Margit Sandemo - The Ice People 24 - Deep in the Ground

One of the young men was very good-looking, but in a cheap sort of way. He was the leader. The other two seemed to admire him quite a bit and emulated everything he did.

“Well, hello there, young Miss,” said the leader, and by his tone of voice she could tell that they had noticed her up on the cliff and had run down to cut her off at this very spot where no one could see them.

She greeted them and asked kindly, “Shouldn’t you be at the mine?”

“We are working the night shift,” the handsome one answered with an unpleasant smile. “Well, then, what is the young lady’s name?”

“Anna Maria Olsdatter. And yours?”

He didn’t answer. He just kept smiling with anticipation, as though he knew what was about to happen.

At that very moment a loud shout came from the hill that separated them from the settlement. “Sixten!”

The men turned around guiltily. Adrian Brandt was standing there, and never before had Anna Maria been so happy to see him! They all walked towards him, Anna Maria quickly and the men more hesitantly.

They slipped off their caps and passed the director as fast as they could.

Adrian Brandt didn’t say anything to them, just gave them a brusque glance and waited until they were out of earshot.

“Thank you!” said Anna Maria. “I wasn’t sure how to handle it. It was ... unpleasant.”

“Yes. I saw you from the window and I saw them coming so I hurried out. You should be more careful about going out alone.”

They set off towards the house.

“The men here have practically no contact with women,” Adrian said. “And Sixten is untrustworthy. He ...”

“Yes? What were you about to say?”

“No, it’s just some gossip that Nilsson is spreading. That Sixten visits a certain lady here.”

“Seved’s wife,” Anna Maria nodded. “Yes, Nilsson mentioned that.”

“You shouldn’t listen to that gossiper,” Adrian said excitedly. “The worst of it is that there’s always a grain of truth in what he says. How are you getting on otherwise?”

“Well, thank you. Everything is very nice and tidy at Klara’s.”

“That’s why I chose her house. Well, let’s part here, so that Nilsson doesn’t start gossiping about us, too. See you tonight. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too. And thank you once again for helping me.”

She watched him for a moment as he left, an erect, elegant figure. “So that Nilsson doesn’t start gossiping about us, too ...”

That was a creepy thought. A little strange and unexpected.

Walking through the village was like running the gauntlet. Was Nilsson keeping an eye on her from the mine office? Or Adrian’s relatives from the big house?

In the house of Gustav the blacksmith everything was quiet. The only sound was a child coughing. But at Seved’s window Anna Maria saw a woman’s face. It quickly disappeared, but Anna Maria managed to discern a blonde beauty of the more simple kind. Doll-like, sweet and harmless. She was probably easy to seduce but more a victim of men’s desire than an outright tart.

Sixten had probably found something pleasing in her.

Anna Maria felt that eyes were following her from all the houses. She had, of course, managed to meet all the women who lived in the five houses, even though she had only greeted them and nothing more. She had also met a few of the miners.

But there was one she still hadn’t seen: the miner’s foreman, the one they called Kol. The one who had been so disappointed that it was a woman who had arrived and not a “proper” teacher.

Anna Maria didn’t feel much like meeting him either.

She stopped.

A strange mood reigned over the windswept, quiet village.

She had an unpleasant feeling that it was the quiet before the storm.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.