“That could very well be the case, especially since I’ve seen the weaknesses of the Holzenstern clan.”
“Such as?”
“No, I’ve promised Jessica not to speak badly about her kin. Are you ... interested in Stella?”
Tancred imagined that he detected a certain anxiety in Molly’s voice. He looked her deep in the eyes and gave her a gentle smile.
“No, I’m not,” he whispered.
She looked down and he saw the shadow of a smile on her face as she looked away.
“What did the Count say about me?” she mumbled.
“Nothing very nice. It was extremely stupid and shows how ignorant he is.”
“Tell me!”
Tancred hesitated. “Well, he said that you’re a tart and that Jessica is too.”
Molly shuddered. “How disgusting!”
“If relations between Jessica and them are so bad ... Why don’t they just return to their castle in Holstein?”
She turned and looked at him. “What castle?”
“The magnificent castle that Countess Holzenstern owns.”
“What? They own nothing! It’s true that her sister married a Duke, but he was quick to throw her out. And the Count had mismanaged the small family estate so they were forced to leave it. The request from Jessica’s dying parents to come here and take care of her was their salvation.”
“Oh, my word,” said Tancred slowly. “But wouldn’t you say that the Holzensterns are doing a pretty good job of running this estate?”
“It certainly looks good on the surface,” said Molly gently.
Tancred was a bit slow on the uptake, probably because he was pleasantly distracted. “Wait a minute,” he said. “What was it you said? They’re supposed to be here until she comes of age. When will that be?”
“Next month.”
Tancred slapped his thigh. “Of course! Then they’ll have to leave! But if it hadn’t been for Jessica ...?”
“Exactly!” nodded Molly.
“So that was why you fled?”
“No,” she said quietly. “We didn’t imagine anything so cruel.”
“But ... is there any other reason then?”
“I’ve already said that there are several reasons. There’s one other reason, yes. But this is all I can say. It’s too unpleasant. Too ... personal.”
“It’s a shame that you don’t have any confidence in me.”
“But I do!” she exclaimed pleadingly. “You’re the only one I have. The only one I trust. However, there are certain things I need to keep quiet about. In fact, I even have to lie to you, not because I want to be malicious, but I have reasons to do so. Please remember this if you were ever to be hurt because of me!”
“I’ll bear that in mind,” said Tancred, who was already hurt.
They were silent. Molly was still leaning towards him with his arms around her. Tancred felt how her head became heavier and heavier. Poor little girl. She couldn’t have gotten much sleep over the past few days. She must be freezing cold – and hungry!
He had been so thoughtless!
He got up cautiously and placed her comfortably on the sofa. He fetched his thick blanket and spread it out over her.
“I can’t sleep here,” she mumbled, half asleep.
“Of course you can! Don’t be afraid. I’ll sleep in another room.” He gazed at her with a lump in his throat as she lay there, huddled up. He tip-toed into the kitchen and brought some food, which he placed on the table next to the sofa. Then he left the room.
Tancred lay on a bare mattress in the room next door. He found a curtain and used it as a blanket, but he found it difficult to fall asleep. He was far too awake and agitated.
‘What am I to do,’ he thought dejectedly. ‘Little Molly trusts me – and I’m far too inexperienced to know what to do.
Who can I ask for help? Who can I Count on as a friend?
Dieter? No, he’s just as wet behind the ears as I am. Besides, I don’t want him near Molly. He’s too good-looking.
Rubbish! He’s not more good-looking than most other men.
Anyway, it would be best to avoid him.
The bailiff? No thanks. Bailiffs are far too suspicious of the wrong people and happy as long as they can hang somebody, no matter who.
If only Dad had been here! He was always so sure and everybody listened to him.
And Mum! As one of the Ice People, she might be able to explain what it was I’d experienced the previous night. Oh, my wonderful parents! Your immature son needs you now!’
He felt so desperately helpless. Little Molly only had him to rely on, which wasn’t very much. Something more matter-of-fact also worried him. He had just recovered from a bad bout of the flu with all the unpleasantness that followed. Now he felt a strong ticklish sensation at the back of his throat, and he had a headache. He recognised the symptoms.
‘No, for heaven’s sake, not again! Not now!’ he thought.
But the previous night, when he had been lying in the cold forest, was bound to have had a bad effect on his sick body. How harsh was his fate to be?
Chapter 4
Cecilie and Alexander were home at Gabrielshus.
“What’s the matter, Cecilie?” asked Alexander. “You hardly slept last night and now you can’t sit still.”
She was restless and irritable. “I don’t know, Alexander. I’m trying to find out what’s happening inside me.”
“What do you mean?”
She flopped in the chair next to him, her hands resting despondently in her lap and said, “Do you remember when I once managed to communicate with Tarjei by simply thinking of him?”
“When I was ill? Yes, you told me about that.”
“Alexander, you may think I’m crazy, but I feel a strong urge to travel to Jutland to see Tancred.”
“You don’t say, Cecilie,” smiled her husband. “He only left a few days ago, old hen!”
