasten his shoe. He was just about to say something about Molly but he did not want these old hags to have more to gossip about. Besides, he remembered her request that he keep quiet and not say anything.
But where was young Jessica, her mistress? Probably deeper into the forest.
This was when Tancred lost all interest in the party. He waited impatiently for the guests to leave, but they were taking their time. However, in a moment’s peace and quiet, Tancred managed to talk to his aunt one-to-one in the butler’s pantry.
“Who’s Jessica, Aunt Ursula?”
The aunt’s thoughts moved away from the noise of the party to his question.
“Jessica? Who’s Jessica? Oh, now I remember. That hopeless girl! She’s not at all your cup of tea.”
“I don’t think so either. But why has she run away?”
“Love of adventure. They took her into their home when they took over the estate a few years ago. Jessica’s parents owned it and when they came down with smallpox they left the estate to them, provided they would take care of Jessica Cross until she came of age and could manage it herself. But the girl is quite unruly because Molly incites her. Molly worked there while Jessica’s parents were alive and she fills her ears with the wildest stories. However, there are bad genes in Jessica’s family,” said the aunt with a lowered voice. “I could tell you a thing or two ...”
There was too much “they” and “them,” thought Tancred. He could not make head or tail of Aunt Ursula’s confused talk.
“Where does Jessica live?”
“Tancred, do you have to ask about so much when my mind is occupied with more important matters? Have you seen the sauce spoon? The cook has been unable to find it after the dinner. By the way: What do you think of Stella?”
Wax doll, he thought. On a more cautious note, he said: “I don’t think she has a good sense of humour. She didn’t catch my subtle jokes but was in stitches at the poor waiter, who tripped on the Baroness’s train.”
“I agree, he was clumsy,” mumbled Ursula, who had just as much sense of humour as a doornail. “Sorry, I really don’t have the time for this. Why are you so interested in Jessica Cross?”
‘Because she can take me to Molly,’ thought Tancred.
“No particular reason,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. “She sounds strange, I thought. And I just wanted to know whether she’s one of Stella’s friends. I hope not.”
Aunt Ursula smiled immediately, misunderstanding him completely. “That was sweet of you. Now go in to Stella ...”
“No, Aunt Ursula, I have a splitting headache so it would be best if I could retire now. I haven’t had a rest since I arrived this morning.”
“Oh, how thoughtless of me. Of course. You just go to bed. Then we’ll soon pay a visit to Askinge, won’t we?”
“Certainly,” lied Tancred.
Chapter 2
Tancred didn’t go to bed.
He felt uneasy for little Molly, “The impossible girl.” He had to be attentive while she was in the area. Later on she would disappear and then he would no longer be able to help her. He hadn’t heard of any immediate danger that may threaten her, but you never know. It was best to be prepared.
While the guests continued to speak loudly in the drawing rooms, Tancred crawled out of his window and ran towards the forest. He did not want to take the horse because he could move more freely without one.
It was already midnight when he entered the forest by the same path he’d followed earlier in the day. The full moon nearly turned the night into day, with blue shadows underneath the trees and a silvery light on the branches. He could hear a crunching sound when quiet, four-legged creatures moved in the dark. Tancred tried to move silently but the dead leaves of winter were thick on the ground. He was feeling foolish. Why on earth did he believe that he could find Molly in here? Or Jessica for that matter? He was slightly curious about the latter. Why would a young girl run away so often? And Molly, the troublemaker?
So frightened ... What about “Them?”
Of course, they were the relatives. Maybe they were out to grab Jessica’s heritage?
No, he must stop imagining things.
Tancred stopped and looked about.
The forest was silent now. He damned his thoughtlessness for not having found out how the moon had stood in relation to his aunt’s estate. Rather high up, but on which side?
Now Tancred no longer knew where he was. The forest looked the same on all sides. Bewitched, mystical, inscrutable.
What about wild boar?
There were many wild boar in Denmark, and they could turn quite temperamental when disturbed. And he was unarmed.
It was no use painting things in the darkest of colours.
He wandered aimlessly about. He had no idea how thick the forest could be, but it was probably not endless. If he didn’t walk in circles, he was bound to get out of it somehow.
It was no use trying to turn round and walk home again beca
use he no longer knew in which direction the estate was situated.
Tancred’s brow was furrowed in irritation. It was so unlike him to make such an error.
Or maybe it was like him? He had to admit that he did not often think sensibly.
The fact was that never before had a girl interested him in this way. She had piqued his curiosity and she had been gentle, pretty and helpless. Tancred’s knightly instincts had been awoken. Those kind of instincts ran in the Paladin family.
He walked and walked through the rustling leaves, more and more confused. The thought that it was like an endless incursion into Dante’s Inferno, a punishment for all his past sins, entered his mind.
Much later, he entered a strange area where long strings of moss hung from the branches of ancient trees. The tree trunks were white and dead, making them resemble grotesque homes for elves and trolls. Dried grass and leaves on the ground had rotted more here. A dead world, thought Tancred.
He stopped all of a sudden. A glade opened up between the dense trees. A silver-grey path, the first he had seen in this forest.
The shadows were jet-black under the trees.
Tancred walked as if bewitched along the moon-lit path. It seemed that nobody had walked along this path for many years. Everything was so quiet, so lifeless. Yet he followed the path because it was bound to lead to somewhere.
He had to walk for a long time. He had almost forgotten that he was looking for Molly because he was so curious about the path. The trees became older and bigger. Now and then he heard a bang when a branch yielded to age. This made him glance nervously at the trees above him. So he didn’t notice that the path curved, and when he looked ahead once more, he was startled.
A castle rose towards the night sky, ancient and weather-beaten, with an overgrown moat around it.
A soft yellow light came from a small, barred window on the first floor ...
Surely nobody lives here, he thought, shocked.
He stood a while in the shadow of the forest, gazing at the incredible, eerie building. He had to admit that the sight made him feel small and scared, like a child.
Nemesis Page 2