Margit Sandemo: The Ice People 06 - Evil Legacy

“You keep your hairy arms to yourself, you monkey!” she was shouting in a tone that would have been ice-cold with contempt had her voice not risen in anger to a falsetto pitch. “Do you honestly think that I’d let something as ugly and dirty as you lay a hand on me? And that goes for you, too!” she added in an even sharper tone. “Your mother must have been serviced by a boar to give birth to you, you deformed wretch!”

‘Good God!’ thought Tarjei as he approached the door behind which he could hear her voice. ‘It’s a good job that the polite Aunt Juliana is in the tower and can’t hear any of this.’

He didn’t stop at the door but flung it open and stormed in without thinking, ready to protect a damsel in distress. They say that fortune favours the brave, but in this case it favoured the fool. He was still carrying the heavy bardiche and he rushed headlong into the antechamber, swinging the weapon recklessly back and forth in front of him in an alarming way.

The two soldiers – who were neither ugly nor deformed – fled from the room in an instant when they caught sight of Tarjei. But it was sounds from the bridge below rather than fear of Tarjei that made them withdraw rapidly. This minor detail was of no importance to Cornelia, who saw in him her hero and she immediately threw herself straight into his arms.

“Oh, Tarjei, Tarjei. You came! I just knew you would!”

‘What awful melodramatics!’ he thought to himself, slightly irritated by her, but now that the danger was over, he was finding the situation quite funny.

He was about to speak, but was suddenly stopped by the unexpected closeness of Cornelia’s embrace. She wasted no time in taking full advantage of the moment, and with instinctive female cunning she made Tarjei think that he was the one who’d kissed her and not the other way round. Women have known how to use such glorious deceptions since mankind took its first steps, and Cornelia wasn’t about to waste such a golden opportunity.

Tarjei was far from an unwilling partner. The preoccupied scientist and scholar had never imagined that anything could be as heavenly as this. Now their lips had met, he couldn’t bring himself to end it and Cornelia was certainly not one to deny herself a pleasure like this either - but he was dragged reluctantly back from his flight of passion by the sound of a voice he couldn’t ignore.

“Well, well. What have we here?” asked Commander-in-Chief Georg Ludwig Eberhardsson of Löwenstein and Scharffeneck.

Tarjei gasped in horror and disentangled himself from Cornelia’s artful embrace.

“Oh, uncle!” she squealed enthusiastically. “Tarjei has compromised me! But like the true nobleman he is, his intentions were honourable, of course!”

“Now just wait a minute,” said Tarjei, taken by surprise. “Let’s reflect on what exactly happened here ...”

“Of course, you’ll ask for my hand, Tarjei, won ‘t you?” she prompted in a loud whisper. “That’s unavoidable now.”

“Your hand! Certainly not!”

“What? ” Cornelia gulped for air while her uncle watched their antics with a broad, amused grin.

Tarjei had regained his composure. “Stubborn young ladies make stubborn wives,” he told her.

For once in her life, Cornelia looked utterly helpless and vulnerable. Not even Tarjei, it seemed, wanted her. Her face had become a study in childish disappointment and rejection. Without Cornelia realising it, this was far more effective than all her determined arguments. At that moment, Tarjei’s heart softened and he touched her cheek gently with one hand.

“I didn’t mean to say that, Cornelia,” he apologised hastily. “I was only mocking you.” Then, thinking he was definitely going to be rebuffed, he turned to her uncle. “Sir, may I respectfully request the honour of your young ward’s hand in marriage?”

But to his amazement, the Count didn’t respond as he’d anticipated. He’d just seen with his own eyes how Tarjei was one of the few people able to keep a rein on Cornelia, in part at least. He was a man with prospects and his name had a certain aristocratic ring to it. Most importantly, he was entirely honourable. So, why not? There was no way out for Tarjei now.

***

The young couple was deeply in love and at first their life together was blissfully happy. Tarjei no longer worked into the small hours as he had done before they were married. Instead he hurried home because he wanted so desperately to be with Cornelia whenever possible. Even in his wildest dreams he’d never imagined that life could be so sweet, especially since he’d often watched and wondered at the seemingly strange behaviour of his fellow human beings who’d fallen in love. Then Cornelia became pregnant and it seemed that there was no limit to their happiness. In fact, it took quite a long time before he came to realise how dominated, some would say subjugated, he’d become.

Then in the autumn of 1634, Tarjei was handed a letter. It had been sent from Norway in the late summer of 1633 and contained the shocking news that little Mattias had disappeared. Tarjei was heartbroken and sat down to write a reply, saying that he’d come home immediately. Then he went to tell Cornelia the news.

“Cornelia, I’m sorry to say I have to travel home most urgently,” he said. “A young relative of mine has gone missing and I must know if he’s been found and give comfort to his parents. They’re my cousins.”

But of course another thought was also preying on his mind: Mattias was due to have inherited the treasures of the Ice People. If Mattias was gone, who was left for Tarjei to choose from? There was no doubt that the matter was extremely urgent.

Cornelia flew into a furious rage. How could he think of leaving her now when she was due to give birth in a few short months? Was he thinking of nobody but himself as usual?

By now, she’d shown herself to be uncompromising in many other ways. They lived in the castle because she didn’t like the idea of moving into a ‘wretched physician’s house.’ She bathed in his reflected glory now that he was gaining recognition, but didn’t want him to spend his days at work – his place was with her. When he was busy with a project, she would insist that he attend outings she’d arranged and which they ‘simply had to take.’ She had even pretended that she was ill in order to manipulate him, but adopted another strategy when she found that her husband had an uncanny knack of diagnosing sickness – or more importantly feigned sickness – very quickly.

Cornelia also enjoyed making Tarjei jealous for no other reason than to see how he reacted. Then when it suited her, she’d pretend to be jealous of him, and took great pleasure in hearing him explain how she had no reason to question his fidelity. She often started minor lovers’ quarrels just to delight in being reconciled afterwards. But Tarjei always had to be the first to make amends, even though she’d started the argument for no reason other than a fanciful whim. When at last he’d begged for forgiveness, she was cuddly and affectionate as a kitten, telling him that nobody on earth could be as perfectly happy as they were. As always, Tarjei would relax and slowly his nerves would settle down again – but it took longer and longer each time.

He attributed her behaviour to her impending motherhood. But deep down he knew all too well that this was the real Cornelia, just as she’d been the first time they met when she was nothing more than a child. She’d been just as self-assured and obstinate then as she was now.

So after having talked the matter over with Cornelia, Tarjei changed his reply to the letter from home. Instead he wrote that Cornelia’s pregnancy made it impossible for him to leave her and how he hoped with all his heart that Mattias had come back to them by now. He assured them of his sympathy and told them he’d be thinking of them all, day and night. He asked them to please write again as soon as they could.