The Ice People 1 - Spellbound (The Legend of the Ice People) (16 page)

“You’ve got problems with the children, so I hear?”

Oh that deep voice. It was as if it pulled in her, making her both cold and warm at the same time.

“No, it’s not so …”

“Eldrid gave me a terrific ticking off,” he said curtly. “She said I didn’t have a single clue as to what it’s like to have the sole responsibility for two children and a house – especially when one is as young and impractical as you. Well, how are the children doing anyway?”

“Well, it’s …. Dag above all else.” She stammered, groping for the words under his intense glance.

She had to take off Dag’s clothes once more.

Tengel looked at the little baby boy. “Oh, dear. Didn’t I give you some ointment at some stage? For your leg?”

“Yes, but can the ointment also be used for this? I was afraid of using it for this.”

“Never mind. I think I’ve got something that’s better,” he said and pulled out a black cloth.

She thought of his latest sick call and asked: “Do you want to be alone with the child?”

From the corner of his mouth, he said: “I don’t read exorcisms over just a bit of a red bottom.”

“Really?” Was this then what he’d done? Read exorcisms? Silje could feel a shiver down her spine.

Tengel read her thoughts. “I don’t think you need to reproach me provided I use a force in the service of goodness.”

“I’m not reproaching you,” she said with a blush. “You just frighten me a bit.”

“D’you have any reason to be afraid of me?” he asked in such a low and sad voice that Silje felt as if she could hardly catch her breath.

“Sille dance,” said Sol.

Tengel towards the girl. “What did you say? Does Silje dance?”

“Sille and Sol dance ound and ound! And sing Tengel come, Tengel come.”

“Gossip,” mumbled Silje.

Sol stopped dancing. “And Sille ossips. In bed.”

Tengel turned serious. “Do you, Silje?”

“No, she exaggerates. Don’t listen to her.”

Suddenly Sol remembered that she had one more thing she wanted tell: “Sille
smacked
me!” Her eyes radiated with sensation.

“I see. Well, I’ve heard of a young lady who scattered burning coal over the floor. And I doubt that Silje hit you very hard.”

When Dag had been rubbed with ointment and dressed again, they sat at table. It was pretty late for Sol and she became pretty fretful.

“I think his rash has something to do with what he eats,” said Tengel. “The cows eat swedes at this time of the year. This may be too harsh stuff. I’ll ask Eldrid to feed the cows hay. Then we must see whether it helps. We must be a bit careful with that boy – he never got any breast milk, you see.”

Silje looked at him with big eyes. “You really know a lot! I’ve never heard anybody consider this before. I mean – what
the cows
have to eat.”

“Well, our family knows a lot,” he said with bitterness. But I agree with Eldrid that you need to be relieved. You’ve got dark shadows under your eyes.”

“I don’t get so much sleep when Dag screams day and night. Er … Tengel …”

“Yes?”

“There’s an old loom in one of the chambers. I’d so very much like …. To weave on it.”

His face lit up. “Well, of course. I’ll ask Eldrid to make it ready for you provided she has some yarn, of course.”

“I can spin myself. There’s lots of wool next to the loom. Anyway, this is certainly something that I know how to do. It would really help me not to feel so incompetent.”

“Good heavens, dearest Silje, is this
how
you feel?”

Sol had crouched on the bench and fallen asleep in her best dress. She wasn’t used to being up so late but Silje knew that it would be useless to make her go to bed before Tengel arrived.

“Well, I’m incompetent,” said Silje. “The things I’m capable of are worth nothing. This was also what Benedikt said.”

“Benedikt said you were a little artist, a creative person, and that one oughtn’t to bother such people with trivial pursuits – because this will get too much on their nerves. This is probably what’s happened to you now.”

“I feel shameful.”

Tengel had never touched a woman. But now he stretched out his hand quite spontaneously and gently stroked her cheek with it. Silje gave a jerk and she turned her head, letting her lips glide over his hand. He grasped at her hair and pressed it hard.

“I must leave now,” he said and got up abruptly.

She jumped up immediately. “Will you be coming back soon?”

He stood and looked at her. “I don’t know. I’m trying to stay away but …”

“But?”

