“That’s good,” said Liv. “Later on the three of us will travel together to Gabrielshus and speak to your parents, Gabriella. I was planning to go anyway because I want to see my Danish family.”
It was a sensible suggestion to which Gabriella and Kaleb readily agreed.
***
On Christmas Eve, the festive celebrations were reaching their climax. Everybody, young and old, large and small, dressed in his or her finest clothes, was gathered around the large dinner table. It was laid out festively and weighed down with an extravagance of excellent food and drink.
The five street-children’s eyes were sparkling with anticipation and astonishment. Gabriella looked round at them, wondering how they’d spent previous Christmas Eves. They relished the food and drink enormously because they’d been so long deprived of all basic nourishment. In the end it was Oline who spoke for them all, when she let out a great exclamation: “Damn! This is bloody good, isn’t it?”
Chapter 14
Later that afternoon, Kaleb and Gabriella took the sleigh and set off round the Graastensholm estates with gifts for all the farmhands and their families. They were offered a dram at several of the cottages. While Gabriella would sip the drink cautiously, she couldn’t help becoming slightly tipsy. Everyone was so friendly. It was a time for celebration and she felt happier than she’d ever felt before. She was finally being herself – free and in love.
What more could anyone ask for?
She didn’t know at that moment, but she was about to find out.
On the way back home, she sat cuddled up close to Kaleb under a fur rug, warm and carefree. They found they had no need for words. They were both blissfully happy.
Kaleb, however, had knocked back a few more drams than Gabriella.
After they’d left the last cottage and were entering the woods, his hands slipped gently down past her waist. Gabriella moved lazily closer to him and he reined in the horse. Dusk had fallen and there would be no one about on Christmas Eve.
Kaleb drew Gabriella close to him and pressed his face against her neck. She gave a murmur of pleasure, free at last from all the inhibitions her childhood had instilled in her. She grabbed his hair, and at once their lips seemed to find each other. Gabriella, who’d never been kissed before and certainly not in the way Kaleb was kissing her now, felt as though she was floating on delicious waves of passion. She responded to his kiss with all the recklessness of someone who has drunk a little too much. So she made no effort to resist when Kaleb’s hands strayed further across her body – on the contrary. But it was Kaleb who came to his senses first.
“We must be getting along,” he whispered breathlessly. “Before I do something we might regret.”
“Yes, of course!”
Gabriella sat bolt upright and smoothed her skirts. Shock had sobered her up. It was so easy to fall into temptation – and so difficult to resist. If Kaleb hadn’t come to his senses in time, all her principles of purity and virtue might have been blown away with the wind and all her mum’s warnings would have counted for nothing.
She’d never realised until this moment that she possessed such strong, natural urges.
“And I didn’t say a word to stop you,” said Gabriella, smiling ruefully at Kaleb.
It didn’t take much for him to guess what she was thinking. He shook his head in a little gesture of wonder and bafflement then reached over and held her hand.
“I, too, had forgotten to hold back, Gabriella. Do you know just how alluring you are?”
She giggled shyly. “You’re are also very alluring, Kaleb,” she whispered and squeezed his hand as if she’d never let it go.
As the sleigh glided on again across the snow, the winter night grew darker. This caused them instinctively to draw even closer together beneath their travelling blanket and they basked in a feeling of total harmony with one another.
“Tomorrow is Mattias’s birthday,” said Gabriella contentedly. “Did you know?”
“Yes, Mattias is the finest of men and my very best friend... How strange that tragedy and distress can bind people so strongly to each other. Ever since that awful time we spent together in the silver mine, there’s been a strong bond between us.”
“I know,” she said quietly. “It’s a unique friendship.”
Kaleb drove the sleigh in silence for a while. Then he suddenly asked: “That Simon who came to visit you was certainly a handsome man – were you very much in love with him?”
“I can answer that question truthfully and say that I wasn’t,” she assured him, accepting that from now on their relationship would become more intimate. His hands had already introduced themselves gently to most parts of her body and it was clear that they were both deeply drawn to one another. “I think I was swept away by the idea that someone like Simon would want me. I was scared and excited at the same time. I didn’t think I could deal with a marriage and I knew nothing about love. I had no idea such feelings were possible.”
“What feelings?”
“Like ... like mine, I mean ... for you.”
“Why didn’t you say ‘like ours’?” Kaleb waited, but Gabriella didn’t answer.
“Are you afraid of believing that someone can be in love with you?”
“I think it makes me seem so presumptuous. So conceited.”
Kaleb thought for a moment. “And would you like it if I doubted your feelings for me?”
“No,” she said softly. “Forgive me.” Then almost in a whisper, she continued: “My love for you is limitless, Kaleb. It overwhelms me.”
“Say it louder!” he teased her, laughing. “Let yourself go and tell me exactly what it is you want to do.”
With a broad smile she said: “I can show you exactly what I want to do!”
Throwing her arms around his neck, she pulled his face down to hers. Kaleb didn’t resist and, for the rest of the journey, he left the horse to find its own way home.
