Виктория Холт - The Judas kiss

He said to the Big One: "Take my sister back to the schloss. We will follow."

"She looks terrible," said Freya. "Who wouldn't? I knew that was what Tatiana would do. Have Anne thrown over the Rock. But let's get her back now."

She would tell me nothing until we had returned to the schloss. Then she took me into the small room which led from the hall and made me sit in one of the chairs while she took a stool and sat at my feet. We were alone as she had insisted we should be.

"I didn't want anyone else here just at first," she said. "I wanted to tell you ... all by ourselves. Gunther will come in when I call him."

"Oh Freya," I cried. "I can't think of anything but that you are here ... alive ... when we thought—"

"Now, you mustn't get too emotional. Where is my nice calm English governess? Nobody was going to make me marry someone I didn't want to."

"You mean Sigmund?"

"I didn't want Sigmund any more than he wanted me. Why should we be forced into marriage? It's ridiculous. I refused to accept it. So did Gunther. You see, Gunther and I decided that we were going to get married. They would never have allowed it, so the only way to do it was to marry and then say, 'It's done!' Nobody could stop it then, precontract or not. We're married and have consummated the marriage, so there. Who knows? I might already be enceinte. I should think it very likely. So how could I marry someone else?"

"Oh Freya ... Freya ... you go too fast."

"Well, we decided to run away. I am sure Providence was on our side that night. What I did was make up a roll of clothes and put them in the bed before I left. I arranged the bedclothes so that it looked as though the Countess Freya was sleeping there. That was just in case anyone looked in and raised the alarm before we had a chance to get far enough away. Tatiana planned to come in, hit me unconscious, and then start the fire. I knew it as soon as I came back and heard what had happened, because she came in before I had gone. I was sitting in my window with my dressing gown over my outdoor clothes, waiting for the moment to slip out, when my door opened stealthily. I kept behind the curtains so I was able to hide to a certain extent and I saw her creep to my bedside. She was holding a fire-iron in her hand.

"I was sitting in the dark because I didn't want to attract attention ... sitting in the window waiting for Gunther to give the call from below that the coast was clear. I called out, 'What do you want, Tatiana?' She was terribly startled. She said she thought she had heard me call out. I told her I had not and asked what she had in her hand. She said, 'Oh, I just didn't wait to put it down. I was dealing with the fire in my room when I thought I heard you call.' Of course it was all very odd, but I had other things on my mind and I forgot about it. Soon Gunther and I were on our way. We went to the priest and got married, and being married is rather wonderful, Anne dear, when you are married to the Right One."

"Oh Freya ... dearest Freya ..."

"No tears. I'm here. You're safe. This ridiculous case against you is over. You can't accuse someone of murder when there was no murder, can you? But Tatiana tried to kill me and would have done so if I hadn't run away that night to get married. You see how favoured I am. I am so happy, Anne. Gunther is the most wonderful husband—far, far better than Sigmund would ever have been. Who wants to be the old Grand Duchess? I'd rather be Gunther's wife ... and think of the dear little babies well have, looking just like him ... and some like me perhaps ... for I am not bad-looking, am I? Gunther thinks I'm beautiful."

"Oh Freya, stop," I cried. "Talk seriously. Did Sigmund come?"

"They were trying to reach him to tell him what had happened. Of course, when I appeared with Gunther everything was thrown into confusion. They had all decided that you were the murderess and I learned that you had been taken away for your safety. You can imagine the consternation when I arrived. You can't have a murder without a victim. The Graf and Grafin were horrified. You know why, don't you? They thought if I were out of the way Tatiana would get Sigmund. Then I appear. There has been no murder ... and someone has been hustled away for her own safety. My dear Anne, who wouldn't harm a hair of my head, and only chastises me by making me learn those horrible old English words. Why the English couldn't have made German their language, I could never understand. It's so much easier, so much more reasonable."

"Freya, Freya, please ..."

"I know. I run on. It's because I'm happy. I've got Gunther and that's wonderful. And I saved you. Oh, Anne, I was terrified. I thought I would be too late. I knew she was the one. I understood why. You see, I had caught her before I went off. I knew she had come back. She had hit that bundle of clothes in the darkness... . She wouldn't bring a light, would she. And when she thought I was unconscious she set fire to the bed. Then she blamed you for it. I heard you'd gone to Klingen and I knew then what she was going to do. So I pretended to be a ghost. She's very superstitious and I knew that would frighten her out of her wits. Well, it would, wouldn't it, to see the ghost of someone you thought you'd murdered? I did rather well, I think. And now she's confessed her guilt—or she will—and you and I will be together... ."

I could not speak. I was so overcome with emotion.

We had been in the schloss less than an hour when Conrad arrived. He came galloping in at the greatest speed and when I was swept up in his arms I thought I should die of happiness. The transition from utter despair to the heights of bliss was too sudden. And when he held me at arm's length and looked at me as though he must take in every detail of my face to make sure I was really there, I wondered how I could ever have doubted him.

Freya regarded us with satisfaction.

"All is well," she said. "What a wonderful ending! Now I know what they mean when they said 'and they all lived happily ever after.' And to think that it is all due to my cleverness. Though I do admit Gunther had a hand in it. Gunther!" she called.

And there were the four of us, smiling, clinging together.

It was a wonderful reunion. I knew there would be difficulties ahead—and none knew that more than Conrad— but for the moment we gave ourselves up to the complete joy of being together, to a happiness which was the greater because of the fearful ordeal through which we had passed. Conrad told me he had been terrified when he arrived at the Grand Schloss and heard that Freya was dead and I was accused of her murder and had been taken to Klingen.

He then learned that Freya had married Gunther. He had raced to the Rock, and until he had actually seen me, he had been in terror that he might arrive too late.

And he would have done, but for Freya.

"Oh Freya," he cried, "how can I ever be grateful enough!"

Freya beamed on us, looking like the beneficent goddess she had so delighted in imagining herself to be.

"I don't know why I should be so good to you when you preferred someone else," she said severely.

"As for me," he retorted, "you jilted me. You just ran off and left me."

"Nothing to what you did to me. Falling in love with my English governess. Never mind. I'll forgive you because I happen to like her quite a lot myself. And now I shall have to call her Philippa, which is very strange. I don't know how I shall manage that."

Dear Freya! She could not look beyond the moment, and as it was a very happy moment, perhaps she was wise not to.

Later Conrad said to me: "We must imitate Freya. We'll get a priest to marry us."

"You are still the Grand Duke's heir," I reminded him.

"I am no longer affianced to Freya. There will have to be dispensations and so on, but she has broken that contract irrevocably. I shall now marry to please myself."