“I know. But I feel so uneasy. I’ve never experienced anything like it. It’s so stupid because Tancred hasn’t inherited any of our sensitivity. He is a matter-of-fact, down-to-earth boy.”
Alexander had turned serious. “But he’s still one of the Ice People just like you. So what are we hesitating for?”
“Alexander” she exclaimed, relieved. “Do you mean that I can leave?”
He had got up. “Both of us shall ride immediately. I have the deepest respect for the intuitions of the Ice People.”
Cecilie threw her arms around him and stood quite still, leaning against his shoulders. “Thank you, dear,” she whispered. “And if it all turns out to be a false alarm ...?”
“So much the better! And a little excursion to Jutland will do us both good! We’ll both become lazy from staying here all the time.”
***
Tancred was dreaming about Salina, the witch ... but he woke up to an extremely unpleasant reality. His throat was dry and tight and he began to cough because he had been lying on his back in a restless sleep. He sat up in bed, gasping for breath. He sneezed and his nose was running, making his upper lip feel as if it was full of sores. He had a pain in his throat and he felt worn-out and rotten. When he finished coughing, he remembered why he was lying in this room, and his heart missed a beat.
Molly! And he, who was feeling so terribly rotten, would he be able to help her?
He got dressed and knocked on the door to his own room.
No one answered.
He blew his nose once more in an already soaked handkerchief, opening the door carefully until it was half-open – and was weak with disappointment. The sofa was empty and the blanket was neatly put back on the bed. She had eaten all the food. A sheet of paper lay on the table.
My dearest Tancred. I snuck out before anybody woke up. I don’t have the courage to meet anybody because I�
�m scared of everyone except you. I’ll hide for the day. If you’d like to meet me again, I’ll come to the edge of the forest right opposite the estate when the church bells ring. Your loyal friend. P.S. Thanks for the food!
When was it the church bells would announce the holiday? Well, for heaven’s sake, that was not until the afternoon! What was he to do all day long? And what would she do?
He crawled back into bed, much depressed, and pulled the duvet over his head. This was the best place for him to be right now.
The servants looked after Tancred very well, giving him much good advice and hot toddies. But they could not prevent his nose from turning red, shiny and swollen and his eyes from running and turning red in his pale and yellowish face.
“Whatever you do, don’t let me look in a mirror,” he said in a nasal voice. “I don’t want to see how miserable I look. Just let me know when the church bells start ringing for the holiday.”
They understood what he meant and promised to do so.
It was a very weak Tancred who during the afternoon walked up to the fringes of the forest when the church bells rang. He shuddered and felt thoroughly rotten. It felt as if he had cotton wool in his ears. His head ached and he felt he might lose his balance any moment. A wall seemed to exist between him and the outer world.
And this was how he was to appear before Molly!
Only he could not let her down, could not refuse to show up, he really could not!
What if Molly did not turn up?
Then he would worry himself to death.
The edge of the forest could be so many places.
During the afternoon, a servant had come to his room and said that young Dieter had wanted to see him. The servant had explained that Mr. Tancred was down with a cold and had to stay in bed and could not receive visitors. So Dieter had conveyed his best “get well” greetings and left. Feeling weak, Tancred flopped in the grass at the edge of the forest. He was short of breath as if he had run a mile.
A little elf was moving about among the trees.
“Tancred,” whispered a voice.
“Molly,” he said with a hoarse voice.
She appeared before him. They were hidden from others behind a shrub.
“Molly, I look terrible,” he said through his nose.
“Tancred, have you also caught a cold then? And I who was so unhappy because of my hoarse voice.”
“Dear friend, you who must be out in the forest! This just won’t do!” he said, shocked. “Does your throat hurt?”
“Yes, a lot. And I have a pain in my chest. It’s sore.”
“Dear me. You need to be indoors.”
“But where? I’m afraid!”
“Molly, you look wonderful even when you’ve got a cold! I just look miserable.”
“Not at all! You look very elegant!”
“Thank you. I like you Molly. Please forgive me that I can’t get closer to you.”
They looked happily into each other’s eyes – until Tancred’s nose began to run again and he apologised.
“You need to go inside,” he said.”You’re cold. Don’t you want to come home with me after all?”
All of a sudden she looked ill at ease. He wondered why.
“No, I can’t. I can’t trust anybody.”
“Then come with me to the cart shed. I saw that there’s a spare room there.”
She accepted that and since it was rather dark, they snuck down to the farm along a ditch with willows on either side.
Tancred installed Molly in a very small cold and unpleasant room in the cart shed. Then Tancred secretly brought her food and bedclothes from the house. But the servants saw him and watched him walking back and forth to the cart shed.
“He’s unsteady on his legs,” said the housekeeper. “Poor boy!”
“Leave him alone,” said the servant. “He’s young and romantic, and the girl is obviously destitute. Young Mr. Tancred is the born knight. Nothing untoward will happen there.”
