Borne In Blood Part 16

"Of course," said Hyacinthie, as blithely as possible. "Uncle Wallache doesn't think females can understand his studies."

"Perhaps they can't," said Rosalie, because she was so baffled.

Rather than challenge her, Hyacinthie said, "I know another secret, one you and I can share between us: you mustn't tell anyone."

"I won't," Rosalie said somberly.

"Herr Schmidt-the Magistrate in Eichenbrucke?-he keeps a woman in Ravenstein. They have two children. I heard Herr Schmidt talking with Uncle Wallache about it, a year ago. He was laughing." Her smile was delicious.

"A Magistrate would do something like that?" Rosalie marveled.

Now that the child was absorbed in their game, Hyacinthie made the most of it. "And another secret: once I saw Herr Lowengard-you know, the mousy fellow who takes care of business matters for Uncle Wallache?-I saw him making water and there was a wart on his thing. A big one."

"A wart?" Rosalie was once again enthralled.

"Yes." She made this an expression of triumph.

"Does it hurt?"

"What?" The question was so unexpected that it threw Hyacinthie off her stride.

Rosalie repeated carefully, "Does it hurt?"

"The wart? I don't know; it might," said Hyacinthie. She stood up and moved to the covered well in the center of the well-house. Very casually she opened the wooden lid that had once sealed the well; time and rust had rendered the lock on the lid useless. With the lid shoved aside, Hyacinthie sat on the broad stone rim of the old well as she went on. "What do you think?"

"I think it might, too," said Rosalie after a brief moment of consideration. "Uncle Wallache's hurts me."

It took all her determination for Hyacinthie to conceal the stab of jealousy that went through her at this admission. How dare this child even mention Uncle Wallache's attentions! Now they came to the heart of it: this child had dared to supplant her in their uncle's desires! It was an unendurable insult, but she contained her wrath. Soon she would have her revenge, she told herself. She managed to keep her voice light. "I didn't like it much at first, either." That much was true, and she said it at her most engaging.

"You didn't ..." Rosalie stared in amazement.

"When I was younger, of course," said Hyacinthie as if this were not galling to her. "A while ago."

"Before we came?"

"A little." She let Rosalie think that she and Hedda were responsible for her demotion, not her own developing body, more than four years ago.

"And he stopped?"

"A while ago," Hyacinthie repeated with a deliberate shrug. "He became bored, I suppose, as men will do."

"But you-How could he be bored with you?"

"Perhaps he expected something new?" It was a deliberate prodding.

"Me?" Rosalie was aghast. "Why me?"

"You're pretty, and you're ... trusting, and you aren't ready to be married yet," Hyacinthie suggested, recalling all the things von Ravensberg had praised in her when he had first begun using her for his pleasure.

"Then you know ..." She came to Hyacinthie's side, seeking the companionship of their shared experience. "He tells me it is what girls do to show their grat.i.tude. He says that this is how girls make men care for them."

"Yes," said Hyacinthie.

"He said that this is what men want from girls."

"He's right." This admission angered her, but she concealed her ire.

"He told you the same thing?" Rosalie asked.

"He did," said Hyacinthie.

"Well." Rosalie considered what she had learned. "Then it isn't as much of a secret as he told me." There was the suggestion of a sob in the little girl's voice. "He said this was only between us, just the two of us."

"That's what he told me," said Hyacinthie, a sudden memory taking her back to when she was eight and her uncle had come to her bed. For the years he had lain with her, she had convinced herself she had engaged his heart, but once he abandoned her, she knew that what he had done was for himself, not for her. Only securing the true captivation of another man could remove her from her uncle's mastery of her-that, and returning pain for pain.

"He was fibbing!" Rosalie burst out, and started to cry.