***
Liv, Gabriella and Kaleb arrived at Gabrielshus a few weeks after New Year. Gabriella, whose virtue still remained more or less intact, found to her amazement that her father, Alexander, had no objection to the suggestion that she and Kaleb should marry.
“Why, no. That shouldn’t be a problem,” he told them. “Gabriella, I can see that you’re happier and more relaxed than you’ve ever been before – and I’ve known for many years that Kaleb is a good man. Besides, Norway no longer has its own nobility! Yet that shouldn’t be a reason to reject every Norwegian as though he were of lesser worth, should it? And as Gabriella and Kaleb want to settle in Norway, we’ll provide a manor house and estate for them, shan’t we, Cecilie? If any snobbish fogey at Court feels the urge to enquire, I’ll say that my daughter has married a Norwegian landowner. The rest is none of their business.”
Kaleb laughed delightedly, overcome by it all, while Gabriella hugged her understanding and accommodating parents.
***
After marrying at Gabrielshus, Kaleb and Gabriella decided to return to Graastensholm for a while in order to help with the five children who’d been taken in.
When they got back, Mattias in particular said how thrilled he was that his best friend was now part of the family.
Meanwhile, Mattias was worshipped as the parish doctor. He was indispensable and adored by the patients, not least because he’d chosen to work in the parish despite the fact that, had he wished, he could easily have found a more prestigious position anywhere in the country. He might even have become the Royal Surgeon.
But he wanted to remain at Graastensholm for two reasons: Firstly, because his parents had no other heir, and secondly, because he liked to know his patients personally. They tended to be the less well off in society and would otherwise have received little, if any, help. And just as people had once travelled from far and wide to see Tengel, they now travelled long distances to see Mat
tias, largely because of his kindness and gentle manner. It was good, they all agreed, to be able to tell their troubles to someone who really understood.
The two street boys, Nikodemus and Little Thrush, had made good progress and were soon apprenticed to craftsmen who understood that Graastensholm would be watching to make sure they were treated well. Things weren’t so easy with the two wayward sisters. Liv and the other helpers dared not put them in service to anyone else so it was decided that they should remain at Graastensholm as maids. Frida was so young that she was given only light duties to keep her occupied and to prevent her from wasting her time. Because the servants at Graastensholm were treated better than at many other manor houses, both girls were more than happy to stay.
As might have been expected, it was Oline who caused a scandal – by seducing the coachman’s son. A wedding had to be hastily arranged, but the boy was head over heels in love and saw not the tiniest of faults in his bride. She actually turned out to be a good, if somewhat temperamental, housewife, making every effort to be well mannered. But if ever Oline got angry, all Liv’s good teaching was cast aside and expletives echoed loudly among the cottages and houses in the parish of Graastensholm.
Since she had no other family, Eli also remained at Graastensholm after her granddad died. She had nimble fingers and was kept busy with sewing and fine needlework, never making a fuss and always eager to please.
As time passed, it began to look as though Kaleb and Gabriella were destined to have no children. Three long years went by before Gabriella finally became pregnant. By that time, they’d started to build their own estate not too far from Graastensholm. It was paid for by Alexander Paladin, of course, but Grandma Liv also helped a great deal.
The manor house was far from finished and they were still living at Graastensholm.
As it turned out, the birth itself happened long before the baby was due – and it couldn’t have happened at a worse moment. Kaleb was up on the ridge with the cow herders, fetching the cattle in for autumn. Mattias was away visiting a sick patient. Yrja and Tarald were over at Eikeby visiting Yrja’s family and the servants were attending evensong. Alone in the house, Liv, Are and Gabriella were sitting chatting in the drawing room when the birth pains started without any warning.
“Oh dear,” exclaimed Liv. “This is happening too quickly! There’ll be no time to fetch the midwife now!”
“What are we going to do?” asked Gabriella in alarm.
“The best we can,” said Liv with an encouraging smile. “It was probably lifting that heavy cooking pot today that caused this, you silly girl.”
Are went quickly to boil water while Liv hastily rearranged Kaleb and Gabriella’s bedroom before helping her granddaughter into bed.
Everything proceeded very rapidly and very painfully for Gabriella. When Liv realised that things weren’t as they should be, the colour drained from her face.
“Are! Are!” she screamed, half out of her wits. “Come quickly!”
Gabriella herself heard nothing. She’d never been physically strong and had already fainted from the terrible pain. Maybe it was just as well she did, given the circumstances. The birth itself was remarkably quick in Liv’s experience and she stared down in horror for a moment at the newborn baby that had arrived into the world so fast and unexpectedly.
“No!” she whispered, closing her yes. “No! No! NO!”
At that moment, Are came rushing into the room only to see his sister standing stock still beside the bed.
“Liv! What are you doing?” he demanded frantically. “Take the baby by the feet and slap it! Don’t you see it isn’t breathing yet!”
“Are, look,” she whispered dejectedly, holding out the limp, nearly lifeless child in her outstretched arms for him to see.
“Oh, dear God,” he muttered. “The curse has struck once again.”
“She’s just like the witch, Hanna,” said Liv devastated. “I remember exactly what she looked like. Poor Kaleb and Gabriella! They’ve waited so long and were so looking forward to this moment.”