“After Eldrid fetched me today and said that I ought to come, I feel that I’m in a sort of daze. Yes, I’ll be back. But never more on my own. I … I just can’t manage that. I’ll take care of the children tomorrow.”

Then he left.

***

When Silje had put Sol to bed and had tidied up after the evening, she undressed, deep in her own thoughts. She would always keep on her shift. She was too shy to take it off completely. But this evening she remained sitting on the edge of the bed in the red glow of the fire. Slowly, slowly she pulled the shift over her head and put it away. Without daring to look down, she gently touched her skin, stroking with the hands over her breasts and down to the waist. She could feel that she was slim and well-shaped, with hard, tender breasts. She put her hand over her stomach, felt how flat it was, and then she cast an anxious glance over herself.

She believed that he would like her body. There wasn’t anything ugly about it. If only he’d wanted it.

She regained her composure. Her courage vanished and was replaced by shame. She quickly put on her shift again.

***

The meeting was at home with the chief, Heming’s father. Silje went there together with Eldrid, at the same time both anxious and excited. Tengel had come to mind the children and his very tiny smile had given her enough to live on for a whole week, she thought to herself.

What a fantastic house they’d come to. It certainly couldn’t compare with Benedikt’s as far as size was concerned but there was everything you could wish for in such a remote place, including some woodcarvings the likings of which Silje had never seen. Every single door frame and girder was most artistically carved.

Silje was so impressed that she forgot to say hello.

“Yes,” said Heming’s straight-backed and bearded father, “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?”

Silje gained her composure, lowering her glance from the girder she’d admired. “Just out of this world! Who made this?”

“Oh, it’s old. A few hundred years, I’d imagine. One of my ancestors. And you’re Silje, I understand. Heming has told me about you and how you helped decorate the church. So you know a thing or two about such things.”

At last Silje reminded herself of what politeness required of her and dropped a deep curtsey. Heming stood close by, sending her his teasing smile but he didn’t say anything.

“I also gather that you saved my son’s life,” the chief went on, “and I want to thank you most warmly for that.”

“I didn’t do so very much,” she said shyly. “Tengel was the one who did the most.”

The chief looked at her sharply. It was obvious that he wasn’t interested in talking about Tengel.

Then they were led into the hall where the Ice People were gathered. Apart from those who could rightly be called, of course – descendants of Tengel the Evil – those that were struck by his curse.

Silje felt rather ill at ease with all those eyes that looked at her. Benches had been placed on either side of a refectory table. One side was for the men and the other side for the women and both sides seemed to be equally critically disposed to the newcomer. Eldrid had prepared her for that. She lived among the feared – what sort of a strange bird was she who dared to do that?

Nobody said a word. The only thing she could do was to drop a deep curtsey by the door and wait. However, she saw things in there that made her understand what she’d heard about inbreeding. Two cretins sat with open mouth, one was quite clearly crazy and a few others that appeared highly dangerous.

But they were accepted, and Silje was touched. Only she couldn’t understand why a fantastic person like Tengel was to be kept outside.

She was shown a seat on the women’s bench and the devotion could begin. But no matter how much Silje tried, she found it difficult to concentrate. She needed so much to hear God’s words now but she felt all the while that their eyes cast sidelong glances at her and then looked elsewhere when she looked in their direction.

Of course, most of the people in the hall were normal but this didn’t make them any the less condemning, quite the contrary.

The worst of them all were a couple of young boys who were staring hard at her all the time. They certainly didn’t hold back. The one of them was probably not quite like the others, although you couldn’t actually see it. There was just something in his eyes that indicated this and which told her to be on her guard.

When the prayer meeting was over, all rose to their feet. She was extremely shocked when she discovered that some of the mentally ill wore heavy chains. So this was how they were taken care of. Silje’s heart was heavy with grief for their sake. But perhaps it was the only solution?

As she walked home, she felt far from strengthened by God’s words. She felt strong compassion with everybody in the valley.