"He was lying!" Hyacinthie rounded on her, and pushed her shoulders so that the little girl toppled backward into the well, her wail becoming a shriek as her falling body struck the stone walls of the well, and bounced off. Finally there was a murky splash, a whimper, a garbled shout that faded to choking coughs, then nothing. Standing beside the well, Hyacinthie waited until she was certain that all was silent, then she wrestled the lid back onto the well. Now that she had accomplished her purpose, Hyacinthie was sorry that it had ended so quickly. She had hoped for a little longer to make the child pay for what she had done. "No matter," she said aloud as she took stock of her appearance. There was a small tear on her dress where the lid had snagged the material, and several dusty smirches. She was fairly sure there was a little dirt on her face. All could be accounted for by claiming to have taken a fall while hiking. She also decided that the fall could account for Rosalie being missing: when Hyacinthie fell, Rosalie, who had caused it, ran off-Hyacinthie had supposed she had returned to the Schloss, but had been in no condition to ascertain that for herself. The explanation was a good one, she thought, and one that would leave her blameless. In order to make it more convincing, she made herself sc.r.a.pe her elbow on the wall of the well-house until it bled. Then, satisfied, she set out for the Schloss, not moving too quickly so that her claims of injury would be more readily believed. As she made her way along the narrow paths back down the mountain, she let herself recall every detail of her vanquishing Rosalie. By the time she entered the Schloss the shadows were lying around the place, cast by the higher peaks, and the staff was beginning to bustle, getting ready for supper. Hyacinthie made for her room and rang for Idune, the maid she and the girls shared, telling her as soon as she entered her room. "It is very annoying. I have damaged my dress. I took a fall on my walk with Rosalie. What a scamp she is."

Idune tisked as she came to help Hyacinthie out of the garment. "Thank goodness, Fraulein, that it is not one of your newer garments."

"I wouldn't wear them on a walk, especially not a walk with a child." As she said this, she could feel excitement fizzing through her: she had done it! She raised her arms and bent over to help Idune pull the dress off.

"Just so, Fraulein," said Idune, taking a moment to a.s.sess the worst of the damage. "I think you had best consign this dress to your donation-box. It isn't going to be mended adequately, no matter what we do." She held up the dress to the waning light from the window. "This is really too bad to be saved."

"Then don't bother." Hyacinthie went to her armoire and studied what she had ready. Finally she chose a dress of cotton-lawn in an amethyst shade with an embroidered corsage edged in lace. "I think this will do."

"A very nice dress," Idune approved. "And a shawl? The evenings are becoming chilly."

"The rose one," said Hyacinthie. "And violet scent. Violets are so fashionable just now." She lifted her arms and helped Idune to ease her arms into the fragile sleeves.

"That scratch on your elbow will need a poultice tonight," said the maid as she b.u.t.toned up the back of Hyacinthie's dress.

"Probably," said Hyacinthie with extreme disinterest.

"And Rosalie? Where is she?" Edeltrude asked as she adjusted the drape of Hyacinthie's skirt in the back.

"Um? What do you mean? She ran ahead after I fell." This was Hyacinthie's moment of triumph, and she relished it. "Surely she is in her room."

"Not that I am aware of," said Idune. "But she may have returned while I was at my sewing."

"Very likely," said Hyacinthie with no indication of worry or rejoicing. "If you want to run along and help Rosalie and Hedda dress, I can fend for myself now. I'll change my shoes and fix my hair myself."

"Jawol, Fraulein," said Idune as she made for the door.

Hyacinthie was just finishing putting her hair up in a flattering knot when she heard the first calls of alarm. First Idune, then three other servants began to make their way through the Schloss calling for Rosalie. Humming a little song by Mozart to herself, Hyacinthie fastened a locket on a silver chain around her neck, draped her shawl over her arms, and prepared to descend for supper.

Text of a letter from Helmut Fredrich Lambert Ahrent Ritterslandt, Graf von Scharffensee at Scharffensee in Austria, to Saint-Germain Ragoczy, Comte Franciscus at Chateau Ragoczy, near Lake Geneva, Yvoire, Switzerland; carried by Otto Gutesohnes.