“They don’t deserve this,” said Are gruffly.
Liv found it hard to speak. “Do you remember, Are, when we prayed for Kolgrim’s life?” she whispered at last. “When Dad wanted to kill the infant? We were the ones who saved him, only for him to try and kill Mattias, murder our dear Tarjei and drive my dearest Dag to his grave from worry.”
Are nodded silently and Liv’s eyes closed again with the pain of the memories.
“Not again, Are!” she breathed. “NOT EVER AGAIN! Oh, God! What are we going to do?”
Are looked at the hideous, motionless little bundle lying in front of him. “She’s before her time, isn’t she?” he said in a strangled voice.
Liv nodded helplessly.
“Then go, Liv! Go now, before Gabriella wakes,” he said decisively. “This is your great-grandchild, not mine. I’ll take care of this for you.”
Liv knew that if she tried hard, she might get the child to start breathing. With care she could even help her live. But her heart sank within her at the thought of all the new anguish that might again lie ahead. She hesitated for a few moments longer, then silently handed the baby to Are.
“Are ...” she began as her eyes were brimming with tears and rolling down her cheeks. “Are, I can-” and she dashed from the room without finishing the sentence.
***
Gabriella and Kaleb never got a chance to see their daughter. She was placed in a coffin and given a proper burial in the churchyard. The family was told that she had been stillborn – and that she’d been one of the Ice People’s accursed ones.
It was their right to know so that others of Gabriella’s generation could rest assured knowing that their children would be normal.
It took a long time for Gabriella to get over her grief. For the first few days she only wanted Kaleb to be with her. This was their private sorrow and their only consolation was to remind themselves that because of the terrible things that might have happened, it had all been for the best. They kept telling themselves this over and over again. When she’d recovered sufficiently from her ordeal, Gabriella was able to talk to Kaleb more openly about it.
“Believe me, Kaleb, it was definitely for the best. I know what I’m talking about. The accursed ones bring nothing but grief to others and they live in misery themselves. Our little girl is better off where she is now. She’s with God, who accepts us all as we are, good and bad.”
This time Kaleb didn’t argue about her trust in a higher, more merciful power. Are and Liv went to church together. On bended knees, they prayed for a very long time because they’d been forced to make the most heartless of choices. Now they’d have to live in the knowledge of what they’d done – or not done – for the rest of their lives. They could have tried to bring the newborn infant to life, but they didn’t. Now they had nobody else to share their burden with except God, because no one knew what they’d decided to do that evening.
On the way home, they strolled slowly up Linden Avenue. The autumn wind was moaning its dismal requiem through the almost bare branches of the trees. Together they stood still, listening to those mournful sounds that had become all too familiar over the years.
“At least the coming generation will live in peace,” sighed Are. “We can hope for that, can’t we?”
“Yes,” replied Liv pensively, “we can. It’s perhaps some small comfort. I’m just thankful that it happened when it did. And that we were there together – and no one else knew.”
“I keep thinking it might well have happened to Mattias,” said Are quietly. “But Tarald’s family had suffered enough. Instead it was Cecilie’s branch of the family this time, and they’d been spared until now.”
“That’s true,” Liv nodded thoughtfully. “It might even have been Andreas and that wouldn’t have been fair. Nobody has suffered the curse so much
as you and your kin, Are.”
He nodded. “Of course it could have struck Tancred or worse still, Mikael, who knows nothing of all this.” Are paused, his face clouding with anxiety. “Every time I think of my other dear grandchild, Mikael, our beloved Tarjei’s son, I wonder where he is. There’s so much he should know about the Ice People.”
“Yes, you’re right.” Liv shivered. “Listen to the wailing wind, Are! Winter will soon be here.”
They stopped again and Are looked up at the two oldest trees. “It will – but our trees are still strong, sister.”
“I never look at them any more,” she told him. “I think mostly about the great curse that is the bane of our kin. When will we ever be free of it?”
“The curse will only be lifted when someone finds the place where Tengel the Evil buried his horrible cauldron in the thirteenth century – and digs it up. If one is to believe all those stories, of course!”
“So many strange things have happened in our family that we’ve got no choice but to believe them – no matter how grotesque they may sound,” said Liv flatly. “But how can anyone find such a place? It might be anywhere in Norway.”
As Liv stood with her brother beneath the two linden trees their father had so lovingly planted for them, she had no idea that over a quarter of a century earlier she’d held the answer to her own question in her hands, and then placed it unsuspectingly in an iron chest in the attic of Graastensholm. Kolgrim had later found the iron chest and understood. So had Tarjei. But both had died a long time ago.
Liv had simply forgotten that she’d put her mother’s diary in the chest – the splendid diary with its beautiful illustrations and paintings, which Silje had been given by Benedikt the Church Painter and in which she’d unknowingly described, in great detail, the exact spot where Sol had seen her so-called ‘dangerous man.’ When Kaleb had been investigating the noises in the attic, he had shoved that small iron chest under an old cupboard where it lay unnoticed once again. Oblivious to all these significant facts, which were so close to them, Liv and Are started walking again along the windblown Linden Avenue.
Evil Legacy Page 24