“No, look, now he’s stopped to wipe the sweat from his brow. He ought to go to bed immediately.”
“You’re right. I think we should take the matter into our own hands.”
As Tancred came sneaking back to the house, he met all the servants, five people in all, in the door.
“Mr. Tancred,” said the servant discreetly. “You can trust our loyalty. We’re worried about your health, and I don’t think it’s good for the young lady to live in the shed.”
Tancred stared at them, blushing for a moment. Then he sighed and smiled shamefacedly. “I don’t seem to be able to do anything right. Well, if you’re able to convince her, then ...”
Half an hour later, Molly was placed in a warm room in the house with dry clothes and a hot meal. Tancred sat on the edge of her bed and smiled happily at her.
“Now everything will be good again. They’re sweet servants, Molly. All I said was that you’re afraid of walking home because somebody will hurt you. Since all the servants are new, they don’t know who you are.”
Her smile revealed her despair. “I hope that we’ll soon get well. You ought to go to bed. You look as if you’re running a temperature.”
“Yes, you’re right. But how are you?”
“Wonderful, you pure-hearted Tancred. Goodnight and thank you for everything!”
He left quietly. He stood outside her door, feeling blissful – until he had to blow his nose again ...
Tancred’s nose stopped running the next day. Instead it was completely clogged and the pain had moved down to his windpipe.
Did he have to go through it all again? Last time he had been sick for several weeks. That must not happen again.
So he dutifully did as the servants told him and stayed in bed the whole afternoon.
“The young lady also needs to keep herself warm in bed today,” said the servant.
Tancred thought that sounded sensible.
That day, they had to make do with sending notes to each other. First they started with polite questions as to how the other one was doing. Later on, the messages became a bit more rosy.
You shouldn’t take care of me, wrote Molly. I’m not your cup of tea. You’re so pure and noble.
My dearest Molly. How can you say that I’m too good for you? To me, you’re like the Madonna personified! Oh, Molly, I hope we’ll both get well because I’ve so much I want to say to you! You should know that my life has been completely chaste. I’ve never even looked at a woman in that way. It’s as if I’ve been waiting for you.
Tancred probably saw everything through rose-tinted spectacles. He had looked at plenty of buxom young girls, but he had never been in love. He had merely been curious, but right now he was head over heels in love.
She replied: My precious Tancred. If only I could say everything I want to! But I can’t. Nevertheless, you’re so precious to me that my pillow is now soaked with tears.
And so on.
Both were feeling better in the evening because they had been so well looked after. But they were not allowed to get out of bed.
Tancred had a good night’s sleep – as good as his clogged nose would allow. He drank lots of water, which meant he would have to go to the bathroom quite often. But otherwise he felt calm. It was not until the following morning that he woke up with a start and remembered that they had left Jessica Cross to her own fate. A feeling of horror and urgency came over him. Here they lay, sending love letters to each other while the poor girl walked about confused and might have fallen into the hands of robbers. Who else could she trust except Tancred and Molly?
He tried to get out of bed but the servant was there immediately and put him back to bed again.
He ate his sumptuous breakfast nervously and impatiently as if he did not have time to enjoy it. He and Molly needed to be quick. They had to get up and out aga
in and do something. Only what?
He hardly had time to finish his meal when he heard a commotion in the courtyard. The next moment he heard brisk steps along the corridor and a door was pulled open.
“Tancred, are you sick again?”
“He was filled with enormous relief. “Dad! And Mum! Oh, thank you so much for coming!”
Cecilie sat down on his bed. “How are you? We’re here because I had a strong feeling that you summoned us. Did you? Through telepathy, I mean?”
Tancred was silent.
“Yes, I suppose I did,” he said at last, both exhausted and scared.
“Uh-oh,” mumbled Alexander.
“Do you mean to say ...” stuttered his son. “Am I one of the haunted of the Ice People?”
“No, no, heaven forbid!” exclaimed Cecilie. “It’s only that I have certain telepathic abilities, and you and I seem to be able to reach each other. But you must have been in need of help?”
“Yes, we were,” answered Tancred eagerly.
“We?”
“Molly and I. Molly’s also down with a bad cold. She’s in another room. It’s all very proper, Dad. I haven’t done anything you wouldn’t have approved of.”
“We certainly don’t think you have.”
“I haven’t even kissed her. Besides, I would have lost my breath if I tried – I’m so clogged up,” he said with a shy laugh.
“But surely you haven’t summoned us just because you both have a cold?” said Cecilie.
“No, not at all. The cold is nothing, just a great nuisance. No, so many terrible things have happened. And we’re so helpless. Jessica is somewhere in the terrible ghost forest, and she’s only got us to rely upon and here we are lying in bed!”
“Now let’s be clear,” said Alexander resolutely. “Where’s the girl? Molly, I mean. There seem to be several girls in this story.”
A little later, both patients were wrapped in blankets in Aunt Ursula’s elegant drawing-room. The new arrivals were served a hot meal and then they urged Tancred and Molly to tell their story.
Nemesis Page 5