To the Comte Franciscus, Saint-Germain Ragoczy, the Graf von Scharffensee at Scharffensee sends his greetings on this, the 8thday of October, 1817, through the good offices of the Comte's messenger, My dear Comte: I have received your most unconventional offer to visit my home with my daughter-in-law, so that she may spend time with her sons. You state that you believe that all of them will grieve less for Annamaria if they are permitted to spend time together.

While I disagree with your concerns, I have no doubt that my daughter-in-law can be tedious about her children, and so I will welcome her for a three-day visit. Siegfried has returned to school and cannot be spared for her by the time you propose, but Bertram and Berend will be here. I will arrange for their tutors to spend only half-days with them while Madame von Scharffensee is with us.

You, however, I do not believe I can welcome to this Schloss, given your irregular relation with Madame von Scharffensee. You may well seem the usurper of their father's memory in their mother's life, and I will not subject the boys to such an insult. If you are willing to provide her transportation and escort in any case, then I will order a room prepared for her, and inform the twins that she will make a brief stay here, to see them.

The season of rain and snow shortly bearing in upon us, I would like to suggest that the visit be postponed, at least until late March, when the chance of being delayed due to snow in the pa.s.ses is much reduced. I can almost pledge to have Siegfried here for part of the spring, which may suit my daughter-in-law's purpose better than coming here in autumn, when the journey will be harder and the way dreary.

I will await your answer with every a.s.surance that I will live up to all the particulars included in this communication, and I depend upon you, as a gentleman, to honor what I have charged you to do. My daughter-in-law is no more f.e.c.kless than most women, but I know better than to impose these conditions upon her directly, for she would balk at them in the full tempestuousness of her Italian nature, which neither you nor I can want. I therefore urge you to exercise what influence you have with her to restrain her impetuosity and bear herself with dignity in these sad times.

Until I have your answer.

I remain,

Sincerely,

Helmut Fredrich Lambert Ahrent Ritterslandt.

Graf von Scharffensee.

5.

Augustus Kleinerhoff stood in the entry-way of Chateau Ragoczy, his hat in his hand, his double-caped cloak of oiled wool soggy and dripping. "I am very sorry, Comte, to have to call upon you in this way, but there has been trouble-serious trouble."

Ragoczy, very elegant in his heavy black-silk twill coat with swallow-tails, black embroidered dark-red satin waistcoat over a white-silk shirt and a conservative cravat, black-superfine unmentionables, and side-b.u.t.ton shoes, regarded his visitor sympathetically. "Herr Kleinerhoff. Come in." He motioned toward the guest-parlor, signaling to Balduin to light the lamps. "The rain has turned the day dark, so we will need to provide some illumination."

Staring at Ragoczy's fine clothing, Kleinerhoff hesitated. "Do I interrupt? I apologize for coming unannounced, and if you-"

"You do not interrupt anything immediate," said Ragoczy. "My first engagement is late in the afternoon." He paused, then went on, making no mention of Reinhart Olivier Kreuzbach who had journeyed from Speicher and was presently at the best hotel-of three-in Yvoire. "I gather whatever brings you here must be important."

"Important? I fear that it is, which also makes it most unfortunate, which is because it is important, and I dislike being the bearer of bad tidings, yet so it must be," said Kleinerhoff, sounding a bit distracted. "I thought our differences in the village had been settled, that everyone was in accord, but I see now ..." He followed Ragoczy down the short corridor to the parlor. "If the harvests had been only a little better, I think we could have avoided this."

"I take it this has something to do with the harvest or the stores I have provided," Ragoczy ventured, unfl.u.s.tered in spite of Herr Kleinerhoff's dismay. As he entered the parlor, he saw Balduin finish lighting the lamps.

"Both, I fear," said Kleinerhoff. He stood while Balduin relieved him of his dripping cloak; he turned abashed eyes on the puddle of water forming on the small Turkish carpet.

"I'll just take this to the kitchen, Comte," he said to Ragoczy. "We'll do what we can to dry it out."

"Very good, Balduin. And bring a large cup of hot b.u.t.tered rum for Herr Kleinerhoff, if you would." He put his whole attention on Kleinerhoff as Balduin left the room. "And something to eat. He's had a long, wet walk to this chateau."

