Margit Sandemo - The Ice People 18 - Behind the Facade

It was a pretty astounded Ulf who stood watching. He had seen a completely new side to his very cheerful and dauntless daughter.

Vemund Tark stood next to him. “I’ll drop by your house for a moment when you’re finished here. Is that all right with you?”

“Sure,” Ulf answered absentmindedly.

As he would always do when he came home, Ulf went straight upstairs. He knocked on the door and was invited in. Ulvhedin, his grandfather, sat upright in a chair, looking out of the window. Ulf’s parents, Jon and Bronja, had passed away and so had his grandmother, Elisa, but Ulvhedin lived on. He was ninety-six years old, yet he did not look particularly frail.

“How did the logjam turn out?” the old man asked. He always kept himself up-to-date with what was going on. “In the end, we managed to free it,” Ulf sighed. He was pleased with what they had accomplished.

“What kind of accident was it?”

Ulf was by no means surprised that his grandfather knew about it. “It was Nils’s son, Edvin. Elisabet was really efficient.” He gave an account of events, and by now he was sitting on the bench and had lit his long pipe.

“Yes, she’s a good girl,” Ulvhedin said.

Ulf did not speak about the new, soft and feminine Elisabet. He merely said: “She’s turned out to be a mixture. An ordinary girl with the good qualities of the stricken.”

“That’s true. I’m glad you named her after my Elisa.”

The grandson sighed deeply and got up. “We’re certainly happy that Shira managed to quell the nightmare, that has troubled our family for so long. It’s good to know that no more cursed children will be born, and that no afflicted children will follow me in the next generation.”

Ulvhedin looked out of the window. Then he said slowly: “Dragons’ teeth.”

“What do you mean by that, Grandfather?”

Ulvhedin turned his awful yet much loved face towards Ulf. “Dan – Daniel’s father – who knew so much, told me about a legendary Greek hero who killed a dragon and sowed its teeth ...”

“Yes. And then armed warriors grew out of the earth?”

“Precisely. It’s the same with the Ice People’s curse. Destroy it – and new stricken members will appear.”

“You believe that Shira’s feat wasn’t sufficient?”

The old man did not reply.

“But surely Elisabet is ...”

“There’s nothing wrong with Elisabet.”

Ulf wrinkled his eyebrows. “Örjan has a son, young Arv, whom they’re immensely proud of down in Scania. An extremely pleasant boy with blue eyes. Daniel has two children – a son, Sölve, and a daughter, Ingela. We’ve seen both of them. Brown-eyed and so cheerful, with no hint of a fateful curse over them.”

“That’s true. There’s nothing wrong with any of those four. Nevertheless, Ulf ... the dragons’ teeth have been sown.”

Ulf looked inquisitively at his grandfather. Then he breathed slowly through his nose and left the room. He was worried about Ulvhedin. It would be better for the old man if he could stay with Ingrid at Graastensholm, but Tora would not hear of it. She considered it her duty to take care of her husband’s grandfather: if she seemed not to be doing so, what might the neighbours think?

Tora bullied the old man with her know-all attitude while at the same time griping about what a cross it was for her to bear having to put up with him. No wonder the sprightly Ulvhedin kept to himself in his room, where he was not in anyone’s way.

Vemund Tark turned up at about sunset in the same damp clothes he had been wearing down by the river. He greeted the ladies politely. Tora was not terribly impressed. Most of the Tarks were certainly charming people but this strapping fellow, Vemund, was not one of them.

Elisabet regarded him with ill-concealed admiration. He was a man who matched her taste: debonair, elegant – but with an aura of crude wildness about him.

They wondered what his errand could be. He came to the point swiftly.

“Mrs Paladin ... Ulf. For about a week I’ve been looking for a woman who might help me in my crazy, double dilemma. I have a female relative who needs constant care. She cannot be left on her own. The woman who has cared for her up until now has died and I have no idea what to do. Young Miss Elisabet here wants a more meaningful occupation than just hanging about on this estate. And besides, she knows a great deal about medicine. As for the other matter ...”

Elisabet held her breath. What on earth was he driving at?

Vemund Tark went on: “Ulf, you said that your daughter needed to marry a younger brother in a family; someone who is not tied to a house or a family business; someone who can live here with her in this village. If your daughter accepts this position with my ... relative until I find some other help, then she will have the time to get to know her future husband in a natural way and maybe get to like him. Miss Elisabet seems to be a strong-willed woman, able to cope with unexpected situations.”

He took a deep breath, then said: “Mrs Paladin, Ulf ...On behalf of my younger brother, I ask for your daughter’s hand ...”

Chapter 2

Everybody in the room was very silent after Vemund Tark’s surprising request. The sounds from outside interrupted the calm: the servant girls’ saucy replies to the farmhands; a calf’s moaning moo from an outhouse; cartwheels creaking in the yard.

Elisabet knew that she was not allowed to say anything at all. This would not only insult Vemund Tark, who had made the offer, but the parents, who always decided on a daughter’s marriage. Previously things had been freer but her mother had always turned down suitors who were not terribly serious.

Finally, Ulf muttered quietly: “Well, I never.”

Mrs Tora had spent all afternoon complaining that they would not be on time for the first evening party in Christiania, and she would not listen to her husband’s suggestion that they might as well leave the following morning and then enjoy the rest of the season. She insisted on being offended and neglected. Now, however, she had forgotten all about Christiania. She turned to her daughter with a radiant smile: “Elisabet,” she whispered. “Just imagine becoming a member of the Tark Family, one of the most prominent families of the diocese.”

Elisabet could no longer keep quiet. She turned to Vemund and in a cool and clear voice asked: “What does your brother make of all this?”

“My younger brother? I think he would very much like it. You’re just the kind of woman he needs, and he can be of great help to you in the future, not least financially. I understand that right now you landowners are paying heavy taxes. What’s more, I don’t think he would have any objection to his future wife’s appearance.”

“Thank you,” was Elisabet’s bone-dry reply. “You say that I’ll be given time to get to know him and like him. That’s very magnanimous of you. Then he’ll also get to know me, for better or for worse, won’t he? Because his opinion also counts, doesn’t it?”

“Now, now, Elisabet! Not in that tone,” her mother admonished.

“That’s fair enough,” Vemund Tark said calmly.

Listening to the undertone in her voice, nobody could help noticing that Elisabet was hurt. “I admit that I would love to take care of your female relative. It sounds like a sensible occupation for a useless daughter. Admittedly, we have a ninety-six-year-old on the farm, but my great-grandfather Ulvhedin looks after himself. However, I won’t accept any horse-trading! I suggest that my parents give me permission to take care of your relative. Then we’ll have to wait and see. If your brother and I get to like one another, we can discuss the other offer later on. For the moment, I’ll say neither yes nor no to it.”