And she thought of what Eldrid had once said that very often pious expressions were nothing but pure hypocrisy. Behind closed doors, other gods were worshipped – nature’s invisible powers, supernatural spirits whom one hardly dared to give names. It was certainly not just Tengel’s family that was preoccupied with these things although they were the only ones that possessed this secret power. It was not without reason that the
entire
Ice Population was feared, banned and pursued by all outside of the valley.

She walked home together with Eldrid, who was also in her own thoughts.

“When we arrived here, Tengel mentioned some relatives in a house down by the lake. He told me never to go down there. Were they there today?”

“Hanna and Grimar? Heavens, no, are you crazy?”

Eldrid made the sign of the cross.

“Are they … the worst?”

“Well, yes,” Eldrid said with a sigh. “Nobody goes down there. Ever!”

“Why not?”

“They can pull and illness on you,” Eldrid said almost in a whisper. “They can distort your vision, make you lame in one leg so that you limp, or they can make you blind. They cast their spell on the cows so that they don’t produce milk – and do a lot of evil things. It’s their fault that we have so many insane people in this valley.”

“Goodness,” said Silje emphatically. “At least I learned this much when I sneaked in to get some education: The nobility should limit their inbreeding because otherwise too many unhealthy individuals would be brought into this world. So it’s probably neither Hanna’s nor Grimar’s fault.”

Eldrid didn’t comment on this and they both walked together in silence.

But Silje couldn’t stop thinking of them. “Who looks after them? Who knows whether they’ve something to eat or not?”

“Oh, they’ll manage.”

“But I gathered from what Tengel said that they’re old people. Certainly the woman.”

“Both of them are old. But that’s none of our business. Take Tengel’s advice – and stay away from them.”

Tengel greeted them in the door. He immediately sought Silje’s eyes and it seemed that he’d yearned for them the whole day. “Well, what was it like? You seem agitated?”

“Is that so strange?” said Eldrid as she entered. “In that assembly. They devoured Silje with their eyes, especially the boys from Bratteng.”

Tengel’s voice sounded slightly upset. “Do you think there’s any danger?”

“I certainly believe she ought to have somebody to stay with her. And you, Tengel, live so miserably. How did you manage with the children?”

“Sol very nearly took all life out of me with her restlessness,” he laughed. “And little Dag has contributed with his usual concert. But now’s he’s asleep – at long last. I don’t know how you’ve coped, Silje. Why haven’t you said anything before?”

“I’d have been ashamed to do so. Just think of all the mothers who have half a dozen children and who live in the utmost poverty. I’m so fortunate. Shouldn’t I be able to manage two children then?”

“I’d count Sol for five,” laughed Tengel.

But he was nervous somehow. Unsure and – for the first time since she’d met him – confused. Apart from when they just arrived, he’d avoided her glance, and there was sorrow in his eyes.

When Eldrid had taken Sol with her to fetch some milk, they just stood there without thinking of anything to say. Finally Silje said:

“What’s the matter, Tengel?”

Firstly, he didn’t answer. Then he began in a low voice: “You … you shouldn’t have done it yesterday evening.”

“Done what?”

“When I … patted your cheek.”

When he let her lips glide over his hand …

She looked down as if this would make her blush less obvious. “I couldn’t stop myself from doing so, Tengel. I did so by instinct. And you were the one that took the initiative.”

He gazed at her for a long time with sad eyes. “Don’t fool me, Silje. I can’t tackle it.”

“I’m not fooling you,” Silje said emphatically.

“Dear Silje, don’t you think I know what I look like? A wild animal, a deformed person, ostracized by everybody.”

“Not by me,” she said in a low voice.

He stood absolutely still. It was as if he hardly breathed.

Silje swallowed something. “My feelings for you can’t be any secret to you.”

With an abrupt movement he squatted down by the fireplace and began to fiddle with a stick. “Tell me about your dreams, Silje.”

“About …? Oh, them!”

“Yes. You say that I know what you feel. I don’t. It’s not easy to distinguish between – well, what you once called your affection towards me – and compassion.”

She hesitated for a moment before she squatted down next to him. “I don’t know whether I can tell you about them. I was given a very strict upbringing. You know that.”

“Yes, I do. But right now I need to hear about them. Life’s rather complicated for me at the moment, and I need to be told that I’m not alone. That somebody feels the same. Who …”