"Thank you, Comte," said Kleinerhoff, "but I do not deserve your good offices."

"This is hardly more than standard courtesy," said Ragoczy, and motioned his steward away; the purr of the rain on the windows filled the handsome chamber, rea.s.suring in its steadiness. "So what has become of the harvest and the stores?"

"Become of them-a third of each has been stolen, or almost a third. More of the grain was taken than seed, but still-" Kleinerhoff admitted miserably. "Yes, more grain than seed, which is better than if the seed were gone."

"A third," said Ragoczy, surprised by the large amount. "How did it happen?"

"I have ... a report," Kleinerhoff ventured.

"Which I gather you do not entirely believe," said Ragoczy, watching Kleinerhoff's discomfort.

"No, not entirely."

"But you have not entirely convinced yourself that it is completely mendacious," Ragoczy said, his past experiences reminding him of other, similar incidents.

"Not entirely," said Kleinerhoff.

Ragoczy nodded. "Well, give me the gist of this report, and you and I can decide what credence to attach to it."

"All right, Comte," said Kleinerhoff, and launched into the account he had been provided. "This is what I have been told: It was late last night, after most of the villagers had retired for the night. A party of armed men came into the ... the village hall and forced the guards to load up two gun-wagons with them. Did I say it was late at night? The report said the clock had struck midnight, but ..." He kept himself from going on with some effort; he cleared his throat. "Herr Staub and Herr Quelle had the watch at that hour, and it is from them that I have this report: they said the men were armed with guns and swords, possibly soldiers from the recent wars. There are many such men about."

"That they are," said Ragoczy. "As travelers have cause to know." He thought a moment, then asked, "Did either guard notice anything else about the men? The kinds of horses they rode? What their clothes were like? their accents?"

Kleinerhoff shrugged. "They didn't mention either to me. They said it was late, all was dark, and the men were armed. They also said the rain was just starting, and that most of their trail, if they left one, would be washed away by now."

"How did the guards know the vehicles were gun-wagons?" He looked only curious, but he was concentrating on every nuance of Kleinerhoff's report.

"Herr Quelle spent some time in the army, a decade ago; he lost two fingers and was sent home. He was familiar with gun-wagons." Kleinerhoff sighed unhappily. "It has occurred to me, as it must do for you, that these two men may have more knowledge of the thievery than they have admitted."

"Yes," said Ragoczy gently. "It had."

"Well, that's hardly surprising," said Kleinerhoff. "They knew what to take, they knew where to come, and they were gone before anyone knew they had been there."

"It is the last that troubles me the most," said Ragoczy thoughtfully. "The place where the stores are kept might be learned by spending an hour or two in the tavern, given how the villagers talk, but this smacks of broader knowledge than what might be picked up in an afternoon. That they were prepared to take certain amounts is not astonishing, either, since the account says they had only two wagons. But how they left without raising any alarm-that concerns me, for it suggests that these men have spies in the village, or allies."

"Or both." Kleinerhoff went toward the window. "And how many others in our village are with them? Is it just this village, or are others involved? I have asked myself these questions since Herr Quelle came to my house last night."

Ragoczy sat down in one of the two grandfather's armchairs on either side of the fireplace. "How many men were involved, did either guard mention that?"

"Quelle said there were eight of them, and Staub said nine, when pressed. He claims there was one who stayed with the gun-wagons while his comrades came into the town hall to take their prizes." Kleinerhoff sighed deeply. "It is a terrible loss, no matter how many there were."

"It is," said Ragoczy. "But it is also most curious that such a group attracted no attention. Had a stranger come to your house, Behemoth would surely alert you. Surely one of the farmers would have provided a dog to the guards?"

Kleinerhoff made an impatient swipe of his hand. "I said we needed a dog to guard with the men, but Madame Bruell said that it would disturb the guests at the tavern, to have a dog barking all night."

"How often has she guests at the tavern?" Ragoczy inquired politely.